Fernando to go for Reds to bring back the glory days

So “King” Kenny Dalglish is back is the Anfield hotseat, and Liverpool fans the world over are expecting a prompt return to the good old days of the late 1970s and 1980s - when Dalglish was last spearheading their dominance of the domestic game.

But whilst most of us are guilty of going weak at the knees with nostalgia when one of our clubs’ heroes returns home, Liverpool fans will do well to reign in some of that new found optimism. Whilst King Kenny may have replaced Woy the boy on the Anfield bench, it’s on the pitch where the Reds are in dire need of change. And that change must start not with the much maligned Konchesky and Jovanovic, but with Fernando Torres.

Torres on form for Liverpool

After signing for Liverpool in the summer of 2007, Torres took to English football like a duck to water: he was strong enough to withstand the challenges from journeymen centre halves, whilst both quick and skilful enough to escape the attentions of the finest defenders in the league. His clinical finishing won many a game almost single-handedly for Liverpool, and the Kop simply adored him.

I remember Liverpool coming to Upton Park at the beginning of last season and believe it or not, being totally outplayed by the Hammers. Zavon Hines ran Jamie Carragher ragged that day, and Carlton Cole looked like the kind of powerful centre forward he can be on those rare occasions when he puts his mind to it. But despite turning in arguably our best performance of the season, West Ham eventually went down 3-2, thanks to two superb Fernando Torres goals: the first a fine solo effort, and the second a bullet of a header that almost broke the net.

But having watched Torres deliver yet another disinterested performance in Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United this weekend, those goals at Upton Park now seem a lifetime away. For Torres is playing like a man who would rather be anywhere in the world other than Liverpool football club. And it is holding Liverpool back at a time when they desperately need to move forward.

Of course, Torres’ woeful display at Old Trafford was no surprise to most football fans, who have seen him show only glimpses of his undoubted ability for a year now; a year that has included an anonymous World Cup and a shamefully lazy performance at Goodison Park in this season’s Merseyside derby. And the familiarity with Torres’ lack of impact in games is the heart of the issue.

Pundits, former players and fans alike are all convinced that Torres will burst into life any time soon, and drive Liverpool on to glory. But when? This lack of form is not a blip. It is not a period of slow recovery from an injury, and it is not a temporary lack of goals being compensated for by an exemplary work-rate. Let’s be honest, Torres’ form for both club and country has been awful for a year now, and is showing absolutely no sign of improving any time soon.

But despite failing to recapture the form of his first two seasons at Anfield, at 26, Torres remains young enough to still be hugely attractive to most of Europe’s top clubs, and could still command a transfer fee upwards of £30m. There is no doubting the man’s ability, and there is nothing to say he cannot regain the kind of form that made him the most feared striker in Europe. I just have my doubts that he will ever regain that form in the red of Liverpool.

Should Chelsea, Inter or any of the other supposed suitors for Torres offer Liverpool anything like £30m this summer, the Anfield hierarchy should take a deep breath and accept. That kind of money would finance the rebuilding of a squad so mediocre that its current position of 12th is almost a fair reflection of its ability; especially when you consider Van der Vaart was signed for £8m and Adam Johnson and Javier Hernandez both cost just £7m - all attacking players who are far better than those currently available to Kenny Dalglish.

Dalglish himself now has one of the toughest jobs in the Premier League. Liverpool fans have high expectations of the team, but the team - including Torres, Gerrard and Reina - is simply not good enough to challenge for honours this year, and without major surgery, will not be good enough next year either. With the new owners unlikely to provide unlimited funds to whoever is in charge during the summer transfer window, Liverpool need to do the unthinkable if they are to finance the necessary rebuilding programme: sell Fernando Torres.