Sunday, March 30 2008 at Anfield sees the 177^th epic league encounter between Liverpool FC and Everton FC. The Merseyside Derby has traditionally been called ‘The Friendly Derby’ because of the large number of families in the city of Liverpool who have both Reds and Blues supporters in them. With so many families and friends supporting both clubs, many Evertonians and Liverpudlians sit together at the ground during the derby.

Painful Childhood Memories

My own experience of growing up as a Liverpool supporter in the city made me realise that maybe the aura that surrounds ‘The Derby’ isn’t always as friendly as it’s made out to be. Certainly, you never see the type of violence between Everton and Liverpool fans that you might witness at other derby games in the UK. But there is a strain in relations between friends and families at any time of the year.

It doesn’t matter whether the next derby game is around the corner or not. Life would be made miserable for me and my brother for weeks after a derby defeat by Everton. Even a loss against any other club in a major game was an opportunity for Evertonian ‘friends’ to gloat for weeks on end. Being Liverpool supporters, these were fortunately rare moments but still painful enough to bring back unpleasant memories.

A Family Affair

The way close families can be split depending on their footballing loyalties is probably the most unique element of the Liverpool versus Everton phenomenon. One of my earliest memories is getting woken up at 5am on a cold Sunday morning to be dragged off by an Everton-mad grandfather to go and watch the 1966 Everton FA Cup winning team tour the city of Liverpool in an open-top bus. Even his fervent support of the Blues and his fantastic tales of the Everton goal-scoring machine, the great Dixie Dean, couldn’t stop my brother and me from becoming Liverpool supporters.

Now the tables have turned! My brother somehow managed to marry an Evertonian, (more of that later!), and in the process acquired a whole new set of Everton-supporting family members. When his daughter was born in 1996, we were determined she wouldn’t succumb to the dark forces of the ‘blue noses’ (local slang for Evertonians). And so began a long-term strategy of making sure she supported Liverpool – baby Liverpool kits for her every Christmas and cute teddy bears dressed in Liverpool kits for every birthday.

The Moment of Truth

And, finally the moment of truth – my niece’s first live Liverpool game at Anfield. Resplendent in her new, replica Liverpool home kit, my five-year-old niece sat entranced as the teams came onto the pitch. The atmosphere couldn’t have been better. The stadium was full to capacity for a pre-season friendly game against Lazio from Italy.

Unfortunately, the plan backfired! She somehow failed to be seduced by the wizardry of El-Hadji Diouf and the silky passing skills of Bruno Cheyrou, who were possibly two of the worst players in living memory to have played for Liverpool FC. Less than two weeks later my niece had transferred her loyalties to Goodison Park (Everton’s stadium) leaving me devastated and my brother unsuccessfully trying to off-load five baby-sized Liverpool kits.

Trouble and Strife

Even my brother’s courting of his girlfriend (and wife to be), was marred by the Liverpool and Everton rivalry. She was keen to impress her Evertonian father by telling him about her new boyfriend’s fabulous job. My brother’s prospective father-in-law’s only response was “I don’t care how big his salary is, but is he a blue nose?” And so the stage was set for 20 years of football related family strife. It started early!

About two weeks after meeting his wife, my brother was invited to her parents’ house for Sunday lunch followed by the screening of the 1987 Littlewoods Challenge Cup final between Liverpool and Arsenal. Sadly, Liverpool were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal. However, my brother left the house 25 minutes before the end of the match due his future father-in-law’s unconfined joy at Liverpool losing. It was about six weeks before my brother would speak to him again.

But I think it’s still true that the Merseyside Derby is essentially a ‘friendly derby’ – even though relationships with friends and family can suffer at times!

- Gary Bostock

Sources

Wikipedia - Football League Cup (retrieved 10 March, 2008)
Liverpool FC Home page (retrieved 10 March, 2008)
BBC Sport (retrieved 10 March, 2008)
Wikipedia – Merseyside Derby (retrieved 10 March, 2008)

What do you think?

Who will finish in 4^th place in the English Premier League this season; Everton, Liverpool or another team?