Merseyside Derby

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Lore & Background

The Merseyside derby was traditionally referred to as the 'friendly derby' because of the large number of families in the city with both Everton and Liverpool supporters, and it was one of the few that did not enforce total fan segregation. The 1984 Football League Cup final at Wembley was nicknamed the 'friendly final' due to almost all sections of the ground being mixed and supporters of both teams banding together to chant 'Merseyside'. The 1986 FA Cup final witnessed similar scenes of solidarity. Since the mid-1980s, the rivalry has intensified on and off the field, and has seen more red cards given than any other game since the creation of the Premier League. In the 2010s, the derby was dominated by Liverpool, arguably becoming the most one-sided in the English top-flight. Despite this, it has become more competitive in recent years.

In Their Own Story

The 1984–85 season began with a Merseyside derby in the FA Charity Shield at Wembley, which Everton won 1–0 due to an own goal by Bruce Grobbelaar. The first league clash came on 20 October 1984, when a 0–1 win for Everton at Anfield saw them show title-challenging signs. In the 1985–86 season, Liverpool and Everton competed for both the league title and the FA Cup. The climax came at Wembley on 10 May 1986 for the first all-Merseyside FA Cup final. An early goal by Gary Lineker suggested Everton could gain revenge, but a double from Ian Rush and another from Craig Johnston made Liverpool only the fifth English club to complete the double. In the 1988–89 season, after the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989, Everton were Liverpool's first opponents in a competitive game, a league fixture on 3 May ending in a goalless draw. On 20 May, they met again at Wembley for the second all-Merseyside FA Cup final in four seasons. The match went into extra time before Liverpool triumphed 3–2, with Ian Rush (twice) and John Aldridge scoring for Liverpool and both of Everton's goals coming from Stuart McCall.

Reader's Guide

Everton Football Club were founded in 1878 and from 1884 played their home matches at Anfield, which was owned by club chairman John Houlding. Several board members of Everton were members of the Liberal Party, who were associated with the National Temperance Federation, whilst Houlding was a Conservative Party member and a brewer whose business interests were diametrically opposed to the temperance movement. Politics and disputes over money meant that Houlding was increasingly at odds with other members of the Everton board. Friction arose between the retention of an autocratic ownership structure versus the creation of a more democratic one which closely mapped the sociopolitical divide. The result was that the Everton directors vacated Anfield in 1892 and purchased a new ground at Goodison Park on the other side of Stanley Park. Houlding responded by creating a new club, Liverpool Football Club, to use Anfield. During the 1960s, Liverpool and Everton were regular winners of domestic trophies, but while Liverpool went from strength to strength in the 1970s and 1980s, Everton went through a relatively barren spell after their 1970 title triumph and did not win a major trophy for the next 14 years. The 1980s saw intense competition, including multiple FA Cup finals and league battles. The 1988–89 season saw the first league fixture after the Hillsborough disaster, a goalless draw on 3 May 1989. The 1990s began with a notable FA Cup fifth round replay in 1991.

Did You Know?

• The Merseyside derby is the longest running top-flight derby in England.
• The 1984 Football League Cup final was nicknamed the 'friendly final' due to mixed sections of supporters.
• Everton now play their home matches at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Vauxhall, while Liverpool play at Anfield.
• The derby has seen more red cards than any other Premier League game since the league's creation.