“Skippy” settles the Derby as the Reds close in on top spot

Well, the October sun was shining and I was drawn, once more, to beautiful Ironbridge on the banks of the River Severn.......

Welcome, to Volume 5 of my Liverpool Football Club "The Retro Series".

"Welcome to the 126th playing of a league Merseyside Derby between the home team Blues of Everton and their neighbours in Red from less than a mile away in the football mad city of Liverpool, and in front of a heaving, swaying and baying crowd of 51,847. Even four decades ago it was stereotypically a given for the TV commentator (Martin Tyler, and the very same commentator who’ll be covering today’s Premier League clash between Arsenal and Liverpool) to confirm this fierce local “derby” split families down the middle but what’s wondrous here (apart from the win for my favoured heroes in Red, obviously!) is the intense atmosphere created by a mainly standing terraced crowd and in amongst this throbbing mass of footballing humanity sanity prevailed, with Reds and Blues standing amongst each other and side by side and, a personal sporting love of mine, moments captured of a goal being scored by the opposition and the sporadic leaps for joy amongst the “home” sections of the crowd. This was brilliantly (and pleasingly) demonstrated on three separate occasions here as the Reds took all three points away from their nearest neighbours in Blue but it arguably shouldn’t have been the case. Everton were by far the better and more cohesive team on the day but Liverpool far more clinical in front of goal.

More of which shortly.

With the Reds of Liverpool closing the gap at the top of the English 1st Division to just 4 points behind pacesetters Southampton as well as having 4 games in hand on the team from the south coast, they were “short priced favourites for the League Championship” and, as was de rigueur four decades ago, largely unchanged from their incredible team of the early 1980’s with only Craig “Skippy” Johnston notable for his inclusion and his first ever taste of a Merseyside “Derby”. The home team Blues of Everton on the other hand gave derby debuts to six: Neville Southall in goal, Brian Borrows in defence, the brilliantly skilful winger Alan Irvine and future Arsenal star Kevin Richardson in midfield as well as both strikers, Adrian Heath and Graeme Sharp, who would go on to play in many more of these fixtures in the coming seasons as huge crowd favourites here at Goodison Park".

The above opening paragraphs are taken from my original article entitled "Skippy settles the Derby as Reds close in on top spot" which was penned and published to my Medium blog site on 9th October 2022 and which can be read in full and for free (please also consider subscribing for free too!) via my Substack blog site and original article linked immediately below:

https://ramblingmusings666.substack.com/p/skippy-settles-the-derby-as-the-reds-close-in-on-top-spot-1d71992971ae

Although not contained within my self-published book "Chasing The Impossible and a Sword of Damocles" and the book on Liverpool Football Club I've always wanted to write, I'll link it below as it's my best and most accomplished book to date and that's saying something considering its three mates in my literary stable! If you can support me in any way to thumb the eye of the traditional publishers who refused to read my original manuscript I'd be most appreciative:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6W6TYCL

https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.paypal.me/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/steveblackford

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Thank you,
Stephen