Tonight’s Everton v Liverpool Merseyside Derby is going to be a cracker! FUBAR looks back on 7 of the most memorable tackles, fights and moments from recent years.
1. Francis Jeffers vs. Sander Westerveld & Gerrard Sees Red
This memorable game from 1999 had three red cards with two resulting from a punch-up between Francis Jeffers and Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld and Liverpool, having used all their substitutes, were forced to play the remainder of the match with defender Steve Staunton in goal. Substitute Steven Gerrard then cleaned out an Everton midfielder and was also sent off and Everton won 1-0.
2. Fowler snorting the line
After scoring a penalty in this 3-2 win for Liverpool, striker Robbie Fowler responded to rumours about his alleged drug-taking by appearing to snort the white line on the edge of the penalty area. He was given a 6-match ban by the FA.
3. Everton 4-4 Liverpool forces Kenny to resign
Everton came from behind four times to draw this FA Cup 5th Round Replay with Kenny Dalgish’s Liverpool in what turned about the be the straw that broke the camel’s back for Kenny as he resigned the next day citing stress.
4. Suarez dive
Everton manager David Moyes criticised Luis Suarez in the lead up to this derby in 2012 for diving, saying strikers like Suarez were putting people off football. However, actions speak louder than words and when Suarez opened the scoring in this 2-2 draw he ran straight over to Moyes and dived in front of him. Phil Neville was actually booked for diving later in the match.
5. Clattenburg’s Derby
And speaking of Phil Neville, he was a player at the centre of attention in a 2007 meeting between the two sides that later became known as Mark ‘Clattenburg’s Derby’ after his horror-show. Neville blatantly handled on the line and the decision to send him off was one of the few times Clattenburg was actually correct in the match. He sent off Tony Hibbert after Gerrard seemingly told him to, and denied Everton a blatant late penalty.
6. Don Hutchinson’s ‘goal’
This unusually boring derby in 2000 had a dramatic climax when Graham Poll disallowed a late Don Hutchinson goal claiming he had already blown the final whistle but no-one had heard it. This is of course the same man who gave a Croatian player three yellow cards at the 2006 World Cup before remembering to actually send him off.
7. Sandy Brown’s own-goal
This legendary own-goal from 1969 firmly cemented Brown’s place in the history of this fixture. Fuck-knows what he was thinking.
