Goodison Park, Liverpool

Living in the shadow of another is never easy; just ask Prince Charles the heir to the British Monarchy. In football, Manchester City live in the shadow of the all powerful Manchester United, whilst 1860 Munich have always been regarded as the 'lesser partner' to Bayern Munich. Having said that Everton have enjoyed far more success as a club than either Manchester City or 1860 Munich. League championships in the 1960's and 1980's are also complimented with FA Cup wins and the 1985 European Cup Winners Cup.

Liverpool as a city gets a hard time, all too readily stereotyped and dismissed as crime ridden and rough edged.  As a city it is often the object of many jokes, much of it from people who have never really visited. Humorous and not so humorous stereotypes range from Yosser Hughes and his aggressive yet hopeless refrains of 'Gissa Job'.  The iconic image he portrayed of old working-class communities being destroyed in Thatcherite Britain were seminal 1980's TV at its best. The humorous stems from Harry Enfield's moustached clad Scouser creations of 'calm down, calm down' fame.

Just as Yosser made numerous attempts to re-establish his identity and sense of self-worth in the classic Boys from the Blackstuff so Liverpool the city has emerged from a backdrop of perceived urban squalor to be named, in 2008, the European Capital of Culture. Whilst Liverpool itself has emerged from decay to be the thriving urban centre it is today, the city's two football clubs have not had to suffer as many self-esteem problems.

Liverpool's track record of domestic and European success from the 1960's onwards is amongst the best of any football club worldwide. As a club they are right up with Bayern Munich, Ajax, AC Milan and Real Madrid. Seven Champions Cup finals with five wins are complimented with three UEFA cups and a host of domestic trophies. Surprisingly, for a club so successful they have not won the league title since 1990 as rivals Manchester United have re-emerged to a period of domestic dominance. Everton's most recent heyday was the aforementioned successes of the mid 1980's when players such as Gray, Sharp, Sheedy and Southall were amongst the best players in the United Kingdom. Title successes in 1985 and 1987 was meant to have seen the club match Liverpool and win the European Cup but the tragedy of Heysel in 1985 and the subsequent banning of all English clubs from European football put paid to any hope Everton had of winning the trophy.

In the 1980's the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton was often regarded as the 'friendly derby'. As the Manchester, Glasgow and north east derbies often spilled into on and off-field violence between fans and players, the Liverpool version would see blue and red sit side by side in various areas of the ground. Come the mid 1990's the friendly derby was no more and hatred of Liverpool ensued from Everton fans. Terrace banter got replaced by vindictive and abusive chants whilst player ribbing got lost in a haze of scandal, player allegations and rumour.   The reasons behind the split in relations between the clubs is hard to pinpoint exactly but possibly more came as a result of an accumulation of issues intertwined with the changing face of footballer personalities.   For some, the split came as a result of the Heysel disaster and the loss this enforced on Everton in terms of losing the chance to compete for the European Cup twice. Liverpool fans have accused the blue half of nasty chants about the Hillsborough disaster as well as disrespecting various minute silences for passing Liverpool players. Whilst it would be wrong to dismiss any cordial relations that exist between the two ,Everton fans are generally accepted to now hate Liverpool.  For Liverpool fans though the real hated rivals in England are Manchester United and perhaps that rankles with Everton supporters.

Matchday

Travelling via York, Carlisle fans start to appear as the train gets to Leeds. With a travelling support of 6,000 expected at Goodison Park it is the biggest game Carlisle have had for a number of years. Now residing in comfortably in League One of the English divisional system not so long ago the club were in the English Conference after a number of years literally haunting the bottom of the league pile. Since then it has been onwards and upwards although for now the Championship could just be one step too far.

The train from York passes through Leeds, Huddersfield, Stalybridge and Manchester. The closer we get to Merseyside so the snow drifts away to be replaced by drizzle and rain. At last at 12.10 the train arrives at Liverpool Lime Street railway station. Unsurprisingly we are met by the welcoming party of Liverpool police eager to spot whom is and isn't a Carlisle visitor. Curiously just outside the station the first fan I spot is a Liverpool fan complete with red and white scarf. Its unusual as Liverpool are not at home today; the club are away at Reading with a 5.15pm kick off.

Passing through a winding retail district with rows of pedestrianised walkways and familiar high street shops the first stop off point is O'Neills on Hanover Street where Football Focus is on minus the sound. Carlisle fans are spotted in groups of two and three all wearing colours, which the door staff do not seem to mind. Many cities will see bars having 'No club colours allowed' messages in the front door but here in Liverpool it seems to be a welcome to all.

A short detour down to the hotel nearby Albert Docks to drop off the suitcase packed for the weekend, and its back to the city centre past the Liverpool One retail development for the walk to Liverpool Central station. Mersey rail run a local transportation system to Kirkdale where after its a walk to Goodison Park.  Not a lot of people know that Merseyrail is the name given to the extensive electric commuter rail network centred on Liverpool in the metropolitan county of Merseyside in England. The system has 67 stations spread across 75 miles of track, and runs underground and overground, carrying over 100,000 passengers each day. The network is one of the most heavily used railway systems in the United Kingdom, outside of London.   Today though its a chance to get the famous Soccer Bus which leaves from outside Sandhills railway station for Goodison Park. The trip costs £1.50 return and the supply of double decker buses seems to be unlimited. Fans jump off the Merseyrail trains and are packed off into the soccer bus and onto Goodison. The same system operates on Liverpool match days.

From Sandhills on the Soccer Bus its about 6 minutes to the ground, dropping fans off just outside the Everton club shop across from the Dixie Deans statue. As you step off the bus its football-ville as fans of both teams mill around drinking cans of lager and eating chips with a fork via a paper tray. An Everton scarf has been draped around the neck of the Dixie Deans statue and fans take turns to picture themselves nearby. Programme sellers seem to be selling match programmes at £3 a go like cream cakes  off the shelf in a bakery shop and almost everywhere is Nil Satis Nisi Optimum or Nothing Bet the Best the club motto. Like a all powerful marketing sound-bite the statement hangs from the main stand, bus stops and the club shop inescapable to the visitors eye.

Nearby turnstile queues, senior policemen stand organising fans entering the stadium. They carry by their side a large wooden stick or truncheon; the sort of thing people pay to get struck by in the sado-masochist areas of Amsterdam but used here by police to arrange and express authority. Around the corner fans by the visitors access points are queuing to collect pre-booked tickets, and another policemen with a big stick barks orders at fans. The queue moves fast though and there appears no banter whatsoever between both sets of fans. The police and steward presence is massive at various strategic points particularly around the visitors section. The Stone Island clad brigade are virtually non existent and it all replica shirts but still far too few scarf's.

Around the ground at the home traditional Gwladys End the rows of turnstiles sit crammed in by a church and rows of houses. It feels like an allay-way that you would park your car in or like something out of the opening credits of Coronation Street. Inside its feels traditional and old fashioned and as you walk out to your seat, in this case row E, the view is almost at pitch level and its easy to hear shouts of both goalkeepers and players.

Everton kick off nervy and lacking coherent passages of play. Against this Carlisle United look seriously up for making the best of the day and serve to put together a range of passing moves characterised by energy and endeavour. The massed ranks of Carlisle fans meanwhile are very audible and in front of them are a selection of St.George flags emblazoned with CUFC. Everton fans though are not getting behind the team and instead are only on players backs.

Results for the Toffeemen have been bad of recent times with defeats in both the Europa League and the Premiership. The club sit just off the relegation zone and there are discipline problems as well with Brazilian striker Jo recently suspended by manager David Moyes. The club are also heavily burdened with injuries to key players such as Phil Jagielka and Mickel Arteta. This has seen an already threadbare squad rely heavily on a number of younger players such as Jack Rodwell and new wonder-kid Seamus Coleman. Instead of famous names such as Louis Saha and Yakubu on the bench the names are virtually unrecognisable. Shkodran Mustafi and Jose Baxter are promising up coming players but in the unforgiving world of the Premiership, these players are an indication of the lack of depth and experience in the Everton squad when key players are injured.

Some twenty minutes in and Everton go one in front. A short back pass sees James Vaughan latch on to the loose ball and take it round goalkeeper Colin and roll it into the back of the net. Not 10 minutes later and Adam Clayton scores an equalizer and sprints off to celebrate on front of the Carlisle fans. After this its almost all Carlisle with the Cumbrians playing all the good football. With the pressure from the stands increasing on the home side, skipper Danny Livesey's shot smashed back off the crossbar following a flowing move.

Then just as it seemed there was only going to be one winner Australian international Tim Cahill fired in a low shot and Leighton Baines, who was criticised more than any other player, converted a late penalty as Everton struggled through as they had last year against Macclesfield. As Carlisle United players trooped off the field at the end of the game, almost all the Everton fans stood to applaud the Cumbrians off the field. The visiting fans had gotten more than the entrance fee in value for money and came very close to knocking Everton out.

Everton now go on to play either Nottingham Forest or Birmingham City at home in the next round and they will have to perform much better to even consider progressing. With a Europa League last 32 tie against Sporting Lisbon coming up also, the club face a succession of tricky games as the season enters crucial periods.

With the match over it was onto the Soccer Bus once more and back to Sandhills station. Liverpool were on live on ITV1 back in Liverpool city centre  at 5.15pm and my viewing of match two on Merseyside, this time on television and with accompanying Magners, could commence in the heat and warmth of a Liverpool pub.