Don't pay attention to the ‘Judas’ jibes. Disregard the complaints that Torres lied to us when saying “My commitment and loyalty to the club and to the fans is the same as it was on my first day when I signed.” Forget the difficult conversations many fathers like myself had with our young sons when explaining why their bedroom wall posters had to come down and that their idol was no longer to be idolised.
Yes, these were good reasons to feel angry but to me, what was really galling about Torres’ sale to Chelsea was that it appeared symbolic of our fallen standing in the game.
We were once the biggest of fishes in the pond. That Chelsea could take our star player from us confirmed what secretly we all thought but didn't want to accept. These days, we are a medium sized fish and there are much bigger fish in the pond.
Never before had we had to sell our star player to a rival Premiership club. In the last two years, we have been shipping quality. We couldn’t hang on to Alonso, Mascherano or even Benayoun. To see Torres go there and quip about joining a ‘big club’ was galling.
That fate should decree his Chelsea debut would be against us was nothing short of sick. In recent years, we have become accustomed to facing Chelsea as the ‘have-nots’ versus the ‘haves’ but what they had and we didn’t used to just be money, strength in depth and recent success. We consoled ourselves by counting the things we had that they didn’t like history, class and Fernando Torres. Now our prized striker was about to be used against us. Sick.
The way in which Kenny and FSG had handled an extremely damaging situation was masterful. Far from licking their wounds, they responded to the Torres bombshell by eclipsing the transfer records of all clubs bar Chelsea and doing to Newcastle what Chelsea had done to us. Perhaps Chelsea were a bigger fish but this showed we were still high up in the food chain.
Kenny said all the right things. “The most important players are the people at this football club,” he said. “We'll just play against any player they put on the pitch. We're more important than any player they've got.”
He went on to say that no player is bigger than the club and that it was "irresponsible and stupid" to think otherwise.
The statement is something of cliché in football but if ever it was proven true, it was yesterday at Stamford Bridge.
Torres got what he deserved: a debut to forget and a smack in the face from Agger. He left the pitch looking crestfallen with the boos and jeers from his former fans ringing in his ears. All eyes had been on him but the star of the show was not Chelsea’s new number nine, it was Liverpool Football Club. Exactly as Kenny had said, Liverpool FC was more important than any player Chelsea had.
Individually, Liverpool’s players were great. Collectively they were magnificent.
That win was the perfect riposte to Chelsea’s arrogance. “We can take your star player” said they. “We can take 3 points from you on your own turf” said we. “And by the way, that’s twice we’ve beaten you this season.”
A week ago, Liverpool faced a potential crisis. Now they are surging onward and upward and unthinkably find themselves within striking distance of a Champions League spot. Suddenly, it is Chelsea who find themselves in crisis. Suddenly, from talking about the title, they find their Champions League spot under threat. £71.3m well spent!
It’s dangerous for us to get carried away and start raising expectations. When Kenny took over, I was just hoping to avoid relegation. I thought 7th place should be our target and 6th would be a massive achievement. Now we are 6th and look capable of climbing higher but if we were to finish the season in 6th, it will still represent a massive achievement. If Kenny somehow managed to steer us into the top four he should win the Manager of the Year Award no question.
I just love that we can once again dare to dream. I love that we can once again enjoy the buzz of a big win and the pride in our club. I love feeling optimistic about the immediate future. I love King Kenny.
Torres is dead in our hearts. Long live the King!
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