Well, it’s about as good as instant replay in US sports. Serie A has it, and they usually manage to be maddeningly inconsistent. Mainly with when they decide to use it or not.
My man. AW on penalty: “It’s a farcical decision, people come here to watch football and it’s spoilt by factors we can not master.”
Will be in attendance at the Everton/Liverpool FA Cup match this evening. Between Salah and Courinho being out, and Big Sam no doubt prepared to park every bus in the city, I’ve got hopes that maybe we can eek out a 0-0 draw and get back to Goodison for the replay.
Most definitely. Second Merdeyside Derby I’ve been to. First time at Anfield. Should be great with the massive added away allotment for FA Cup matches.
Great time at the game last night, even if it was a disappointing result. I’ve been a part of some pretty crazy environments at UT games through the years, but the Everton section in the aftermath of Sigurdsson’s equalizer probably tops anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s easy to see why the UK banned the terraces and went to all seater stadiums, because even in my seat nearly 30 rows up, you could instantly feel the surge from behind as masses of people tried to rush down the aisles and over seats to get closer to the pitch. Also, it was hilarious for the rest of the game, watching people down in front of us singing and triumphantly holding up the pieces of seat backs that were broken off during the celebration. Also, an element to the Merseyside Derby that you might not pick up on without actually being there in person is the Everton fans resentment of what a huge percentage of Liverpool fans aren’t actually from the city. The sportsmanship police that got so bent out of shape when UT students started a “F*** you Bama” chant would have really been upset during the 5-10 minutes prior to the PK in the first half when the WHOLE Everton section was rocking “Show us, show us your iPads, you f*cking tourist c*nts”. As a non-Liverpudlian myself, the irony of me finding it so funny isn’t lost in me, but it was great nonetheless.
Awesome. A Darby is definitely on my bucket list. How did you get your tickets? Also, if you’ve explained before, forgive me, why Everton? In my experience Arsenal locals were curious why I was there and seemed to genuinely appreciate the effort I made to be there (which really wasn’t hard). We’re looking at Europe again this fall, maybe during the holiday season, but I’m half tempted to do just the UK and catch a few matches at some other grounds too.
Got my tickets through Everton USA. Depending on the game, it’s a good way to go. They’re marked up a bit, understandably, but for away games, that’s the only way to really get them legally. For home games, all my EUSA tickets save for one game have been pretty lousy seats. Everton have an license with StubHub for their home games, so if all I need is one ticket, that really the better way to go. Usually less expensive, and actually get to chose your seat location. As for why Everton, there’s no one real reason. I’d watched for years, but never really settled on one specific team. The year NBC first got the EPL and I was able to watch all the teams, and not just the bandwagon ones, also happened to be Martinez first year as manager, Ross Barkley was just breaking through, and they had Lukaku on loan. They were far and away the most fun team to watch that fall. As it’s turned out, they fit perfectly with my other two teams I have an interest in (Vols and Indiana Pacers) because they’re just good enough to occasionally get my hopes up, but have enough built in challenges that it’s likely I’ll never see them win anything.
Also Dooz, my experience has been 100% positive with Everton fans. Like you, they are always welcoming, and often astonished I’ve come so far to support the team. They just seem to give Liverpool fans shit because in recent years the perception has become that it’s just a tourist club, particularly for Norwegians (for some reason).
Torino and Juventus have a similar deal. Most people who live in Turin are Torino fans. Juve fans come from all over the country. Haven’t been to a Turin derby but having been to Juve for a match I sort of got the vibe that it was a pilgrimage of sorts for a lot of people.
