Sunday Open Thread: Manchester + London Derbies

To get you in the mood for the early game, here's Madchester circa 1989....



Your comments go below. Have at it, boys and girls!

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The Merseyside Derby Open Thread

The Red and Blue Scouse face off in the Merseyside Derby, and the Liverpudlians at UF are nervous about their chances today. How will things go when the Reds and Toffees get it on? Join us below the jump for an open thread and match commentary (by you).


Liverpool start with:
Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Hyypia, Aurelio, Gerrard, Alonso, Riera, Kuyt, Torres, Keane.
Subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Benayoun, Arbeloa, Babel, Mascherano, Lucas.


Everton start with:
Howard, Hibbert, Lescott, Jagielka, Baines, Osman, Arteta, Neville, Pienaar, Cahill, Anichebe.
Subs: Nash, Van der Meyde, Castillo, Rodwell, Jutkiewicz, Gosling, Kissock.
Sadly, the afro puff of Fellaini will be missing today as he is under suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.


Your match today will be incompetently reffed by Howard Webb.

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Who is the Fairest Derby of Them All?

The football derby (pronounced "darby" by those crazy Brits) is alternatively a source of great pride or great shame, depending on the tendencies of your club in said matches. However, regardless of which one of those particular emotions your team evokes, the derby is almost always a source of anger, confrontation, and shenanigans. After all, what is more fun than verbally abusing and physically beating the supporters of your rival club? With those thoughts in mind, an industrious South African sports reporter has delineated the Top 50 "World's Greatest Soccer Derbies" and the results are...interesting. There isn't enough time (or willpower) to dissect the entire list, but let's identify some of the more egregious decisions, shall we?


1. The first EPL derby mentioned is...Liverpool v. Manchester United? Umm, that's not an actual derby. The argument that "silverware is at stake" when these 2 clubs meet is also not entirely accurate, as Liverpool have not won the League in almost 2 decades and the last time they finished as high as 2nd was in 2001-2002 (sorry boys!)

2. The only other EPL derby listed is Arsenal-Tottenham (an actual derby! Yay!), which comes in at #42 on the list. This is behind such notable derbies as Rapid Wien v. Austria Wien, Raja Casablanca v. Wydad Casablanca, ALK Sotckholm v. Djurgardens, Kaizer Chiefs v. Orlando Pirates, Pirouzi v. Esteghlal, and Al Ahly v. Zamalek. Umm, who with the what, now?

3. The vaunted(?) Marseille v. Paris Saint-Germain derby comes in at #11. Again, not an actual derby, and the explanation makes almost no mention of PSG other than to note that they were formed in 1970 (which is not entirely accurate, since "Stade Saint-Germain" first played as a club in 1904).

4. Many of the derbies (real or otherwise) mentioned on the list are simply put there due to their average attendance. Apparently, Mohun Bagan v. East Bengal draws a crowd of 120,000 to Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta, India, while Pirouzi v. Esteghlal play in Tehran, Iran in front of 90,000.

5. No mention of MLS' "Superclasico" of Chivas USA v. LA Galaxy? (alright, that one's forgiveable)

I found some of the derbies interesting, and it was nice to get a little background on clubs playing footy where 99% of us will never see a league match (in person or on TV), but the list overall seemed a little haphazard. Are we discussing interesting matchups or actual derbies in the accepted sense of the word? Are we trying to highlight one important match from every country (within reason), or are we haphazardly selecting whatever strikes our fancy?


Anyway, some suggestions for derbies (actual ones) that should have been highlighted:

1. Lyon v. Saint-Etienne - Separated by only 30 miles, this is a true derby and features the top 2 clubs, historically, in Ligue 1. Lyon has won 7 titles (all in a row), while Saint-Etienne has won 10 (mostly in the 1960s-1970s, and with a stint in Ligue 2 for brief periods in the 1980s and 1990s)

2. Liverpool v. Everton - The blue and red Scouse stare at each other across the park for the entire season, and twice a year (at least) they come together in nightmarish fashion. The only benefit of this match is that since both clubs are still in town, their players rarely have their homes robbed

3. Hearts v. Hibernian - The Edinburgh derby has all of the Old Firm derby panache with relatively little of the religious angst of Celtic v. Rangers.

4. Juventus v. Torino - This is class warfare, plain and simple. You could spend a month in certain parts of Torino and never know that a team besides Juventus played there. But stroll down the side-paths and less-travelled roads in the city and it is the smaller club that is preferred.


What do you all think of the original list? What about my suggestions? Any suggestions of your own?

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