Like most, I’ve experienced some unpleasant things over the years – but I think that now, maybe, I’m finding some kind of peace with myself and beginning to slot together something of a decent life. I’m relatively happy at least.

This blog used to contain a lot of ramblings about University life, and formed something of a (very) littered account of my time in Lancaster over that brilliant three year period. My posts at the time seemed to be of interest to a few nervous pre-University students based on feedback and Google searches, but I never really followed that up with what I did after University. As a one line summary, the past two years have been hectic and time has passed in a mazelike blur.

In the summer of 2010 I graduated from Lancaster University with a shiny degree in Computer Science. I dived straight into working life a week later, working on developing an iPhone app for a North West Development Agency funded temporary project at the University. It was a great opportunity that came about as a spin-off from my dissertation in which – you guessed it – I developed an iPhone app. It was a lucky break, one which I was grateful for and learned a lot from – it really made not sleeping for the best part of three weeks (seriously) to get that first on my dissertation worth it.

I am now working for a web hosting company based at Lancaster University, and have been since September 2010. It was a role I applied for whilst working on the NWDA project, and although the job title of hosting support was a little different from development, finding an area of Computer Science I wanted to pursue as a career was still something I was trying to figure out at the time. That question has now been answered, and my calling is the world of systems administration.

It is in my nature to throw my heart, body and soul into a job – it’s just what I do. Such a mentality is exhausting but rewarding, and I’ve learned so much other the past 18 months, both from the experience of my peers and through additional work in my own time.

But I’ve got it. I have the answer. I know what I want to do with my life and I found out through a mixture of luck and hard work, and I can now dedicate myself fully towards achieving my goals.

My advice to those who are worrying about what they want to do in the future is not to incessantly worry yourself into a stupor like state as you’re handed alarming leaflets about careers as you walk around your campus.

University is simply a tool to enable you to gain a degree which will allow you to apply for a wider range of jobs. Afterwards, don’t rush or panic, do your research, and most importantly of all try and push yourself to apply for varied opportunities within your industry. A degree subject is diverse, there are a lot of avenues to explore, and as much as you can learn and research you won’t actually know if you will enjoy a particular job for the next forty or fifty years until you test it out.

His on-screen presence is gripping. And so I find myself, again, watching two of my favourite ever scenes from a television series. Enjoy.

Michael K. Williams as Omar Little

Michael K. Williams as Albert ‘Chalky’ White

What was once the tallest building in the United Kingdom, the Liver Building and its Liver Birds have been synonymous with the city of Liverpool for the last hundred years. To mark the day of the anniversary the new Museum of Liverpool opened its doors to the public; sitting on the waterfront, it’s a brilliant piece of modern architecture that lies just a hundred metres or so from the Liver Building.

Although building work started in 2007 the museum is not yet fully complete, with some parts and other exhibitions due to open throughout the year. This does not detract from the overall experience too much though; I visited the museum the Saturday evening following its opening, during a weekend of celebration in the city, it’s an impressive and truly modern museum; technology is used to tell the tale of the city and its people in an imaginative way – this is good news, as I would hate to visit a museum, well… inside a museum. The exhibitions that I saw were great, and I’ll definitely be going back to see them all again in more detail soon, as there were just too many people around at the time to take everything in.

The celebrations in the city on the Saturday evening were fantastic, and I’ve rarely seen the whole city look more beautiful. Looking out of the panoramic window within the museum provided a spectacular view of a sunset over the River Mersey, the Liver Buildings and the thousands of people sprawled along the waterfront taking in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra playing some great tunes. It was just perfect.

The night was signed off by thousands of people singing along and dancing on the waterfront to a few famous Beatles songs, before a 3D projection show ’3D Son et Lumiere’ by Czech company The Macula was performed. Projected onto the Liver Buildings and the museum, I’m just going to say that the show was indescribable and that I’ll just leave you with a video…

This season has been a mixture of extreme highs and extreme lows; from the depths of the relegation zone under Hodgson, to the verge of administration, to Fernando Torres shitting on us, to Hicks and Gillett and the ‘epic swindle’, to Dalglish and a new era under Fenway Sports Group.

Under Kenny Dalglish Liverpool Football Club has been reborn and it feels like we have our football club back. We are playing great football and the players look like they are here to pick silverware rather than just their payslip. Finally, after several years, the dark clouds around Anfield have been lifted and – as the famous song goes – we can hear the sweet silver song of the lark.

With the above happily in mind, lets take an unfond look back on the reign of Roy Hodgson at Liverpool. A man who was once the darling of the English media and PFA Manager Of The Year proved himself to be out of his depth at Liverpool, with his negative tactics, atrocious signings and baffling statements reducing his stock… to, well, a laughing stock. Lets face it, Cockneys don’t often fare well at Liverpool.

So, for a bit of light-hearted entertainment, lets take a look at some of Roy Hodgson’s best quotes during his time at Anfield:

“I preferred to put my weight behind David N’Gog and Ryan Babel, who’s never really been given a proper chance at centre-forward at the club. I’m hoping that between now and Christmas we’ll have ample quality to see us through that period.”
On not buying another striker.

“A club like Liverpool shouldn’t have to rely on non-specialists like Dirk Kuyt or Ryan Babel ‘doing a job’ up front when they are primarily wide players.”
Hodgson changes his mind a month later.

“They’ll be a formidable challenge – there’s no question about that.”
On Carling Cup opponents, struggling League Two side Northampton.

“I thought we did quite well when (Northampton) they took the lead in the extra time and we threw caution to the wind it gave us the equaliser.”
Hodgson uses the words ‘throw caution to the wind’ about playing a League Two side. At Anfield.

“That was as good as we have played all season… To get a result here – against Everton – would have been Utopia.”
After being completely outplayed and losing 2-0 to Everton.

“I know Sir Alex (Ferguson) is not really a Liverpool man so I’m a bit concerned about my excellent relationship with him. I sincerely hope he forgives me for moving north and hopefully we can have a glass of wine together, maybe in secret.”
Hodgson endears himself to Liverpool fans everywhere.

“I prefer to talk about the game and talk about issues that interest me. Mr Ferguson is entitled to any opinion he wants to have but I’m not going to come here and say I agree or disagree.”
Hodgson refuses to defend Fernando Torres against accusations of cheating.

“I understand (Frank) Rijkaard has just been sacked from Galatasaray – he must be a great manager to have been sacked by Galatasaray.”
‘Nice guy’ Roy on the Champions League and La Liga winning manager.

“You would have to ask (Glen Johnson) ‘do you think you’re playing at top form and are you playing like the best right-back in the country for your club?’ If he says yes, obviously we will have to agree to differ and if he says no, then you’d have to ask the question ‘why not?”
Showing his man-management skills.

“The protest does not help but it is something I have had to live with since I came to the club.”
Criticising the fans’ protest against the club’s former owners.

“I was disappointed – and I’ve told him this – that he – Dalglish – applied for the job in the summer because I don’t think that was ever really going to happen for him.”
Putting Liverpool legend Dalglish in his place, a man who has won more trophies than Hodgson has Premier League away games in his entire time in England.

“I’ve been involved in some big derbies in my career and you know how much they mean to the fans…. I didn’t like losing in those games, which I did quite often. I did poorly so it would be nice to change that.”
Hodgson shows he’s the man for the big occasion before losing 3-2 to Manchester United.

“He’s a quality player and we will be working hard on our tactics to make sure he doesn’t dominate the game.”
On Fulham’s Danny Murphy, who was sent packing by Liverpool six years ago.

“I think it would be a sad day for football and for Liverpool if someone who had been brought in with the pomp and circumstance, and the money it took them to release me from my previous contract, and being feted as one of England’s best managers – if after eight games people are deciding this guy has got to go.”
Showing his modest side.

“Are you from Denmark? (No, Norway replied the journalist) Ah, two countries I never want to work in again.”
Insulting a Norwegian journalist and a large part of Liverpool’s fan base.

“We have got a lot more expensive failures on our list than good players that we have brought in for next to nothing.”
Having a dig at Champions League winning former Reds boss Rafa Benitez and his transfer record.

“What do you mean do my methods translate? They have translated from Halmstad to Malmo to Orebo to Neuchatel Xamax to the Swiss national team. So I find the question insulting. To suggest that, because I have moved from one club to another, that the methods which have stood me in good stead for 35 years and made me one of the most respected coaches in Europe don’t suddenly work, is very hard to believe.”
Reeling off some of the massive clubs he’s managed. Not so much a who’s who of European football as a who are they?

“Today was a famous victory.”
After a 1-0 triumph over Bolton at the Reebok.

“There aren’t many quality left-backs around in the world, never mind in England – so to find an English one (Paul Konchesky) who can go straight into the team without any adjustment problems is a big advantage.”
Hodgson, who sold Roberto Carlos to Real Madrid while manager of Inter Milan, knows a good left back when he sees one.

“Christian (Poulsen) is an all-round player. He is capable of scoring goals, a good passer of the ball and a good defender.”
After paying £4.5m on the 30-year-old plodder.

“He’s not that bad on the ball.”
After seeing him play.

“It is very early for me to make very strong judgements about where his best position is.”
Hodgson shows the depth of his research on £11.5m signing Raul Meireles, who has played his entire career in central midfield.

“I don’t understand questions about Liverpool and Fulham players being different types.”
Who said Hodgson doesn’t grasp how big a club Liverpool is?

“I’ve had several bad experiences. Even at Halmstad in the 70s, in the year we won our second championship, it took until the second half of the season to win our first game away and that broke a record going back two seasons. We went over two seasons without winning an away game.”
On his wretched away form throughout his career.

“Fans make their frustrations felt every time we lose, but unfortunately they may have to do that a few more times, because I can’t see us going through a season winning every game.”
Roy promises the good times are going to roll again after the 2-0 defeat to Stoke.

“I don’t know where the stories came from that Gerrard would be fit for Newcastle.”
From your Head of Sports Medicine Dr. Peter Brukner, Roy.

“It’s not as if he’ll be playing with a bunch of also-rans. I’m not asking him to play in the reserves.”
Asking Torres to play against Utrecht while also motivating his reserves.

“I thought it would be a nice game for him (Torres) and a chance for him to get his confidence back. But I also had a talk to our fitness people and they made me see sense that it wasn’t the wisest thing to do.”
Revealing who picks the team (after leaving Torres out for the Utrecht game).

“I think we will cross that bridge when we come to it… I am not naive to believe there won’t be any danger and we will never lose a player like Torres, I understand these things can happen.”
Issuing a stern hands-off Torres warning to pal Ferguson. Well, kind of.

“When it was mooted the club wanted me for the job I made it clear to Kenny I wanted him on board and it wouldn’t be like it was with Benitez where he’d be here in name only. It wouldn’t be the case that Kenny would be never be allowed to step foot into Melwood.”
Having another dig at the Spaniard, a claim which was exposed as a lie by the Champions League winning manager.

“He’s not so much a player I can really take responsibility for. I’d have to share the responsibility for Joe, less so than for people like [Christian] Poulsen, [Raul] Meireles and [Paul] Konchesky, who are players I was quite happy to bring to the club.”
Washing his hands of Joe Cole.

“Ever since I came here, the famous Anfield support hasn’t really been there.There was the problem with the owners and Kenny being so popular and the job going to me, so I have had to live with that. I have to hope the fans will become supporters because we need support. We are not deliberately losing games.”
Roy puts the final nail in his coffin.

But how does a runner really know when their existing pair of running shoes are ready for their final rest? Well, in my case, my Asics Gel Kayano 14′s are falling apart – ‘literally’.

There is no grip on the soles; I am running on polystyrene rather than rubber. There are holes in the side of the shoes, and they have lasted me the best part of 500 miles and two and a half years. But you know what? They are an inseparable extension to my feet; they are my friends.

They have seen many a road and many a canal trail, different cities, races and eye-opening sites that make a pretty lady look like Jabba The Hut (I’m talking scenery boys and girls). From my first run as an amateur panting for air to being a self-proclaimed moderately fit young man; each individual mud stain represents a victory against being a lazy numpty and sitting on Facebook all day doing nothing but shortening your hamstrings.

Unfortunately, however, you always have to say goodbye to that which you love the most. After my last race, the 2011 Liverpool Half-Marathon I bid farewell to my two friends as it was like running on knives. To the bin? No! To the top part of my wardrobe in my mother’s home in Liverpool where I can pop in and take a whiff of that piquant mud/shit/rain/sweat smell? Yes!

The replacement for my Asics Gel Kayano 14′s are their newer variant, the less than good looking Asics Gel Kayano 17. The dirty black, gold and white running shoe has been replaced with a red and white version. So white that it just looks out of place, so out of place that I can’t wait to dirty them up with some mud next time I go on a wet run.

I set a personal best of 1 hour 47 minutes and 28 seconds during the 2011 Liverpool Half-Marathon. I was pretty pleased and it’s great knowing that I feel I can progress even further if I keep training and pushing myself to do better. I’m my own best competitor and I love beating myself and improving, and it’s strange to think how a little experiment running to my Grandad’s during the summer of 2008 has developed into what will probably be a lifelong hobby.

To 500 more miles and another pair of destroyed running trabs!

Now, 7 years later, Michael Owen plays for Manchester United; the boy who started life at Liverpool Football Club, who could have been a Liverpool legend sitting proudly alongside the likes of Rush, Fowler and Dalglish… is now regarded as a cunt.

Just a few days ago Fernando Torres left Liverpool Football Club in a transfer worth £50 million. His destination? Chelsea Football Club; the plastic flag waving play-thing of a dodgy Russian man with a different yacht for every day of the week. It was a shock and it hurt… it hurt… for about 5 minutes. Now, I look back with a smile on my face; we’ve rid ourselves of a player who sulked, was often injured, didn’t play for the team, is arguably past his best (see: Owen and injuries) and didn’t actually want to play for our club. £50,000,000 seems like a pretty good deal.

However, the shock and hurt emanated from the fact that Fernando Torres wanted to leave Liverpool. But now I think about it, his transfer request simply served as a reminder that this is modern day football; romance in football, at least with the players, has long since perished. Instead, we watch as players pick and choose what clubs they play for and how much they are payed down to the last detail. Contracts stall and are decided based on ‘image rights’, rather than the role that the footballer will have at the club. Supporters are mugs, naively believing that a player feels the same passion that they do for badge upon their chest, that they play for the crest, that the player ‘just gets us’.

It has been most satisfying watching the career of Michael Owen slowly diminish over the years. Injuries and decisions based on a financial motive have seen him slowly rot away into a player no one really wants. Not many players have left Liverpool and have gone on to bigger and better things; we simply aren’t a stepping stone to a top side, we are a side that players aspire to play for and we always will be.

Whilst Fernando Torres is unplayable on his day I have a feeling that we have perhaps, like we did with Owen, seen the best of his days at Liverpool. In Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, we have players who are young, talented and hungry… and most of all, want to play for Liverpool Football Club. So whilst everyone is disappointed Torres has left the club, it is important to remember that we have replaced one quality player who didn’t want to play for us with two quality players who DO.

Kevin Keegan left in 1977. It was seen as a disaster. He was replaced by none other than Kenny Dalglish. Food for thought.

He was almost sued by David Moyes, who seemed to cool down a bit when a few grand found its way into his pocket.

Nevertheless, I don’t believe the article should remain buried. After all, the content is factual – but I suppose that is why Dignity Dave was found less than impressed.

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David Moyes: “We do things with a bit of dignity at Everton.”

I had to hold back the fits of laughter when David Moyes said the above following the Merseyside Derby at Anfield this season. The man of many sound bites, each more laughable than the next, actually believes what he’s saying making the whole episode ten times worse. He has no shame. But as comical and entertaining as the fella is at times, dignified he is not.

“Everton should be in this position. There have been many years when the fans were used to winning leagues and cups, but all that was taken away from them by other reasons.”

Dignified is not referring to the Heysel disaster yet again, on the anniversary of the 39 lives that were lost back in 1985, and highlighting once more that Everton used to be one of the greats before that horrible night. It’s not the first time he’s brought up the subject, but the interview he gave before this weekend’s FA Cup Final is more harrowing and shocking than anything he’s said before, purely for it’s timing.

Is it any wonder that the “murderers” mentality amongst Evertonians is so rife when the man in charge of their own club is fuelling that mindset within their support? Is it any wonder there is increased bitterness, hatred and venom within Evertonians towards their more successful red counterparts, when their own manager is pouring petrol on the fire that Heysel was to blame for Everton’s dramatic and spectacular fall from grace?

How dignified is it bringing that up on the anniversary of the 39 deaths?

Sections of their support chant “Justice for the 39″, when they have no real desire to seek justice for those lost lives. Liverpool fans were arrested, prosecuted and jailed for their involvement of Heysel. I’m not going to get into what happened that night in detail, as I wasn’t there and every person you speak to will have a different version of events. It was a horrible night, it happened, and a catalogue of incidents resulted in 39 lost lives. Liverpool fans that charged, Juventus fans that instigated the violence, UEFA that chose the venue and refused to listen to pleas of concern about it’s suitability, and the severe lack of control by the police on the day; all of the above have a portion of the blame attached to them over what happened that night.

39 innocent people died, yet Everton seem to think of Heysel as their disaster.

They were the victims; nobody else. Nobody was hurt more than Everton, and the events of that night are entirely to blame for their failure to remain as one of the “Big 5″. Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton, Arsenal and Tottenham were the “Big 5″ of that time. 3 of them still remain so, the other 2 not. How were Everton affected by Heysel in greater affect than Liverpool, United and Arsenal?

What about the likes of Norwich, Wimbledon and Luton that were denied a rare chance of strutting their stuff on the European stage? Do their fans and club management constantly refer to Heysel as the reason they find themselves in the position they do today?

Have they ever looked at the appointments of Mike Walker and dragging Howard Kendall off his barstool as reasons for their demise? Have they looked to the years of mismanagement at board level with “Agent Johnson”. A board that rejected a move to build a new ground at the Kings Dock years ago that could have taken the club forwards. Instead they’ve remained in a rotten and dated stadium, employed countless failures as managers and had an inept boardroom. Yet Moyes seems to believe, and brainwashing the fan base into thinking the same, that the events of Heysel played a far bigger part in that failure than any in-house error. A little look closer to home will highlight the real reasons Everton are no longer one of the big boys.

Every English club was banned from European for 5 years, so how were Everton affected by that ban more than any other club? We were banned for 7 years, so surely we’d have been hindered by that ban more than anyone?

Evertonian folklore states that they lost all of their best players following the ban, and broke up their greatest ever side. They are convinced they only needed to turn up the following year and they’d have beaten everyone en-route to winning The European Cup. They were such a great side that Liverpool won the double in 1986! Can anyone name all these great players that left Everton in search of European football?

They were so decimated by the disaster that they could only attract players like Gary Linekar to the club, who just happened to be one of the best strikers in the world at the time. Signing AFTER Heysel for a record transfer fee; so much for not having the pulling power and all players leaving in search of European football. Linekar remained for one season, before signing for Barcelona.

The following season Everton walked away with the league title, with probably their greatest ever side in 1987 and broke the transfer record again in signing Tony Cottee. I thought that side of 1985 was pulled apart as a result of the ban?

When exactly did the affects of the 5 year ban kick in for Everton? 1990? 1992?

Heysel being the root cause of all Everton’s subsequent failures is one of the biggest myths in football. Years of gross mismanagement is where it all began, meaning they were fighting relegation when the Sky and Premiership boom kicked in. Instead of being one of the Big 5 at the time, they were more often than not in the bottom 5, and therefore missed the gravy train that was the Premiership. That is the real reason they find themselves as the poor relations on Merseyside.

Liverpool and Everton were the two best sides in the country in 1985, and remained so for the following few years with Liverpool winning the League and FA Cup in 1986, and Everton the League in 1987. In the early 1990′s both clubs declined, with Souness failing to rebuild the side he inherited from Dalglish and both clubs being shy on silverware throughout the 90′s. 1 FA Cup for Everton with 1 FA Cup and 1 League Cup for ourselves. Hardly the glory days of the 80′s.

We managed to drag ourselves back onto the European stage under Gerard Houllier, before errors were made at the end of his tenure. Rafael Benitez has again restored our position as one of the greatest sides in Europe. Everton have clawed themselves away from being relegation fodder and are now “best of the rest” when you take away the elite 4 this league has now produced.

David Moyes has done a brilliant job at the club taking into consideration the funds available to him, but he does himself no favours whatsoever by constantly referring to Heysel as a defining moment in the club’s history. If he had any dignity, he’d concentrate on the job at hand, forget about what happened 24 years ago and forget about constantly using the death of 39 innocent people as collateral damage in the decline of Everton Football Club.

If anyone is in any doubt why the “Friendly Derby” is now one of the most fierce and venom filled in the country, then look no further than the bitterness and lack of dignity shown by David Moyes in fuelling the Heysel myth that Liverpool are to blame for everything that has gone wrong at the blue end of Stanley Park. Evertonians are now growing up seeing Liverpool gather silverware and compete on the biggest stage. They are being preached to by the men at the top of their club that Everton would too be like Liverpool if it wasn’t for Heysel.

Dignity? Not an ounce of it.

The weather has been a little wild in the United Kingdom recently. November saw temperatures as high as 19 degrees Celsius and as low as -18, with the overall average for the month resulting in the coldest November we have seen since 1993 [source]. Snow fell from the sky towards the end of the month – and just like at the start of 2010 the country was again brought to its knees.

I’ve never used so many bottles of de-icer on my car as I have in the last month or so. I’m praying for the snow and ice we have now to melt just so I can go running again, and sitting in a beer garden with a nice cold pint in the sun seems nothing but a distant dream. It could be worse though; my lovely mother bought me a few bottles of de-icer for my car – ho ho ho!

The start of December saw the existing snow disappear but the cold remain. Temperatures of -4 degrees Celsius were considered ‘warm’, and I regularly found myself running before work in temperatures around -8.

We all knew we were going to get more snow in the middle of December; it was just a question of when, and having had some rather good news on Friday 17th I found myself in Liverpool town centre at 11am with my best mate dressed in a suit looking smart as fuck.

At 18:00 and many, many pints later we found ourselves in the Liverpool Marina bar down at the Albert Dock with another friend. It started snowing rather heavily at round 19:00 and after half an hour or so there was a good inch or two, which meant we could have a rather good snowball fight.

When my hands and toes had became numb I thought it prudent to ring my ma when I was bladdered and let her know that I would require a lift home from the train station at around 23:00. She’s a taxi driver for my sister and me, but she loves it and I often return the favour. However – disaster; somehow the battery on my iPhone had managed to fall out of its arse. No problem, I used a friends phone and organised a lift. Sorted.

At around 22:00, what should have been a gentle stroll in an intoxicated state back from the Albert Dock to Liverpool town centre turned into a marathon walk in an intoxicated state in a foot of snow. In this snow and in our pissed (or just childish) states we decided to run around, force each other to eat snow and just generally have a laugh.

Having left my friends waiting for their bus home I made my way slipping and sliding to Liverpool Central train station knowing full well that I was probably up shit creak.

Luckily, at Central my train was waiting for me packed to the rafters. I managed to squeeze myself on and waited… and waited… and waited… and waited… and then… it was announced that the train was cancelled, along with all others. Fuck.

There were no trains. There were no buses. There were no taxis. I had no phone (that would turn on). Yup, I was really up shit creak, and I didn’t even have a paddle.

And so I began the 8 mile walk home in a thoroughly non-comfy pair of shoes full of snow which matched my almost perfectly uniformed soaked pair of suit trousers. Marvelous.

There was really nothing I could do except start walking home and hope to flag a taxi after a few miles. With the snow continuing to come down heavy, the conditions were undriveable and there were very few cars on the road. Instead, there were a lot of people in the same situation as me: walking home in the snow.

After a mile or two, I made a friend; a fifty year old or so Evertonian who, due to his warm looking hat, I looked upon in jealousy. We were both bladdered and had a good old chat about football and just general rubbish.

He’d been trying to get in contact with his wife but was suffering from signal and battery problems. His wife was apparently on his way to pick him up and he offered me a lift home. Needless to say I very, very gratefully accepted his offer.

After an hour or so his wife and son managed to find their way to where we were and I got into the warm, warm car having never felt so indebted to anyone in my life. They took me all the way home, driving at a crawl in the snow and going well out of their way in the process.

I offered them money for taking me home but they refused to accept it, so I simply left it on the car seat as I said my goodbyes. It was the only way I could leave them any money.

I walked in the door of my home at around 1am to a very relieved mother and sister who had a fun story of their own which involved our neighbours, a shovel, a car and lots of snowballs.

And that, my friends, concludes my jolly Christmas story that really did leave me with a warm feeling inside. It just goes to show that as much as the world does suck, there are still a lot genuinely nice people out there.

And all that remains for me to say is; Merry Christmas!

I always said that when I got my own (non-student!) accommodation I would invest in a quality hoover and a quality television.

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, the Dyson DC33…

It sucks like a dream and looks like a dream, that’s basically all that can be said and needs to be said about my new trusty allergy reducing dust destroying dirt munching companion.

So, where is the big telly? Erm… can’t afford it… which speaking of goals, is the Djimi Traore of all erm… own goals… still… least I have a clean room…

George Gillett and Tom Hicks have finally received their comeuppance. Liverpool Football Club has been sold from under their noses and purchased by NESV (New England Sports Ventures), headed by John Henry.

It was in a naive way in which David Moores and Rick Parry instigated the sale of Liverpool Football Club to those two American idiots back in 2007. A quick Google search, for instance, would have revealed the damage that Tom Hicks had done to Corinthians in Brazil, now three years later a quick Google search of Tom Hicks reveals nothing but the devastation that he has left behind at Liverpool.

In the end, messrs Tom Hicks and George Gillett were the masters of their own downfall; raw greed and an astonishing arrogance saw them become victim to what Hicks described as an ‘epic swindle’ – justice has now (almost) been done,

Hicks and Gillett came in with what proved to be false promises, and Liverpool fans are now a wiser bunch because of it. Do we trust John Henry? No. Are we willing to give him a chance? Yes.

In contrast to Dickhead 1 and Dickhead 2, a Google search on John Henry and his NESV outfit sheds a rather positive light on his character and company; Henry is said to be a quiet and dignified man, and he’s not a billionaire who will follow the Chelsea or Manchester City model of football in throwing hundreds of millions of pounds at players.

As the owner of the Boston Red Sox, John Henry has re-generated their existing baseball stadium – increasing its revenue but maintaining its heritage. Two years after taking over in 2002, John Henry and NESV helped the Boston Red Sox to win their first title for 86 years. There are many similarities between the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club, and the resurgence of the Boston Red Sox since being taken over by NESV should fill Liverpool fans with a renewed hope.

Liverpool Football Club will be changing over the coming months and years, and hopefully in the right direction; the way I see it, only Margaret Thatcher herself could have proved to have been a worse ‘custodian’ of Liverpool Football Club during the last 44 months. We’ve now finally managed to get rid of Hicks and Gillett, something that is impossible to see as anything other than ‘good news’.

So what do we expect from our new owners? No debt on the club, a modest transfer budget and a positive outlook for a start. The re-development of Anfield or a new stadium will hopefully come later. Most importantly, our new owners must act with the integrity and professionalism that evaded their predecessors; we can now only hope that John Henry and NESV prove themselves to be worthy custodians of Liverpool Football Club and protect its heritage. We can dream of the Arsenal model; investing in youth, developing and re-generating the club and its facilities to operate at a profit and become self-funding. This is all a light year away from sitting £350 million in debt paying £180,000 a day in interest.

Much credit should be given to Spirit of Shankly and everyone who has played even the smallest part in ridding George Gillett and Tom Hicks from Anfield. The willingness we have shown to fight for our club and its values is what defines the club itself.

A clean now slate begins. Walk on.