Liverpool vs Man United has nothing to do with the Old Firm derby or Birmingham vs Aston Villa – and Spurs vs Chelsea bigger than the Arsenal game
Liverpool and Manchester United are far from the biggest rivalry in Britain – not even in England.
That’s according to talkSPORT host and former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor, who ranks the Old Firm derby as the biggest and deadliest, while counting one near home as the fiercest.
“The biggest derby is Rangers v Celtic,” he told talkSPORT. “It’s on my bucket list to go see. When you watch it on TV, you can feel the adrenaline rush watching the game.
“You can feel the atmosphere from the fans, you can see the two teams don’t like each other. It’s a big, big derby. Britain’s biggest by a mile, for me.
“Some of the others…Manchester United v Manchester City – not really for me.
“Manchester United / Liverpool – yes there is a rivalry but the players are shaking hands these days.”
No one can deny the rivalry between Rangers and Celtic, which is deeply embedded in Scottish football culture.
As the two biggest teams in the country with huge fanbases, the pair often fight over the league and the cups, while they cannot be separated.
Having faced each other 433 times, Rangers have 168 wins, Celtic are on 163 and 102 games between them have ended in a draw.
And it should come as no surprise that Villa fan Agbonlahor claims the Birmingham derby is England’s greatest game.
“There is a real hatred between the two fans,” he explained.
“We always knew we would beat Birmingham City and we knew how much that meant to the fans.
“Even if you’ve had four or five bad games, you’re going to beat Birmingham City in the Premier League and it’s a bit like being forgiven for their poor performance.
“Massive, massive derby. It’s very hot. You see the incident with Jack Grealish (attacked by a fan), you don’t really see that in English football. It just shows the hatred between the two clubs.
Other fiery derbies played on these shores include the North London derby of Arsenal and Tottenham, the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton and, bizarrely, the M63 derby between Crystal Palace and Brighton.
“Brighton-Crystal Palace?” Isn’t there about 100 miles between them? When I see them, I don’t understand that,” Agbonlahor added.
“I feel like Everton Liverpool, you see Everton fans in the same way as Liverpool fans. That would never happen between Birmingham City and Aston Villa.
But not one of them was ranked in Agbonlahor’s top 5.
Ranked: Gabby’s five biggest rivalries in Britain
1. Rangers v Celtic (Old Firm derby)
“I think (the Old Firm derby) is my No. 1 watching it as a kid. The era of Henrik Larrson (at Celtic) and Brian Laudrup (at Rangers).
“There are obviously other things that I won’t go into about this game that make it more aggressive.”
2. Aston Villa v Birmingham City (Second City derby)
“People might say ‘oh that’s because he’s from Birmingham’ but when I look at these other derbies and hear about them they don’t compare to Birmingham/Villa.
“I played there, you feel that adrenaline, you feel that atmosphere.
“You’re in the match coach and you get rocks and rocks thrown at you and the players were hiding under the tables.”
3. Liverpool v Manchester United (North West Derby)
“I will probably go Manchester United against Liverpool for number three because of their history.
“Liverpool winning so many leagues with United taking over, a similar number of league titles.”
4. West Ham v Millwall (Dockers Derby)
“I will go with West Ham/Millwall for number four.
“It’s a big derby, Millwall are famous for having that fanbase, the businesses. West Ham aren’t soft either.
5. Chelsea v Tottenham (London Derby)
“Finally, I would say Spurs / Chelsea then. Not Spurs/Arsenal.
“The reason for that is that, for me, the North London derby doesn’t feel as important to me anymore.
“Spurs vs Chelsea looks bigger because of the bridge battle. But the players will keep shaking hands.”
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