MICHAEL DUBERRY COLUMN

Nothing wins an argument quite like the words “yeah, but we beat you!”

Two of English football’s biggest rivalries were on view last Saturday afternoon – the Merseyside and North London derbies.

Both Liverpool and North London are split down the middle.

You have to choose a side.

You are either red or blue in Liverpool, or red and white or white and navy blue in North London.

For the fans there was something far bigger than the fight for a Champions League spot at stake in these bitter battles on Saturday.

It was more than superiority in the league that had all four sets of fans hoping and praying that the football gods made it their derby day.

There were the all-important bragging rights up for grabs.

When the man hurling abuse at you and your team from the terraces on Saturday afternoon is also your drinking buddy on Saturday evening or work colleague on Monday morning, losing is not an option.

Your side must win at all costs because the price of defeat is tortuous abuse.

And with social media there is no hiding from it.

They can even get you when you are in the comfort of your own home.

Revenge is always so far away, and with no guarantee of victory it makes winning here and now so important.

It seems that beating bitter rivals and claiming those bragging rights is the No 1 priority to some fans.

When I first signed for Oxford United, the first few messages from fans were “beat Swindon this season, that’s all you have to do.”

I took it with a pinch of salt, but as time went on it was very true.

I feel fortunate that I sampled the atmosphere of both home and away games against Swindon, with the ten-men home victory my favourite.

The wins made it memorable, but it was the hatred between the fans that made that unbelievable atmosphere.

You could see on the way into the ground what victory meant to the fans.

Nothing else but a win would do.

I was happy that I helped give the Yellows fans a league double over their bitter rivals for the first time in 40 years.

More importantly the mighty Yellows had the bragging rights, and that came in handy during a season that fizzled out after starting with such promise.

With Swindon flying high and eventually gaining promotion, the “yeah, but we beat you TWICE”

was all the ammunition needed to shoot them down.

Whatever was said was met with the same six words every time.

It seems to carry so much weight and has more volume to it, drowning out anything said before or after.

Now I know promotion and titles are important, but having the bragging rights can be all-important too.

There was no bragging going on in Merseyside, but it was the white and navy blue half of North London who could walk tall and talk loud on the streets after Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal.

No matter what Arsenal fans say it will be rubbished with “yeah, but we beat you”.