January, the start of a new year, is often seen as a month of hope. Resolutions made as the previous year came to an end are still fresh in the mind as is the belief that they will be maintained. That similar resolutions were made (but not kept) before doesn't matter. This time round will be different, this time round I will make it.

It only takes one bad touch for the criticism to start. You know that it's coming as soon as Andy Carroll misplaces a pass or fails to control a ball; the comments that he's not worth the money spent on him, how he's a big mistake, that he's too lazy to try and make it work.
You can even sense some wanting him to fail so that they can tell everyone that they told you so.

It is an unfortunate reality of the game of football, one which dictates that an injury to one player means an opportunity for another. So it will be for Jay Spearing who seems to be the player within Liverpool's squad who can best replicate the job that Lucas Leiva carried out and which someone else will now have to do in the Brazilian's injury forced absence.

Back in the nineties teams would travel to Anfield with one plan in mind: that of stopping Steve McManaman. The thinking was that if they managed this then they were well on their way to getting something out of the game. It wasn't a tactic that worked as much as its reputation suggested yet it worked often enough for it to continue being used.

No games won and no points on the table, this has been a dismal start to the season for Liverpool's reserves team. Or, rather, that would be conclusion if you fail to look at the most significant column, that for games played, the one that shows that this week's defeat at Newcastle was only their second game of the season.

A year after becoming the heroes who saved Liverpool from financial armageddon, Fenway Sports Group opted to to become the villains of the day. Not necessarily in the eyes of Liverpool fans but certainly in those of the rest of the football world.
Sooner or later, one of the big clubs was going to start making noises about the splitting of television rights.

Despiteachieving an unprecedented treble in his first season in charge, Joe Faganremains something of a marginalised figure in Liverpool's history. For many his success was down to the team heinherited from Bob Paisley whereas his work in the backroom staff is oftenoverlooked.
A much moretruthful picture of Fagan's role both as a coach and as a manager is presentedby the recent biography titled Joe Fagan: A Reluctant Champion.

Book Review: Joe Fagan - Reluctant Champion by Andrew Fagan and Mark Platt
There are two iconic images that seem to perfectly sum up Joe Fagan's time as Liverpool manager. The first has him lounging by a pool in front of two Italian carabinieri and the Champions Cup, won the night before, besides him.

When Paul Konchesky was sold to Leicester City earlier this summer, one of the strangest and most stressful periods of the past two decades in Liverpool's history came to a close. Seen as the embodiment of the mediocrity that had somehow become the norm at the club, Konchesky's departure was deemed as confirmation that the standards that had been allowed to drop were now being pushed upwards again.

When Paul Konchesky was sold to Leicester City earlier this summer, one of the strangest and most stressful periods of the past two decades in Liverpool's history came to a close. Seen as the embodiment of the mediocrity that had somehow become the norm at the club, Konchesky's departure was deemed as confirmation that the standards that had been allowed to drop were now being pushed upwards again.

He might not appreciate it much as he starts looking for a new job but Sergio Batista's dismal failure as Argentina coach at the Copa America delivered a very important message.
In the run up to the competition, Batista had expressed his intention to impose Barcelona's tactical approach on his side.

Having talented players progress till they're good enough to play regular top level Premiership football is still an art that very few - if any - have perfected. The traditional route of letting them develop in the reserves no longer seems to apply given the dilution of quality in this league whilst the more recent solution of having the players go out on loan is a bit hit and miss.

When talks were first being held for the formation of the supporter's union that eventually came to be known as Spirit of Shankly, it was to Karen Gill that they turned. From her, the grand daughter of Bill Shankly, they wanted confirmation that they could refer to the great man in the name of this union that was being set up to help save the club that he himself had transformed in the sixties.

When Martin Kelly joined Huddersfield for a couple of months towards the end of the 2008–09 season, it was the perfect move. This was a team that played football the way that it should be played – ball on the ground and with a thoughtful passing game – and a manger who had confidence in the player he'd just gotten.

With everybody now seemingly on Twitter, it is difficult to know who is worth following especially if you're looking for decent football opinions. So it is that I've tried to compile a list of the best people out there who are well worth following. Be warned, however that as a rule I tend not to follow player - do they ever have anything really of interest to say?