Red Football. Remember it? It will soon be back.

I was watching the World Cup runners up game last night and it had previously been pointed out to me, rightly so too, that it was pretty much a pointless game. If 2nd is nowhere then certainly 3rd place can’t be celebrated, can it? But my thoughts were simply “it’s a game of footy though”. It doesn’t matter if it’s pointless, it could be a very good game. I like watching football – especially in the summer time! If there had been no World Cup this summer, I would have been in a state of mind numbing boredom. I’m sure a lot of you would.

I would have also had to contend with even more, the stress and corruption that currently engulfs Anfield at present. The uncertainty is like a small rain cloud that follows you where ever you go. Or a bad smell. And it’s hard having to keep reminding yourself that LFC is still a football club and that is what it should primarily be.

So much talk and events go on off the pitch these days though, we could end up seeing Roy Hodgson mixing with the cast of Eastenders and Hollyoakes, picking up a gong at the annual soap opera awards. Well, stranger things have happened at our club lately. And you only have to look at some independent Liverpool FC forums to see a few members with mixed motives. It’s all part of a bad campaign to brainwash fans into thinking certain people at the club are not, let’s just say, accountable. That seems the right word to use.

I’m not going to go down the road of gloom, though. I think a lot of reds have at least some sort of idea of how bad things are and have been, off the pitch at our club. At times I get tired of hearing myself go on about how bad it is. To be brutally honest, the time for talking has long since come and gone.

The funny thing is though. Amongst all the decay and disease that has left Liverpool fans pushed to the limits of not spending a penny more relating to the club. And behind the nice distraction of the World Cup – which will definitely see a Liverpool player pick up a winners medal. It’s very easy to forget we’ll soon be watching Liverpool players kick a ball about.

And remember what it was like to only think about football matters? It seems a long time ago to me.

Whether you agree with the appointment of Roy Hodgson as Liverpool Football Club manager, or not. He is the new manager of LFC. Yet I’m not sure I’ve ever witnessed such a change greeted with the same amount of pessimism. Understandable given his CV. I personally don’t have a big problem with who we’ve appointed yet I do have a problem with how he was appointed.

Roy has been making the right noises though. The talk of the football the reds used to play under Shankly and Paisley is going to go down well with any red. It was to be admired. It’s alright talking about it though. What really matters is doing that talking on the pitch. Which is Roys main objective as reds boss and he has to remember that.

Less than a week to go and Liverpool will be kicking off their pre season preparations. Obviously there’ll be a good number of first team regulars still enjoying a holiday after the World Cup. But essentially, the post Rafael Benitez Liverpool officially starts on Saturday. And I am definitely looking forward to it and trying to be positive.

If all being well and Liverpool don’t lose vital players in the transfer window. We’ll not be too far off the squad which pushed for the title the season before last. Remember that? Obviously we don’t particularly want to remember last season, but I’m pretty sure most players would want to improve on some of the football we played in the 09/10 campaign. Combine this with a new manager who will want to make a good impression in his new, well regarded role, we could see some good football played by the reds next season.

So as I sit here watching the World Cup Final go into extra time, knowing that after this, the focus will be fully back on the reds. I hold hope in my heart that we start playing some good football next season and giving our fans something nice to talk about for once. It can happen. Good luck to our lads and our new manager.