DERBIES

I am no student of Scottish football, but I do from time to time check the table of the Scottish Premiership and have this season been rooting for Hearts, who currently occupy first place, if only because of a desire to see the historic hegemony of Celtic and Rangers broken for once. Hearts? I know so little about them, which prompted some research on my part. Heart of Midlothian is their correct name. They are the oldest club in Edinburgh, formed in 1874, named after the novel by Walter Scott, The Heart of Midlothian, written in 1818. Midlothian, incidentally, is a historic county bordering the city of Edinburgh. They play in maroon shirts but originally, their colours were red, white and blue hoops representing their strong Protestant/Unionist affiliations. 

There is another Edinburgh-based club, Hibs, more correctly known as Hibernian FC. If you understand that the name Hibernian is taken from the Latin for Ireland, Hibernia, you will gather that the club has strong Irish-Catholic roots. It was formed by Father Edward Hanaan, a Catholic priest, in 1875, to provide recreation for Irish immigrants to the city. Naturally they play in green and the Celtic harp is their crest. The club became closely associated with the Irish Home Rule movement in the 1880s and religious rivalry with the Protestant club on the other side of the city persists to this day. And here’s another fact that I was unaware of; the derby between the two clubs predates that between the two better known Scottish clubs, Celtic and Rangers.

Sectarianism lies at the heart of the bitter rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. Almost laughably, the origin of the traditional name for this derby, The Old Firm, dates from 1888 when a friendly between the two clubs was billed as a match between “two old, firm friends”! Friendship between the two sets of supporters has never featured in any of their clashes. Celtic was founded by Brother Walfrid, a Marist Brother, in 1887 to alleviate poverty among the Catholic immigrants in Glasgow’s East End. They play in green hoops, and their fans display the Irish tricolour in the stands. Rangers, formed in 1872, became the team of the Scottish Protestant working class; they play in blue, white and red and wave the Union flag or the Ulster banner. For over a century, Celtic signed only Catholics and Rangers only Protestants, a tradition that was finally broken in 1989, when Mo Johnson became the first high-profile Catholic player to sign for Rangers. Nowadays, no such embargo at either club exists on signing players of different religious convictions but on the terraces, the same bitter, bigoted sectarianism still flourishes.

Derby. Why are matches between historic rivals known as a ‘derby’? The Derby of course refers to the annual horse race held at Epsom, started by the Earl of Derby in 1780. The origin of the word ‘derby’, a contest between neighbouring clubs, is less clear. One theory is that its first usage referred to intense ‘mob’ football matches that took place in the city of Derby, which often forced the lord mayor to read out the Riot Act and bring in the local constabulary, so violent did the games become. The first recorded use of the term ‘derby’ was by The Daily Express in 1914, referring to a match between Liverpool and Everton because the two stadiums were separated by Stanley Park, land owned by the Earl of Derby. Anyway, whatever its origins, the word has now slipped into common parlance to describe matches between nearest and bitterest rivals.

Of course, most derbies are local, their rivalry owing to the proximity between the two teams: Manchester Derby (City and United, first called Ardwick FC and Newton Heath FC respectively), Merseyside Derby (Liverpool and Everton). Tyne-Wear Derby (Newcastle and Sunderland), North London Derby (Arsenal and Spurs), West Midlands Derby (Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion), Steel City Derby (Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday) … and others less famous. One derby that is of more historical interest than mere geography – though the two clubs do reside on the South Coast – is between Southampton and Portsmouth. Southampton has always been a commercial merchant port and Portsmouth a military base for the Royal Navy, and therein lay the antagonism, commercial prosperity set against military pride. In the General Strike of 1926, the Southampton dockers were called out but their counterparts at Portsmouth were unable, or unwilling, to join them. Portsmouth was a naval port and together with members of the Armed Forces forbidden to go on strike. Portsmouth fans then called Southampton fans ‘scummers’ (Southampton City Union Men - allegedly) and the Southampton fans responded by calling their Portsmouth counterparts ‘skates’, a crude, naval-based insult for sailors. Charming! So why are Southampton called ‘Saints’ when they appear to be anything but? Southampton FC was founded in 1885 by members of St Mary’s Church of England Young Men’s Association, and their ground is called St Mary’s Stadium. Portsmouth get their nickname ‘Pompey’ from the practice of entering Portsmouth Point in naval shipping logs, abbreviated to Po’m P.

Southampton FC won the FA Cup in 1976. Manager Lawrie McMenemy. Mickey Channon, middle row, five from left. Peter Osgood, back row, four from left.

Portsmouth FC won the FA Cup in 1939. Captain Jimmy Guthrie hoisted aloft with the old trophy.

The oldest derby in English football is between Notts County and Nottingham Forest, first played in 1866. They are also the closest to each other of any clubs in English football, situated 300 yards apart, separated by the River Trent. Trent Bridge cricket ground is only a six hit away too. Notts County are the oldest professional football team in the world, formed in 1862. Nottingham Forest, who played their initial home games at the Forest Recreational Ground in the city, are the third oldest, formed in 1865. Notts County became one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888, with their neighbours Forest following them three years later. Traditionally, County drew their early support from middle-to-upper class figures, such as bankers and solicitors; Forest have always been firmly working class. Forest play in red, known as Garibaldi Red, to honour the Italian general, revolutionary and republican, Giuseppe Garibaldi, who fought for the Unification of Italy, which came about in 1861, and whose followers were known as the Redshirts. Apparently, this charismatic and radical figure appealed to the young men who formed the club and to this day, fans call themselves the Garibaldis or the Garibaldi Reds. Notts County drew on a far less warlike figure as their inspiration – a magpie. Their colours are black and white stripes, the bird is featured in their badge, and they call themselves the Magpies. Though early battles between the two clubs could become a bit feisty, the animosity has largely died down now. How can you have a fight with a club you never play? The fortunes of the two clubs have diverged widely since the 1950s; rarely since then have they featured in the same division. The last meeting between the two was in the 1993-94 season. Forest won 1-0 at home; County won the return fixture 2-1.

County bottom, Forest top, Trent Bridge on the right.

One final thought about local derbies. At university I shared digs with two Liverpudlians. One was a passionate Liverpool supporter; the other rabidly followed Everton. At 5.00pm on certain Saturday afternoons during the football season, they would nearly come to blows. The froideur would persist long into the evening until we would drag them out for a conciliatory beer in the Students Union Bar.