London derbies

The term London Derbies refers to the various football local derbies between the teams in London, England. It specifically refers to individual matches between the teams, but can also be used to describe the general ongoing rivalry between the clubs and fans.

Teams in London

For 2007-08 there are thirteen clubs in the FA Premier League and Football League that play in the Greater London area. Dagenham & Redbridge are newcomers to the League (the first since Barnet in 1991), thus they still need to be tested against the other two teams in their division.

Major London derbies

Some of the most heated rivalries are between clubs that are geographically close together, including:

* North London derby – between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. A rivalry has existed since Arsenal's move to the Highbury area of North London in 1913, and especially since Arsenal's promotion to the First Division in 1919.
* West London derby – between Chelsea, Fulham and QPR. Since the 1960s QPR developed a heated rivalry with Chelsea but one not reciprocated by Chelsea fans. However, following relegation from the top flight in 1996, QPR have not been able to rekindle to the rivalry. Although Fulham and Chelsea have not often played head-to-head due to Fulham's lower division status in the 1970s and 1980s, since Fulham's promotion to the Premier League in 2001 a rivalry between the two has resumed.
* East London derby – between Millwall and West Ham United; there have been relatively few encounters in recent years, as West Ham more seasons than not have been in a higher division than Millwall. The last meeting between the two teams was in April 2005, with the game finishing 1-1 at Upton Park in the Football League Championship.
* South London derby – between Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace. In addition, both clubs (but Palace especially) had a rivalry with Wimbledon before the latter's move to Milton Keynes in 2001.

Other London derbies

More generally, any match between two London sides - particularly those that have regularly competed in the same division of football together for any length of time - can be described as a "London derby". An example is the Arsenal and Chelsea footballing rivalry, which has been focusing on Premier League and European achievements. Other rivalries focus on promotion, such as Leyton vs. Millwall in League One or Barnet vs. Brentford in League Two.

Trivia

*Arsenal's David O'Leary has played in more North London derbies than any other player.
*Tottenham did not beat Arsenal between November 7, 1999, when Spurs won 2-1 at White Hart Lane, and 22 January 2008, when Spurs won 5-1 at White Hart Lane in the League Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg.
*Chelsea held a 16-year unbeaten streak against Tottenham in 32 league matches from October 2, 1990 until November 5, 2006, first time since the Premiership began in 1992. However Spurs beat Chelsea 5-1 in the second leg of the League Cup semi final on January 23, 2002 at White Hart Lane after losing the first leg 2-1 at Stamford Bridge two weeks earlier.
*Arsenal held a 19 match unbeaten streak against Chelsea in league matches from December 16,1995 until August 21,2005.
*Tottenham are unbeaten in their last seven games against West Ham at White Hart Lane
*Teddy Sheringham and Ian Wright have both played for three London Teams. Sheringham for Millwall, Tottenham, and West Ham while Ian Wright previously played for Crystal Palace, Arsenal and West Ham.
*Neil 'Razor' Ruddock has played for a total of five different London sides - Millwall, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace.
*Clive Allen has played for a total of seven different London sides - Queens Park Rangers, Arsenal F.C., Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, West Ham and Millwall

External links

* [http://home.skysports.com/column.aspx?hlid=426453&lid=opta_analysis&title=Capital+Gains?+Opta+Analysis&channel= All-time Premiership London derby league table] from Sky Sports