Using the timely hook of Liverpool’s failed attempt to signed Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze, the BBC published an interesting feature today on the perceived rivalry between the neighbouring cities.

It compares the city’s respective histories – Liverpool’s finance and shipping versus Manchester’s cotton mills – as well as deprivation, regeneration, architecture, sport and, of course, music. The pieces concludes that – outside the football world – a Manchester-Liverpool rivalry is little more than unfriendly banter.

The feature also includes a public poll on ‘which is your favourite city’. At the moment Manchester is winning – if that’s the word – with 54 per cent of the 13,000 votes. Just so you know, Manchester and Liverpool’s respective populations (ignoring surrounding areas) are 441,200 and 447,500.

Over at the Beeb, they’re reporting record shopping numbers at the Boxing Day sales in the North West today.

The thought of 130,000 frantic bargain-hunters raiding the Trafford Centre’s Superdrug is more than enough to keep me away. I visited Preston briefly where only Riverisland attracted anything constituting a queue.

I was also drawn to that other annual feature of Boxing Day: a festive, freezing football match.

Blackburn Rovers’ 1-0 win over Liverpool was the game of choice. The ticket cost £39, which works out at 43p per minute of football (excluding injury time).

Or, according to current rates, 12.2 ounces of gold, which is probably how much the ticket and program (£3) weighed.

What with England stumbling Bambi-like through to the World Cup quarter final, you’d have thought a football-mad city like Manchester would be keener than ever to embrace the beautiful game.

But, following trouble at the opening Paraguay game, it seems screenings in this city are becoming as well travelled as the team in Germany. read more »

My ten favourite player names at the Fifa World Cup 2006 in Germany:

1. Hakan Yakin
2. Stern John
3. Razak Pimpong read more »