Forget Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal... football’s kings of England remain Liverpool and Everton as Gerrard and co lead the way
Sir Alex Ferguson might have knocked Liverpool off their perch, but the wider population of Merseyside still has something to chirp about.That’s because, in the ever shrinking world of favourable statistics, the two teams that will contest the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Saturday retain the edge when top-flight titles are apportioned by city.
The records show that the Merseyside side clubs have won the title 27 times between them in the 125 years of the Football League, versus the 23 achieved by their friends in Manchester.
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That breaks down to nine for Everton and 18 for Liverpool, albeit nothing for either side since Liverpool won the First Division in 1989-90.
The title in 1990 was the beginning of the end of one of the most remarkable periods of dominance in the sport’s history, with Liverpool having won an astonishing 10 First Division titles in the 15 seasons from 1975-76 to 1989-90.
In that post-Bill Shankly period, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish occupied the managerial position and each ruled the British game, with six, one and three league titles respectively.
Cup runneth: Kenny Dalglish (centre), Alan Hansen (left) and Graeme Souness (right) won the Milk Cup in 1984
Knock out: Everton players celebrate beating Manchester United 1-0 in the 1994-95 FA Cup final
For good measure, Paisley also won the European Cup and League Cup three times each, as well as the UEFA Cup, while Fagan added a European Cup and a League Cup and Dalglish won a couple of League Cups.
Everton even chipped in with two titles of their own in the Eighties, also storming to an FA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup win under Howard Kendall. But that was then.
Since Everton last won the title in 1987, they have not managed better than fourth in the league - a period of 11 managerial changes at Goodison Park.
Golden run: Liverpool Manager Bob Paisley
claimed six First Division Championships, three League Cups, six FA
Charity Shields, three European Cups, one UEFA Cup and one UEFA Super
Cup in nine years at the helm
Liverpool, meanwhile, have made nine changes of manager since their 18th and most recent title and achieved only three second-place finishes.
And therein lies the Ferguson era. Manchester United and City have, since the Eighties, reduced massively the deficit in the league, winning 14 titles between them in the intervening period and holding 23 overall.
Perhaps that bracket is a little flattering on City, whose 2012 title is one of only three they have won.
London is third in the geographical table with 19 wins split between Arsenal (13), Chelsea (four) and Tottenham (two).
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Intriguingly, if such details are your thing, the Manchester and Liverpool have each supplied the division’s runner up 19 times - Manchester United 15, Manchester City four, Liverpool 12, Everton seven.
And a crude north-south divide at Leicester shows northern sides have significantly outperformed their southern rivals. Indeed, 15 clubs north of Leicester have won the First Division or Premier League a combined 81 times compared to 33 wins across eight clubs in the south.
That’s something for Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez to live up to this weekend. Clutching at straws? Maybe. Trivial? Certainly.
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