Liverpool FC Forum

[Sir Roger]

There would be no point.
We would have to start again therefore guaranteeing there would be no success
Might as well stick with him

[dawson99]

There would be no point.
We would have to start again therefore guaranteeing there would be no success
Might as well stick with him

might as well stick with him?
u almost sound upset there mate!!!

[Bad Bob]

Well, I guess we know how Nando would vote...

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Torres: Gerrard has "extra" factor

By Kevin Palmer

There are generally only two names in the mix when the title of best player in the world is under discussion and Steven Gerrard is never one of them.

The soon to be most valuable footballer of them all, Real Madrid's £80m man Cristiano Ronaldo, and his long-time rival Lionel Messi at Barcelona tend to be regarded as the best two talents the game has to offer, but one high-profile observer believes Liverpool's inspirational skipper is well worth a mention in this debate.

In the opinion of Spain and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, 2010 could be the year that sees Gerrard earn the praise many of his admirers believe he is overdue, with the World Cup finals providing the ultimate stage to confirm his class.

While Gerrard collected the Player of the Year award from England's football journalists last month, the Liverpool talisman is always well down the pecking order when the more prestigious end of year prizes are handed out, but Torres is convinced all that could be about to change.

"When people talk about the best footballers in Europe, they always single out Messi, and Ronaldo, but Gerrard is just as strong," begins Torres, who confirmed his commitment to Liverpool by signing a new contract at Anfield last month.

"Messi and Ronaldo are special talents and the fact that they are in teams winning the important trophies means they stand out from the rest. Maybe you need to win something to earn the big awards, I don't know, but we all understand how good Gerrard is.

"I'm spoilt having a team-mate like Gerrard as I can count on him supplying me with perfect passes. You make the run into the space and however tightly marked he is, he finds a way to get the ball through in perfect condition.

"The highest compliment I can pay him is that he's as creative as a Xavi at Barcelona, with something extra as well. When you add his energy, toughness, leadership and goal scoring ability and the result is a fantastic all-round player.

"Maybe I am biased because he is my team-mate and friend, but Stevie does not get the credit he deserves either in England or with European fans. This can change in 2010 when he has a chance to confirm his class with Liverpool and in the World Cup."

You only need to spend five minutes in the company of Torres to appreciate just how deeply he has been gripped by his Liverpool love affair during the two highly-prolific years he has spent wearing the famous red No.9 shirt.

Idolised by the fanatics who call Anfield's Kop home, Torres is not merely paying lip service to his followers when he talks about his dream of winning the English league title, as he fully appreciates the significance of such a triumph.

Clearly hungry to win his first major trophy in a Liverpool shirt, Torres admits he has been caught up in a local battle that may not be a natural duel for a young Spaniard to get embroiled with.

"They say foreign players don't care as much as the home grown, but we are very much aware that Liverpool haven't won the Premier League for 20 years and understand the supporters are desperate for us to put that right," he continues.

"The rivalry with Manchester United is intense and the roof will come off at Anfield if we beat them to next year's title. Obviously the Champions League means a lot to Liverpool, but the English title is the one everyone wants in our dressing room.

"I was brought up at Atletico Madrid, where the love of the team's colours knows no bounds. It's the same at Liverpool, though on an even larger scale. We have fans not only in this city, but literally all over the world.

"Liverpool Football Club is a phenomenon, with millions of fans totally identify with everything the club stands for. They are at one with the players and that's why the backing we get at Anfield and from the away support is second to none.

"This club has it all: the history, the prestige, the fans, the organisation. It's a big responsibility to give the fans here the success they desire, but the challenge is always exhilarating and this is why I was delighted to sign a new contract.

"I can never feel flat during a game at Anfield as there's a unique solidarity as football is what our supporters live for and you don't always find this at the major clubs. Loyalty comes and goes for some clubs, but it's permanent for Liverpool fans.

GettyImages

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque puts Fernando Torres through his paces in training

"Now we need to win the big trophies and we can trust Rafa Benitez to keep the upward momentum going for us. He is a great manager and has helped me improve so much in my time at Liverpool. I left Spain when I was still young, but my manager has helped me to mature.

"I'm so happy in England. The crowds and the pitches we play on are perfect and the attitude is great. The biggest players like Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas know the first rule of the game is to put the team before themselves. This is why English teams are so successful right now."

After scoring the winning goal for Spain in Euro 2008 last summer, Torres endured a stuttering season at Liverpool, with fatigue appearing to get in the way of his ambitions.

With this in mind, some have questioned the wisdom of his participation playing in the Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa this month, yet he insists the breaks he was forced to take during the season means he can push his body through another tiring tournament this summer.

"I feel fine and I'm looking forward to this tournament," adds Torres. "I know I need to stay fit next season as this will help Liverpool win prizes and, obviously, the World Cup is the big target for Spain. Still the Confederations Cup is important also.

"Every time the Spanish national team comes together, we want to win. We're on a long, successful run at the moment and have standards to maintain. We have built up a tremendous amount of confidence and are a very proud set of players. The Confederations Cup would be nice but clearly the number one objective is to do really well at the World Cup.

"It's normal for us to be highly-rated when people think about the World Cup as we are the European champions. Barcelona's Champions League victory is bound to raise expectations too and this is something we have to live with.

"Still, the World Cup is our biggest test. So many times in the past Spain have promised a lot, but failed to deliver. We showed what we are capable of last summer and I'm confident of more of the same next year. Not only do we have the talent, we love being together as a group and this unity can take us long, long way."

If a poll was taken to crown the best striker in the world, Torres may well come out on top. Should he stay fully-fit for the upcoming season with Liverpool and Spain, he may well challenge Ronaldo, Messi and even Gerrard for the title of best footballer in the world 12 months from now.

LINK

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What say we give the transfer market a miss and spend our money cloning Torres and Gerrard?

[Judge]

His feet wouldn't touch the ground. 


With £80 million you could assemble a team to win the premiership although I would miss Stevie.

There is a quote from someone who knows as much about football as Freddie MErcury did about female genetalia if I ever did see one.

100% without a clue.

Well considering freddie was bi-sexual I'll take that as a compliment, thanks.

How big of you to accept a differing point of view though, you really don't get the concept of an open forum do you.   

well said heimdall, but we couldnt assemble a team on 80 mill to win the PL tho

[tubby]

I think if you sold any player for that much it would be difficult to assemble a few players from that as all the teams would know you have money to burn so you would probably end up losing a fair bit out of that depending on how high profile players you are after.

[woof woof !]

In the opinion of Spain and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, 2010 could be the year that sees Gerrard earn the praise many of his admirers believe he is overdue, with the World Cup finals providing the ultimate stage to confirm his class.

Not wanting to derail the thread BUT, the only problem with Torres' comment is that inevitably Gerrard will again be used as a utility player by Capello and will never be afforded the opportunity to shine for his country as much as he does for his club. I'm really fed up with Stevie being used as a fill in so Capello can accomodate  the likes of Fat Frank, wish he'd do a Carra and tell Capello where to stick his teamsheet

mini rant over

[burjennio]

As much as he means to the club and us fans I think that at 29 years old the answer would have to be yes for £80m , provided it was used to buid a new side that would challenge over the next 5 years. The only thing is that as the value of each top player rises, so does the value of the every other level of player below them . Clubs can turn round and say "well if Gerrard's worth £80 then Ricardo Windowlicker over there must be worth at lest £50m as he's 4 years younger and do blah blah blah "

Im am growing less confident about what we can do in the transfer market day after day. Especially when are nearest rivals, who already have much more financial muscle than ourselves, are surely going to go into overdrive with this windfall.

[mart]

Its sad to say it but we need our own Abramovich with bags of cash.

[Toffeehater]

No , stevie is irreplaceable , any amount of money can never get us another player like him . Heartbeat of this team , born and bred scouser

[RedRoots]

No thanks. Gerrard already does the work of 2 world class players in 99% of the matches he plays it's a no brainer really. Anyone who'd consider selling our best player, the best in the world in his posistion, the heartbeat of our team and a lad born and bred in the city who's done so much for us and can do more, isn't a true fan.

[Kash_Mountain]

No way. He's priceless.

[burjennio]

No thanks. Gerrard already does the work of 2 world class players in 99% of the matches he plays it's a no brainer really. Anyone who'd consider selling our best player, the best in the world in his posistion, the heartbeat of our team and a lad born and bred in the city who's done so much for us and can do more, isn't a true fan.

are not true fans? have a word with yourself mate the club will always be bigger than 1 player, regardless if he is a local lad, star player or greatest player of all time LFC will stand long after he retires. And what gives any individual the right to judge the criteria of "a true fan"

The forum gets more self-opinionated by the day, in my opinion 

[redhayesy]

No way. He's priceless.

nail on head mate.     

[tubby]

I know he is important to the team but ultimatley no player is bigger than the team. I'm sure if this poll was run before Keegan left people would be saying the same thing.

[Owzat]

£80m is a lot of dough for a man under 12 months from his 30th, honestly I would give it serious consideration and I bet that's more than 2/3 of the voters did.