I read today an interesting article in the Financial Times on the portrayal of sport in fiction. The main argument of the piece is that American authors have never been afraid to tackle the subject and have covered sport extensively, and well. Meanwhile, British authors have been far less inclined to cover sport in fiction, and have been far less convincing when they’ve tried. Reading this piece alongside an article from the Observer covering similar ground a couple of years ago, has left me wondering about sport in fiction, and how sport could work in British fiction.

I think the FT article covers the whys and wherefores far better than I ever could, but there does seem to be an explanation in the make-up of your archetypal American and British writers. Obviously we’re veering into a whole world of horrible stereotyping, but many American writers seem far more interested in physicality generally and writing appears to have the potential to be a rugged pursuit – maybe Hemingway’s legacy, maybe something older and deeper. It doesn’t seem so weird for an American author to like sport. And sportswriting on the whole seems more respected and something of a craft, and is generally better than what you’ll see in the UK (although there are plenty of exceptions).

British writers (especially of the literary variety), meanwhile, seem much more removed from sport. Perhaps it has its roots in class, maybe something else, but the literary and sporting worlds seem very far apart. There almost seems to be a distrust between the two.

Yet I still hope there is room for an English sporting literature. Sport is pretty much one big analogy for life and life’s struggles, and American literature has shown it is a pretty broad and reliable canvas for covering the big issues and themes that great literature should. And perhaps that is the key to success – the fiction can’t just rely entirely on telling the story of sporting events. On any given day the reality will outstrip the fiction on that front. The fiction needs to use the sporting theme in a more nuanced way. It can’t be all cup finals and gold medals. It needs to tinker around the edges, tease out those details that will make a meaningful book.

I think there is one major issue, beyond the literary establishment appearing not to have much appetite for sport. It is that the obvious sports to cover, football or cricket, whilst ingrained into our culture and microcosms (for want of a better word etc) of that culture, are team sports and so pretty difficult to write well about. There are too many characters, too many teams. Plus, with football the action is too frenetic. Cricket, as a pretty close cousin to the more literarily inclined baseball, has more of a chance, but there is a real risk of a writer falling into village green clichés.

I’m no fan of golf, but as a more solitary pursuit it seems a more likely candidate for producing a great English sporting book. All those long walks ruined would allow plenty of opportunity for soliloquies on whatever the author might fancy. Tennis or boxing as individual sports could work well too, as we’ve seen time and again in American writing.

Maybe a lead needs to be taken from the few successes of British sporting writing. The Damned United fused real people with fiction, and focused on one dominant character in a compelling way. Fever Pitch looked at sport from the spectator’s perspective. The individual within sport seems the more obvious path to success, both critical and commercial.

Or perhaps as sport is such a neglected subject in English literature it offers authors the opportunity to tackle the subject in a far more inventive and experimental way. As there is not the baggage of thousands of great sporting novels to live up (or down) to, it feels like there is a certain freedom on how to approach the subject in a way that would challenge yet connect with a readership.

If a writer could successfully articulate the frenzy of the football pitch or the rugby field, or the tribalism and belonging of fandom, or the media saturation and hype that surrounds us, or ideally all of those themes, they would probably have something pretty special in their hands. Sport is an important part of my life, and I think like many people, I like literature that reflects my life and expands upon it, showing me new avenues, or familiar ones in a new way. I hope something interesting on the British sporting experience emerges soon. I’d buy it.

Image from Galt Museum and Archives, via Flickr

He was clearly a great player, and as Manager of Wales appeared to be well on his way to becoming a great coach too. But no matter the background his death at the weekend was tragic. I’m not sure there is whole lot more that can be said right now, beyond wanting to extend thoughts to his family and friends.

Generally speaking, I think it is nearly impossible to look back objectively on someone’s life when they commit suicide. It is all too easy to view everything through the prism of their final act. We look for clues, for explanations. It can define them. I’m not sure that it should.

I guess this is particularly the case for artists. I’m sure many people have listened to In Utero as Kurt Cobain’ suicide note, or read David Foster Wallace and shivered when he writes about suicide. But that is evidently a simplification, albeit a human one. Death is enough of a mystery as it is. There is an impulse to make sense of the apparently inexplicable.

I hope that speculation around Speed’s death is kept to a minimum. That might be the case as there aren’t books or records to comb through. I don’t know. I guess we can’t help but wonder, no matter who it is.

Football often seems a callous, cynical business. So it has been refreshing to see the football community united in grief and united in honouring Gary Speed. Tribal rivalries have been put to one side. Football tends to get so much wrong, but I think has marked his death in the right way. I’m sure this is a comment on how respected and well-liked he was across the sport.

He has been remembered and honoured in a full and compassionate way that I’m not sure would have been possible 20 years ago. I hope this is an indication that there is now less of a stigma surrounding mental illness and related issues, that maybe death, and suicide, is less taboo or just less likely to be swept under the carpet. Society is hopefully less judgemental on these issues.

I’m loath to say anything as trite as “something good might come out of this”, but hopefully this will lead to more people feeling able to ask for help. And hopefully fewer families will have to go through such a horrendous experience.

But a good person has gone. Rest in peace.

1          Manchester United

Not the most convincing champions, Manchester United certainly benefited from a rather limp challenge from Chelsea, Arsenal et al, and were able to fall back on some incredible home form (won 18, drawn 1, lost none).

2          Chelsea

Poor Carlo Ancelotti for getting the sack, as Chelsea fail to realise their problems stem from a lack of stability and consistency within their personnel -  they can’t win everything, every year.

3          Manchester City

The breakthrough year for the team swimming in money, but they were flattered in their final position by the clubs around them in the league going into one form of  freefall or another.

4          Arsenal

An awful end to the season, and proof if proof were needed that consistency wins you the Premier League, and that pretty football from great youngsters isn’t enough.

5          Tottenham Hotspur

I’m not convinced that a season of Europa League football was what they were after – they need to rebuild to compete next season and wheeler-dealer Redknapp looks ready to do that.

6          Liverpool

A tale of two halves, but they would be wise to use the gift of hindsight to realise that part one of the season was not all Roy Hodgson’s fault, and that part two ‘s success under Kenny Dalglish will not be sustainable next season unless there is significant investment in the squad.

7          Everton

Is there a steadier hand in the Premier League than David Moyes?

8          Fulham

An excellent finishing spot for a relatively ‘small’ club to finish in, and if they could have converted some of those draws into victories they would have worried some of the teams above.

9          Aston Villa

A pretty steady season, taken all in all, but I can’t see them bettering it.

10        Sunderland

Sunderland spend a lot of money in order to end up in mid-table obscurity.

11        West Bromwich Albion

The redemption of Roy Hodgson – he got them scoring, winning, and they ended up far higher up the table than anyone predicted.

12        Newcastle United

An eminently calm and sensible season from Newcastle United – nobody expected that, surely?

13        Stoke City

A horrible record away and a strong record at home (at a fearsome ground) made for mid-table safety.

14        Bolton Wanderers

Considering how high up the table they were earlier in the season, their final spot has to be a disappointment, and a worry for next season.

15        Blackburn Rovers

A pretty poor side, who stayed up as the Premier League was not short of poor sides this year.

16        Wigan Athletic

Wigan were one of those poor sides, but somehow stayed up.

17        Wolverhampton Wanderers

As were Wolves, who somehow stayed up too.

18        Birmingham City

I wonder if they’d trade in that League Cup win for Premier League survival?

19        Blackpool

Great fun to watch, attacking football was a breath of fresh air, a manager as quote-machine, but being the Old Romantic’s favourite isn’t ever enough to keep a team up, do matter how much they “have a go”.

20        West Ham United

A one man team doesn’t stand a chance either.

Image from Museum of Hartlepool, via Flickr

Ferguson et al seem incapable of acknowledging that they were just out-played and out-thought. Liverpool’s movement and creativity was exquisite to watch. Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish had clearly got his tactics spot on.

Gerrard and Lucas were disciplined in deep, holding roles. This not only generally protected the Liverpool defence, it nullified the danger Manchester United often pose in that gap between their opponent’s midfield and defence – especially when Rooney drops back.

Two holding midfielders also gave Liverpool’s attacking players licence to press much further forward. Liverpool could afford to have four players essentially playing up front during some phases of play, as they always had the ‘insurance’ of Gerrard and Lucas.

Kuyt (with a hat-trick), Suarez, Meireles and Rodríguez showed great fluidity in their movement, making them hard to track, and hard for United to close down without losing all shape and organisation. Liverpool’s forward line also joined in the team effort in pressing for the ball when not in possession, making defending that much easier. United were rarely given time to create.

Suarez, in particular, was special. He is one of those players who creates something out of nothing, and generates excitement and anticipation as soon as he collects the ball. It is worth noting that for each goal, he was the last Liverpool player to touch the ball before Kuyt scoring. He already looks like a great acquisition.

Kuyt, bought originally as a centre forward but since moulded into a wide player, has recently settled back into his old role with relish. He was very much the poacher yesterday, always looking to get himself in a good position to nick a goal, and showing the sort of industry that has made “Hard working Dirk Kuyt” something of a cliché.

United may point to the injustice of Carragher not getting sent off for his challenge on Nani just before half-time. While Carragher could have easily gone, perhaps they should acknowledge that they were already 2-0 down at that point, and that Nani himself could have been sent off for man-handling the referee in the aftermath, as could Rafael for a similarly reckless challenge moments later.

It is a great shame that a big, successful club like Manchester United lacks the class to take a result for what it is. There is no conspiracy against them. They have benefited from refereeing decisions more than most in the past. Their continued bleating and moaning makes for an especially undignified spectacle.

Maybe the ‘blackout’ is best for all concerned. That way we need not hear more excuses, or more examples of a complete lack of sportsmanship from Ferguson and co.

As ever, Dalglish set a perfect example of how to do a dignified post-match response:

“The quality of the football was the most important thing for me and the attention should be on that. Both sets of players deserve great credit.”

Funny how Liverpool ended up giving United a lesson both on and off the pitch.

Hmm. I hadn’t planned on a simple match report/rant, but there you go. I had something far more hi-falutin’ in mind, but that soon went out the window. Funny how this blog started out as a sport blog, and now feels like something quite different. Well, it feels like a bit of a mess, actually, but not necessarily in a bad way. Maybe I’m due a “What on Earth am I doing with this blog?”-type post. Or a poll or survey, maybe. Or perhaps I should just keep my ramblings to myself, or at least keep them to the italic-y bits at the bottom of proper posts, where they are easy to ignore. Answers on a postcard etc.

Newcastle United improbably came back from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 with Arsenal. Bottom-placed Wolves beat top-placed Manchester United. Everton beat Blackpool 5-3, while the likes of Wigan and Blackburn’s 4-3 game and Manchester City’s 3-0 defeat of West Brom pretty much got lost in the shuffle, when any other week they might have been the ‘Game of the Week’.

The hyped game of the weekend, Sunday’s Chelsea vs Liverpool, failed to live up to its billing in comparison to the previous day’s games, but certainly had its own form of drama as Fernando Torres made his debut for Chelsea against the club he has just left in acrimonious circumstances.

To the delight of Liverpool supporters (including your correspondent), Torres was largely ineffective, while Liverpool eked out a valuable 1-0 win. Torres had moved to the club he felt had the most options and best chance of success. He may already be rueing that decision.

So, this weekend seemed to present a pretty strong argument for the English Premier League being the “best league in the world”. But is it?

Well, on the evidence of the weekend, it could well be the most entertaining. Such open football will attract the casual fan and the obsessive alike. What it might lack in finesse, it makes up with drama and sheer visceral thrills.

However, the glut of goals also showed the real weakness in English football. Gung-ho tactics and going all out for the win are certainly fun to watch, but are they really the best approach?

Take any Premier League team’s performance this weekend and put them against a well-organised, disciplined side, and they would have struggled. There is being attacking, and there is being just plain reckless.

Arsenal are second in the table. Should any side, let alone one that far up the table, really throw away a four goal lead? Should a top-of-the-table team like Manchester United look so vulnerable against one of the worst sides in the division? While it makes for a competitive division, and underpredictable games, it doesn’t necessarily reflect well on the overall quality of the top sides.

In every major international tournament the England national team look tactically exposed. This is because the Premier League ‘style’ fails to translate. In the heat of the summer, or against a side that are comfortable in possession, the high-octane English style comes unstuck. Running around madly and pumping balls upfield just doesn’t work.

Of course, English clubs have had success in Europe, yet they have had to adapt to achieve that.

While English football can be so enjoyable to watch, I do wonder if that is at the expense of the broader development of the English game. Or maybe I should stop worrying and just enjoy the goals?

Image by Scott Wills via Flickr

The mood amongst Liverpool supporters seems broadly positive. A player who wanted to leave has gone, and in his place are some exciting prospects. I am not, however, so sure. Not yet.

This could just as easily be presented as Liverpool selling the best striker in the world, and bringing in a man capable of serious violence (Carroll) and a man not above blatant cheating and biting opponents (Suarez). Add Carroll’s injury concerns to the mix, and these are two incredibly risky transfers.

It is interesting to see Liverpool’s owners, the Fenway Sports Group (FSG), take such a risk. On the one hand, they do seem to preach the ‘Moneyball’/sabermetrics approach to sport, on the other they are not afraid to splash out on players, such as the recent signings of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox.

The difference with Crawford/Gonzalez, however, is they seem much safer bets. It is easier to get an idea of how someone will perform in baseball (a sport made up of discrete, easy to record elements) and football (a more fluid sport with many more intangibles).

Perhaps the argument FSG would make is that, particularly with Torres on his way, they needed to do something to shore up Liverpool’s support. Attendances at Anfield have already been down this season, and a team without Torres and without any replacements for Torres would have inevitably drawn even less. But will Carroll and Suarez sell enough tickets and enough shirts to justify their expense?

Once Torres wanted out, Liverpool and FSG were in a very difficult position. If they forced him to stay until the summer there was a very real chance that his value would plummet, particularly if the player put in any sub-par performances. The January transfer window tends to inflate prices anyway, and so from a pure business standpoint it probably made sense to cash in, as much as it pains me to say it as a huge fan of Torres.

Luis Suarez? This seemed a reasonably considered purchase. Suarez had made it clear he wanted to be a Liverpool player, has been outstanding for Uruguay and Ajax, and seems the kind of exciting, creative player Liverpool need (biting aside).

But why then pay such an inflated price for Andy Carroll? There are not just his personal issues, or his injury concerns. There is also the fact that he has just one England cap, and just half a season’s experience in the Premier League. £35 million is an incredible price to pay for someone yet to prove themselves over any length of time.

It is also an incredible amount to pay for someone who may have not wanted to come in the first place. It suggests this was purely a panic buy.

If Liverpool had held on to their money, they would have got much more for it in the summer. Why gamble £35 million on Carroll, when there may be a few more options at a more sensible price in the summer? Why not make the money work harder? It is not as if Liverpool realistically need to avoid relegation this season, or can push to win the title. A little patience might have been what was needed here.

Instead, there is a very real risk that Liverpool and FSG have wasted valuable resources. Instead of building for the future, have Liverpool risked it all for the present? How many prospects could Liverpool have brought in over the summer for £35 million? Only a few would need to succeed to make that approach good business.

However, this does appear a very clear vote of confidence for new manager, Kenny Dalglish. Surely he wouldn’t have been given the money to spend if he wasn’t being considered as a longer-term option? That may be the biggest positive to take from yesterday’s events.

Image by i.embrace via Flickr

My favourite football team’s best player, Fernando Torres, is on the verge of leaving. And not just leaving, but leaving for one of our key rivals. My favourite baseball team is embroiled in the Madoff Ponzi scandal. England’s cricketers are not as good at the one-day game as I might have hoped. At least I don’t really care about tennis, as otherwise I might have been upset at Andy Murray losing in the Australian Open final.

Still, disappointment reigns.

I would give you my thoughts on Torres, but right now they would probably be shrill and ill-considered. Yes, even more ill-considered that the usual stuff I throw up here.

My thoughts will also be out-of-date before the day is out, as today is English football’s transfer deadline day, when all sense of reason, planning, perspective and value flies out the window as teams frantically bid to buy someone, anyone. There is bound to be a great deal of speculation, hype and maybe even genuine developments between me hitting ‘Publish’ now, and the close of the window at 11pm.

So, this really is a post about nothing. I had a few ideas beyond the Inevitable and Crushing Disappointment of Sport, but I don’t really see the point of tacking them onto this directionless, pointless post.

Ugh. But this is what blogging is all about, right? Self-indulgence Yeah!

However, if you do want some considered and entertaining reading on Liverpool, visit The Armchair Liverpool Fan, the new blog from regular visitor to this parish, Steven Harris. It’s really rather good.

I may well have some football thoughts tomorrow, once the dust has settled on the Transfer Deadline Madness. Or I may just be rocking back and forth, sobbing, in a corner somewhere.

1. I’m never drinking again

I’m serious. Well, sort of. When I say ‘never’, I mean ‘not until the wedding, at least’, and I also mean ‘I’m never drinking that sort of volume of alcohol again’. It seems traditional for the attendees on a stag weekend to try to break the groom-to-be, and they very nearly succeeded. Friday was a pretty heavy night, and Saturday even more so. I sincerely hope I never again feel as awful as I did on Sunday. I was just about able to handle solids by Monday evening. I think the hangover finally lifted sometime Tuesday. I think it is time I hung up my drinking boots. Any future drinking (should there be any) will be on a purely moderate and amateur level. For the time-being, I’ll have a diet coke, thanks.

2. I’m determined to make my marriage work

…if only so I don’t have to go through the horrors of a Stag Hangover again. But joking aside, I really missed my Significant Other. As fun as it is spending time with pals in a European City, nothing quite beats a night in with my best friend. Yes, reader, I’m getting soppy. But it’s my blog and I’ll get soppy if I want to.

3. The Allianz Arena is an incredible stadium

Saturday afternoon saw us make the trip out to the Allianz Arena to see Bayern Munich take on Kaiserslautern. It is quite the spectacle, a tyre-shaped spaceship landed in the desolate, windswept outskirts of the city. It was a truly breathtaking and otherworldly sight. Somehow we managed to buy tickets just before the game from the ticket office, while others in our party took the tout route successfully.

Inside the stadium we were greeted with a friendly yet excited atmosphere, fun crowd interaction with the stadium announcer (“Danke!” from the announcer, “Bitte!” from the crowd and so on), and a 5-1 win for the home side. A fantastic afternoon.

4. Buying something in the Allianz Arena is not as easy as you might think

The only possible downside was the purchasing procedure in the stadium. For some reason, money cannot change hands. This was not immediately evident. It soon became clear that we needed to queue for an “ArenaCard”, put money on the card, and then (and only then) queue for food and drink. This made for a rather frantic half-time. The Glühwein was great, though.

5. I need vegetables in my diet

Munich lived up to the German stereotype, by offering a diet consisting of meat, more meat, sausages and pickled cabbage. With the odd pretzel thrown in. Now, I love sausages, sauerkraut and pretzels more than the average man, but by the end of the weekend I just wanted some green vegetables. And some fruit. Maybe even a little salad. If I had stayed much longer I might have got scurvy.

6. The people of Munich are very friendly

Example: one of my companions was struggling with a cigarette machine in the early hours of the morning. It wouldn’t accept his money. A local approached him, paid with a credit card, and then exchanged the cigarettes for the cash. My friend asked, “Would you like a cigarette?” to which the kindly stranger replied, “No, it’s fine. I don’t smoke”. I doubt you would get that in London.

7. Munich is bloody cold in January

I think my lungs have only just thawed out.

8. I am very lucky to have such good friends

They really didn’t have to fly all the way out to Munich to see me off, but I am incredibly grateful and humbled that they did. Whenever I wear my souvenir stag weekend t-shirt I shall think of them fondly, in particular my best man, who had the thankless task of co-ordinating a bunch of drunk men in a foreign country, some of whom he’d never even met before.

There may be more things I would have learnt, but Munich’s beer and an ill-considered amount of Jägermeister rotted my brain. Now, bring on the wedding! Only a few short weeks away now…

Image by Sergiu Bacioiu via Flickr

It is worth remembering that not every sportsman has his brains in his feet/hands/anywhere but his head. And that sportsmen are capable of having a degree of good taste.

Exhibit One: Pat Nevin,  footballer who read Russian and French literature, listened to the Jesus And Mary Chain and left a friendly match early to catch a New Order gig.

Exhibit Two: The New York Mets, who are steadily becoming a team of intellectuals.

Naturally, these sorts of examples are exceptional, but they are reassuring to a horrible snob like me. Sometimes I wonder if I’m spending too much time following sports perpetually populated with idiots and boors, the kind of people I’d hate in real life yet watch avidly week-in, week-out.

I’m glad that’s not exactly the case.

Sentimental old fool that I am, seeing Dalglish, back on the touchline in his trademark oversized coat, was pretty special. Here was a man who left the post nearly twenty years ago, suffering from stress that in a great part came from coping with the Hillsborough tragedy and its aftermath. If anyone deserves a second chance, an opportunity to complete unfinished business, it is him.

I think Liverpool’s owners, New England Sports Ventures (NESV), were pretty canny is appointing Dalglish until the end of the season. Liverpool’s supporters had called for Hodgson’s head and Dalglish’s appointment. NESV have called their bluff. If Dalglish succeeds, wonderful. If he fails, NESV can recruit their own man without any fear of accusations of them failing to listen to fans. He was also, perhaps, the only man available who could guarantee goodwill from the playing staff, who may (or may not) have had a hand in Hodgson’s departure too.

I do feel sorry for Hodgson, though. Nobody becomes a bad manager overnight. Here was a man who was last season’s Manager of the Year, taking unfashionable Fulham to the Europa League Final. I think there were a number of factors that meant he was doomed to failure from the start. As poor as Liverpool have been this season, I doubt any other manager could have done much better.

So, what were these factors?

1. Rafa Benitez’s legacy

Hodgson’s predecessor left him with a woefully unbalanced squad. He sold strikers, leaving an injury-prone Fernando Torres as the main forward option. His actions, directly or indirectly, had led to the exits of two of Liverpool’s most creative and imaginative players, in Xabi Alonso and Yossi Benayoun. He may have also been to blame for an unsettled Javier Mascherano leaving soon after Hodgson took over. Indeed, over the summer Hodgson did well to persuade Torres and captain Steven Gerrard to stay. Many supporters wanted Benitez to return to the club, but seemed to forget that in his last season Liverpool finished only seventh. This was simply not good enough. It also meant Liverpool missed out on valuable Champions League income, and would struggle to attract new signings, as the best players would want to play in that competition.

2. The ownership situation

When Hodgson took over, the club was in the midst of a protracted and uncomfortable change of ownership. It was unclear who would end up in charge, if the club would survive the threat of administration, and what money (if any) might be available to strengthen the squad. This unsettling time was bound to have an impact on the squad, as well as on potential new recruits. It was an impossible time for anyone to navigate. When Hodgson eventually could enter the transfer market, time was tight and the club (beyond its history) wasn’t the most attractive option.

3. The players

It appears that at most clubs the lunatics are running the asylum. Once rumours circulate that a boss has “lost the dressing room”, his days are numbered. Did Hodgson get the whole squad’s support? Was it easier to blame him for bad results than the players playing poorly on the pitch? A great deal of the responsibility for the bad start to the season should lie with the players. Unfortunately, it hasn’t.

4. The supporters

I don’t think the Liverpool support ever really warmed to Hodgson. They wanted a bigger name, or for Benitez to stay. Yet, they seemed unwilling to acknowledge that a seventh placed Premier League side in the midst of a bitter ownership wrangle wasn’t the most attractive prospect to ‘top’ managers. Once fans stopped going to games and orchestrating ‘Hodgson out’-style chants and campaigns, NESV were bound to act. They were always going to listen to the customers, particularly if the customer was going to stop spending.

Obviously, Hodgson made mistakes too. The signings he did make were not always inspired. Some of his comments were a little naïve at times. Yet I doubt anyone could have coped with the above and turned the club around in six months.

But onwards and upwards. What can Dalglish do to help improve the club’s fortunes?

1. Accept this season is for rebuilding

There is no point acting in the short-term. He would be best to write off this season and start rebuilding the team for the future. And so…

2. Give the younger squad members more playing time

The likes of Dani Pacheco, Jonjo Shelvey, Martin Kelly, Jay Spearing and Danny Wilson could all be future first-team regulars. Now, with nothing on the line, is the time to give them a frequent run out and build up their experience and confidence. If even one of them emerges as a proper first-teamer Liverpool will have saved a fortune on bringing someone else in.

3. Recreate the Boot Room

In Liverpool’s heyday, the ‘Boot Room’ was where the club’s coaching staff would discuss the team and tactics. Many of these coaches would then go on to become manager, thus ensuring a degree of continuity in the club. Dalglish has already recruited the former Chelsea and West Ham coach, Steve Clarke. He should look to recruit more coaches of this pedigree, with a view to having a first-class staff for now and the future. I do wonder if Clarke has already been earmarked as a possible successor for Dalglish. NESV seem to favour dynamic, younger coaches. If they can promote from within the club in future, for me, all the better.

4. Bring in new, good, young players

A team in decline cannot be turned around through good coaching alone – a few new faces always help. While I wouldn’t advocate blowing big money this January transfer window, it would make sense to bring in a few new names. The priority should be a striker. However, any new, quality players should shake up any complacency within the existing squad. Everyone’s place in the team should be on the line.

It should be a fascinating few months for Liverpool. It is hard to gauge how things will pan out. Will we realise that Hodgson wasn’t that bad after all? Or will we see the Second Coming of King Kenny? Only time will tell, folks…

Image by mikepickard via Flickr