By Oliver Smith on January 26, 2014
Almost thirty years after Liverpool and Everton dominated English football, Oliver Smith looks back at the decade of Mersey dominance and asks whether the neighbours’ impressive form this season is the first sign that Merseyside will soon have a greater impact on the footballing landscape.
Few cities are more fanatical about football than Liverpool. The beautiful game is intrinsic to its identity and runs right through the fabric of the city. Often the first topic of discussion in workplaces, school playgrounds and living rooms, the passionate debates that regularly take place between Reds and Blues are tempered by a mutual respect, engendered in no small part by the unity and solidarity shown in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster, that truly distinguishes the Merseyside derby as the ‘friendly derby’.
In the Premier League era, however, the city of Liverpool has been overshadowed by the city of Manchester and the country’s capital, London. During the 22 years of its existence, the Premier League trophy has only been located in a trophy cabinet outside of one of these two cities once; in 1994/1995, when big-spending Blackburn Rovers bought themselves temporary success, only to finish seventh a season later before suffering the indignity of a nineteenth place finish and relegation to what was then more straight-forwardly known as the First Division in 1998/1999.
continue reading here : http://www.thisisanfield.com/2014/01/re-birth-merseyside/
All About Anfield 