Fernando Torres Chelsea’s number 9?
Sounds weird doesn’t it? The kind of disbelieving feeling sets in when seeing an old flame in the street with another.
When you look at Torres’ time at Anfield, and before that his time at Atletico Madrid, it may not be all that surprising to see him pulling this stunt.
Although many fans may feel like ‘we’re a club on the up’ again, we’re not a club on the up until we can prove it at the end of the season.
When Torres left Atletico, he left to join a Champions League team that was on the verge of winning the league.
Now, the comparisons between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid are clearer than ever.
Two huge clubs with rich histories and lofty ambitions, but without the means to fully challenge the new order at the top of football.
In Spain it’s Real Madrid and Barcelona, in England it’s Chelsea, Man United and now Manchester City.
The spending power needed to overhaul such teams is astronomical.
There is another way, the slow evolution that we saw begin and then fade under Rafa, undermined by an interfering board.
But that way takes years, and Fernando Torres doesn’t have years, he’ll know that.
As a player there is more to him than explosive pace, he does have a knack for positioning, but as he gets older injuries will eventually catch up to him and any player knows that their time on the pitch becomes more precious the older you get.
At just 26, you may feel he has his best years ahead, but players with such pace, and of his nature, often burn out sooner rather than later.
Is Fernando the new Michael Owen? Maybe not.
But his sale wouldn’t be the end of the world. As long as the money is invested properly and Kenny Dalglish, or any other manager gets to spend it, then the only real damage may be done in Liverpool’s shirt selling department.
The question of Torres’ loyalty seems somewhat misplaced, he was Mr Atletico at one time, the darling of the city and the fans. Yet he publicly courted Liverpool.
Now are we just seeing a repeat? Atletico and Liverpool once again find themselves in the same boat, those fans understand more than any other what most Liverpool fans are feeling.
Do we have a cause for complaint though? The Spaniard has always said he wants to win trophies and he left his boyhood club to be here. On the most part, he held up his part of the bargain but we didn’t come through with ours, and we look a long way off trophy winners now.
The real sting comes in the relationship between the player and the fans. The messages he had previously sent out, including how he wanted his children to be Scousers and that he would honour his contract, leave a bitter taste in the mouth.
Where do we go from here though? With Luis Suarez on board, we may well end up with Torres and Suarez for the rest of the season. If we beat Stoke and then beat Chelsea, a tough ask I know, we could be six points behind the Londoners in a race for 4th.
If we did snatch a Champions League place, would it be fair to cash in on the World Cup winner and try to add strength in depth to the team. I have a feeling a cheeky bid for Karim Benzema wouldn’t be too bad business, with a partnership with Suarez in mind. But it may be too early to judge this one.
Steven Gerrard went through the same thing in 2005 and 2006, yet now, 5 years on, we’ve forgotten all that. The same could happen to Torres, he may yet change his made, so it may be too early to rip the posters off your wall and allow your kid to sob his heart out.
Football’s a fickle game, played by fickle people and watched by fickle people. Nothing surprises me anymore.
If Fernando Torres was still in red this time next year, I would be glad of it. If he goes in the summer, I won’t be too bitter. It will hurt to see him in blue at Anfield but that is the nature of the beast so get used to it.
