Merseyside derby

Merseyside derby

Merseyside derby, March 25, 2006
Other names	The friendly Derby
Locale	Liverpool
Teams	Everton Liverpool
First meeting	13 October 1894 1894–95 First Division Everton 3–0 Liverpool
Latest meeting	19 December 2016 Premier League Everton 0–1 Liverpool
Next meeting	1 April 2017 Premier League Liverpool v Everton
Stadiums	Anfield (Liverpool) Goodison Park (Everton)
Statistics
Meetings total	227
Most wins	Liverpool (90)
Most player appearances	Neville Southall (41)
Top scorer	Ian Rush (25)
All-time series	Everton: 66 Drawn: 71 Liverpool: 90
Largest victory	Liverpool 6–0 Everton (1935)

The Merseyside derby is the name given to football matches between Everton and Liverpool, two major clubs from Liverpool, in the metropolitan county of Merseyside in England. It is the longest running top-flight derby in England, having been played at that level since the 1962–63 season. Part of the rivalry is due to the proximity of the two clubs, whose home grounds are within eyesight of each other across Stanley Park, Everton at Goodison Park and Liverpool at Anfield. The match has been called the Merseyside derby since at least 1955.

Traditionally, the Merseyside derby was referred to as The friendly derby because of the large number of families with both Liverpool and Everton supporters and it was one of the few local derbies that did not enforce total fan segregation. The 1984 Football League Cup Final at Wembley saw almost all sections of the ground mixed and combined chants of "Merseyside, Merseyside" and "Are you watching Manchester?" Since the mid-1980s, however, the rivalry has intensified on and off the field, and since the inception of the Premier League, the Merseyside derby has had more red cards than any other game and has been referred to as "The most ill-disciplined and explosive fixture in the Premier League."

Everton F.C. 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. The result was that in 1892 the Everton directors vacated Anfield and purchased a new ground at Goodison Park on the other side of Stanley Park. Houlding responded by founding a new club to use Anfield: Liverpool.