Twenty-five years ago today, backed by more than 6,000 fans, Tranmere Rovers ventured six miles through the Mersey tunnel and dismantled Everton, their condescending overlords, 0-3, at Goodison Park. 

A sublime strike from the prodigious Jason Koumas sandwiched a brace from veteran defender Steve Yates as the waifs and strays of Birkenhead humiliated the aristocrats of Liverpool.

Arguably the greatest result ever authored by Tranmere, comparative minnows in the big city shadows, the paroxysm is forever remembered as St Yates’ Day – a quasi-public holiday for downtrodden Rovers fans who are otherwise ribbed by well-to-do relatives, friends, colleagues and classmates.

Indeed, the hallowed victory still resonates because Liverpool and Everton fans look down on Rovers – if they look at them at all. ‘The Merseyside derby’ is considered exclusively blue and red, an afront to Tranmere’s existence, while Rovers are typically portrayed as the annoying younger sibling or the forgotten ugly cousin despite a rich, rebellious heritage of their own.

The mythos of Dixie Dean is a useful microcosm in this regard. Rovers found the incorrigible ragamuffin on the cobbled streets of Birkenhead; kickstarted his professional career; then watched without credit – and...