The Championship game between Nottingham Forest and Derby County at the City Ground on Saturday Aug 29, 2009.
Once it was the indomitable Brian Clough that divided opinion and the more extreme factions at Derby County and Nottingham Forest.
Now the latest manager to journey the short distance down the A52 appears capable of inciting the bitter enmity between these two local rivals.
Billy Davies would the first to admit he is no Clough but his imploring touchline gestures to galvanise the home crowd in the second half as his Forest side clung grimly to their slender lead proved the catalyst for an extraordinary chain of events that erupted in dramatic fashion after the final whistle when Forest forward Nathan Tyson uprooted a corner flag at the Bridgford End of the ground and flaunted it in front of over 4,000 Derby fans.
The mass brawl that ensued at the City Ground on Saturday bore shades of the debacle that disgraced football at Upton Park last week.
For the East End, read East Midlands only on this occasion the supporters were largely blameless as both squads and an array of coaches from fitness to goalkeeping and doubtless dietary, all pitched in.
Only Derby manager Nigel Clough, who admitted he was back in the dressing room 'where other coaches and managers should be' missed the dire spectacle of highly paid professional footballers throwing punches or being restrained in the name of sport.
Davies, sacked acrimoniously by Derby after guiding them to the Premier League two years ago, could scarcely have asked for a more potent riposte than Radoslaw Majewski's stunning effort that secured a 55-second lead.
A Rob Hulse own goal and close range finish by Tyson established a three-goal cushion and a first victory over their neighbours in six and half years seemed a formality.
However, Wes Morgan deflected a weak effort beyond his own goalkeeper to reduce the deficit and when Jake Livermore's shot defeated Lee Camp, Derby stood on the brink of a remarkable recovery.
Enter Davies from the dugout to rouse vocal support, his antics being mimicked by Derby coach Andy Garner who was sent to the stands a few minutes later by referee Martin Atkinson.
The match official confirmed that he had booked eight players in total and that the later flashpoint and incidents would be included in his report.
When the FA read it, doubtless they will request CCTV footage of the game's dying embers that suddenly ignited in misplaced passion.
"I saw Robbie Savage waving a scarf in front of our fans last time [when Derby won an FA Cup replay last season at the City Ground]," said Davies. "We didn't complain. What's good for the goose...."
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