To be engaged in a ‘local derby’ football match, there needs to be a degree of equivalence. When Manchester City play Manchester United, this happens. Even though it’s a battle between ‘the big team’ now, against the ‘bit team’ then. When Arsenal play Spurs, it’s the same. Ok, Arsenal have over the last… few years, been ‘the better team’, but they haven’t won much. And we now have. But there’s an equivalence. Not necessarily a moral one, as Arsenal count both Jeremy Corbyn and Kier Starmer among their ‘faithful’. There’s Fulham and Brentford in West London but no-one really cares about either of them. And then you get West Ham and Leyton Orient. Even though West Ham are really really terrible, Orient are so lowly as they don’t meet the equivalence criteria that purists like me demand. Obviously, they hardly ever play each other so it’s a bit of an irrelevant rivalry. Until West Ham simply yield to the inevitable and drop a couple of divisions.

And so to Liverpool against Everton. There is no equivalence. Liverpool have masses of past and very present glory. They have trophies galore. They have superstars. Everton have a new stadium. And… errrr…

Liverpool beat Everton yesterday. Wasn’t pretty, wasn’t ‘convincing’ but that is of no concern to Liverpool whatsoever. They just keep winning. One way or another, they get it done. And Everton… they didn’t.

Spurs went to Brighton and did the most un-Spursy thing ever. They came from 2 goals behind to draw. Apparently we should have won. But coming from behind is never easy. My favourite statistic of the weekend is that if Everton trail at Anfield, they haven’t come back to win since 1923. 102 years. So no pressure when they conceded yesterday then.

Spurs lie a totally deserved 2nd in the table. Arsenal host Manchester City later today. What we at Spurs call ‘an easy 3 points’ but I understand that our ‘local rivals’ may struggle and hence fail to overtake us. Bournemouth can overtake us too so we’re hoping big things from regular-disappointments Newcastle. Possibly praying.

Happy Sunday

A xxxx