He Has Gone; They Have Come

Come tomorrow night's match against Stoke City at Anfield, there will be a particular name that has been on the team sheet since 2007, missing.

Not because he's injured. Not because his wife is on labour. Not because he's suspended. For once, it's a TOTALLY DIFFERENT REASON.

He left.

No one saw it coming? In a way. No one was expecting it? Can't say so. But not so soon. Not now anyways. But worse of all, it's the team he left for, a certain blue team in London that I don't want to name.

He left no explanation. He left no farewell message. He left Liverpool almost no time to find a replacement. He just.... left.

Of course, he did not leave cheap. 50 million is a lot of money. In fact, a British record. Still, it left lots of Liverpool fans across the globe hurting. LOTS. Including me.

Many questions are left unanswered, though it's sort of answered in some ways. He wants to leave to play for a better club, and believes that in Chelsea, he found it. He wants success in England, which he believes in Chelsea, he'll get it. He wants to play better football, which he believes that in Chelsea, he'll receive it. In other words, these are things that Liverpool can't provide.

Even the arrival of Kenny Dalglish couldn't convince him to stay. Dalglish was already starting a new revolution, yet Torres has waited enough. Apparently.

So this is to Torres: Thanks for the goals and the memories, but please don't come back. I hope you won't regret leaving for Chelsea, which I doubt you will. Still, all the best. On the bench that is.

I quote a fellow Singaporean Red who said this:

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

So, with that money, Liverpool signed two strikers in Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. The former, an Uruguayan international who previously played for Ajax Amsterdam, with a phenomenal scoring record; the latter, an up coming England star, with 11 goals in 19 games in his 1st BPL season already.

It sort of covers up (a bit) of the hurt Torres left us with, though one wonders if these two players will do the same as Torres in the future. Nevertheless, Liverpool's future looks bright again, especially if Dalglish knows how to use these two properly. If he does know how to, we're in for a title fight (maybe).

Liverpool's anthem always sings "You Never Walk Alone". The new signings won't, but someone in that blue stripe in London will.

~eNd~