Torres. And Chelsea. And football lies.

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This feeling of emptiness on the day when we broke the bank to sign Luis Suarez for a record fee of £22.8M.

Yesterday was a historic day in Liverpool’s illustrious timeline. And yes, that still rings true. It’s historic in the sense that one of our best ever players stabbed us in the back and did the unthinkable.

That overshadowed another historic moment, where us fans were supposed to be rejoicing over the capture of Luis Suarez – a big name that has eluded us for some time. No one is rejoicing now.

When Chelsea started putting together a bid for Torres at £28M, most of us remained bullish. Sadly, in this world intoxicated with riches, all heads get turned in the face of dizzying offers.

Football lies.

As I stare across my faint-blue desk, I can’t help but notice youthful gleams of those eyes. His hands tucked, his posture slouched, coupled with a glistening grin. Superimposed on the side was the Liverbird – envisioning that he was born to be with Liverpool.

We all thought he had this unmistakable, unique bond with all fans. That bond was broken yesterday. Personally, I felt as if I just lost a best friend.

He broke the hearts of all fans’ worldwide, young and old, by submitting a written transfer request to force a move to Chelsea. In the face of adversity, Liverpool stood strong. They laid down the marker and assumed their authority on the player – as if telling Torres – you’re not bigger than the club.

Torres, after all, is just an employee of Liverpool Football Club.

I can understand Torres’ intentions for being disillusioned, disconnected. Everyone has felt that way since the rot set in 2 years ago. Yet when everything just started to click into place, he dropped a bombshell.

A myriad of why’s popped up in my head.

Whatever that developed in the past 24-48 hours is illogical. All fans can understand a desire to leave the club given the current malaise (which we have not quite recovered from yet).

Yet what baffles me most is the timing of the request, and the choice of destination.

Firstly, submitting a request with just less than 4 days to go before the transfer window slammed shut in clubs’ faces just screamed of self-centredness. He put his personal desires and needs ahead of his duty to fulfil his contract and serve the club for the duration stipulated in the agreement.

No one can bury their faces in the sand and pretend as if nothing had happened. What is as clear as daylight told me that Torres has decided that he is too big for this club and chose a time ‘perfect’ to submit a request. It stinks of disloyalty, respectfulness, and a sense of irresponsibility.

After all, there he was just 19 days ago, committing his future to the club. Lies.

Secondly, his choice of destination is Chelsea. Where do Chelsea exactly stand in the League? Oh, a miserable 4th for the Champions last year – with their hopes for the title evaporating with each passing game. Their immediate priority now only remains in Champions League qualification for next season, with Tottenham hot on their heels.

Truth to be told, Chelsea’s rebuilding job is as big as Liverpool’s. Lampard, Drogba, Anelka, Terry, Malouda are all in their 30s and the Russian who bankrolls Chelsea is intent on cutting down spending as his footballing interest is on a rapid decline.

We have another set of owners who are doing everything, both in the short-term and in the long term to navigate Liverpool to rule England once again. The amount of hours and work they put in 24/7 for the Club is immeasurable – they are driven, determined and are hungry for glory.

Is Torres’ mind overruled by his agent who is just desperate for a payroll to buy himself a massive bungalow which sits next to Roman Abramovich’s jet? Or what?

No one really knows. What I’m certain of however, is that Torres is throwing in the towel and giving up hope on Liverpool as a club capable of living up to his expectations.

No bother. No player is bigger than the club. The club rides the good times and the bad times with the fans – no one player is really ever loyal.

While Chelsea are certain to up their offer for Torres to a valuation of £35M, with a £5M Daniel Sturridge thrown into the package, therein lies a massive question.

Is it time to let him go?

For me – he has put his reputation at Liverpool in tatters. He has torn all his goals for Liverpool up. He will never regain the affection he once enjoyed from the fans in The Kop.

His heart is turned. There is no point in keeping a player whose heart lies elsewhere now.

If he wants to leave, then do one and go on. All we can do now is to milk every penny out of Chelsea’s transfer coffers and make sure we end up £50M richer – we could buy up to 3 quality players up to £16M with that.

And my final message for Torres is.

The club doesn’t fight for you to play. You fight to play for the club.

Twitter @redsonfire

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77 Comments

  1. Keegan, rush, barnes, Macca, fowler, Owen, all have left. One player can make a club better, but will never make or define a club.

    Torres,as soon as you put on the Chelsea Blue, you will be treated like Owen. Judas.

    YNWA.

  2. Let him go, Liverpool Football Club is bigger than Torres we have won titles/cups before he came and will do again. Now we now why he has made an effort and scored in the last couple of weeks to keep Chelseas interest alive. Sod off Torres.

  3. Good piece.

    I believe he’s been tapped up.

    However, no way should the club allow him to leave without the courtesy of sufficient notice to attempt to put in place a contingency plan.

  4. Well said, mate. As much as I wanted to see him stay, I felt cheated, like losing a best friend. If he wants to go, just let him be. I’m sure in my heart, we’ll be winning without him. No one is bigger than the club. YNWA.

  5. that was an excellent article. I too think that going to chelsea is not a good decision at all because we are getting better and they are getting worse. I agree that he should be sold for around 50m pounds bt i think that its not the right time. First of all it is the end of transfer window and thus Liverpool wont be able to bring any other striker in this transfer window. Secondly i think he needs to feel that what a force Liverpool can become with him and Suarez upfront. If he still decides to leave, well then,he must be sold but only in summer transfer window so that we can actually use the money to bring in the replacement.

  6. Well said. No player is bigger than the club. Fernando if you go you will always walk alone. LFC never will.

  7. I think you have a short memory, Charles. Fernando Torres was born and brought up in Madrid and was a fanatical boyhood supporter of Athletico Madrid, whom he subsequently played for and captained. And yet, when Liverpool came calling, he didn’t hesitate. I don’t remember any of us questioning his values at the time. How is the situation any different now. He’s ambitious, he wants to win trophies. He’s not getting that here. Our first responsibility is always to ourselves. If he stays, fantastic, if he goes then let’s wish him well and thank him for the contribution that he made.

  8. Well said mate.. i am sure this is all about money and his wife’s dreams to live and shop in london at harrods etc..and perhaps want their child to have a ‘posh’ accent! SUCH SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS!! But he can never be bigger than LFC.. YNWA!!

    GO ON WALK ALONE TORRES….. YOU MUG!!!

  9. Well said. After waiting and watching every piece of Suarez news for weeks, i rejoiced in what could have been the most potent strike force in the league. And now this.
    Sadly, we have no choice but to take the money. And remember, Keegan left and we became the greatest club in the world.

  10. c’mon…get real and get over it…from torres view this was the natural thing to do..after all the lies he have been fed by liverpool…
    if you had been treated like torres have you had left a long time ago…
    besides this is the way of modern football…

    for writing this post you should be ashamed…torres has given you so much joy..and this is the way you repay him ??..

    finally one simple question where have all the true liverpool fans gone..the ones who where looked up to by every other fan in the country…where is the almost militant support of your club ??..

    grow up !!..

    and do the right thing stick by liverpool give em time..have faith..dont behave like a spoiled child..

  11. I’m a Man City supporter. I laughed when United went through this with Rooney and then cringed when my club was dealt the same blow by Tevez. Now, I’m just disappointed with this Torres business. Your club was just seeming to turn the corner; new owners, new manager, new signing, some inspiring wins. Now this. It is a shame.

  12. They say that Torres isnt bigger than the club. Well at least he has bigger ambition than the club.

    YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID YES TO THE ARABS BACK IN 2007….MUGS

  13. IF Torres wants to leave then we should sell BUT not till the summer and to a European club… You do NOT strengthen your enemy at a time when they are weakening. Torres as a player you haven’t been at your best this season and we stuck by you.. In our time of need you did not repay that loyalty and that saddens me. LFC is on the rise and I had hoped Torres would be a part of that but we shouldn’t stop him going but we should stop him going to our enemy

  14. If he wants to go, let him go!!
    Take the money with Future Star Sturridge, put in a reasonable bid for Lukaku and buy Charlie adam. I see nothing wrong with that.

    No one is kicking him out, I assume! Let him go if he doesnt want to be part of LFC.

  15. You are a fickle lot indeed, no better than Man U fans.
    “Tony Mac” had the one sensible contribution to the debate. Tribal loyalty is all good, but it should not make us blind to the realities of football. Footballers are professionals who look out for their own best interest, like all of you undoubtedly do when you go to work.
    So, if he goes (which I hope he doesn’t) I say thank you, Fernando, for all the good times you brought to Liverpool.

  16. Bet John Terry’s licking his lips at the thought of Torres’ wife coming to 2 bob plastic chelsky. Won’t be long about the rumours of that dirty man doing his seedy stuff with Torres’ little bit. Good luck Nando hope you enjoy your fake life at chelsky. A team that’s so to be in a lot more shit than ours.
    YNWA!!!!!!

  17. This is probably the best thing I have read since Torres handed in the transfer request. One thing I dont understand is how can Torres change his mind from just over 2 weeks ago. I used to think Torres was the type of player who would stay with a club through thick and thin but it seems not. Now the King is back and has got him scoring goals again and this is how Torres says thanks. If he wants to leave let him do so because I feel as the kop will never sing his name again . And with the money we get im hoping for an Ashley Young Bid? Well bye Torres Liverpool FC made you an let Chelsea destroy you. Y.N.W.A

  18. Well said Zico.
    Let the bugger go, but only in the summer. Why give Chelsea the benefits of his goals in this season when we have some chance of swopping places with them on the log. He can go for +60 million to anybody outside Premiership and we will do an Owen on him.

  19. Top draw article. Would not have blamed nando if he had done this under hodgson, but now when Kennys reds are on the up and the Chelsea pensioners are on the way down, this makes no longer term sense, unless all that matters to him is gold. Sad nando, sad!

  20. Well done Torre’s for chosing us. Can’t wait to see you in a blue shirt next week, party’s already began. Glad you realised you need to get to into a world class team with prestige, no some crappy team who depend on their history. You and the drog upfront – I say no more baby. Good times are coming back at the bridge, YEAH BABY!! Now go and get us Aguerro Roman – U the Man!!!!

    Scouse fans it seems – YAWA (You always walk alone)

  21. No one is bigger than Liverpool FC. If a player wants to leave Liverpool, then f*** off. Liverpool should cash in and do some good buying in the summer.

  22. he is a serious asset wether he stays or goes and for that he should be revered by all LFC fans. i will always luv that man for the joy he brought to the LFC family.

  23. When Torres recently stated that he always fulfills his contracts I thought about Athletico Madrid. We bought him from them and he didn’t fulfill his contract. Anyway, that wasn’t midway through the season and, if my memory doesn’t fail me, not a few days before the transfer window would close.

    I don’t mind if Torres leaves, if price and timing are right. It shouldn’t be to a team in the same league, either, so say end of season, 50m or more to a club in Italy or Spain (or Russia if they are willing to part with that kind of money).

    What angers me about this is the timing, not that he wants to leave. He could and should have thought about the club, too, and not only about himself. As Suárez is rather a second striker than a real number 9 Torres would leave us with N’Gog to fill his boots, which is very much to ask of.

  24. Lads we are strong, and my be Torres is weak. He does not want to earn a cup, just wants to share the cup. Ancelloti is not desperate for Torres, may be Roman is! Never weigh our love for him with his career, nor Roman’s money. He better leave if his mind tells him to. Remember for Chelsea you will just be an acquisition!
    If oyu ever had some respect for LiverpoolFC, wait till the end of the season!

  25. Charlie Adam handed in a transfer request after an initial offer from Liverpool. If we accept this player then we must treat Torres the same or we have no morals and become the same as every other teams fans.
    We cannot pick and choose when to have morals and to what player too. Either LFC should ban buying any players from other clubs who hand in transfer requests from now on. Then we can castigate Torres!

    Or we just accept this one off Torres and get on supporting the club.

    Players come and players go but in this overhyped world of football we beatify players more than the club.
    NB Anfield remains!

  26. THE WAY WE REPAY HIM ?????????? ARE U RIGHT IN THE HEAD TOMSTONED? HE WANTS TO GO TH CHELSEA HE IS SCUM

  27. To Tony Mac.
    He did not leave Athletico just because we came in calling!
    It was when he found that fans had no such great respect for their club nor him during a title decider match in which Barcelona won Athletico which made the title slip of the Real hand with Barca winning it, and their fans in their wrong minds celebrated when they lost since the title slipped from Real.

  28. As a season ticket holder for 22yrs I I’m very disappointed by fernando demanding to move. If he wants to go let him go nobody is bigger than our club certainly not some disloyal spoilt kid , get all the money we cam for him – nobody ever remembers a judas for the right reasons just ask manc owen.

  29. @GoChelsea, go away please. I’ve read your comments in two articles already. You’ve got no history go away you twat!

  30. Liverpool owe Torres nothing, he should be honoured to be asked to wear the shirt AND be paid £100,000+ a week for the privelege!

    We were the most beautiful club before you came and will be long after. I am worried you will be remembered for all the wrong reasons a la Michael Owen.

    Get a grip lad, this is NOT the right move right now.

  31. To me Torres is an overrated striker he will never win the kop back he goes for 50 mil maybe real will loan us benzema just out of pity for this great club Torres is to injury prone let this idiot go I used to be his biggest fan and then when I saw lfc I thought wow what a great club and with Torres i thought they must be best team in England well go fernando u are chelseas only hope of champions league football lfc can live without u

  32. The thing with Torres is it would be a bit sad if fans started burning shirts, if he goes then we should just get on with it and ignore him. Who knows he may be playing the Rooney/Teves game and he may do a u turn and if so then our conditions on any improved wages has to come with a contract extension. Torres position with the fans is different than the rime Gerrard put in his request as Gerard is from here, it’ in his blood. If you expect someone like Torres to be as loyal to a club then we would never have had the chance to have him in the firdt place, he’d still be at atletico. so in that case maybe Nando want’s trophies and he feels he has more chance at Chelsea than here. One things for sure keeping him here against his wishes is not. the way to go, he has just over two years left so we know that means in twelve months time their will be constant media mischief all day every day and that we can do without. This is why if he is serious about leaving then we should get as much money now, get every penny of Chelsea now and wish them luck with his injury record. We have had without doubt some of the best strikers in the world who have all left on differing terms but we have carried on and we will again. We will find another hero to worship because it’s us that make a player. So to sum up this is just a setback in the small strides needed to get this club back to what it does best – making me happy.

  33. Dont give the trolls the response their looking for. blue for 5 minutes Xyth et al will go away and play with their willies

  34. Fantastic article and last night I was so gutted I could not sleep properly just devastated. However this is Liverpool FC and if a player does not want to play for this fnatastic club then he needs to go. I have said myself that Chelsea are an ageing team which is why they are struggling so yes Chelsea in a years time will be in the same boat as Liverpool now and Torres will be hanging his head. The plastic flags of chelsea will not measure to the european atmosphere at anfield and they will return. I hope that if Torres does go then when we play chelsea we win convincingly and make him realise what he has given up and we all know that win or lose all we will hear at the bridge is the sweet sound of Liverpool fans.

  35. Let him go – he’s not exactly set the world alight this or last season. If we get £40m plus Sturridge then we should buy Ashley Young (£15-20m), Negrado (£25m) and Mata (£5-8m).

    Then we’ll buy Torres back when he realises that he’s got to play alongside Terry who’ll be trying to chat up his missus after every game.

  36. Yes, Torres has proved how disloyal liar he is, when big money is promised by another club. Another Owen!

  37. Charles you have said what every red must be thinking except tony mac well done excellent mate . Why chelsea not man city or man united god forbid what have chelsea got that liverpool or the others i mentioned havnt got ? what under handed deals have he and chelsea been doing this is not a spare of the moment thing ? why wait untill now to put in a transfer request knowingly we would not have time to bring in a proven striker to play with luis ? What is his daughter going to think when she grows up as a born and bred scouser when peole of liverpool denounce her dad for leaving his club in the lerch after the way they have treated him ? I have said to my son many times when big players have left our club that what ever happens now or in the future there will always be a liverpool football club come rain or shine these people just come and go son so dont cry about it look to the next super star player that come to the club because they will keep comming we are the world famous liverpool football club not some club who had money to buy there history .and one last thing liverpool should insist that if he goes then he remburses all the liverpool supporters who have bought shirts with his name on the back because he let them down not them let him down .

  38. @GoChelsea

    Mate at least we have the History what is yours?
    You may be able to buy players for millions but you cant buy history
    I heard chelsea are going to offer us 100 mill for one of our champions league cups
    Just wait till your russian rent boy gets bored and pisses off

  39. tomstoned. If you had been treated like torres have…….
    sorry but it is subject i.e he, she, it or name + HAS, not have, its the subjects of they, we, you etc + HAVE, sorry to be pedantic but you’ve just shown yourself to be a foreigner with no idea of the Liverpool way, just sùpporting the team who you think will win. i am a true liverpool fan, born an bred 20 minutes from anfield and i wish all the best to our former players as long as they don’t stab us in the back.i.e Alonso, mickey mouse…….. pardon i meant Michael Owen and that smelly cheese mascarpone, oh crap i meant mascherano… why request to leave when you don’t know what the future holds especially when you have been carried by other players getting payed 150k more or less every week, judas fcuking cnut hope u join the scumbags and have a career ending injury :@

  40. Namoddas has a point. Terry is going to chat up Mrs. Torres after each game. Good luck to you Torres, if you go there!

  41. you mustn’t blame Torres. He stayed at unfashionable Atletico Madrid for many years when he could got a big money move. Loyalty. Then he turned down many better offers to join Liverpool because of a childhood dream of playing for a great club steeped in local tradition. The guy earned my respect for that.

    But what is Liverpool FC today? A franchise club whose ownership is wrangled over by international billionaires. Chinese, arab, american, who cares? Rafa’s rants and Hodgson’s angst? Not exactly the stuff that dreams are made of. And as for the return of King Kenny, i’s a case of too little too late. Liverpool FC is not the club that Torres grew up watching any more.

    No, don’t blame Fernando, blame the jokers who’ve been running your club for the last couple of decades.

  42. “You are a fickle lot indeed, no better than Man U fans.
    “Tony Mac” had the one sensible contribution to the debate. Tribal loyalty is all good, but it should not make us blind to the realities of football. Footballers are professionals who look out for their own best interest, like all of you undoubtedly do when you go to work.
    So, if he goes (which I hope he doesn’t) I say thank you, Fernando, for all the good times you brought to Liverpool.”

    That’s not the point! Earlier this month he pledged loyalty to the club. We brought in Suarez to get a bit of pressure off of him so the two of them can work together. And just when the deal was done, he hands in a transfer request? I as a fan feel like I’ve been slapped on the face, even more. He should’ve been honest about his feelings so the club could do something about the situation during this transfer window like bring in another striker. No words can describe how I feel about this. Nevertheless, no player is bigger than the club. Fernando now walks alone.

  43. Namoddas is spot on about john terry look at beckham he has only been at spurs five mins and his bird is humped that john terry he is a lad aint he take note torres !

  44. I agree 100%. Nicely written. If torres wants to go, that means he has lied to us loyal liverpool fans just 19 days ago when he, supposedly pledged his future to us. I find it hard to believe that he doesn’t understand the traditions n philosophy of our club. Let’s cash up! 50 million plus Sturridge. As much as we adored him, NO player is bigger than LFC! YNWA

  45. Hey, Timao, there is enough blame to go around when you want to play the blame game but in the end until we hear from FT we won’t know what he is thinking because his actions do not seem to match what we have heard him say in the past! IN the meantime we Liverpool fans will do whatever it takes to heal our broken dreams, hearts and plans.

  46. What’s done is done. Torres’ deafening silence almost certainly means he intends to force the move, although his “choice” of destination is a strange one.
    That said the timing for LFC is truly awful & will test Comolli’s network – can we find a suitable replacement within 48 hrs? I would imagine that a number strikers were indentified if the Suarez deal had collapsed so all may not be lost

  47. I feel so incredibly sad – it’s not nice being betrayed by someone you adore – I felt like I’d been shot when I heard the news. I’m sad for myself, for the fans, for the club & owners and also for Fernando himself, because I don’t think he realizes yet what he has actually done and the full extent or effect of his actions! This will become clear to him in the days ahead and I hope he feels some pain, just as the fans are going through at the moment. I’m sorry for the owners too – it’s a real slap in the face for them when they’re doing all they possibly can to improve things at the club. Never did I dream that our relationship with Nando would turn out like this – it will never be the same! :(

  48. This is down to cheapskate agents wanting to feather their nests they should all be put against a wall and face a firing squad.

  49. can nobody see the finger prints of mr broughton in this little game ?
    if we can get another top striker in the next 2 days get rid. if not they have played their hand too late.
    45 million plus anelka will do for now.

  50. Let him go. He’s not won anything at Liverpool and I can’t see Liverpool winning anything in the near future. Benitez ruined the team with the majority of second rate buys. You can’t blame Torres for going to better things before he loses too much pace and age catches up with him.

  51. tomstoned – nobody’s slagging off the club. we know we’ll go on without him & we’ll always stick by the club. This is about anger at a player, a player who we turned from a decent la liga prospect to a world class striker. who 2 weeks ago pledged his commitment to the club & now it’s shown up to be all lies. & forget what he’s done in the past, your best mate might be a right laugh but the minute u find him in bed with your mrs he’s a c*nt. understand?

  52. He was destined to leave in the summer anyway and he is performing at only 75% of his ability. Not to mention his injury risk.

    LFC is in a long-term rebulding phase and we need to accept that there is no short-term fix to our significant weaknesses.

    I for one always felt that Torres would not be part of that re-building plan so I have no problem with seeing him leave as long as we get well paid for him.

    Whether it is now or in the summer, when he leaves it will not be the beginning of the end – but the end of the beginning.

  53. Walk on Torres – and don’t look back… You’ll feel at home with the chavs – misery loves company!

  54. Yes torres go to a club that stabed one of there own in the back ray wilkins you will fit in there very well because you have stabed supporters of reds in the back . Lets take the fifty million and anelka and rebuild our club with genuine players who want to play for liverpool weather we win trophys or not unlike that coward

  55. Chelsea has put in a calculated attempt to offset our balance just as we are showing very positive signs of surprising everyone.(maybe even hit 4th place).
    I say, we do the same and offer 12 million for Drogba or any of their star players. We will offer him personal incentives such as a throne in the seventh heaven.

  56. Torres to go because he can see that Suarez is or will be a better player and a more prolific goal scorer he doesn’t like the competion.

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