Fresh optimism has swept Merseyside today with the news that the New England Sports Ventures have completed their takeover of Liverpool Football Club.

George Gillett and Tom Hicks are officially history and the club as a whole can breathe a sigh of relief and look towards the future. With distractions off the pitch now hopefully behind Roy Hodgson and his team, focus will again shift to how Liverpool perform under the new manager.

Theoretically speaking, the players now have little excuse to continue playing the way they have been so far this campaign. It's been a wretched beginning to 2010/11, but now is the time to put it right.

I leave you with an extract from 'Rafa Benitez by Paco Lloret', the writer talks about the potential pitfalls of being a manager - it certainly reminded me of how it's important to give the current boss a fair crack in the Anfield hotseat.

"Some journalists happily make judgements without sufficient knowledge; they don't bother to check their facts, especially those that don't interest them. Managers are easy targets, they can be attacked to satisfy the public, especially when things aren't going well. Some shamelessly sentence their victims before giving them an opportunity to do their work. Having taken their position they won't change their view, no matter what happens. An easy and populist ploy that goes down well. Fans are fickle. They are moved by passionate impulses. Results affect them, and liking or disliking a manager is directly dependant on this."
Paco Lloret (2005)