[lfc-news] Counting down to the big derby: Part 2 - Echo

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Liverpool Echo, 7 Dec 2004

ON Saturday, Everton and Liverpool will contest the 200th Merseyside derby
match.

It is the most played domestic dust-up in England - it was also the first -
and to celebrate the landmark tonight we kick-off a special Echo build-up
to the big match.

Every night this week we will bring you some of the stories and highlights
which have made the Mersey derby the most celebrated local rivalry in the
country.

The men who bossed city

THE Merseyside derby has always taken a tremendous toll on managers.

Kenny Dalglish quit after one frenzied eight-goal set-to, while Mike Walker
never really enjoyed the confidence of Evertonians again after he lost his
only derby at Anfield, then blithely claimed he had "enjoyed" the atmosphere.

Joe Royle got his managerial stint off to the greatest start imaginable
with an unexpected derby triumph - and did not lose one for his whole reign
- while Bill Shankly had to wait five years to even sample one (al-though
Liverpool Senior Floodlit Cup ties did give fans a short-term fix) and six
years to win one.

But who was the most successful derby match manager of all-time?

Statistically, Liverpool's Don Welsh boasted a perfect record.

With Everton in Division Two between 1951 and 1954, then Liverpool swapping
places when Everton were promoted, derbies were rare occurrences.

But the two clubs were drawn in the FA Cup fourth round on January 29, 1955
- and Second Division Liverpool scored a stunning 4-0 win at Goodison Park.

It was Welsh's only derby, giving him an impeccable record.

Blues' boss Joe Royle, though, also boasted an unbeaten record against the
old enemy - and managed the feat over five successive derbies.

His first match in charge produced a remarkable upset, with Everton bottom
of the Premiership and Liverpool riding high in third. He took Liverpool by
surprise at Anfield the following season, using two wingers, Anders Limpar
and Andrei Kanchelskis, and celebrated a 2-1 success. Then was party to
three draws, with only an 87th-minute Robbie Fowler leveller denying him
victory in another.

The most impressive run of results was racked up by David Ashworth, a
former referee who was in charge at Anfield between the wars.

He won five out of eight derbies, including a 3-0 win at Goodison Park in
1920 and a 5-1 mauling at Anfield two years later.

When Everton finally reversed the trend in October 1923, Ashworth had moved
on to Oldham.

Almost as impressive was Gerard Houllier's record.

Excluding a goalless draw at Goodison when he and Roy Evans were in joint
charge, and an Anfield draw when Phil Thompson had stepped into the breach
during his hospitalisation, he took charge of 10 derby matches, winning six
- including four in a row at Goodison - and losing just one.

Bob Paisley took charge of a mammoth 21 derby matches - losing just two -
but perhaps even more impressive were Kenny Dalglish's achievements a
decade later.

He was in charge when Everton and Liverpool were the leading powers in the
land. Like Paisley, he also held the reins for 21 matches, and won one more.

So who was the best derby manager? Liverpudlians cannot look further than
Ashworth's inter-war achievements, while Evertonians can crown Royle as
their only unbeaten boss.

But who is to say David Moyes and Rafael Benitez won't have something to
say about that in the years ahead?


Merseyside winner from first derby final

AFTER 90 years of trying, Everton and Liverpool finally met in a major cup
final at Wembley Stadium.

And when the Milk Cup final of 1984 broke the floodgates, two more FA Cup
final appearances in the next five years seemed to strengthen claims that
the sides had deliberately been kept apart in the past!

For many years, Mersey fans had craved a Scouse Cup final.

But every time the sides made it through to the last four of the FA Cup,
they drew each other - leading many fans to cry "Fix!"

Everton overcame Liverpool on their way to winning the Cup in 1906, while
Liverpool exacted full revenge in 1950, 1971 and 1977.

When the two sides were finally drawn apart in a semi-final, in 1980, both
failed to negotiate the penultimate hurdle - an all-Mersey Cup final being
replaced by an all-London version.

Four years later an all-Mersey Cup final finally became a reality.

Everton disposed of Aston Villa in a two-legged Milk Cup semi-final, while
Liverpool saw off Walsall.

The goalless draw contained plenty of incident, Alan Hansen smuggling a
goalbound Adrian Heath shot off the line with his hand, unseen by referee
Alan Robinson, and Ian Rush uncharacteristically scooping over the bar from
five yards.

But it was off the pitch where the real story lay.

With both the Football League and the London police nervously anticipating
a Mersey invasion, both sets of supporters produced a stirring advert for
the city.

"Merseyside, Merseyside!" rang around the famous old stadium, the two teams
posed, shoulder to shoulder, at the end of a goalless draw, the police
reported a marvellous atmosphere and no arrests - and if the answer to the
question 'Who was the best team on Merseyside?' proved inconclusive, the
rest of the country had to admit that the nation's best fans were from
Merseyside.

Liverpool won the replay four days later at Maine Road, Manchester.

But after 90 years of waiting, Everton and Liverpool proved the
relationship between their fans was a unique one.


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