Fernando Torres leaves Liverpool

Was anyone at all surprised by the fact that Fernando Torres left Liverpool? 50 million pounds for the 26 year old World Cup winner on a five and a half year contract to Stamford Bridge? He provides instant cover for the aging Didier Drogba and he makes them younger and pacier up front. He had been intimating for years now that he had wanted to leave Anfield for Chelsea, so why are we at all astonished?

This is a guy that left the Vicente Calderon after years of negotiation, striking out not only for himself but for his hometown club Atletico Madrid. He left with the expressed opinion that he had "gotten the best deal for Atleti" and he would be back someday to wear the captain's armband for the mattress-makers. Are we then supposed to believe then that the club he "had always supported in England" has been so easily replaced in his heart or was it that the Russian mega-bucks of Roman Abramovic were more tempting? It wasn't personal. It was business. You can have only one club you support. Fernando Torres will always be a colchonero at heart.

Now, don't get me wrong. Liverpool fans have a right to be angry. They could have sold him in the Summer when the market was flooded and they could have gotten more for him when there were more options to buy and a longer window to sell, but he decided to wait for John Henry's group to fulfill some of their promises. He didn't wait long enough (it seems), so I can see why Liverpudlians are so resentful. It's an affront, no doubt, but this is not an apocalyptic scenario.

They get Andy Carroll (talented but extremely over-priced at 35 million pounds) and World-Cup goat Luis Suarez of Ajax. A real English style center-forward up front and despite some people comparing him to other shining Eredivisie "starlets" like Alfonso Alves or Dirk Kuyt, Suarez is most-certainly that pacy winger that a guy like Ryan Babel only wishes he were. Despite that obvious handball that marred South Africa for the Uruguayan, Suarez was one of the most valuable players on their World Cup side second only to Diego Forlan. Kenny Dalglish gets a talent upgrade and they still have Steven Gerrard as their talisman. There is no reason to start burning Spaniards (or their shirts) in effigy.

What then does this mean for Fernando Torres? Another 5 years in the rough-and-tumble Premier League for a guy who has never been the model of health during the key years of a player's career. Can he turn it around with Ancelotti's ex-Milanello training staff providing their services? Probably, but it is clear that the if Spain are going to use his services in Euro 2012 he was going to have to get himself a change of scenery. Another 5 or so years in England however, may not have been the best choice for the man of glass.