'Old Farm' derby second biggest rivalry

Sarah Brealey

Arsenal v Tottenham or Manchester United v Liverpool may grab the headlines.

But when it comes to football rivalry, the fans are not fit to hold a candle to the followers of Norwich City and Ipswich Town.

The so-called “Old Farm” derby is the focus for the second biggest - and second most bitter - rivalry in English football.

According to a survey of fans, only West Bromwich Albion v Wolves inspires a greater grudge among supporters than the fiercely-competitive East Anglian derby.

The survey by the New Football Pools also saw 99pc of Norwich and Ipswich fans name each other as their arch-enemy - making it the most reciprocated rivalry in football.

The Football Rivalries Report 2008 also looked into why fans harboured such bitterness and jealousy towards each other.

In the case of the Old Farm,

it was found that Town fans

were jealous because Norwich had city status.

Baggies and Wolves fans were deemed to have the most intense rivalry in the report, with one in four fans from both clubs claiming that their rivalry went much deeper than football.

Liverpool and Manchester United came in third.

A perceived long-standing economic and cultural divide between the two cities fans the flames, with over half of Liverpool and Manchester United fans questioned claiming that their rivalry went beyond football.

When it came to the green-eyed monster, fans who were the most envious of their rivals in the Premiership were Chelsea, with 36pc jealous of Manchester United's greater success on the pitch.

The top 10 biggest rivalries are:

t West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers

t Norwich City and Ipswich Town

t Liverpool and Manchester United

t Portsmouth and Southampton

t Cardiff City and Swansea City

t Aston Villa and Birmingham City

t Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday

t Bristol City and Bristol Rovers

t Newcastle United and Sunderland

t Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace.