[Locke]

A llitle bit of a Liverpool news roundup:

Torres on his decision:

Fernando Torres has explained he could wait no longer for Liverpool to reclaim their place amongst the English elite, and he hopes that Reds fans will eventually come to understand that he has joined Chelsea to win trophies and further his career.

"I understand they will be angry and they will not understand my decision. I am sure in a few days, a few weeks or maybe not, I would like to explain to them all the reasons, but I would like to start talking about the future now. Thanks to them, thanks very much.

"I understand, because I was an Atletico Madrid fan, and when some top players left the club I did not understand. But with time I could understand they did the best for themselves, their families and their careers.

"So I am not asking them [Liverpool fans] to understand me, but I am sure with time they will see what I did there, and they will be fair, or they will be thinking a different way to they are thinking now. Football is like this - this is the life. The majority of Liverpool fans are not thinking like the ones you can see on the TV."

Torres admitted he had decided "ten to 12 days before the transfer window closed" that he wanted to leave Anfield in order to join Chelsea, and made his position very clear to the club. The striker saw an official transfer requested rejected by Liverpool just days before his transfer.

Torres said he will not celebrate if he manages to score against his former side, but he is far from guaranteed a start, according to his new manager Carlo Ancelotti.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...erpool?cc=5901

Trophies and his £175K a week.

Rafa says Torres' original offer from Chelsea was £70M but his poor form lowered that amount:

"I think last year we were talking about £70 million," Benitez told the BBC's Football Focus. "People were talking about maybe you receive an offer from another club. They were talking about £70 million."

Of Torres' January move, Benitez added: "He was not playing at the same level the last time, but he is still a very good player. It is big money but could [have been] even better."

Meanwhile, Anfield icon Robbie Fowler has criticised Torres for his conduct in leaving the club on the final day of the transfer window.

"He didn't leave the club in great hands or great shape but thankfully they managed to go out and buy a couple of decent players.''

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...r-L70m?cc=5901

Well, I think this works out for the best, okay they may have forfeited £20M for not selling him in the summer, but there were no really good available substitutes.

This was before the World Cup and before the international arrival of Suarez, before Andy Carroll made his Premier League mark, and, most importantly, before NESV, had they sold him then that money would have gone to the Cancers Hicks and Gillette and never been re-invested in the team!

Henry backs Dalglish for to remove 'Interim' tag, and talks about Torres and the new Stadium.

After a slow start the Scot has overseen something of a revival for the Anfield club, and Henry believes the appointment has already proven to be the right one.

"It's still early, but in retrospect you could not have made, in our case it was very fortunate for us, but we could not have made a better choice," Henry told Fox Soccer Channel. "I know he, for a long time now, has wanted to be in this position, so it's a great thing for the club, for Kenny and for us."

"If he does well, and he will, then there's no way on earth Dalglish will not get the job on a permanent basis," Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp noted in his column for The Sun. "There would be uproar - from the fans and the footballers."

Meanwhile, Liverpool will not be leaving their Anfield home any time soon, Henry has suggested.

The subject of a new stadium became a major source of controversy for the Merseyside club's previous owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who ran into trouble after reneging on famous early promises to get work started on a new home within 60 days of their arrival.

But Henry believes the Reds do not need a new stadium, having been impressed by the atmosphere of the current ground on his numerous visits to date.

"The Kop is unrivalled," Henry said. "The atmosphere, I was really surprised because we've heard so much about needing a new stadium.

"We were surprised at how beautiful Anfield was both viewing it as an empty stadium and then with the first game. It would be hard to replicate that feeling anywhere else."

Henry also gave his thoughts on the sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea, admitting that once it became clear the Spaniard wanted to leave for Stamford Bridge the club saw little point in retaining his services.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...erpool?cc=5901

Honestly, I think Dalglish is doing great, hes creative with tactics and team selections, and most importantly hes a Liverpool man, through and through and I think he as a manager makes every player better. As a Liverpool man hes bringing back the Liverpool way and I like that.

Further, and I know this may be an unpopular, and probably selfish, opinion, but I dont want them to get a new Stadium. Renovate Anfield. Anfield is iconic, I cant imagine Liverpool playing anywhere else and one day, when I get a chance to go to a Liverpool match I want it to be at Anfield.

Carra on Torres:

"I'm not going to criticise him," he told TalkSPORT. "We bought him for 20-odd million we sold him for 50. Whether people agree with how he's gone, supporters can't deny he was an absolutely fantastic player for Liverpool.

"His goals record was up there with the greats - Rush, Aldridge, Fowler, Owen. Unfortunately he decided to go, but that's football. Players move on and we have to accept that now and not criticise Torres, but use our energies to get behind the two new boys."

He added: "I think for us it was probably better that Fernando moved on, if he didn't 100% want to be here or it was going to happen in the summer, and it's probably better for everyone all round.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...s-exit?cc=5901

I think thats fair enough.