“There’s no present. There’s only the immediate future and the recent past.” — George Carlin
TIME, one of life’s only evolving constants, is a funny thing, it will wither you, make you old, it was here before you were born, and it’ll be here long after you’re dead, but never same, constantly changing, this second before and the one second ahead never to be seen again.
One of the interesting things about time is how it can change the past, events marked and dates stamped in time forever and ever.
Yet time can alter perceptions of those events, what they meant, how you felt and how you feel, and how the more recent past can shape thoughts on the more distant.
I doubt there are many who appreciate this concept more than Fernando Torres, seemingly lost in a fog of regret and bad decisions.
A shadow of the player who, for a period, was arguably the most gifted and devastating striker ever to wear the Liverpool No.9 shirt.
Chelsea? It's like playing in a foreign country
“Here, you don’t have to prove you are a professional, it is assumed.” – Fernando Torres, 11 March, 2011
Whilst he would never admit it publicly, it is believed that Torres is ‘deeply unhappy’ at Stamford Bridge, unable to adapt to the cold, unfeeling culture of the club that he initially hailed not long after his arrival, lacking the support network that saw him thrive at Anfield.
There is a tale which illustrates, more than anything, his apparent struggle at Chelsea and the distance and isolation that is strangling a player who was once coveted by every side in Europe.
It is one of the Chelsea team at a luggage carousel after a flight from a European game, and the squad being split into three groups, the English lads around Terry and Lampard, a group made up of the rest of the squad around Drogba, and then Torres, with his baggage, waiting for his luggage, alone.
Torres was, of course, sold for the not insignificant sum of £50m to Chelsea at the close of the January transfer window, amid accusations, claim and counter claim from both sides over the move and who drove the sale and the reasons behind it.
It’s easy to forget the bitterness and fallout amongst the fans in the immediate aftermath of the move, which at the time felt like a dagger being plunged into the back of every Liverpool fan by a player that we’d taken in and made into an icon.
We felt insulted, lied to, embarrassed, fooled, but more than anything, angry.
Angry that Torres, after sticking around through the fallout of Hicks and Gillet, decided, is his apparent haste to join a club that would ‘win trophies’ (That worked out well), to jump ship, to not give Kenny Dalglish, a man he could have sat amongst at the table of greatest Liverpool players, a chance to reshape the club under new ownership.
Who would have guessed that 10 months on, it is Torres, not Liverpool, who appears to be racked with regret.
Still struggling to find a path, like the wife who thought the bloke with the nice car down the street could give her a better life, only to find that her name missing from the invites to the big parties,left alone and outside, benched on the expensive passenger seat of the shiny Range Rover of Andre Villas Boas and resigned to the School run of League Cup football.
Meanwhile Liverpool moved on and found a found a new star, a brilliant, dedicated and driven brunette with cannibalistic tendencies, who, through no fault of his own, has reduced Torres to almost to nothing more than a footnote in the annals of Liverpool’s history.
It was telling that in the #TAW podcasts that bookended the our two visits to Stamford Bridge, the name Fernando Torres was mentioned but fleetingly.
Although not deliberate, on reflection, is possibly the most honest, if damning, evaluation of the 27-year-old’s time in SW6.
It is a measure of how far Torres’ star has fallen that the player who scored the winning goal in the 2008 European Championships for Spain, their first major trophy in 34 years, is now resigned to the fringes of the national side.
As I said, time, a funny thing, and it’s easy to forget just how good ‘our’ Torres was, some of the goals he scored, how there wasn’t a team in Europe not petrified of our Iberian Prancer.
Would we currently have the same mindset if Suarez not massively exceeded expectations whilst Torres floundered so dramatically, drowning under a sea of self doubt and a playing style completely unsuited to his strengths?
It’s also worth remembering that the person who ultimately replaced him, wasn’t actually the player we signed to do that job, Suarez, it was said, was signed to augment Torres, not to oust him.
So what if we had the chance to rescue El Niño Perdido?
Dalglish has already shown in the past that he’s not averse to rescuing a former player struggling at another club, but it’s a question shrouded in if’s.
It’s easy to forget the mutual respect once shared between Torres and Dalglish, most famously displayed in the TV show with Gerry Armstrong and in a photoshoot for The Times.
And with the one player in the league who made Torres shine returning to fitness, is the relationship between Liverpool, Dalglish and Torres so broken that a reunion would be out of the question?
If Chelsea were willing to cut their losses and sell for £20m, if there was a willing compromise on the behalf of the player to get a deal thrashed out, would it be too much to expect us to forgive, to understand, to start again?
And IF Chelsea were willing to deal at around £20m, lets do some leap of faith, ham-fisted accounting acrobatics.
Take into account we Torres sold for £50m, and bought Carroll for £35m, you could, if you wanted to, work that out as essentially us sending El Nino on loan for a year, paying no wages and signing Andy Carroll for the princely sum of £5m.
So, given this twisted logic, would it be possible to both parties to remember their long term past, forget the short term past and think about the the future just how devastating combining El Nino with El Pistolero could be?
Just think about that for a second and embrace a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.
After all, it is nearly Christmas.
The King and The Kid
“…if their was a willing compromise…”? Shocking grammar.
Still, thanks El Nino, but no thanks!
Torres showed signs of complecancy before leaving. Stopped talking and became arrogant. These points may be a roadblock to this sensational move but I’m sure he’ll be accepted and will do better than the other strikers we are linked with (Soldado, etc) El Pistolero and “El Nini” as you mentioned will do good..
No, no, no, hell no! He can rot in London!
agent nando return to base
Is right
Nice read Andy.
In my humble opinion a pairing of El Nini with El Pistolero would be NO more devastating than El Pistolero on his own. Why? Because Torres is FINISHED. Simple as that. I can think of several strikers worth £10m or less I’d take over him (never mind £20m). Further to that, his attitude stinks more than a kippers tw*t on a hot sunny day. You could cross the Atlantic using his bottom lip as a sail and I couldn’t stand to see a return of his bad Joe Pesci impression as he finger gestures to referee’s like the tough Italian Gangster that he isn’t.
Besides, judging by Dalglish’s blanking of him last week, I’d say there’s more chance of re-signing Ian Rush (our best EVER number 9 by the way!).
same conversation after the rally on Wednesday with with a few lads all said the same as you and a few of us even used £20m as the figure as a cheeky bid
I’d take Torres back, easy. Loved him at LFC and he’s what we lack atm, even if he is playin shit – on form he was a deity.
Id have him back… Suarez and Torres would be sick… Suarez is so gifted but misses quite a lot Torres back at Liverpool would be banging them in. If the players at Liverpool would be ok with it. I would be £20-25M for him!
Why spend 20-25m on 2011, washed-up Torres when you can get 2007 Torres for the same price, or near enough. His name is Leandro Damiao, the perfect strike partner for Suarez.
I’m not sure he is finished. If you have a god given talent it never leaves you. The chips and peas may go but the ability doesn’t. He has made a gross error of judgement may be through poor advice from those who sought to line their own pockets on the back of his ability.. Who among us cannot say if we had the chance we would do things differently ?
This is a fantastic read, Andy. However, my response to this suggestion is “no”.
There’s a number of reasons why I’m saying “no” – one of them being that he did little other than complain throughout the last two years of Hicks & Gillett about the “quality” of players that we were signing, when it was clear that we were in trouble financially. He then gave the club just four months under new ownership before submitting a transfer request mid-season in order to sign for a club which stood for everything that he told us he didn’t believe in (the assertion that work ethic is important to success in his book, as well as the reassurance that Liverpool are his “English team”).
Another reason is that he’s clearly no longer the “devastating” player that we all talk of, and hasn’t been since the injury that he picked up just prior to the World Cup (which is when he apparently first informed club officials that he was looking to move, initially through the dissatisfaction of being let down by the medical staff’s management of his fitness).
What’s wrong with him? Is it a disenchantment with the English game, having gradually been quelled from recognition since Rafa’s departure? Or is it perhaps because he has significantly lost the facets of his game that once made him great – the striding first touch, the cunning speed-of-thought and the effective turn-of-pace?
tbh i could not forget what he did to us, but i couldn’t stand watching him sitting unhappy on the bench and doing nothing on the pitch either. I saw him smiling when he met our lads, and i thought maybe he’d like to come back to us. If he shows any signs of regret and want a chance to be back, maybe we could buy him back with £20m max.
I would like to take a risk with him once more. Everyone makes mistake and they all need another chance. And if that happens (almost impossible anw), hope he won’t let us down ever again.
A good read
The idea would be interesting if it ever happened
If he took a massive wage cut, I’d give him a second chance. Part of me still loves the guy.
I’d love to say “he’s finished”.
But he isn’t.
He’ll never be what he was 3 years ago. The physical qualities he had then are, I think, gone for good. But Torres has still got something, that quality and touch to do something special with a football. Stevie’s got it, Luis’ got it, I’m not sure anyone else in a red shirt does.
There are other, more prolific goal scorers, say Darren Bent, who very definitely don’t have it.
We clearly need another striker. Luis was always meant to be the 2nd striker rather than the out and out finisher, and Carroll needs more time to fulfil that role.
So in the meantime, give me the magic. Every time.
good read… i know there’s rumours posted on rawk about him returning. personally… a lot of bridges would have to be rebuilt but if everything was suitable for lfc and kk wants him and sees the desire then id have him back in a heartbeat…
he looks like a lost soul down in London and probably has regretted every day since he left…
if there’s one person who could bring back the best in him its kenny ….
time will tell…..
It doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks, if Dalglish came out in January or next summer and said “Torres is coming back” then that would be that.
I’ve been entertaining this thought recently myself. I would definitely take him back for anything up to £25m. I know a lot of people would take some convincing, but as soon as he blasted one we’d all get that buzz again.
There is no way he is as bad as he’s playing now and maybe this little stint at Chelsea would have made him realise quite what it is he’s missing. We all make bad decisions and I personally know I’ve blamed the wrong things at times for my own situations, and we’ve all been given bad advice.
Thing is, it’s not going to happen is it?
I would only take him on loan, with an option to buy in the summer, with Chelsea paying half his wages.
His wages of 8.8 mil are ridiculous and that are completely out of our wage structure. If he plays well on loan with us and accepts a pay cut, we could then buy him.
I would only take him on loan, with an option to buy in the summer, with Chelsea paying half his wages.
His wages of 8.8 mil are ridiculous and that IS completely out of our wage structure. If he plays well on loan with us and accepts a pay cut, we could then buy him.
I think it would be a good move all round for him to come back to Liverpool. EVERYONE has made mistakes and bad choices, and this was a big one, but it takes a bigger person to recognise the mistake and do something about it. It struck me that after the last league game, when he was shaking hands with Lucas he smiled for what must be the first time in 3 years. In terms of ability, I dont think there is a better pure finisher in the league, he just needs an injection of confidence and belief. KD will give him it, in spades. Its unliverpudlian to be bitter.
Sorry no, he made his bed now he must lie in it, when he left rumour was his missus was more than upset she wanted to stay in Liverpool?
I for one was absolutely gutted when he left. Probably moreso because of the timing of it (late in the jan transfer window), because I can understand why he left. I loved waking up on a Sunday morning (I live in aus) to find that Fernando had yet again failed to find the back of the net. But as the months have passed, I have started to feel some sympathy towards him. It is sad to see how quickly he has faded, not that I believe he is finished, and whispers of his regret at joining Chelsea have given me more reason to smile. Yet I’d probably have him back (for a massively reduced fee & wages). After all… It’s Nando!!!
I’d have him back I think but he’d have to give a good reason for why he felt the need to leave in the first place (ie all this talk about broken promises, everything not being as clear as it seems). I’d like to think he realises he was at a proper football club and he threw it away. Anyway, it looks as though the only way forward for him is back to us or Atleti to try to get back to his old self.
He’s hardly worth 5 million, let alone 20.
When Torres left or Chelsea, it hurt me more than any other player I can remember, with the exception of Robbie Fowler. I was gutted not only because he wanted to leave, but because he wanted to go to another English club. Worse than that, he wanted to go to ‘new money’ Chelsea!
I’m not a young lad anymore and so I should prepare myself for the worst, but for some reason I was taken in by Fernando and his stated love for the club. What he did on the pitch was at times mesmerising, and I loved the guy for all of that.
I was hurt, and I must admit I initially liked seeing him struggle at Stamford Bridge. The vengeful side of me wanted that, needed it. The first part of ‘dealing with our separation’ came when we won at Stamford Bridge in the first game after he’d left, and Torres was substituted. I had a dread in the pit of my stomach leading up to that match that Nando would score the winner in blue that day, and that would have been too cruel a blow to take.
As Andy said in this article “time is a funny thing” because after watching Torres suffer at that plastic club for what he did to us, and enjoying it, I now actually feel a bit sorry for him.
As has been said before, everybody makes mistakes, and it isn’t as if we didn’t have massive problems for most of his last two years at the club. He was a top, top footballer at a shambles of a club. He’s not a fan, he’s a professional footballer, and as much as we would all love the gap between the two to be smaller, it isn’t in the vast majority of cases. I don’t think that the state of LFC at the time can be discounted, when we consider why he appeared unhappy towards the end of his time at Anfield.
So, if you asked me would I have him back I would say that if Kenny reckons he can get him playing somewhere near the peak we saw before, then yes, in a heartbeat. If Kenny doesn’t think that, then I guess Nando will sit alongside Michael Owen in the history books in the chapter titled ‘the grass isn’t always greener’
Enjoyed this article and it seems there are many who share your view on Torres and a return to Anfield. During my time as a Liverpool fan there have been many high profile players leave the club; Rush*, Fowler*, Owen, Mascherano and Torres. Two of those named made it back but as you will probably be all too aware, never recaptured their best form.
Torres has endured a truly miserable time for Chelsea and Spain. While his natural ability is not in question his desire and committment to getting back to anywhere near the standards he set during the early part of his Liverpool career clearly is. How often did we endure him sulking and posturing rather than putting his efforts into something more constructive?
Clearly he made a disasterous decision, a la Michael Owen, himself someone who believed joining another club with in his words a more realistic chance of winning trophies would only enhance his career. Both now spend more time on the bench than on the pitch.
Torres is unlikely to come back for a few reasons; Dalglish only wants players who share his desire and passion for the club, any fee above £15m would be too much, and perhaps even more pertinent, despite those who’d welcome him back there will be plenty that won’t.
If Kenny says it is ok, it is ok.
This is all so pointless, Torres will become the new Owen, talks of a return every transfer window until he retires. And its been less than a year since he left.
Its just the same as conspiracy theorists. People believe it could happen because they want it to happen. No other reason.
It wont happen and it shouldnt happen. Footballers have short carrers so lets enjoy the ones we have at the momment instead of worrying about those who treated us like dirt.
I would only take him back if it was less than 20m and he took a huge pay cut. His form and what he did to us means he has to earn less than 90k a week for me.
If we bring him back then Suarez has to move out to the left as a wideman in a 4-3-3. But then where does that leave Carroll? A 35m player on the bench? Not playing won’t help his development either. Its a tough call to make.
Personally, I would definitely take him back for a cut price of about £20m, partly because no matter how much I loathed him immediately after his move, I actually feel sorry for him now. No-one deserves what he’s going through…
I adored him when he was with us, I hated him has soon as he left, and a little bit when he scored his first for them, but since then I’ve been willing him to score. I want to see the player I loved doing what I loved him to do. Albeit in another colour, I do still love the guy. And I think in a similar way to I think I would take Rafa back if the time was right and Kenny has gone, I’d have Torres back if Kenny wanted him back.
Great article. It is a question I think many have asked past few days and one that is hard to answer. Part of me remains angry at Torres for leaving us in the way that he did, both the timing and the reasons he gave and I do still get delight in seeing him suffer…….but part of me also remembers the excitement I felt for El Nino pairing up with El Pistolero, for the few hours that we had both as players of the club. Would I like to see Torres back at LFC? Absa-bloody-lutely!
Great article but I’d have to disagree with the majority of the comments. I was devastated last January but I’m pleased with our present team and the work ethic of our players. I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t want Torres back but honestly, that would only be for sentimental reasons. Quite frankly, we’re moving forwards and we’d be better off spending our money elsewhere.
Daniel Agger would have to apologise!!!!!!
When Torres left, for the first few weeks at least, I was heartbroken. It was like being bitten by your favourite dog.
Would I take him back? I think Suarez would be a great foil for him up front, but the effect of his leaving the dressing room was a positive one, not a depressant. No longer did the other players look for him to save the day, and we became a team that worked more effectively as a unit. I also think Bellamy’s experience would have been a great partner for his clever running.
But Nando had gone long before January 31st 2011. His mind had been set on leaving probably in the previous season while Rafa was slowly undoing all his great work. I don’t think he would return whether we’d want him or not even if we finished above Chelsea in the league.
To be frank, I’d rather see Suarez shouting at Carroll for not playing the right ball or being in the wrong place than see Torres’ bottom lip dragging along the pitch when things go wrong. We’re a better side and team without him in it and that’s how I’d prefer it to stay.
Brilliantly written, Andrew.
I had maintained befroe Tuesday that I would have Torres back in the blink of an eye, at the right price. Depending, of course, on the general approval of the LFC dressing room. At the moment our team spirit appears to be excellent, and any risk to the espirit de corps would have to be considered.
Torres at his best was phenomenal. Truly brilliant.
To see him at present is almost pitiful. He made mistakes, and was badly advised. It almost seems impossible now that he will succeed at Chelsea, so either his career slips into oblivion or he will rediscover his touch and his mojo elsewhere. At the Bridge on Tuesday, I started having doubts about whether he could return. His performance was abject. A large percentage of our fans do not appear capable of forgiving.
It is looking bad for Fernando, whichever way you look at it. I am sure he regrets 2011. I wonder if he lays in bed searching for a way to turn back the clock. It is Kenny’s call, in my opinion.
If the King thought it was in Liverpool FCs interest to bring Torres back for a second chance, I would back him. It would be a gamble, but the possible rewards would be massive if it paid off.
Christ, this has got everyone talking! I always said that despite the horrible and shocking nature of his departure, I couldn’t bring myself to hate him. He was, at times, a magnificent player for us, scoring some sublime goals (including making Vidic look like a vegetable on more than one occasion) and, even in a chavski shirt, i hoped he’d recover some of his initial brilliance – just not against us! In his pomp, a pleasure to watch. I’d have him back tommorrow at £20M and hope that Kenny and Suarez would help put the smile back on his face.
Yes I’d have him back. I can’t say I blame him for wanting out after H&G and half a season under Hodgson, but I would have loved to see him give Kenny a decent chance (at least stay until the end of the season). His wages would need to be inline with our current wage structure.
Although a part of me still loves him, and it’s a little disappointing seeing him struggle so much at Chelsea, I still wouldn’t take him back.
Its not how bad he’s playing at the minute, or how bad he’s played for the past 12 months – it’s how he left us that still hurts. Always making the point that he loved the club and that Liverpool were his ‘English club’, complaining about ownership and lack of quality signings would be bad enough to leave after saying that. But giving the new ownership barely any time to wave their magic wand was frustrating. Even bringing Kenny back couldn’t persuade him to stay, though he stated two weeks before leaving that he was ‘looking forward to success under Dalglish’.
It hurt to leave the way he did so no, I don’t want him back as I – like many others – would find it difficult to get behind him like we used to.
Although I disagree with you, it was still a great read, Andy, so fair play.
I would never like to have him back simply because he treated the club like dirt, betrayed the fans, ruined King Kenny’s plans and jumped ship when things were finally looking good.
Some people say that people always deserve a second chance but he made a big mistake and so therefore doesn’t. He made his bed so he should lie in it!
If, and only IF, he does come back I will never celebrate whenever he scores, even if it’s a trophy winning goal because I will never be able to forgive him for thinking the grass was greener on the other side.
I would take him back provided the price was right. If he held up his hands and admitted Chelsea was a mistake, then fair enough.
However, assuming he wanted to come back and we wanted him back, I’m actually not sure he would fit into Kenny’s new look Liverpool side. Part of his problems at Chelsea so far seem to be down to the fact that they’re not geared to get the best out of him. They keep playing other strikers alongside him, whilst Rafa’s formation always had Torres on his own upfront with two or three attacking players just behind him in a 4-2-3-1. Rafa’s system was built around getting the ball quick in behind for Torres to make those devastating darting runs we all cherished between 2007 and 2009.
Dalglish’s line up seems to favour flexibility, as we know he mostly goes with 4-4-2 with either Suarez and Carroll, Suarez and Kuyt or occasionally Bellamy. Could Torres prosper in such a system? And where would that leave Carroll? Kenny does like a 4-1-2-3 in the ‘bigger’ games, but even so there is still no real focal point like there was in the Rafa/Torres era. Fluidity and interchangeability abound, which is great for us, but I’m not sure it would mean too many goals for Torres if he were to return.
I was absolutely devastated when he left and insulted when i heard the reasons why. The worst thing about it was that everybody knew it was a bad move the moment it happened as we’ve seen this all before with another one of our star strikers….Michael Owen!
When he left, Rafa had just come in with a new vision and gave us new hope but Michael didn’t want to give it a chance. He wanted to move to Real Madrid even though they had Ronaldo, Figo, Raul and Zidane in their frontline, and he was in no way going to shift them. We were all angry with him when he left yet when there was the possibilty of getting him back a year later I can remember the excitement from almost all Reds fans and the disappointment when Newcastle blew us out of the water with silly money, and its fair to say his career has nose dived ever since to the point where he is virtually retired at the age of 32 with a talent and a career wasted.
Thats why it is so sad to see Fernando Torres follow the same path to wealth and unhappiness when he should have been still with us banging them in and smiling.
Would I take him back? yes but only if KK wanted it and thats the bottom line.
When he left and the manner in which he left was difficult for us to take. The Mrs thought I was nuts watching every SSN update, reading every news article, just trying to find out “Why are you leaving Fernando?”. I was gutted at the time and desperate for him to have a complete mare in that first Chelsea game against us immediately after his move. I still feel let down now. I’m a grown man, still feeling let down about a year after someone I have never spoken to left the club I love. Pathetic!
At the time, I explained the feeling as the love of your life leaving suddenly for another man… only for her to really put the boot in by telling all your friends how much better the new fella was. Ridiculous!
But then he didn’t score against anyone. Ha ha. He still isn’t scoring against anyone. He doesn’t even look like scoring. He doesnt even look like being picked by AVB. There’s a part of me that now feels a bit sorry for him. The boy made his bed and he’s lying in it now. He left to get success and that looks much more likely up at Anfield rather than at the Bridge. However, footballers have relatively short careers. Maybe he really felt he had to leave to get success and maybe there is more to the story. Regardless of what he’s getting paid by Chelsea I am 100% certain that all he wants is a medal. I’m 100% certain that right now he realises that he right-royally fucked up.
So, picture the scene. 1st February 2012. Day after the transfer window and a televised press conference, Kenny sat next to Fernando. Fernando’s first words “I’m sorry I left you all”. El Nino, back with something to prove at a cut price… I think the majority of us could forgive.
We all make mistakes.
However…. Seeing that Kenny paid £35m for Carroll I can’t see him even considering a move for Torres. Interesting discussion though for sure!
Torres wil probably end up on loan back at Atletico particularly if Sturridge keeps developing at the rate he is.
How would the likes of Stevie G and Carra feel about it. It was clearly visable that Gerrard’s and Torres’ relationship had broken down soon before he left.
They seemed happy he had left when I saw the pair on Goals on Sunday. Will the senior players have a part to play in any potential return?
If he were to come back, he just needs to shut his trap, put the head down and work hard. He loved going to the media talking about how much he loved playing for us, did the same at Chelsea. It’s worth the gamble. We could do worse, a lot worse.
There are a LOT of mistakes in this piece Andy, give it another read through and iron them out. But I’d take Torres back in an instant, no doubt about it.
i would love him back, i miss him, he misses us…. i cant see ch*lsea selling to us but if they would it would be a great signing! As 4 carroll, just as there’s nothing wrong with torres admitting his mistake, maybe there’s nothing with admitting ours and cutting our losses on a man who i dont think will ever make the grade with us. Be honest with yourselves, watch his basic skills (like trapping a ball) he’s just not got it i’m afraid….. whereas el nino has got it and at Liverpool he can have it all again!!
He was played into the ground at a club he claimed to love, and gave us his prime – playing through injury out of necessity at times – to just aim for Champions League qualification. Not even to win trophies; just to scrape our way to fourth place. From that point of view, given our constant assertions to him that we’d start challenging, I’m not surprised (in retrospect!) that he wanted to move to Chelsea when their interest was made explicit. The gap, as someone said before, between “fan” and “professional footballer” is vast.
Torres functions best when he’s given the focus of the supporting cast around him. Involving him in our current tactical formations would warp them too much – He’d have the same problem as he’s having at Chelsea now. Either we’d make him the centrepiece of the team, and lose that team ethos, or he’d be forced to adapt his game as he’s always played it, and we’d be presented with sulky Torres once again. I just don’t see him fitting in to our team, or King Kenny making a wholesale change to the team for the benefit of any player – Particularly one who turned his back on both Liverpool Football Club and KK himself.
Great piece,however it all seems a bit too “fairytale comeback” for me.At 20 million we would be paying more now than we paid for a world class striker in 2007.He hasn’t been world class for too long now.Oh how we would be laughed at by all and sundry if say a year down the line he hadn’t got his touch or attitude of old back.The lad had a long time to think over this move and still went ahead with it.There has got to be better ways of spending 20 million.I for one cannot see him ever scoring for fun in the prem again.I feel his next scoring spree will be seen in La liga or for a Dynamo Kiev.
I would not want him back; he was a brilliant player for us up until his last year, but it was time for both the player and the club to move on.
Ideally I think he should move back to Spain. I think the style of play would suit him, and i think he’d be more able to recapture his old form there. However, I don’t think Athletico could afford him, and I don’t see him fitting into Barca’s model. I would suppose RM would be unacceptable to him but who knows.
I could also see him going to PSG…. With all their cash, his name and stature might be attractive for a club with their aspirations.
My word there are a lot of comments on this article. At this point in the story, I miss Fernando Torres and feel bad for how things have gone for him. On his day he was an absolute tiger. His finishing had so much poise and technique. He was fast, quick and strong. But can he still do that. No question he would suit the way we play better than Andy Carroll does, at the moment. I don’t think anyone knew what Suarez would become when we signed him and I spent a lot of last season wishing I could have seen the two play together. £20 million feels like too much for FSG to consider. Chelsea may not want to suffer the embarrassment of selling back to us at such a loss but I would take him back at £18 million and slightly reduced wages. I am sure Pepe, Maxi, Luis, Lucas and Stevie would love to see him back. Andy Carroll, Jamie Carragher and perhaps even Daniel Agger may not be as welcoming.
Good as he was, he hadn’t looked like that player for quite some time. Has last season and half for LFC he looked a yard off his old pace. Yet he still scored. I’d have him back on a free, but honestly I think he’s a domestic Jinx, destined never to get any trophies for the clubs he ‘loves’.
Oh and Andy seeing your pic here, I think the Joe Pesci/Joe Pasquale barb was overly harsh. On a good day I’d give you Casey Affleck.
Turned his back on us… fuck him.
It’s going to be difficult for me overlook the fact that he/his PR team basically said that Torres used Liverpool like a stepping stone to achieve all that he really wanted.
Even if we managed to get him for 20 million, (which will be a huge price to pay for someone who’s performed the way he has in the past year or so) it will be a very big risk.
Furthermore, we will then have two strikers struggling with confidence (although I’ll admit, Carroll’s issue isn’t just confidence) Secondly, there’s absolutely no guarantee he’s going to perform the way we need him to, even if the team is built around him, which will be doubly frustrating. Besides, how long does Torres have left in his career? I’d rather see us try to get Carroll working Suarez.
In conclusion, thanks for all the good memories Torres, but no thanks.
A great piece Andy with many excellent comments in response and predictably some idiotic ones!
Obviously, it’s up to Kenny – but there is no doubt on my mind that we would be better with him than without! Look how many chances we’ve created this season, yet we have one of the lowest conversion rates in the league! No doubt Nando will struggle to reach the amazing heights he reached with us a few years ago- but what heights they were! However surely it is impossible to go down hill and be as bad as he is now permanently?!?
For a reasonable fee, sensible wages and back at a real club who will love him again surely he couldn’t fail but to improve and importantly provide us with another different option in attack!
We’ve enjoyed watching him suffer at first, we had too- he hurt us. But as time has gone on, we surely now just feel sorry for him and maybe, just maybe a return would suit everyone!
What is in the interests of LFC? If he were to be brought back does anyone think he would not be be breaking a leg in his efforts? He would be like bull let loose in a china shop. He would create havoc.
Come back, all is forgiven.
Can I just say, that despite the emotiveness of this issue, and the fact that there are passionate, polar opposite views on this matter, it is refreshing to read a comments section that hasn’t disintegrated into immature abusive bickering and is just sensible and respectful debate. Very liverpudlian behaviour.
I’d take him back in a heartbeat and all would be forgiven once the first goal is scored. He was without doubt one of the best strikers we’ve ever had.
I sound like some abused spouse who loves their other half no matter what they do.
There was a very valid point raised in one of the early podcasts where ye pointed out that near the end of Torres’ time at Anfield, whenever he scored, it was really only Stevie G that he celebrated with. It seemed like he was either isolating himself from the rest of the team or was being isolated by them ( I think the former is more likely).
He needs to stop bad-mouthing the club first, whether he was badly treated or not. Any making up needs to be done behind the scenes, I don’t want to know about any deal until its done. I certainly don’t want to see a grovelling press conference and an embarrassing media event.
As a fan, i’ve forgiven him. But, a deal will only be considered if it is for the benefit of the club. If we’re buying a forward we’d have to think who is the best out there we can get.
Torres made a cold decision and so should we. We should strip this whole thing down to the only thing that matters – Goals. Which forward partnership would be most likely to bring the League and or European Cup home?
I’d have Torres back in a heartbeat.
I don’t blame him for leaving, I resented WHEN he chose to leave, just after Kenny had returned and we had our hopes and dreams raised again.
Torres though was lied to time and time again by Hicks and Gilette, then by Purslow, he saw Rafa stabbed in the back with Carragher and Gerrard standing by watching all the while doing nothing.
Remember he signed for a club that had featured in 2 CL finals in 3 years, saw our best players sold, our best manager since Kenny mark 1 betrayed and ended up playing for Roy Hodgson with the ball launched over his head time and time again.
Come back Nando you know you want to
It’s like if your girlfriend breaks up with you, dates someone else, finds out he’s a jerk and wants you back. It’ll never be what it once was. Most likely you’ll think you want her back by remembering the good times, but it was the bad times that really made you break up.
Same situation with Torres. Just different blonde girl.
Good article and some really good comments as well. However, I think a major point has been missed here. Torres will probably never, ever get the same same service and develop a similar partnership than what he had with Gerrard. Add Alonso with his sublime long range passing into the equation and there shld be no doubt that there was some really special chemistry going on when he was at his best. Torres is also at his best when he can attack the space behind defenders. That is also a key factor why he never has been as good for Spain as he was for us. Chelski also dont play up to his strenghts with theyre slow buildups as Torres is best at the counter. Rafa recognized this and played up to his strenghts.
Gerrard is doubtful, Alonso is gone, although I wouldnt rule out completely that dear Luis wouldnt provide him excellent service.
I don`t think he is past it entirely yet, but I think it is better to move on and look for the future.
I’ve thought alot about this since this piece went up and I’ve concluded that I wouldn’t want him back and I don’t want him to succeed at another club. He was special. He had a chance to become a legend. Even if he succeeds somewhere else he will not be a legend to anyone.
I feel sad for him for not realizing what he had a chance to become.
Only one person I trust to make that decision and thats Daggers. If Kenny said he is coming back I would back him and Torres and the club, till then unless Andy knows something we don’t this is just slow news day reading isn’t it? Andy?
Great piece. And it generated more comments than any other article on this site ever had. We are amazing fans. Reading the article, and the comments below I found that I am not the only one who was hurt by his departure more than if a loved one would leave you for another, younger and bustier chick with no education and no class. A totally irrational feeling, because he is a player who doesn’t even know of your existance… and you understand it as a smart person. But still you are hurt and you shed a tear seeing him celebrating his first goal for Chelsea with Yossi Benayoun… feels so wrong seeing them celebrating in that blue outfit. Part of me wants him to succeed and to get back to his best, but the other, evil part wants him to suffer for all the hearts, including mine that he wrecked when he left, and HOW he left.
Amazing how so many fans have forgiven him (almost) and still love him and [secretly] support him.
So… yes, he still has place in my heart. Yes, I’d love to be romantic and see him back at Anfield, and see him celebrating goals with Pepe, Stevie, Lucas, Maxi,… they are still his friends.
But… and here starts the pragmatic part:
1) Is he ever going to be the player he was?
2) Is it going to be good for the club? Andy Carroll… what are we going to do with him? We can’t let him down and toss him aside for someone who tossed us aside;
3) Will his pride, and more importantly Kenny’s pride for the club allow him to be back? Well, maybe… but I don’t see it;
4) Abramovich is a cold-hearted oligarch… but he has pride too. Selling him back for a cut price? Thus admitting that the expensive toy didn’t work? Never. He will rather give him away for free to Atletico. He will rather make him rot on a bench. But he will never sell him back to Liverpool. For him that’s like being f***ed twice.
And that is basically the NO. We should move on. Torres should move on. He will always stay in our hearts for the happy and humble boy he once was, who lit the place alight with his fantastic goals, golden locks and charming smile. But there is no way back. Adios El Niño. There are some young talented strikers out there in the world who will be proud to play for Liverpool. And we should be looking forward, not backwards.
well! Its been a bad bad time for torres. I think he has no carreer at stamford bridge.he has nobody who supports him at the pitch or wants him to score goals. He cant score by running from one end to other on his own. So he needs to be at a club where there’s somebody in the centre looking forward for him constantly. Liverpool were such a side 11 months ago but now they also have options after buying some good players. So torres should look for a move back to spain or to another club like manu where he has fergie to fit him into the team really well. As we know torres coming back to liverpool would sound a little crazy but if liverpool fans can accept him back ,then having torres for around 20 millions and selling caroll to some top flight club at a good price will only add to liverpool’s golden future.
And being a liverpool and torres fan i would love this to happen. YNWA.
‘After all, it is nearly Christmas’ – love this
Im a huge liverpool supporter, but I want Fernando back. I dont think he is confident at Chelsea, and with the support people at Anfield, and especially King Kenny, I think him and Luis Suarez would make a fantastic duo..
Firstly, don’t think it will happen but i would take him back for £20 million.
Chelsea’s style of play (slow build up) doesn’t suit him. If you think back Torres form started to wain after Alonso left as he always played on the last defender looking for the early pass so he could isolate a defender one on one. I think Adam could give him a new lease of life, but as i say don’t think it will ever happen.
He’s been crap for almost two years. That’s not bad form, its a player who has lost it. Chelsea bought a top reputation and a big name, but they didn’t buy a top player.
Best to look for the next star player, rather than buy a washed-up reputation. He’ll never be as good as he was – but someone else will. Best get scouting for them.
Fernando had left the building…
No no no no no! He left us to go to a rival, the scum of London. I wouldn’t want him back whatsoever. I was hurting when i saw him in that blue kit, then he said he was happy to be at a big club etc. Let him rot there, I’m glad he’s having a hard time, long may it continue!
We have moved on, we are looking like a real TEAM now, there’s a lot of love back at anfield, bringing him back will upset that and an awful lot of fans.
Hello all… I would like to know more about the problems he is facing at Chelsea. It is not that suddenly he has become really weak. The problems should have laid somewhere and that is a question mark. I personally would like him to be our number 9 again and partner him along with the forward guys like Suarez, Carroll and Bellamy. I believe we can resurrect him once again and he could be as good as before. I do not think it is too late. :)
When Torres left us it was a massive blow, Liverpool were doin awful and when we needed him most he left us for chelsea (who are rivals and we dont like). But when i watch torres on youtube when he played for liverpool and all his goals he scored he was the most devastating striker in the world, leaving defenders in his tracks, not gunna lie it still brings a smile too my face, we loved him, he was are star, are spanish scouser, he doesnt belong at chelsea, bring him home i say, he clearly regrets the decision he made, lets forgive and forget this once, we can do something the chelsea fans cant do, and thats build are players morale and confidence, if we show are love and support too torres as we once did, then maybe, just maybe, we will have the best striker in the world again!
I think Liverpool should try to find “the new Torres”. That would be wiser and more logical with the current transfer policy.
Serious … El Nino and El Pistolero … awesome shit … To think that actually liverpool now needed a striker desperately ofcourse because we are depending too much on Suarez . If one day he isn’t in form , he can’t score we can only pray and to hope for a win . We all know that Andy Carroll our current no.9 is not play well to be honest , he sucks . He is the worse striker i ever seen in Liverpool history . When he was in Newcastle , he score goals like a mad man , Like Shearer . Same way goes to Torrres , when he was in Liverpool , he was our Icon just like Suarez now . When you think for another once more second that with Suarez’s intelligence and Torres’s we all know capability , they are the most dangerous pair of striker and partnership in the whole world of foodball just like John Toshack and Kevin Keegan . If El Nino would come back , I would welcome him , Once a Red always a Red . YNWA .
Interesting article, makes you wonder. His last couple of months at anfield he scored only 9 goals which some may consider low to his regular tally but with a second half of the season to go he could have been revitalized. Those 9 goals were score in a period considered to be dark days with the club said to be in ‘termoil’ with the grief the old owners were causing us.
The new look liverpool would have and would still suit him perfectly because it is here he went from being a good striker to a great all round player.
Currently he is worth no where near 20 million and his reservation to the substitute bench is quite concerning. If we were to take him back we would have to once again mould him into a proper player which will take time…and the damage is already done. No one will ever believe in him again, many of the players may even have problems working with him because of the manner and time of his departure. With all things considered the only option would be a loan with a possible purchase if we choose and for maybe 15 mill or less.
I think liverpool can bring him back to his standards but then again, his standards are nowhere near what the club and fans emulate. I for one would not be able to forgive him but as you said, time changes everything…
one thing we should know for sure is’has he regreted for joing chelsea and being on the bence,cos he said he was joining a bigger team than liverpool may be for money or something.so id we want him back,let see how badly he wish to be in the red shirt.
I think that if we could get him on loan it would worth a shot, because andyi isn’t being good at all and I think he would be better now. the problem with TORRES is that there isn’t GERRARD at Chelsea nor ALONSO. It’s simple as that. If he would be back to us he would be back to his best, trust me guys
Hi !
Im not Brittish but my love for Liverpool FC is bigger than life it self!
Would I take Torres back !? If you ask me he never left ,he may be in Chelsea in flesh but his spirit is still at Anfield .
How mutch would I give for him? What ever it takes cause to me he is more Liverpool than Atletico and like Owen someone who every saturday made my life a little more joyus scoring for my beloved team and that is just something I cant forgett!! Hate and dissapointment is something for people who have issues with them selves.
Owen,Torres !! You’ll never ever walk alone!!!!!!!!!!