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Most Tottenham fans may despise Damien Comolli but his record for bringing in young talented players who go on to form the backbone of a squad is unquestionable. Tottenham’s success in the last 18 months has been largely down to the work that Damien Comolli put in at White Hart Lane from 2005–2008. Granted, some of his signings were poor, but who has a one hundred per cent record in the transfer window? The big difference since the appointment of Harry Redknapp has been that Tottenham now have a manager who is capable of getting the best out of the talent Comolli brought into the club rather than waste it like his predecessors.

You just have to look at who has shone for Tottenham both domestically and in Europe to see the true influence of Damien Comolli. Comolli has an eye for unearthing young quality players that retain their sell-on value. For example, who would have thought that Tottenham would have been able to get £30m out of Manchester United for Dimitar Berbatov when they signed him in 2006? Added to this, Younus Kaboul, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Benoit Assou Ekotto and Roman Pavlyuchenko were all signed by Comolli. These players are the backbone of Tottenham’s success and that can’t be overlooked. Comolli never sat back and just scouted players. He took a hands-on role in making the deals happen. Some would say he overstepped the mark, but he made the deals happen and now Tottenham are in great shape going into the future.

Liverpool fans should be very happy NESV have brought in Damien Comolli, a man with one of the best CVs in world football. He has great eye for spotting young talent, something that NESV have stated will be the new strategy for Liverpool. Comolli will offer Liverpool a wide scouting system, as well as a proven track record. It is up to the manager to make the players gel. Roy Hodgson has worked under directors of football before, so he should not feel undermined by Comolli at Liverpool.

Damien Comolli has been given a largely unfair reputation as a trouble maker. His role in the sacking of Martin Jol wasn’t pleasant and there is very little else that can be said for him in that regard. However, English football will never embrace role of the director of football because naturally we are defensive people. As a nation we look upon this as somebody trying to undermine the manager’s position, and this is exactly how the director of football is perceived. Managers nowadays can’t do it all on their own, they need help, and why not get help from an expert who has a proven track record? Had it not been for Damien Comolli, Tottenham would not have the depth of talent they do now. The success of the squad is down to Harry Redknapp but look what he was given to work with. Liverpool should be very happy. They can now tap into the Comolli system and can look forward to better days because of it.

If we look at the Tottenham squad today – the influence of Damien Comolli is there for all too see. Tottenham have gone up a level because they  recruited a top manager in Harry Redknapp, but he was given the young stars to work with. As well as this, Comolli was instrumental in bringing the players into the club, not just finding the talent but making sure deals materialised. Liverpool is a long term project, and so is Damien Comolli’s. He may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but he is very successful in his role.

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Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all to win at 15/8!

The transfer window may have opened today, but its managerial moves that are making all of the headlines at present, with bigger clubs poaching improving managers from the smaller Premier League sides.

Norwich City manager Paul Lambert looks set for a move to Aston Villa after he offered his resignation to the Canaries board on Thursday. Delia Smith and co. may have rejected Lambert’s offer, but he is now in discussions over a move to the midlands to replace the unpopular Alex McLeish at Villa Park.

From day one the McLeish reign was doomed to failure after his move from rivals Birmingham City and the fans’ clear disliking of the man, paired with underperforming players and unconvincing new signings.

However, I feel that Aston Villa have the squad and infrastructure to become a consistent top half Premier League side and possibly challenge the likes of Everton, Newcastle, Fulham and Stoke for a top eight position on a regular basis, perhaps returning to the Martin O’Neill days of European football in the next few years.

No other club in the country has a group of players aged 18-23 who are seemingly ready for first team football; with the likes of Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark and Barry Bannan already first team regulars, soon to be followed by the promising Gary Gardner, Chris Herd, Andreas Weimann, Samir Carruthers and others.

Villa have also taken part in the hugely successful NexGen Series that is a sort of Champions League style competition for under-18 sides, where they beat runners up Ajax on their way to winning their group and impressing the top clubs in Europe. The before mentioned youngsters along with the likes of rejects such as Emile Heskey had a huge role to play in winning their reserve league too, a league that included both Arsenal and Chelsea.

Injuries to the likes of Darren Bent and horrific news for Stililyan Petrov added to the woes of the club last season, narrowly avoiding relegation after a terrible slump in form in the final few months of the campaign. Big money signings such as Charles N’Zogbia offered very little to squad as a replacement of Stewart Downing and money could be available for Lambert after the big money sales of Downing, Ashley Young and James Milner in recent times.

The core defence is in place with the hugely experienced Richard Dunne, James Collins and Shay Given the main backbone with progressive full backs Alan Hutton and Stephen Warnock in place. One time Leeds United prodigy Fabien Delph seems to be over his worst injury problems and the likes of Stephen Ireland and Gabriel Agbonlahor are decent enough Premier League players that can cause opposition problems. Add the set of impressive youngsters to the current squad and ask Mr Lerner to fork out on two or three marquee signings; with the likes of Grant Holt possibly following his current manager from East Anglia; and I see no reason why Villa wont only improve on last season but also challenge the top eight and have a decent cup run.

Without disrespecting Norwich, you have to feel that Lambert has taken them as far he can, similarly to Brendan Rodgers at Swansea, and so the prospect of joining a big club, with a good squad that have very little expectations after a woeful season would excite me and I’m sure the man who was managing Colchester United just three years ago will be a huge success at Villa Park. Don’t be surprised to see Aston Villa massively improving next season and battling in the top half of the Premier League.

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What do you think? Let me know on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard

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As we enter the halfway point between the end of one football season and the start of another, teams from the Premier League to the Football League are readying themselves to start pre-season training. Spare a thought for Fulham, who are already playing their first competitive match in the Europa League on Thursday, but for the rest the hardest part of the season is just about to start. This is when the real hard work has to be put in and players have to get into shape for the new season ahead of them.

So, players are preparing for the new season ahead by getting fit, managers are preparing by finalising their transfer plans and looking at tactics and formations, and fans are looking at the fixture lists to see when the real crunch matches are. Players and managers, the latter in particular, will have their own routines that they’ll go through, and any time wasted will only come back to haunt them later in the season.

One team that needs more preparation than most is Ivory FC of the First Division of the Brentwood Sunday League in Essex. For the team at the centre of Nivea for Men’s Great Football Experiment, preparation isn’t something that they’ve done a lot of in the past; over-indulgence is more of their thing. However, the coaches are trying their best to turn them from no-hopers into world beaters. The transformation isn’t quite that dramatic for most professional clubs up and down the country, but there’s hardly any resemblance between a team at the start of pre-season with them at the end of the summer.

By the beginning of August, the players will be sick and tired of sprint drills and cross-country jogs, but it’s all for their own good in the long run. After all, nothing can be achieved without the correct preparation, and Premier League stalwarts Aston Villa still have their traditional motto ‘prepared’ in their crest on their shirt, something I’m sure new manager Alex McLeish will be emphasising to them as he tries to make his mark at Villa Park. The Scot might not want to take note of how the boys at Ivory FC prepare…

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Preparation really is everything at this time of year. For some players who have struggled with injury in recent times they will be chomping at the bit to start playing again, but most footballers will be thinking that their holiday only just started before it came to an end. But there are no cutting corners in pre-season, as Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, once said “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” and that statement couldn’t be more apt in the world of football.

Newcastle striker Andy Carroll has insisted that he will be staying at Newcastle, despite rumours linking him with a move.

Since Carroll broke onto the scene with a hat-trick against Aston Villa he has been rumoured to be on the move in January, with Spurs or Arsenal being his likely destination. Since the sacking of Chris Hughton speculation has surfaced once more, but Carroll has distanced himself from a move, stating that he is happy to stay where he is: “I’ve always worked towards being where I am now and want to stay here – it’s as simple as that.”

I regards to departed manager Chris Hughton, Carroll said:

“Chris has been absolutely fantastic with me. All I can say is that I appreciate everything that he has done for me.”

“He’s helped me become the player I am now.”

“He’s gone now, and I just need to keep working on what he’s taught me, and with the new manager, I’ve got to listen to him.”

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The news will come as an early Christmas present to Newcastle fans who have seen their team, though inconsistent, climb to 8th in league and only five points behind 5th placed Spurs.

Carroll, who made his England debut in November, is currently the second highest goal-scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals and can also boast six assists.

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It is fair to say that at least a small amount of Ipswich fans are unhappy with Paul Jewell’s management of the team this season. A lot of this criticism comes from Jewell’s decision to often leave out Luke Hyam and Josh Carson in favour of using more experienced players like Lee Bowyer.

The other source of this criticism comes from Jewell’s overall win ratio whilst he has been the Ipswich boss which sits at roughly 40%, only just a few bad results away from being as low as Roy Keane’s or Jim Magilton’s record. Obviously the critics have reduced in numbers since the team pulled away from the relegation zone but the fans are clearly split when it comes to the former Wigan manager.

It would be unfair to just talk about the negatives in Jewell’s management since taking over 15 months ago. He took over an underperforming side when he came in and had a huge task ahead of him to turn the team into promotion hopefuls.

Whilst there have been some less impressive signings over the last 15 months, I would argue there have been more good than bad considering he brought in Cresswell, Drury, Emmanuel-Thomas and Chopra. Although it may not be saying much, I would say that the current Town management has dealt a lot better in the transfer market in comparison to how Roy Keane did. On top of that Jewell has started to get the most out of Lee Martin, who has now revealed that Keane never gave him a chance in his preferred position. Overall, the whole team does seem to have a better attitude and togetherness since the change in management, which has been great to see. Without a doubt the team has moved forward since the Roy Keane era but like I say, that doesn’t mean much considering what a train wreck his management was.

In terms of the results this season it is hard to argue that Jewell has done a good job. However, he is a man who has admitted he made mistakes in the summer which caused a huge string of losses this season. Since realising these mistakes the team has improved and if you look at results since the dramatic away game against Barnsley in December, they have been fairly impressive.

The reason a lot of Championship or even Premier League teams never get anywhere is because they are always too keen to sack their managers. You really do have to give a lot of credit to Marcus Evans for being patient and not cracking under pressure from the fans, because without that patience the whole club would crumble. Once you start sacking managers all the time, the players and coaching staff never have any job security because whilst one manager might like them, the next might not.

On the issue of Luke Hyam and Josh Carson it is a tough one to judge because both youngsters have been promising. Hyam has been singled out as one of the main players who battled and played out of his skin to get the team away from the relegation zone. Personally, I like to see younger players being used as a lot of the time they show the hunger and drive you need to get out of the Championship. The major argument for Jewell current team selection is based on the fact that he shouldn’t be playing youngsters just for the sake of it. In reality Hyam and Carson have already shown that they can add something to the team though, so I find myself thinking what is the point in playing a declining Lee Bowyer over youngsters?

That would be the one criticism of Jewell I would certainly agree with. For the most part though, a lot of the criticism has been over the top nonsense where certain fans are calling for his head just because they want something to moan about. You could argue that Jewell’s stats aren’t far off what Keane produced but if you are looking solely at win percentages then he isn’t far off Bobby Robson’s stat of 44.6%.

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Personally I don’t always agree with the team selection or even the transfer policy but I am reasonable enough to realise that sacking Jewell this season would have only caused more problems. Generally the fans are behind the team and there is an element of excitement about next season at Portman Road. It is good to see that although a lot of fans may be critical of the team’s management behind closed doors, they get behind the team on the match days. My message to the Jewell haters would be to wait until November and then make an assessment based on how close to the play-offs we are.

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After a season in which Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, there was a strong sense of optimism and a growing confidence evident among everybody involved with the club. As both fans and players, as well as manager Harry Redknapp insisted that this side were looking to progress and improve on the achievements of the 2009/10 campaign, the prospect of finishing outside of the top four seemed to have hardly been taken in to consideration. Redknapp himself had even suggested at the start of the season that his side ought to be considered as genuine title contenders, however by the end of the campaign Tottenham were only able to secure fifth place in the league, finishing six points off Arsenal in fourth, and nine points off Manchester City who had effectively taken their place in the top four.

It has been suggested that as debutants of the competition, Spurs were simply not prepared for or able to cope with the demands of playing in the Champions League. Many of Tottenham’s players would not have been used to playing more than once a week and so, as fatigue and injuries began to take their toll on the side, squad rotation became almost inevitable, leading to an array of inconsistent performances in the league. However, we must remember that Spurs did reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League and never really seemed to struggle up until their clash with Real Madrid. It seems rather odd then, that whilst the players were able to step up to the mark against the likes of Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and AC Milan, domestically, Spurs were struggling against teams at the foot of the table.

During the 2010/11 season, Spurs failed to win any of their away games against the bottom five clubs in the league, picking up just 3 points altogether from these matches. At home, they managed to scrape just 7 points against the same five clubs, taking just 10 points out of a possible 30 overall, home and away. Spurs failed to win against Wigan, Blackpool, or West Ham over the course of the season, and both Redknapp and the Tottenham fans would have been going in to these games with confidence and a strong belief that the three points were almost certainly there for the taking. Tottenham’s success in the Champions League seemed to have left the players with a confidence that was verging on arrogance, and their performances against the lower clubs in the league appeared to lack the energy, desire, or determination that had been so evident throughout their European campaign.

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It seems then that Tottenham’s naivety may have been the main contributor to the failure of their season. This ‘failure’ is of course only relative to the success of last season, and it is important to recognise that to finish the season fifth in the league is by no means a disaster. However, a season which offered so much promise for the white side of North London ultimately amounted to very little, primarily due to an inability to get the results required against the clubs beneath them, and in particular those at the foot of the league table. At the start of the campaign Redknapp claimed “if you don’t aim for things, you have no chance” and that Spurs would be aiming to win the championship. However, as Harry quickly discovered, aiming too high can also have its repercussions, especially for a club that were entering a campaign of such intensity, and a fixture list that they were not accustomed to.

Regardless of whether or not it was intentional, Tottenham did appear to prioritise the Champions League over their domestic duties, and this ultimately cost them their place in the top four. Whilst Manchester City looked to constantly improve and increase their squad, Redknapp remained content with his crop, adamant that they were capable of competing on all fronts. Unfortunately Redknapp now faces the tough task of holding on to his key players, as those who have had a taste of Europe’s biggest club competition may start to look elsewhere for their football.

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One thing is certain: Redknapp and his players must learn from their mistakes of last season if they are to progress back in to the top four. The Europa League will throw out a fixture list not too dissimilar from that of the Champions League and Tottenham cannot afford to take their eye off the ball domestically as they did so last season. If Spurs can hold on to the likes of Bale, Modric and van der Vaart, then with a couple of additions to the squad there seems no good reason as to why this side cannot challenge for their place back in the Champions League. However any plans to challenge for the title must, at least for the time being, be put on hold.

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With the latest squad announced by England manager for the friendly against France seemingly in a constant state of flux after a spate of withdrawals, I was somewhat disappointed not to see one name in the 23 man squad – Nedum Onuoha.

Now, this article has not been written because of his stunning run and finish for Sunderland’s first in their fantastic win at Chelsea on Sunday evening, but because with so few options about, I find it strange that the player on loan at the Stadium of Light from Man City has been ignored after displaying some exceptional form this term and not been given a chance to stake his claim for a future role in the side.

Those of you that are familiar with this site may remember that I championed Onuoha’s inclusion for the Mexico friendly before this summer’s World Cup, for no reason other than the national side were desperately short of viable alternatives to Glen Johnson for the right back slot going into the tournament, and because Nigeria were sniffing around the Man City trainee in the hope of naming him in their World Cup squad themselves. Thankfully, Onuoha wasn’t drafted in by Nigeria and as yet, he still awaiting his first full England cap after impressing during his time with the under-21s in the past.

With decent Premiership standard right backs hardly growing on trees at the moment, it seemed unwise to let Onuoha jump ship when we may require his services further down the line.

Glen Johnson incurred the ire of manager Roy Hodgson this weekend after the Liverpool boss questioned whether England’s first-choice right back’s club form was befitting of an international footballer. Johnson, for all his attacking attributes is a weak link in any defence and surprisingly poor against pace considering his own speed.

As a right back, his game is suited more to continental football, where a full back is encouraged to be the attacking outlet for his team, but in the Premiership, he can horribly exposed at times and he remains a debatable figure for both club and country due to the obvious flaws in his natural game.

As will happen with Ashley Cole when he decides to finally retire from international football and hang up his boots, as has happened with Gary Neville and his international career, as the old adage goes, you only realise what you’ve got till it’s gone. There looks to be a ready-made replacement for Cole waiting in the wings in Kieran Gibbs, but wasn’t this supposed to be the case with Micah Richards and Gary Neville? In football, things are rarely as clear cut as this.

Onuoha is explosive, strong, positonally sound and excellent in the air. At 24 years of age, he’s also playing week-in week-out in an excellent Premiership defence. Few, if any of his rivals for the right back spot can say the same.

The humiliating 5-1 defeat to rivals Newcastle aside, Sunderland have conceded just 8 goals in their other 12 matches and they currently have 6 clean sheets to their name, behind only Chelsea and Man City.

Micah Richards, injury aside, which isn’t too unrealistic a possibility with the way things are going at the moment, looks certain to start the game against France on the 17th, after being the only recognised right back named in the squad, and it would appear that his midweek moan at being consistently ignored for international selection by Capello was nothing more than amusingly mistimed in it’s release. While I welcome the nature of the thought process behind many of Capello’s selections for this latest squad, with the emphasis firmly placed with one eye on the future, I just feel a call-up would have been just reward for Onuoha’s fine form.

Micah Richards is to put it quite simply, an awesome physical presence, but his game has not developed in the way many of us would have hoped by now. He is still a raw talent three years on from his breakthrough season. He is a natural athlete, but to my mind at least, not a natural defender and while he does possess the speed of movement, the speed of thought is sometimes his undoing.

There is a real dearth of right backs capable of making the step up to international level at the moment, this much is crystal clear, and while I’m not saying Onuoha is a world beater, he is the in-form English right back playing in the top flight this season and his exclusion is noticeable. His goal against Chelsea, while unexpected in it‘s execution, will hopefully just draw a little of the spotlight onto the unassuming Onuoha and perhaps Capello will sit up and take notice for future squads.

Written By James McManus

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As the season draws to an uneventful close you’d struggle to blame the fans for being a little pessimistic about the future at Elland Road.

It’s a well known and well discussed fact that the team needs investment, so with Neil Warnock publicly stating that Ken Bates plans to give him the financial backing needed to build a promotion winning side, is it finally time to lay down the weapons, get behind the club and trust them to do the right thing?

With Warnocks first summer signing due to arrive in the first week of May, rumoured to be Jason Pearce from Portsmouth, it could be that we are witnessing the start of a new era at Elland Road. Promotion to the Premier League would see Leeds come full circle and battling against the countries elite once again, though the Leeds United that would return wouldn’t be anything like the same Leeds United that fell apart all those years ago.

These days, the fans have their usual high expectations and hopes but hold a bigger sense of realism than ever before, nobody would expect us to be challenging for Europe in our first season, the majority would settle for simply surviving. From there, we’d have the chance to rebuild ‘brick by brick’ to become a force once again. This, of course, is all dependant on achieving promotion, which will be no easy task in a league that is already shaping up to be a seriously competitive division.

This is why, in my opinion, it’s time to drop the anti-Bates mindset and focus instead on rallying around Warnock and the team he creates over the next few months. Ken Bates is our owner until he sees fit, that much is abundantly clear, so if he does indeed invest in the team as promised it may be better to forgive and move on, even if forgetting might be a step too far.

On the playing front the team have been as unpredictable as ever, though the weekends draw with Cardiff helped appease the growing frustrations of an end of season with nothing to play for.

Warnock has gone on record to say that they are playing for their futures and he’s backed this up with the departures of Mika Varynen, the injury plagued pair Ben Parker and Darren O’Dea, whom many believed would be signed up as a squad player upon expiration of his contract at Celtic.

There are also rumours that only 6 of the current squad have been asked to stay with the rest seemingly told that their futures are not with Leeds United. Whether such a mass clear out actually takes place is anyone’s guess, but it’s quite clear that we’re in for an eventful summer regardless.

It’s easy to understand the fans frustrations over the last few years, but looking back and focusing on the past wont result in progress. Neil Warnock is undoubtedly the man to get Leeds back to the promised land but he has repeatedly stated how he only has one year left, meaning that next season really could be our best chance of success. I for one could never defend Ken Bates, too much has happened for me to be able to find any positives in his seemingly never ending tenure as Chairman, but if he allows Warnock to build a team that has the potential to achieve the great things that we as fans have craved for years then i’d be more than happy to call it quits.

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Bates in?

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One man doesn’t make a team..or does he? Arsenal fans have been saying that their ‘collapse’ of dramatic proportions wouldn’t have happened if they had Belguim centre back Thomas Vermaelen for the whole season.

The heart of the defence has been a real issue (as always) for the Gunners, with Sebastien Squillaci being contender for worst signing of the season, Johan Djourou prone to at least six ‘air kicks’ a game and Laurent Koscielny despite an improved second half on the season, is still prone to errors. Vermaelen can’t cover two centre back slots, so one of the error prone three would have to ‘support’ the Belgium international in the middle, however it is Vermaelen’s influence upon his partner that would have been key. Arsenal’s defenders’ often run round like headless chickens but a calm, assured and strong Vermaelen would have no doubt improved his fellow centre backs’ games.

A ‘spine’ is key in any team, the Invincibles had Jens Lehmann, Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira and Theirry Henry. Thomas Vermaelen no doubt since his arrival has been the Campbell equivalent with regards to to the ‘spine’ of the team, and maintaining the ‘spine’ is key in achieving success. The former Ajax player’s absence for more or less the whole season, weakened the ‘structure’ and the core of Arsenal’s team. Having Vermaelen for the whole season, would have given Arsenal a stronger and more assured edge to their play.

The Gunners aren’t overloaded with strong and dominant players so when you lose one of your few leaders, it is always going to effect your team. Defensive mix ups have been frequent throughout this season and I can’t help but think that a commanding Vermaelen would have eradicated, not all, but several of the costly errors by implementing a bit of authority across the back line.

Thomas Vermaelen’s availability this season would have been crucial, not necessarily a one man crusade to winning the Quadruple, as Arsenal have many more deep rooted problems, but the Belgium international would have definitely gained Arsenal points they stupidly threw away. You can’t see the Gunners throwing away five points against arch rivals Spurs when having a two goal advantage (twice) or drawing 4-4 with Newcastle when 4-0 up with Vermaelen in the starting line up.

Having Vermaelen’s ability at their disposal would have been a huge positive for Arsenal this season, but there is no way that having the former Ajax man would have filled up the Arsenal trophy cabinet after six barren season, at best his inclusion would have meant Arsenal would have remained in the title race for longer.

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The now infamous statement that “The first spade will start going into the ground on that [stadium] project by March [2007]”, made by George Gillett, after he and Tom Hicks assumed control of the club, still resonates at Liverpool to this day. Although I do not believe this was a lie from the now much maligned former owners, more a misguided statement given that they hadn’t fully assessed the situation, the stadium issue is as pressingly in the mind of current owner John Henry, as it was for his predecessors. But with life on the pitch not going as smoothly as most would like, combined with the fact that only £37m in stadium-related borrowings are now left at the club on top of the money that has already been invested in the Stanley Park stadium, is it time to put plans for a new ground on the backburner and concentrate on footballing matters?

For financial growth, a new stadium, or a refurbishment of Anfield, is vital for Liverpool. But if things on the pitch are not rectified quickly, there may be many empty seats at a 60,000 seater stadium. The issue, as is the case with many clubs, is not whether Liverpool have the fan-base to fill a ground of that size, they do, many times over, but what percentage of those fans will want to pay to see a side not playing well and perhaps not even getting into Europe. It is a situation which is also in evidence at West Ham. While investing time, money and effort into securing a move to the Olympic Stadium, the side languish at the foot of the table. Again, West Ham have the fan-base to fill the stadium, however, how many will turn up to watch a side struggling in the Premier League, or even plying their trade in The Championship?

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What is encouraging for Liverpool fans is that John Henry and NESV seem to want to make the right moves for the advancement of the club and not jump into commitments like the previous regime, highlighted by Gillett’s unfortunate ‘spade’ statement. On taking over the club Henry stated;

“We have to listen, learn, talk to the community, talk to the council, talk with the supporters. But the biggest issue of all is really what makes the most sense for Liverpool, long term.”

It is clear that Henry and NESV are not going to jump in head first with any decisions, and this may well be what is best for the club. They recognise the stadium issue as one that has to be dealt with, and Henry compared it to the situation he encountered when he took over at the Boston Red Sox;

“The stadium issue was a big issue in Boston. We went in there not knowing what we should do – build a new ballpark or refurbish, and we have the same issue here”

They eventually refurbished the famous Fenway Park in Boston and ditched plans to build an entirely new stadium, instead concentrating on the team. Henry and NESV would be wise to do the same at Liverpool, as a less than satisfactory start to the season has been combined with dismal performances and a general lack of ambition.

Although a new or refurbished stadium may well be on the agenda for Liverpool, it should be part of a long-term plan, with a short-term plan aimed at bringing success on the pitch, increasing revenue and allowing a sustainable period of growth during which the club can build a stadium fit for the future of a successful side. To concentrate on the stadium whilst neglecting on the pitch issues would be a gross oversight for the new owners, as more years in the wilderness would somewhat take the shine off a brand-spanking new ground.

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