In 2007, a young man came to Liverpool. Blonde streaks, shy smile, big price tag, respectful, heart broken after saying good bye to his boyhood club. For 2 yrs he did everything right, was the fastest to reach 50 premier league goals, the first to score back to back Hat tricks at Anfield, for his country he scored the wining goal in the European championships. We reached the QF of the champ league and blew away a premier league title lead to finish 2nd.
He then saw Alonso leave, only to be replaced by an injured Aquilani who didn’t play, and saw his team slump into 7th, being knocked out of the Champions league group stage. Another year. No trophy. A team going backwards. A Duo owning the club who would invest everything into finance the debt that they burdened us with. Rafa left in the Summer. Replaced by a clown in the name of Roy. No investment. Within a month we were struggling to escape the relegation zone. Mascherano had left. Upfront he was playing with Ngog, behind him was Poulsen, to the left he saw Koncheskey.
His head had turned. We saw it in his performances, dating back to the World cup. He was no longer happy. He had lost his smile; he wasn’t enjoying the game that his father had taught him in the streets of Madrid. This was not the Fernando I had fallen in love with. I didn’t recognise this one. It was sad to see. The genius of 2008 who beat Lahm as if he wasn’t there to score the winning goal is now a distant memory. He was no longer the ‘gladiator’ I had become in awe of when I had first seen him in the flesh.. He didn’t take 3 players with him by just sneezing, he no longer ran with the ball, didn’t track back to win it and run at defenders.
He saw no hope in this matter. He was almost 27 with little club football achievements to show. You ask the question’ how would he be remembered if his career ended to day’; the answer is not very highly. Still so much to prove. Chelsea came knocking, the boys head had turned along time ago, he would do anything, go anywhere to escape the mess he had seen his life fallen into. He had come here with so much hope, so much desire, he was leaving with despair and failure. Despair and anguish which the club, the previous board had put him through. It didn’t have to end like this. Torres should never have been in a position where he’d spent a whole year pondering on leaving a club like Liverpool.
The ownership mess, the lack of investment, Christian Purslow, bringing in Roy, signing average players was all too much for Torres. This is no way to treat someone. Like being in a relationship; you treat her so badly for so long, after a while she packs her bags and leaves; you spend your time blaming her for everything, when you forget to look at yourself and the reason why it failed. Liverpool fans have to open their eyes and look at the team, the set up as to why this marriage with Fernando ended.
I guess he can leave, but the anger comes from handing in a transfer request 3 days before the end of the window. Leaving Liverpool, a club already in disarray in a disastrous situation. Is this what we deserved? Fortunately for Liverpool, things have changed now. There is a new world order. A new owner, John Henry who is the complete opposite to the clowns that were here before. A new manager, the King who has brought control, organisation and spirit back to the club. He has made me feel proud to be a Liverpool fan again. Kenny’s made me realise that actually no player is bigger than the badge on the front of the shirt. I never realised this before. They truly are not. Players come and go. Great players have left before Fernando, and great players I’m sure will leave after him. But the club, its history, its pride will always stand strong.
With the new investment, this great club is going places. I think this is something I find baffling. Torres has spent a whole year moaning about the lack of investment, and as soon as the new owners get an opportunity to he jumps ship. I’ll put this out to everyone. In 5 yrs time, with the way the club is now set up, with the ambitious owners, will Chelsea be better off than Liverpool? I suspect not.
Suarez and Carroll are central to Fenway sports groups’ ideology. To build a team on youth. This is what is needed at Anfield. Stability. At all levels. An earthquake has been erupting for over a year now, and it has started to settle. In Suarez, Carroll, Marreiles, Lucas, Reina, Kelly, Agger we have the basis of a team for the next 5 yrs, and hopefully we will get a few extra yrs out of Gerrard and Carra. This is stability. Building a team to challenge. A team to bring pride back into Liverpool, to bring the glory days back to this great club.
Final points. Carroll and Suarez’s reception at Anfield the other day were something special. At a club like Liverpool, you can become a hero; you can go down into folk lore. If you show your ambition to the club and the fans, then you will get that back twice as much in love. Very few clubs give you such a feeling. Fernando will miss that. At Chelsea he won’t get that. At Chelsea, he will struggle to hear his name being called out by the 2 fans sitting in the Matthew Harding stand.
I still believe Torres, if playing well is the best striker in world football. I’ve no doubt about that. If Chelsea can get him to those heights again, then they will give him the trophies that he craves. As a Liverpool fan, Fernando I thank you for your service, I’m sorry to see you go, but I hope your career, like so many others who leave us goes downhill.
You will remember 31st of January 2011 like no other day. It is the day my football club was reborn, and you, my dear friend, became blinded by the anger you had for the previous regime and walked away. You forgot your values. You said ‘romance is dead’. You didn’t realise that we now have 2 players who will have a love affair with our club. For you, you will never be loved like this again.
Saturday, 5 February 2011
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