Merseyside vs Manchester – Who Is Bigger Of The Two?

This week the Premier League will bring us one of the biggest rivalries in the history of the game as Liverpool visit the Old Trafford to take on their bitter rivals Manchester United. Also on the same day, the blue half of the Merseyside will go up against the blue half of Manchester as Everton will face Manchester City.

Ahead of these two crucial clashes, we analyze which of the two English powerhouses are bigger in the world of football. Are the Merseyside clubs better than their Manchester counterparts?

We take a look at the average league positions of all the four teams over the last fifty years, the number of titles and honours that they have won, their average attendances and the current global support that each team garners, to decide who comes up trumps.

League Positions

Manchester United and Liverpool are the most successful clubs in England by a great margin, having already won 20 and 18 league titles respectively. But Liverpool have failed to win a title in the Premier League era, while all the 9 titles that Everton have won came before 1986/87.

On the other hand, Manchester City have won two of their four English top-flight titles in the last four years and have been contesting United on every front. However, it also remains a fact that between the seasons of 1964/65 and 1992/93, the Citizens spent six seasons in the second division. They also had a pretty rough period in the late 90’s and the early 2000’s, as they saw relegation three more times in 1995/96, 1998/99 and 2000/01 campaigns.

According to the Sky Sports Ultimate League – as listed above, that ranks clubs by their average league position over a span of 50 years, Liverpool are the most successful club in the English football with an average position of 3.46, whereas Manchester United, who have won 13 league titles since 1992/93 average a fifth position finish over the past 50 years. Everton are better off than City in these rankings averaging a position of 8.98 compared to the Citizens’ 13.62.

When you combine the averages, Team Merseyside end up with an average position of 6.22 compared to Team Manchester’s 9.31. So, it is advantage Merseyside with respect to league positions.

Team Manchester 0 – 1 Team Merseyside

Attendance

Now we take a look at the average attendance for each of the four clubs across 50 years. Let’s see who reigns supreme here.

According to the numbers from worldfootball.net, United have attracted an average crowd of 55,350 since 1967/68 in the Old Trafford whereas their neighbours City stand at 36,127. In Merseyside, Liverpool have had an average attendance of 41,403 over the previous five decades, while Everton have had 33, 011 people on an average in the Goodison Park.

That means, the Mancunians have managed to level things, winning the battle of the attendances over the Merseysiders.

Team Manchester 1 – 1 Team Merseyside

Trophies and Honours

In terms of trophies won, Manchester United and Liverpool are miles ahead, having filled their cabinet with 64 and 60 trophies respectively. United have won more domestic titles than Liverpool, but the Merseysiders have an upper hand in Europe having won five continental cups compared to United’s three.

Everton comes on top against City on comparing the clubs’ all-time honours. The Toffees have a trophy haul of 24, that includes 9 league triumphs and 5 FA Cups, compared to the Sky Blues’ 18 that is inclusive of the 4 league titles, 5 FA Cups and 4 League Cups.

On adding up, Team Merseyside edge past Team Manchester narrowly, with a total of 84 trophies compared to their rivals’ 82 and hence regain their advantage.

Team Manchester 1 – 2 Team Merseyside

Global Support

So, it all comes down to the aspect of Global Support. Can the two areas be separated? Or will they share the spoils? The decider is here.

And with a whopping 128.1 million supporters across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter combined, Team Manchester have managed to equalise again in our contest.

According to sports index company Brandtrix, Manchester United’s official social media accounts have 97.4 million followers, whereas City have 30.7 million. The Merseyside outfits pale in comparison, though, with Liverpool enjoying a 39.9 million- strong following while Everton have a meagre 4.2 million, meaning a combined total of 44.1 million.

United’s star men Zlatan Ibrahimović and Wayne Rooney have more followers, standing at 52.5 million and 48.7 million respectively and are the top two most followed players among the four clubs. Sergio Aguero, with 28.2 million, is the highest followed City player while Daniel Sturridge tops the two Merseyside teams with 8 million followers.

Final Verdict

Team Manchester 2 – 2 Team Merseyside

So, it ends up all square in our showdown between the Manchester and the Merseyside clubs in terms of league positions, attendance, honours and global support. However, who will claim the bragging rights in the upcoming round of fixtures? We won’t have to wait long to find out.

 

Note – All Stats are taken from Sky Sports.