Welcome to "The Verdict"

Hello, and welcome to "The Verdict", my new blog in which I will be discussing the latest football issues on a weekly basis. With a deep and varied interest in football, you will find posts on here regarding the biggest debates in the contemporary game, with special interest paid to issues of the laws of the game and their implementation, modern match tactics, reaction to the latest football results and stories, and some more in-depth discussion of the plight of my favourite team, Liverpool FC.

So why this choice of name? Well, the word 'verdict' finds its origins in the Latin words for 'truth' (veritas) and 'spoken' (dictum), and what contribution do the media offer to our understanding the concept of truth? Rafa Benitez claims he was only interested in 'facts' during his outburst at Sir Alex Ferguson this week, yet his hypocrisy was clear when he claimed the Manchester United supremo is 'the only manager who can get away with [criticising referees]', shortly after explaining how Ferguson received a ban and a fine less than 2 years ago for doing just that. Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear's regular criticism of referees has gone unpunished this season, and Chelsea manager Felipe Scolari has had many an unnoticed rant since he took over in the summer. I could continue my list of managers who have avoided recriminations from an FA ever more relaxed when it comes to the behaviour of practitioners of the modern game, but I will provide a more detailed reaction to Benitez's comments in my deconstruction of Liverpool's match with Stoke this weekend.

Noone knows what's going to happen in the second half of the season, yet we all enjoy speculating on what we believe will come to pass in 2009: Will Liverpool finally make the step up to challenging Manchester United and Chelsea's stranglehold on recent Premier League titles? Will Tottenham defend their Carling Cup? Will Fabio Capello be the man to change England's fortunes? Will Jermaine Defoe follow Harry Redknapp to every club he ever manages? And will Martin O'Neill ever quit his day-job of football management and general nonsense-talk and address his true calling as an olympic high-jumper?

The fact is that truth is subjective; we all have our own opinions on life, and football is no different. What you will find in this blog is the expression of my own opinions, my own passions about the game, and my own personal truth. I hope you will enjoy reading and interacting with my blogs and that they will encourage you to share your own opinions on the subjects I throw at you each week! I would love to hear all your opinions, whether you agree with me, disagree, or want to burn me at the stake for my words! It's a case here, in the words of the Manic Street Preachers of 'this is my truth, tell me yours'.