“The Mill knows that many a hack suffers from the Tetris effect. People who play Tetris over a sustained period of time find themselves thinking about ways that objects can fit together in the real world so, for example, when they see a book they instinctively imagine slotting it into a space on a shelf or if they catch sight of their fist they envisage placing it perfectly into Jeremy Kyle’s provocative face. What this means for hacks who spend their summer days scribbling transfer yarns is that when they see a footballer they instinctively link him with a club where the fit seems plausible.” (Guardian)

Roy Hodgson
“With the departure of longtime club favourite Rafael Benitez, a lack of Champions League football and a hard rebuilding job with minimum cash influx in front of Roy Hodgson, it’s indeed a tough time to be a Liverpool fan as the decisions taken by Hodgson, Purslow and Broughton might go on to define the club for the foreseeable future. But looking back, the circumstances in which Rafael Benitez had taken up the reigns of the club seem to have a striking similarity to the ones Roy Hodgson now faces, and which ultimately led to the sacking of Houllier and Benitez.” (EPL Talk)

“Roy Hodgson arrived at Fulham in 2007 without much fanfare. He was regarded, probably largely because of an unhappy spell at Blackburn Rovers, as a mediocre manager who’d had reasonable success abroad with a string of mid-ranked countries — Finland, Switzerland, Sweden — but who couldn’t really cut it at the highest level. His two years of rebuilding work at Internazionale in the 1990s, in which the Italian club finished seventh and third and reached the final of the UEFA Cup, was broadly ignored.” (SI)

“So it’s come to this, a once-great European side reduced to selling their best players and bringing in a crocked creative midfielder? This isn’t going to be Inter Milan’s best year. Wait, that was last year, it’s Liverpool this time. When it comes to Liverpool you’re guaranteed two things; Drama and impassioned fans. Impassioned often about complete polar opposites (‘Benitez out’ Vs ‘In Rafa we trust’, ‘Joe Cole is the key’ Vs ‘Joe Cole is a crock’) and football is about these divisive issues. The thing about the beautiful game is that you never know what’s going to happen, however I’m still going to try to predict it.” (EPL Talk)

“So in today’s news, one of the biggest transfer deals of a hitherto quite quiet summer has taken place. Joe Cole has signed for Liverpool. Cole signs on a free transfer after his release from Chelsea in June, a parting of the ways that Cole described as ‘political’ in nature rather than for any particular footballing reasons. As is increasingly becoming the case these days, Twitter has proved an interesting source for news, opinion and information on Cole’s move to Anfield.” (Just Football)

Joe Cole
“At first glance, the signing of Joe Cole by Liverpool might seem like madness. Cole will be twenty-nine years old later on this year and has had a wretched time of it with injuries over the last year or so. He remains a player whose best position remains something of a mystery after ten years of professional football. His four year contract will be worth almost £19m, and his physical condition is, if anything, more likely to slip further rather than improve as he turns thirty. This could turn out to be wrong, but in terms of signing footballers, as in the buying and selling of all other commodities, it’s a matter of balancing probabilities.” (twohundredpercent)

Jamie Redknapp: Joe Cole was right to choose Liverpool over Tottenham and Arsenal
“Joe Cole has made the right decision. Going to Anfield to play for Liverpool is the right move.
I know my dad, Harry, tried to take him to Tottenham and I can see why. He’s a clever footballer, who unlocks defences and who still has so much to offer, an old fashioned dribbler.” (Daily Mail)

For Hodgson, success won’t come easy in his step up to Liverpool
“Roy Hodgson arrived at Fulham in 2007 without much fanfare. He was regarded, probably largely because of an unhappy spell at Blackburn Rovers, as a moderate manager who’d had reasonable success abroad with a string of mid-ranked countries — Finland, Switzerland, Sweden — but who couldn’t really cut it at the highest level. His two years of rebuilding work at Internazionale in the 1990s, in which the Italian club finished seventh and third and reached the final of the UEFA Cup, was broadly ignored.” (SI)