40 years since unique event the city will never see happen again
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Today marks 40 years since the joint parade between Liverpool and Everton when Merseyside put up a united frontThrough modern eyes, what happened 40 years ago today seems like one of the most peculiar occasions in English football. Everton and Liverpool were undoubtedly the two best teams of the 1980s and regularly vied for top honours, in addition to bragging rights in the city.This was none more evident than on May 10, 1986 when the Reds took on the Blues at Wembley in the FA Cup final.
It was just that big." Liverpool triumphed in the game at Wembley 3 - 1 after the Reds fought back from a goal down to clinch the FA Cup - and seal an historic double.Although May 10 represented a final between the two best teams of the time, the day after saw something much more unusual. In the context of Margaret Thatcher's Britain, Liverpool felt like a city cast aside amid soaring unemployment, with government papers having since revealed senior Tory ministers at the time lobbied for Liverpool to be abandoned to a fate of "managed decline".But, even as the city was looked down upon, there was nobody better at the nation's game than Merseyside, serving as a reminded to the rest of the UK that our region would never be going anywhere quietly.To modern eyes, the joint parade seems bizarre, but looking back on live broadcasts from the time, it was then deemed quite normal.
A Grandstand report alluded towards the historic significance as the two teams landed back in Liverpool on a British Airways plane on this day 40 years ago.The footage is available to watch on YouTube as the broadcaster said: "A unique arrival home that unites this city which has suffered so many trials and tribulations in recent times."Clive has similar memories as he was on the media bus covering the parade when he worked for Radio City. Social media has made football fandom so divisive and tribal and you could never imagine two rivals being able to co-exist harmoniously on a joint parade.However, the harmony was brought about through real social upheaval, the likes of which we hope never befalls Merseyside again.As the Grandstand broadcaster ended the new broadcast, he said: "A footballing city united in its pride.