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• Captain excited about new era after ‘horror’ of last season
• ‘Anything Messi can do, Joe can do as well, if not better’

Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool are set for a bright new era under Roy Hodgson after the “horror” of last season – and claims that the new signing Joe Cole is better than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

Gerrard, in an interview with Match of the Day magazine, said the new manager has already given Liverpool a lift after a disappointing seventh-place finish last season.

“It’s a great club and after speaking with Roy Hodgson I’m really pleased to see his plans for the club. It’s a new era now – we must forget about the horror of what happened last season and get this club back to where it belongs, which is the Champions League at the very least.”

Gerrard said Cole, signed in July on a Bosman from Chelsea, has the ability to drive the team forward.

“[Lionel] Messi can do some amazing things, but anything he can do Joe can do as well, if not better. He used to shock us in training by doing footy tricks with a golf ball that most players can’t even do with a football. I really fancy Joe for the [player of the year] award this season.”

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Manchester United sit on top of the Premier League today after beating Liverpool, while Chelsea dropped more points against Blackburn Rovers. On your brand new Football Weekly, James Richardson, Sean Ingle, Paolo Bandini and Fernando Duarte analyse the various machinations of the title race. Can the Blues regain their confidence? Are the Red Devils utterly unstoppable? And will Arsenal still have a say, or will the Champions League prove too much of a distraction?

Plus, at the bottom of the table, we ask: who’s more ill-equipped to get their team out of trouble – Brian Laws at Burnley, or Hull City’s, ahem, ‘football management consultant’ Iain Dowie?

Elsewhere, we pay tribute to Roy Hodgson’s formerly plucky and now formidable Fulham. After brushing aside Juventus, can the Cottagers go all the way in the Europa League?

Finally, never mind the caveats, Sid Lowe throws caution to the wind and indulges in the Lionel Messi love-in. Is the 22-year-old the best player ever to have kicked a pig’s bladder, or is he flattered by the current weakness of La Liga?

Have a listen and post your comments on the blog below. We’re also on iTunes, Facebook and Twitter, and if you enjoy this type of thing, get your daily dose of fooball with our tea-time email, The Fiver.

James RichardsonBen GreenSean InglePaolo BandiniSid LoweFernando Duarte

• Terry, Gerrard, Torres, Evra and Vidic in World XI
• Marta wins women’s award for fourth consecutive year

Lionel Messi has been named the Fifa Fifpro World Player of the Year. The Argentina and Barcelona forward won the accolade for the first time for helping his club win an unprecedented six trophies, including the Champions League and the domestic league title.

The 22-year-old beat last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo, his two club mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi, and Brazil midfielder Kaka. He was presented with the trophy at an awards ceremony in Zurich.

Messi said: “I’m extremely happy. We’ve just ended a historic year, a perfect year in which we’ve won every competition we’ve played in. We just needed to take this last step and everything has worked out how we wanted. It’s amazing.”

Brazil’s Marta was the recipient of the women’s award for the fourth consecutive year. England’s Kelly Smith, who left Arsenal to play in the new Women’s Professional Soccer league for Boston Breakers earlier this year, was named amongst the top five. Smith said: “This is a real honour for me. It was tough for me to leave my home country because I’m very proud and passionate to be English. I just wanted to be amongst the best players in the world and that’s certainly the case and I’m now pursuing my dream.”

Two England players made it into Fifa’s World XI, along with three other Premier League players. The England and Chelsea captain John Terry and Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard were among the players named tonight in the Fifa World XI. Manchester United defenders Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres also made the team

The XI, voted for by members of the international professional footballers’ union FIFPro, were: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), John Terry (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd), Patrice Evra (Man Utd), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Fernando Torres (Liverpool).

Terry said: “There is no higher accolade than to be voted for by your fellow professionals so we are all very proud.”

Ronaldo won the Fifa Puskas award for the best goal of the 2008/09 season for his long-range effort for Manchester United against Porto in the Champions League in April.

The awards are voted for by the coaches and captains of each national side.

Lionel MessiFifaEnglandManchester UnitedJohn TerryChelseaLiverpoolBarcelonaPremier LeagueSteven Gerrardguardian.co.uk