To most supporters the rivalry stems from both clubs being the most successful in English history and the ongoing pursuit to collect trophies as a sign of one-upmanship. However, the rivalry actually precedes the formation of the two clubs and is a lot more deep rooted.

Economic Rivalry

In the early 1800′s Manchester was a rapidly expanding industrial area with numerous manufacturing and textile mills sprouting up all over the place. Much of the raw materials for these enterprises had to be imported from the USA with the ships docking in Liverpool which was 35 miles away.

The system worked fine until Liverpool decided to hike up taxes imposed on the Mancunian traders imported materials. The response from Manchester was clever and calculated. Manchester went about the construction of an artificial canal adjacent to Liverpool’s which would allow the ships to arrive directly in Manchester. As a consequence many Liverpudlian dockers lost their jobs which further stoked the fires.

Modern Day Rivalry

Nowadays the rivalry has moved from an economic one to one on the football pitch with a constant shift in power between the two rivals. During the 1950′s Man Utd were the dominant force managed by the legendary Sir Matt Busby and were the first club to win the European Cup in 1968. The following two decades were all Liverpool’s however with them winning four league titles and two European Cups in the 1970′s lead by manager Bob Paisley. In the 1980′s two more European Cups followed along with other trophies. Despite this Manchester United’s fanbase always remined strong and Liverpool found that despite their on-field achievements their more glamorous neighbours frequently stole the headlines.

The introduction of the Premier League brought along Manchester Uniteds’ current dominance over Liverpool. Before the Premier League Man Utd trailed Liverpool’s League Titles tally by 11 (Liverpool had 18 titles to Man Utd’s 7). When the legendary incoming Man Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson arrived in 1986 he stated his greatest challenge would be in “knocking Liverpool right off their f***ing perch!” It could be said that he has succeeded in his initial aim and more!

Under Ferguson’s leadership the team finally drew level with Liverpool’s League Title tally last season winning an incredible 11 titles over the past 17 seasons with the last three seasons yielding consecutive titles. Liverpool have now gone 19 years without winning a League Title – a fact that Mancunians love reminding Liverpudlians about while wearing their Man Utd shirts with pride! The insecurity of Liverpool supporters losing their tag as Britain’s most successful club and their lack of recent silverware has further heightened the intensity of the two clubs rivalries. This rivalry will intensify further should United win a fourth consecutive League Title this season (2009-2010) and leaping ahead of their rivals tally. You can just imagine the smug smile on Sir Alex Ferguson’s face and the new flags and chants the supporters will invariably make up to further ridicule their fiercest enemy. With many months left before the end of the season it promises to be an enthralling one this year.

For those that have never experienced a live football match it truly is an electric atmosphere and an experience not to be missed. It’s important to buy tickets through a reputable company.

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The Early Years

1902 – Club is on the verge of bankruptcy with debts totalling £2500. Things took a turn for the worse when bailiffs closed the stadium. The teams saviour was JH Davies who was the MD of the local Manchester Breweries. If only he could see today how well his investment has turned out!

1908 – Man Utd win their first league title and follow it up with their first charity shield trophy.

1909 – United win their first (of many!) FA Cup trophy.

1910 – Man Utd move into Old Trafford (aka The Theatre of Dreams). Their first game is against local rivals Liverpool.

1914 – The 1^st World War means competitive football is put on hold until 1919.

For the next few decades Uniteds performances mean they are constantly struggling to remain in the 1^st Division with relegation following on a number of occasions.

The Busby Years (1945 – 1969)
 

The appointment of Matt Busby as Man Utds new manager in 1945 heralded one of the most successful periods in the clubs history.

1948 – United win their 2^nd FA Cup after somewhat of a barren spell.

1952 – Another league title. Busby adopts his notorious policy of bringing in youth players into the first team. As is to be expected there was a transitionary period due to this but more silverware was to follow!

1956 – Another league title for Busby. The youth policy is starting to pay dividends and this was typified by the fact that the average age of the title winning team in this year was only 22. The young players were affectionately known as “The Busby Babes”.

1957 – The third league title for Busby. They become the first English team to compete in the European Cup and make it all the way to the semi-finals eventually getting knocked out by Real Madrid.

1958 – The darkest year in Manchester Uniteds’ history by far. On route back from a European Cup match the plane carrying the team crashed on take-off in Munich. The crash claimed the lives of 8 players – Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, Liam Whelan and the jewel in Uniteds crown, Duncan Edwards who died in hospital a fortnight after the crash.

What followed inevitably was a rebuilding process. With established stars like Bobby Charlton and Denis Law in the side Busby continued to implement his youth policy. Undoubtedly the most promising young talent that broke through the ranks was a young lad from Belfast named George Best.

1963 – United win the FA Cup.

1965 – Busby guides his team to another league title.

1967 – Another league title.

1968 – The pinnacle of The Busby Babes achievements resulted in United winning the European Cup for the first time. United beat Benfica 4-1 with Best cementing his place as a world-class talent on the biggest stage with 2 goals in the final. The win also marked the 10^th anniversary of the Munich Disaster.

1969 – Sir Matt Busby retires.

Busbys retirement brought a period of instability with 3 bosses taking charge before United won their next trophy.

1977 – United win the FA Cup under the guidance of Tommy Docherty.

1983 – United win the FA Cup under the guidance of Ron Atkinson with a comprehensive 4-0 victory against Brighton.

1985 – Another FA Cup victory this time beating Everton 1-0

1985 – United win their first ten league matches and by October are 10 points ahead of their rivals. Unfortunately a run of bad results meant they didn’t win another title and the following year Atkinson was fired as a consequence.

The Legend Arrives

1986 – Alex Ferguson is appointed the new manager. Ferguson took a few years to settle in and rumours abound that he was on the verge of getting sacked in 1990 for a lack of silverware (thank God that never happened!).

1990 – Fergusons first trophy was the FA Cup with his side beating Crystal Palace 1-0

1992 – Ferguson makes probably one of his most astute buys poaching Eric Cantona from Leeds for a paltry £1.2m. The arrival of Cantona (and Schmeichel the previous year) means the wait is over! United win their first title for 26 years.

1994 – Win the Premiership title and FA Cup.

1996 – The previous seasons relative failure results in Ferguson selling established stars Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis with the intention of bringing in a batch of promising youth players. After losing their first league match the TV pundit Alan Hansen famously remarked that United would “never win anything with kids!” They went on to become the first team to win the Premiership and FA Cup twice (aka The Double Double)

1997 – Another Premiership title but Eric Cantona decides to retire from football at the age of 30. Many pundits claimed this would halt United run of trophies with Cantonas arrival in 1992 sparking the teams lust for silverware aided by his abundance of talent.

1999 – The clubs most successful year culminated with an unprecendented Treble – Premiership title, FA Cup and an amazing European Cup victory with United clutching victory from the jaws of defeat.

2000 – Premier league title number 6 was acquired this year

2001 – To be followed by another title! 3 in a row.

2003 – Premiership title no.8

2004 – Win the FA Cup beating Millwall.

2005 – Malcolm Glazer launches a takeover of the club.

2006 – Carling Cup victory followed this year.

2007 – Lead by the precocious talent of Cristiano Ronaldo United win yet another title (losing count now!)

2008 – Yet another double. This time Premiership title no. 10 and beating Chelsea on penalties in the Champions League final. Viva John Terry!

2009 – United win their 11^th title and the Carling Cup alongside the World Club Championship. Uniteds latest title takes them level with Liverpool on 18 helping Ferguson achieve his initial aim upon taking over to “knock Liverpool off their f***ing perch!”. Ronaldo leaves for Real Madrid for a world-record £80m.

2010 – More trophies to follow!