Martinez leaves for pastures new, Moyes brings in his own brigade and Suarez is looking for the easy way out.

Roberto Martinez leaves Wigan

Roberto's Martinez's decision to leave Wigan this week will come as a huge blow to the Latic fans as they come to terms with what has been an up and down few weeks when it comes to tugging the football heartstrings. In all honesty it has been a few years of emotions being pushed to the limit, never mind these last few weeks. As neutrals we have looked on as March turns on the calendar and Wigan have plotted their great escape, often up until the last game of the season. As a club they have entertained us since that first game against Chelsea at home, when Hernan Crespo grabbed a heart breaking last minute winner to welcome then manager Paul Jewell and his new premier league recruits to the league.

Since then it's been an incredible journey, so wonderfully capped off with a Ben Watson 90th minute header at Wembley in front of the dedicated support Wigan have held on to all these years. All fairy tales come to an end though, and it was to be a few days after that dream win over Man City, in a sodden Emirates Stadium, that their Premier League story came to an end.

With or without Martinez, owner Dave Whelan will still be the voice that bellows from that small town in the North West and I think most fans would love to see them come straight back up into the big time, albeit with a few less episodes of 'March Madness' which has often graced our televisions.

David Moyes right to appoint new staff

David Moyes is set to take the reigns as Manchester United manager in the next few weeks, and already there has been scrutiny over who the former Everton man is bringing in as his backroom staff. In a clear message to the potential critics, an admirable message in fact, he has brought in his own trusty sidekicks to begin the new regime in the Manchester hot seat . Steve Round, Chris Woods, Phil Neville and Chief Scout at Goodison, Robbie Cooke, all are expected to be drafted in as replacements for the men Sir Alex Ferguson worked so closely with during United's years of dominance.

Steve Round, who will become David Moyes' number two, just like he was at Everton, is widely regarded as one of the finest young British coaches in today's game. Since his career was cut short at 25 he has worked his way up the coaching ladder and has been Moyes' assistant since Alan Irvine's departure in 2008. Along with Moyes and the other Goodison backroom staff, Round will be hoping for a successful time at the hub of the most coveted jobs in the world.

Luis Suarez transfer talk

As a huge fan of one of the most gifted footballers in the world right now, it came as a shock to me that Luis Suarez made the comments he did on a Uruguayan radio show recently. Whether or not there has been a mix up in translation from the press, I can't be certain, but if what he said is true then as Liverpool fans we have the right to feel let down and aggrieved by these comments.

When Suarez had everyone, and I mean everyone, on his back during the the racism controversy and most recently the biting incident, the only people that stuck by him were the fans that pay good money to watch his talents. To go on a radio show back home and say what he did shows, in my opinion, an incredible lack of respect towards the very people who have supported him through the thick and thin.

Fans like to see players stick around, to build towards something, to work as a unit to win competitions, to share special moments with fans and teammates. I believe he owes the fans at least another year of playing in red, and not sell out to the Madrid club who have always got the player they wanted, just because they can.

If he isn't 'prepared to continue suffering at the hands of English journalists' then that is the easy way out. And may I remind him that 'suffering' in football terms is driving to Stoke on a freezing December night , and watching your team get hammered 3-1 after paying an extortionate £42 for a ticket, and then realising you have to fork out another £30 to fill up your car with petrol (after paying £10 to park on a piece of tarmac). You get my drift.

So my message for Suarez is to stay and fight. To take the cowards route towards southern Europe shows weak character in my opinion. We have put up with a lot of your shenanigans these last few months, yet if you stay the Kop will still continue to shout your name from the first whistle of the first game. Money and sponsorship may come your way at the Bernabeu, but loyalty and a sense of belonging as we work towards trophies will always be around at Anfield.

Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich- Fussball is coming home.

The biggest stage in the world is set to host the biggest game of the football calendar this today when the German North takes on the German South in a mouth watering tie which has finally got it’s chance at the top of the European pedestal for the first time in history.

On paper we are set for a monumental battle between the two best teams in Germany for the past few years. Borussia Dortmund have lit up this year’s competition and their yellow tide of dedicated fans will have the majority of the footballing world on their side as the London sunset creeps away on Saturday night.

Their opponents and arch rivals Bayern Munich have once again efficiently graced their way through a competition which has saw them fall so often at the last few attempts. They now have the chance to rid the demons of that Chelsea loss last year at their home ground, The Allianz Arena and to send out a message to the rest of the world that they aren’t the ‘almost’ team many often label them as.

Dortmund come into this game shaking off their disappointment as a mediocre domestic season comes to a close. The 2012/13 season has saw them surrender their Bundesliga title to their very opponents this Saturday, and after seeing their star player Mario Gotze recently decide to jump ship and venture toward Munich as of next season, a sense of double injustice will surely add fire to the belly’s of this ever so talented Dortmund side that has the ears of Europe perked up and watching.

We all know Bayern Munich to be the super power of the game since the mid 70’s but their recent inconsistencies has given them nothing but fresh air to lift in this last decade or so. Twice since 1999 have they lost the European Cup to utter heartbreak, both at the hands of English sides, and both at the hands of teams that at the time were seen as the weaker squad going into the game.

Jupp Heyneckes, Bayern’s 68 year old coach, carries all the experience in the footballing world though, and with his last game being concluded by the referee’s last game at the famous new Wembley, the players will surely want to play and win for him as much they want to rid the ghost of their own European past.

A tantalising final is most definitely on the cards and I’m sure every football fan will want to mourn the end of the football season with an end of season Champions League classic. It certainly has the alarm bells of one and let’s hope the Wembley of new can create some memories to match the glorious past of the old twin towers.

Joining the German party

A personal fixation with Borussia Dortmund has led to booking a train down to London for the weekend to go and join in with the football celebrations going on in the city. You would think I have a front and centre Willy Wonka golden ticket to the final itself with a ‘meet the players’ party afterwards I’m that excited.
In fact I don’t even have entrance to the fan parks that will surround the stadium with its UEFA sponsored advertising hoardings and expensive merchandise. I do hope, however, that when taking a lap around this architecturally beautiful stadium, a ticket just floats from the air and into my ever so grateful hands, like an auburn leaf descending from its branch in deep autumn.

Tickets are hard to come by nowadays in many of the popular sports. The days of turning up to the turnstiles and paying for your ticket are over. Memberships, fan cards, season tickets, and waiting lists are the norm, more so than ever in football. The difficulty at acquiring match tickets today is equalled by the steepness in the prices. Things are being done to counteract such an increase in prices though, and this is something I will look at as the new season approaches. But for now I’d like to make comparisons. Comparisons from the early days of paying tupence for a ticket or just jumping over the wall thanks to a knee up, to today’s football marketing profit machine.

As I consider ways in which to get into Wembley tomorrow to watch my beloved second team Borussia Dortmund, I consider the consequences to attempting such an act, when 30 years ago you were most likely given a clout round the ear by the superintendent and told to pay next time round, and that would be the end of it. Whether you see me on the news or not, here’s my small take on what 30 years in football does to society:
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I read a book once by a Liverpool fan who told his tales of trips and games all across Britain and Europe in the 70’s and 80’s, known to most as the era of British club dominance on the continent. He would write how during the run up to the game against Roma in 1984, Liverpool’s first embrace with the Trevi Fountain and Italy’s capital city, there was a sea of red in the streets, bars and squares that shaped this beautiful city.

As he and his mates hopped of their bus they saw a ticket tout with a number of tickets, a poisonous leech looking to make a quick buck or two by ripping off the loyal fans who’d ventured across the lands of Western Europe to watch their team conquer all football had to offer.

As he approached the man, he asked how much, and before the man could say ‘250 Lira’ he swiped them from his sweaty grasp and ran off as fast as you could say ‘der’s ya change lad’. And with that he’d handed them out to the other grief stricken Scousers who were yet to acquire a ticket after making the arduous journey south.
Another tale told of a game at Wolves and the travelling Anfield faithful had once again showed up in their thousands towards Birmingham. As they arrived they were hastily told that without a ticket they weren’t getting in (having no ticket in those days was a common occurrence).

So a quick Scouse brainwave followed by a sledgehammer suddenly popping into the equation, the story ended in the Wolves ground having seven shades of Liverpool kicked out of it and a free invitation to the biggest party in Birmingham that weekend. By the time the stewards had realised, they had joined the masses and became a needle in a haystack thanks to the sold of crowd in the Midlands.

A strange couple of stories if we compare the impact to what would happen should anyone even try such a feat. I imagine a personal vindication by the Daily Mail would take place, as I’m stereotyped as a ‘yob’ or ‘hooligan’.

This is closely followed by an ASBO, for carrying a sledgehammer around as well as being offered counselling for scaring the general public like some sort of psychopath in the making. Add this to a trial for ‘trespassing’ the stadium as well as a potential assault charge because the guy I’ve violently stolen the ticket off is recovering in the hospital with a bout of ‘paper cut’. Injury Lawyers For You would be on the phone and I’d be bankrupt in no time as he struggles to recover from his horrific injuries.....on holiday in Marbella.

I digress.

You see my brief, albeit exaggerated version of what isn’t really that far from the truth. So tomorrow when you’re tucked up in the pub or at home, consider me in two potential scenarios. One of utter devastation at missing out on even watching the game thanks to being locked in a London cell, or the other of me, slap bang in the middle of the Dortmund army as Marco Reus scores an absolute screamer in the last minute.

I can dream.

Jamie Carragher- The last of the bellowing voice from a genuine football legend.

Often we see days of celebration at Anfield. Players and their families walk around holding the trophies and medals of games and competitions they have won that season. A lap of honour to show the people what the support has given them. Liverpool’s last home game of the 2012/13 season wasn’t a day of celebration so much. It was a day of appreciation. An appreciation for a player that has optimised his position, a dying breed of a defender that the next generation may only see on ‘Premier League Years’ in the future, Jamie Carragher.

Tika Taka Football is revered around the world as THE best way to play the game as we know it today. Beautiful Barcelona are a team to admire, so stunning in their conviction with which they grace the game of football. The channels of play with which the Catalans create a moment, a movement and deft touch of brilliance is a special happening.

Modern day football determines that teams and players like the ones Barcelona churn through their unrelenting academy system, La Masia, like a large scale factory production line is the future. These are the new breed of footballer, slick, lean, quick footed and a master of ball control. We’ve embraced these times, these glorious days of exquisite football, of 21st century heroes whose exploits on the pitch are unfortunately followed as much off the pitch.

I deliberately digress.

What we often don’t appreciate anymore is the player I like to define as the ‘just clear the ball, and we’ll discuss the rest later’ type of professional, and the type of player the boy turned legend from Bootle was. Bob Paisley once famously said, "If you're in the penalty area and don't know what to do with the ball, put it in the net and we'll discuss the options later” whilst at Liverpool. These words seem to have rang true for Carragher since he set off on his Liverpool journey on the 8th January 1997 as a substitute in the League Cup at Middlesbrough.

What has gone before Carragher and what will come after is an astronomical gap in terms of style of play, mind set and arguably, passion. In all that’s changed in football, Carragher has kept his head throughout. He has stayed true to himself, and stuck to his guns. A one man army of red faced defence. He has told the people who needed to be told what they needed to hear and instilled passion and belief into the many that played beside him. His character has oozed grit, determination and fight for a real cause, even at times when it felt lost, even at times when change was too much.

Many players only serve an ounce of a fans expected efforts when on a football field. Most pass us by in only a brief conversation in the local pub, down the park having a kick-a-round. In today’s world of playing contracts, agent so say, flash cars and model girlfriends. Carragher’s presence seemed to always to be one of working class, a grafter who wouldn’t have looked out of place sitting in a plasterers van at lunchtime.
His devotion and tactical know-how for the game were second to none, characteristics which may not have catapulted him to the pinnacle of Europe had he not possessed them. He’d be the first to tell you his talents on the ball weren’t as good as other top defenders in Europe. But his awareness of his surroundings and traits as a leader stood him out from the rest.

His voice could be heard from the farthest echelons of the Spion Kop, a foghorn to warn ships of an incoming mist, a bellow to his comrades that the opposition were on the attack, a scream to organise the teams shape, like a roman shield formation in battle.

The words ‘transition’ and ‘progress’ have hung over the steel beams of Anfield since Brendan Rodgers made the offices of Melwood his own last summer. Liverpool are re-growing, rebranding, trying to click through the gears to steady a ship and move it onwards. Carragher has been through many a transition as well as a glorious period of unbelievable European domination, when he arguably stood among the best in the world. It’s just a shame 737 games couldn’t have ended with a shining, Barclays sponsored, gold tinted Premier League Medal. Still, the other haul of medals weigh enough to see him with a satisfactory memory of it all.

So thank you, Carra. Thank you for believing when all seemed lost, thank you for clattering into players we all dreamed of taking a whack at over the years, thank you for guarding the famous red line at the back, thanks for Istanbul, for Cardiff, for all the other cups you so brilliantly won. Thank you for showing others players the right direction, thank you for clapping the fans every single game, thank you for THAT clearance in extra time on a steaming hot night in Turkey, thank you for defining passion, thank you for defining a generation, for defining a city and making the people happy. Thank you for everything.

Happy retirement.