London is a place of many tribes. For centuries, one of the richest and most advanced cities in the world has drawn people in from across the globe. It can sometimes feel like a collection of small towns, each with its own local character and pride.
In this context, it’s not surprising that London boasts more football teams than any other city in the world, with a whopping fourteen professional clubs. Such an abundance means that local pride is frequently put on the line: in the Premier League this season, the seven clubs in the capital will duke it out in 42 London derbies.
So which of these games is the most important? Which has seen the most bad blood over the years, and which two fanbases simply cannot stand each other?
We’ve taken a look at the top five London rivalries below.
5 - Crystal Palace v Charlton
Despite having only met once competitively in the last ten years, deep antipathy simmers between Addicks and Eagles. It all stems from the late 1980s and a controversial ground-sharing arrangement.
Strapped for cash, Charlton had been forced to move out of their ground and become temporary tenants at Selhurst Park. Once they had moved in, however, the ruthless Palace chairman Ron Noades exploited Charlton’s desperate situation by raising his prices, pushing them to the edge of bankruptcy and fomenting a genuine hatred among Addicks supporters. Palace fans, meanwhile, argue their neighbours should be grateful for the favour in their hour of need.
Charlton eventually recovered but the bad feeling between the sides has never gone away. Having re-built The Valley, Charlton gained sweet revenge on the final day of the 2004/05 season, when a late Jon Fortune equaliser snatched a draw that relegated Palace from the Premier League. The home fans’ exuberant celebrations at full-time have not been forgotten at Palace nearly two decades on.
4 - Everyone in West London v Chelsea
We’re cheating a little bit here, but the truth is that Fulham, Brentford and QPR fans simply cannot muster the same animosity for each other as they can for their vastly more successful neighbours. Ask any Bee, Cottager or Super Hoop which team they want to beat more than anyone and you will probably be told that it’s Chelsea all day long.
The Blues’ modest history – just one First Division title, one FA Cup and one League Cup before the 1990s – was flipped on its’ head when oligarch Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003, ushering in an era of lavish spending and trophies by the boatload.
This success, and Chelsea’s general image as obnoxious nouveau riche upstarts, has brought widespread resentment across the country. So imagine how it feels to be their next door neighbours? Proximity to one of the least popular clubs in the land breeds a special kind of hatred that all three of their closest rivals feel acutely.
3 - Chelsea v Tottenham
Last weekend, Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte shared a post-match handshake so tense that it almost brought them to blows. Such are the feelings that Chelsea vs Tottenham games inspire. It’s easy to see why; this is a derby with a long history.
Dominance of the fixture has fluctuated. In the 60s and 70s, Tottenham were the superior force, as games between the two were often marred by hooliganism. Spurs won the 1967 FA Cup Final, the first ever between two London sides, but the violent scenes outside Wembley shocked the nation. One late-season Spurs victory in 1975 that all but consigned Chelsea to relegation saw fighting in the crowd that spilled onto the pitch.
In modern times though, Chelsea have been far superior: Tottenham have won just 6 of the last 33 meetings between the sides, going back to 2010. Such one-sidedness can be the death of a rivalry, although anyone who thought the spitefulness had peaked with the infamous Battle of Stamford Bridge in 2016 need only look at that Conte/Tuchel square-up.
With the teams set to be in close competition for honours this season, one wonders just how bad-tempered things could get.
2 - Tottenham v Arsenal
One of the most famous fixtures in the world, the North London derby has got everything. Two clubs of similar stature, a history of controversy, and - most importantly - two fanbases who absolutely despise each other.
Gooners point to their two title-clinching results at White Hart Lane (1971 and 2004) as evidence of their superiority, while Spurs respond with their famous 1991 FA Cup semi-final triumph. Or, perhaps, last season’s 3-0 mauling at White Hart Lane, a huge leap for Spurs in overhauling the Gunners to reach the Champions League.
And then there was Lasagne-gate.
On the last day of 2005-06, Tottenham travelled to West Ham needing only to match Arsenal’s result against Wigan Athletic to clinch a place in the Champions League at their rivals’ expense. Unfortunately for Spurs, their pre-match pasta at the team hotel caused an outbreak of food poisoning, understandably leading to a below-par performance and a 2-1 defeat. Their rotten luck was compounded by Thierry Henry rattling in a hattrick in the last-ever game at Highbury as the Gunners won 4-2, consigning Tottenham to the UEFA Cup.
Conspiracy theories abound to this day in the greasy spoons of Haringey.
1 - West Ham v Millwall
One of the most brutal, violent rivalries in the country and the only one on this list to have a film made about it, Hammers v ‘Wall is our clear winner.
Right from the very beginning, things were personal between these two. Set up in the late 19th century by separate groups of workers in London’s docklands, the clubs’ traditional fanbases represented rival companies vying for business with each other.
Violence during matches was reported as early as 1906, and has never really let up since. West Ham and Millwall ‘firms’ were at the forefront of English football hooliganism in the 1970s, with regular fighting taking place even outside matchdays. One fight on a train in 1976 led to a Millwall supporter being thrown under a train and killed, and a decade later, a 19-year-old West Ham fan was stabbed to death in a tube station.
Though their differing fortunes mean they have rarely played in recent times, whenever they have there has been serious trouble. The rivalry even got the Hollywood treatment in 2005 with Green Street, Elijah Wood cast as a tourist who falls in with a violent West Ham firm.
With Millwall stuck in the Championship and the Hammers looking unlikely to get relegated any time soon, these two are reliant on the cups for the chance to reignite the war that has endured over a hundred years. Whenever they are next drawn together, it may be a good day to avoid East London.
