GREAT DERBIES OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL

There are many famous derbies in English soccer, from the Premier League to the lower divisions. The most famous derbies are normally judged by the size of the clubs themselves, their heritage, and how long they have been rivals. The most famous three English soccer derbies are probably the two North West derbies of Liverpool versus Everton, Manchester United versus Manchester City, and London giants Arsenal versus Tottenham Hotspur. The 'derby' part of 'local derby' means a sporting content, believed to have been derived from the British horse race, The Derby.

Local derbies are games between teams normally situated less than 30 miles from each other, though there are some notable exceptions, including rivalries such as Leeds United (Yorkshire) versus Manchester United (Lancashire), which isn't a local derby in the truest sense of the word, but more of a inter-county rivalry, and Liverpool verses Manchester United is a regional North West derby. Everton and Manchester City, however, remain their natural rivals, respectively.

Soccer derbies are normally frantic, closely fought affairs, and it's rare for any derby to be a feast of subtle football, as both teams are desperate not to lose face in front of their anxious fans, who, if their team does lose, will have to endure banter for months, maybe, from fans of the opposition, who could include their family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, and classmates.

Other big English soccer derbies include the West Midlands encounters between Aston Villa and Birmingham City, and West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The fiercest East Midlands local derby is Nottingham Forest and Derby County, and, in the North East, Newcastle United against Sunderland is the biggest derby. On the south coast, Portsmouth against Southampton stirs the blood.

An important soccer derby doesn't have to be a game between two big city clubs, as Lancashire town rivals Burnley and Blackburn Rovers have a derby of such intensity it matches pretty much any other derby in English football. Sheffield clubs Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United may not be in the top flight of English football at the moment, but it is Yorkshire's biggest soccer derby.

Supporters of every club love derby matches, and although they pretend to hate their rivals (and may show glee at their foes relegation), when the fixture list comes out for the following season, and there's no local derby to look forward to, supporters may silently think: "Wish you were here."

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