My First Derby

My first derby in 91-92, super MoJo made it 1-1. Some red in the Gwladys Street end kept saying ‘Take the piss L'pool' I think he left when Keown's header nearly won it for us, Houghton headed off the line.

The 0-3 derby was our only home defeat in 1969/70. The fact that Match of the Day chose the game for a rare visit to Goodison made it seem worse. Fortunately we followed it up with three vital 1-0 wins at West Ham and at home to Derby and Manchester City just before Christmas. Those wins kept the team ticking over in what might otherwise have been a disastrous month with us losing at Leeds on Boxing Day.

Our revenge at Anfield on a rainy Saturday 21st March 1970 was very sweet. Of all the 129 derbies I have attended that is the one to which I would most like to travel back in a Time Machine.

Anyway,, for about nearly all game some cretin standing next to me give Darracot a torrid time, it was "Fuck you" this, "Darracot, fuck you" that… This went on and on with no one but me paying any attention.

Long to short, just as I was about to leave, I think it was a terrible 0-0 draw, I tapped this fella on the shoulder and he gave me a terrible look and said "What?" quite aggressively.

I said, "Do you know that player you've been giving loads to all game?"

He said, "Yeah what about it?"

I said, "That's David Jones." The look on his face was priceless.

The moral of this story: take no notice of Liverpudlians, they're all thick.

Then Howard Kendall scored from the semi-circle only for Jimmy Husband to be ruled offside even though he was out on the right wing.

Under the rules then, it was offside but in these enlightened days, it would most certainly be given. Oh, I forgot – if Clattenberg had been around, he would have over-ruled VAR for his own pet team!

Although I am probably more distant than I've ever been regarding Everton, it's dates I've been looking at and this game occurred two days before I entered into what has mostly been a beautifully fantastic life!

I'm getting a little bit nostalgic regarding dates because it's coming to 50 years since I first went into and was absolutely mesmerized by the beauty of Goodison Park. Altrincham in the FA Cup (the cup has always been incredibly special for me) on 4 January 1975 (courtesy of Siri!) was the day I first saw the green grass, the massive goals, and the sheer joy of watching Everton play.

I wish I felt like this now but, looking back, I have started thinking about the Andy King derby, because that was the day I realized how special Evertonians can make Goodison Park feel.

Let's get this takeover done, let's change direction (2 miles across County Road, Stanley Road, Melrose Road, and Great Howard Street!). But before we do, please give us Evertonians something to celebrate because, as I keep saying, The Old Lady deserves to go out with a bang!

We drew at Goodison and it was mobbed! Absolutely chocker.
Great atmosphere. I seem to remember they equalised in “Fergie” time.

We went on to win the league! What a season and what a team. Still my favourite team.

But one game, the Andy King derby, I can remember I was there, drove home to Southport and my wife said, "Let's go to Blackpool lights" so I agreed, so long as we were back for MotD, which we were.

I remember the interview on the pitch and the Police Sergeant dragging them off the pitch.

I've got the programme from that game up in the loft, but I was just a bit too young for that game. Either my dad or elder brother must have gone to it.

As I kid, I used to devour old programmes, and I remember reading that the crowd for that game was 73,000, but oddly enough that massive figure was beaten a bit earlier in the sixties when we played Burnley and got 74,000.

My first was 1966 at Goodison, when a certain Mr Ball had a rather good game.

A bit different from my second one at Maine Road a few weeks later!

The Pickford derby.

Yet despite the ugly ending of that game, my memories are overwhelmingly positive. A wonderful pregame beer-fest. The staggering generosity of Tony Abrahams and his Red friend in getting tickets for me and Tony's dad, and Dave's lovely company throughout the evening. The surprising friendliness of the RS fans around us -- at least until they started flooding out around minute 70, unnerved by Everton's fierce performance and the unwillingness to watch their side lose. By the time that ball went in, Dave and I were sitting in a largely empty section.

And then a mad postgame scramble for me to make my train to Heathrow for my morning flight home, with Dave trotting with me all the way to make sure I got where I needed to go. (I did miss my train in London but got very lucky with a stranger's Uber at 2am.)

I hope and expect to see a derby at BMD sometime, but it'll never top that first one.

(Except maybe for some better goalkeeping.)

My next derby was at Anfield in 1949 or 1950, Peter Farrell playing as an inside-forward opened the scoring in the first minute and I enjoyed cheering that goal in Anfield's Boys Pen.

It was the last time I cheered that night: Liverpool won 3-1. The game was a night game on Christmas Eve if my memory is correct – what a bleedin' way to start celebrating Christmas!