Where I disagree is about the importance of the game. For me, if I could choose any game to win in a season it would be Everton away. Followed by Everton at home. They aren't our rival for any trophy but on paper it's still the biggest game for me. Followed by the United game after that. No other club comes close to those 2. I find it mad that people get riled or upset about Chelsea, City, Arsenal or Spurs. I couldn't care less about those teams. In terms of long term rivalries at least. They are challengers for the trophies we want to win, in the same way that Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are.
I know it's easy to discount Everton as genuine rivals given our dominance over them but they still are our biggest rivals. Wait to see how much it hurts if/when they win a trophy again or they even manage to beat us at Anfield.
Nailed it. I still love winning the derby even though the last 15 years or so it hasn't been 'the same' - That being said we've had loads of great fucking wins against them in that time. The 2-1 before we won the European Cup, Dirk's pens for the Motherfume, Wembley, the 4-0s, Mane etc. They're all great, even that moody 1-0 where Torres scored early on.
It is our biggest game, no doubt, it always was. That being said, these days, when you get the result against them, most people just feel relief, it's like that for me and likely most people who live here. Our record in the fixture is almost unbelievable at the minute, even though they're really, really shite. A particular shout I always hear from them before a derby is about how our team lacks the local presence to beat them. Funny how we always do like.