TEAMtalk reflects on 2011 and relives each month's most memorable moment, including January sales, Barca's masterclass and a derby demolition.

JANUARY: Reds and Blues fleeced on forwards

Football fans witnessed a seismic transfer deadline day as Fernando Torres left Liverpool for Chelsea for a British record fee of £50million, while Andy Carroll made the move from Newcastle to Liverpool in a £35million deal.

Both moves were sealed in a frenetic final few minutes before the 11pm deadline, the players having arrived at their new clubs by helicopter earlier that Monday.

Was it worth it? Torres and Carroll have both struggled since, and the only winner in both deals seems to have been Magpies owner Mike Ashley. Sam Nightingale

FEBRUARY: Cheick out Tiote's leveller

February 5 was an extraordinary day in Premier League history, with 41 goals scored across eight games - the most on a Saturday for nearly 18 years.

Louis Saha netted four on his own in Everton's 5-3 win over Blackpool, but the big talking point of the day was Newcastle's incredible comeback against Arsenal. The Gunners led 4-0 after just 26 minutes but the Magpies needed only 19 minutes in the second half to get back on level terms and the game ended 4-4. TEAMtalk's James Marshment later selected the St James' Park thriller as his Game of the Season. Jon Holmes

MARCH: Argyle's admin agony

Plymouth Argyle were making a serious push for the Premier League in the mid-2000s, but on the afternoon of Friday, March 4, they joined the Football League's list of shame as they were plunged into administration with debts of over £17million.

It marked another significant episode in English football's ongoing tale of the haves and have-nots, and resulted in eight months of financial misery for the club's employees and players, with Argyle coming close to liquidation on more than one occasion before finally being saved in November.

The whole sorry story should serve as a reminder of the dangers of clubs over-reaching themselves for a place among England's elite. JH

APRIL: Tale of two semis

Stoke reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history with a 5-0 win over Bolton who, over eight months on, still look dazed from their Wembley walloping.

Manchester City beat United 1-0 in the other semi-final on Saturday, April 16, and the victory - secured when Yaya Toure ruthlessly exploited a Michael Carrick mistake - symbolised City's growing strength. They went on to beat Stoke 1-0 in the final to secure the club's first major trophy for 35 years. SN

MAY: Barca put on Wembley show

Prior to Manchester United's final rematch against Barca at Wembley on Saturday, May 28, Sir Alex Ferguson insisted there would be no repeat of their Rome embarrassment of 2009.

He was wrong. Very wrong.

This year's showpiece played itself out as almost an exact replica of Barca's Stadio Olimpico stroll, with United starting strongly before Ferguson's men were quickly reduced to the role of piggies in the middle by Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and co.

This was the second time Barca had left London with the European Cup, with Pep's peerless class of 2011 proving more than a match for Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team' of 1992. Ian Watson

JUNE: Under-21s underperform

England fans were looking to the future during a quiet summer on the football front, with the hope that the Under-21s could help banish memories of the senior side's dismal World Cup with a challenge for silverware at the UEFA European U21 Championship in Denmark.

However, there was only to be more disappointment as a lack of invention and concentration ultimately cost Stuart Pearce's side a place in the quarter-finals. The U21s scored only two goals in the tournament and were punished late on by the Czech Republic, Jan Chramosta netting what proved to be the crucial equaliser in their 2-1 win in Viborg on Sunday, June 19, resulting in criticism for Pearce. JH

JULY: Mancini reins in Balotelli in LA

Fleet Street is running out of adjectives to describe maverick Mario Balotelli, but in his role as chief spoilsport in sun-drenched California on Sunday, July 24, Roberto Mancini chose 'unprofessional'.

Super Mario, who had already made a fool of the Galaxy goalkeeper when scoring a penalty, attempted an outrageous backheel to give City a two-goal lead. On this occasion, though, the ball trickled harmlessly wide, the sight of which made an already sweltering Mancini lose his cool.

Mancini hooked Balotelli immediately in an almost-token attempt to show the untamed entertainer who was boss. It may have worked, however, as Balotelli has since begun to show why his manager persists with him - never more so than in the derby demolition at Old Trafford, where Balotelli put City on the road to smashing six past United, just 48 hours after an impromptu fireworks party in his bathroom. IW

AUGUST: Anzhi splash the cash

Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala signed Samuel Eto'o from Inter Milan in late August 2011 in a deal which made the Cameroon striker the highest-paid player in the world.

Eto'o joined Anzhi for £24million on a contract worth a whopping £17.8million a year. Makhachkala are bankrolled by Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov and Eto'o revealed the Anzhi chief has big plans for the club, telling CNN: "He (Kerimov) told me he wanted to build a big team and he had thought about me as someone who could lead that project." SN

SEPTEMBER: Carlos the Jackass

"One bad apple" - the words of Graeme Souness, used repeatedly by the Scot to describe Carlos Tevez's refusal to play for City in their Champions League clash at Bayern Munich on Tuesday, September 27.

It was arguably the worst display of player power we've yet witnessed in the modern game - a multi-millionaire footballer choosing to brazenly disrespect his club, manager and fans in full view of the TV cameras during a high-profile match.

The fall-out rumbled on for weeks - Tevez claimed it was simply a misunderstanding - with the Argentinian eventually placed on gardening leave until January, when a sale is expected. JH

OCTOBER: City show six appeal

Despite all the money that City threw at their 'project', United had always remained just out of reach prior to 2011. The signs were there, though, that City were gradually closing the gap, a feeling strengthened by their 1-0 victory over their neighbours in April's FA Cup semi-final.

For the avoidance of any doubt, on Sunday, October 23, the noisy neighbours strolled in through the champions' front door and ransacked the joint, helping themselves to six goals, prior to peeing in the plant pots before they left. Possibly.

The triumph and, more so, the margin of victory made everyone, not least Sir Alex Ferguson, sit up and recognise that City now had to be taken seriously in their quest for world domination. IW

NOVEMBER: Football mourns Speed

The death of Gary Speed was announced by the FAW on Sunday, November 27.

The passing of the former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United midfielder shocked and puzzled the world of football. Speed was a model pro and had turned around the fortunes of Wales after taking the manager's job less than a year previously. The measure of the man can be summed up best by the volume of tributes that poured in after his death.

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey summed up many of them: "The world has lost a great football manager but, even more sadly, a great man. He will be missed by all." SN

DECEMBER: Ugly end to 2011

There has been little Christmas cheer around over the last week. Luis Suarez was banned by the FA for eight matches after being found guilty of using racist language, while 24 hours later, the CPS confimed its intention to charge John Terry for a racially aggravated public order offence.

Little can be said about Terry's case, but Liverpool have refused to take Suarez's punishment lying down. The club and its players released statements backing their player before sporting Suarez T-shirts - a move which did not go down well with anti-racism campaigners.

This theme, sadly, looks set to run and run into 2012...IW

What were your most memorable moments of the last 12 months? Add a Comment below!