20 Jan 2014

'They don't like him': Barnes claims LFC fans 'probably hate' fading £20m star. True...?

Former Reds striker Fernando Torres continues to struggle for Chelsea, and is still nowhere near producing the level of prolific goalscoring form he achieved during his time at Anfield. The Spaniard left Liverpool under a cloud, but how do LFC fans feel about the striker these days? According to Liverpool legend John Barnes, fans still have a lot of antipathy towards Torres.

Discussing Torres In his column for 5-Times, Barnes - arguably the most skillfull, exciting LFC player of modern era - mused:

“We are very excited about him [Suarez] now, but weren’t we excited about Fernando Torres?

"And now ask them [LFC fans] what they think about Torres now? They don’t like him, they probably hate him".


In my view, the only fans who genuinely 'hate' Torres (and by that, I mean actual, malicious hatred), are the ignorant, outdated, pigheaded minority who retain a terrace-thug mentality; the kind of fans who hate 'OOTs'; call non-Liverpudlian fans 'wools'; racially abuse ex-players on twitter (Over the weekend, it was Stan Collymore's turn); and persist in perpetuating tedious victim-conspiracies, i.e. Refs/the FA/the Media are always against LFC etc.

It's true, though, that Torres doesn't seem to be that popular with ex-Reds. A few months ago, Jamie Carragher labelled him 'poor', and suggested that his Chelsea career would soon be over. In an interview last summer, Craig Johnston - who won several league titles with Liverpool in the 1980s - went even further with his criticism of the Spaniard. He told The Australian:

"Torres, I call 'the incredible sulk'. He carried on like he never wanted to be there; like the other players were beneath him, like, 'I'm not going to run for the ball because I've got blond hair and I'm too pretty and I'm a superstar"

That's way too harsh on Torres. Irrespective of what went on behind the scenes, he scored a shedload of goals for Liverpool, which, incidentally, was his primary role in the team.

* 2009-10: 18 goals/3 assists in 22 league appearances. That is an absolutely formidable return, and if Suarez produced that (which he IS!) Reds fans would foaming at the mouth with hero worship appreciation.

* 2010-11: 9 goals/2 assists in 22 apps. Yes, Torres's effectiveness tailed off a little, but across the 18 months, his combined creative output was creditable: 29 goals/6 assists in 50 starts.

Not bad for a player who suffered a major knee injury in 2010. Clearly, there's strong evidence to suggest that Torres 'wasn't the same player' due to injury, rather than a negative attitude on the field.

Also, in the aftermath of Roy Hodgson's appointment, and LFC's ownership meltdown, who could blame Torres for wanting to quit Anfield? Things looked bleak, yet despite his obvious wish to leave, he still did his job and scored goals for the club, including 3 in his last four games. Additionally, Torres left with comparative dignity; he didn't display a distasteful zeal to leave, or continually disrespect the club with tawdry public statements about jumping ship.

How would Luis Suarez react during a similar situation at LFC? Would he just sit back and watch everything implode without thinking about his own future career? Absolutely no chance. At the first sign of trouble, he'd try his hardest to force his way out of the club, and use every available method of attack available, including endless media pressure.

What exactly did Torres do? He said he loved the club - which is almost certainly true - and then had the temerity to leave. Yowsers - hang that man from the nearest tree!

Despite his continuing decline, there still seem to be quite a few LFC fans who would love to see Torres back at Anfield. Jose Mourinho values him at £20m, but the only way a return to Anfield would ever happen (IMO) is if Torres becomes available on a loan deal, or a free transfer.

Ultimately, by leaving, Torres did Liverpool a massive favour; he gave the Reds the best years of his career, and helped LFC finance the purchase of Suarez. As Chelsea have discovered, he'll never again recapture the magic that made him one of the world's best strikers.

It's a tragic situation for the Spain forward, but there's a certain sweet satisfaction in knowing that Liverpool - not Chelsea - got the best out of Torres.


48 comments:

  1. I realise this is justy your opinion, but it seems more than a little one-sided. Torres told us that he was happy and staying at LFC, and put in his transfer request so late in the window that we

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  2. fans were outraged because he left on deadline day. He had the whole transfer window to hand in that transfer request, but left it to the last minute. I still remember that shocked, gutted, heartbroken feeling that overwhelmed me when I opened the LFC website, and saw the headline 'Torres hands in transfer request'. I just couldn't believe it. If he had left much earlier in the window to a non-rival, and thus given us much more time to find a striker replacement; instead of splashing 37 million for Carroll in a massive panic, fans may have just felt a lot more sympathetic with him. I was outraged too. I changed my fb profile pic to a torres jersey being burned.


    But after all that, I started to get over it, and I had forgiven him about a season after he left. I'd still probably have him back- I've got no hard feelings with him anymore.

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  3. 3 and a half seasons he was at LFC so why just mention 2. summer 2007 till jan 2011 he was at LFC. for the biggest part of that every time has on the ball I thought he was going ro do something special and usually did. Yes we didn't like him going but we always move on. usually to better players . Suarez .

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  4. It wasn't just the fact he left the club, it's the fact he was misfiring and the fans still gave him all our support then he left for a rival and then was disrespectful in his "chelsea is a bigger club" comments. Hating him might be a bit strong but it's not hard to see why he is very unpopular.

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  5. Having said that it was bad the way he done it, Players should behave better and if they want to leave don't leave it so late in the window to do it.

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  6. It was how late he left it in the transfer window, and a few comments that tarnished his legacy for me. Also, my boss at the time was a Chelsea fan, and a complete toad to boot. The smugness on his mug was almost unbearable but oh my days how i would love to see him now and remind him of his gloating at signing the worlds best striker for a 'paltry' 50 mill!. :)

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  7. One of the greatest strikers!! He was the reason I became a Liverpool fan. I feel so bad for him now, such a loss to footballing world. WHAT TALENT!!

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  8. What utter, utter shite, the only ones that hate him are terrace thugs? Clueless moron.

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  9. the terrace thug fans are the ones who complain all the time ... these are the same people whose posts are always headlined negatively -- you know, those you can read from a mile away because it is signature negative. everybody else compliments and complains about regular stuff which happens ... that's just normal.

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  10. I despise Torres and take great pleasure in his failings, if that makes me a "terrace thug" then I guess i'm a terrace thug!!

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  11. I pretty much agree with Johnson yes he did sulk and appeared to be a pretty boy but the horrible last minute transfer request angered me.
    A great player for Liverpool and great to watch though but he is finished u just have to watch him to know the quality is just not there and no way i want him back.
    No way could i see him wanting to come back nor do i see Liverpools transfer policy acomadating him.

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  12. actually what i wanted to say but forgot was that mourinho made a inspire decision yesterday with his selection of eto'o vs the manure, i mean, man united. i understand that means chelsea gets to separate itself against us, but ... eto'o's (what's with all the apostrophes?) goals were gut wrenchingly fan-tastic (forgive the oxymoron).

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  13. JK .. i hope you dont use these words in future like ignorant .. etc for your fellow LFC fans .. because i was really admired your opinions even if i have another direction but respect is important thing


    and i disagree with you .. yes i hate torres
    for the love i gava him for sure i would hate him
    he refused the chance to be an idol in Anfield
    to money seeker .. tell me what the passion in playing there ( chelsea ) ?


    as you put statics for his goals ,,, why you dont put statics for the songs and every lips sings for him ?


    he did do tremendous job for us .. but why you go for chelsea ?
    new challenge ?!
    is there more challenge than drive liverpool to where he belongs ?
    specially we was on turnover we signed suarez our King back we was in better position than hudsgon .. what the reason ?!



    i appreciate and respect the work he did for us ... but that wont take away the hate for joining chelsea and put us in hard situation

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  14. The dichotomy you present in this article is interesting. If someone genuinely hates Torres then they are put into the broad category of racists and conspiracists (you also forgot those who condone cheating!) but on the opposite end if someone loves Torres they are branded a hero worshipper. You can't really win, but of course on this one you sit in the middle of that spectrum.

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  15. Not being Smart But really who cares about Torres .I think we have mostly moved on.
    We got 50mil the greatest work done in long time .
    hahahahahahahah

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  16. I don't think there are that many people out there who hate Torres. It's made it easier on a lot of people to accept the transfer because of his failure at Chelsea.


    Torres lost his fan-favourite status. He wasn't at the club long enough to set any records in terms of games or goals and although he excited us while playing for a relatively short period, ultimately he will be forgotten.


    In 20/30 years people will still think of Rush, Dalglish, Fowler etc because they are part of the clubs legacy. Torres, however, is not.

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  17. I think Chelsea fans appreciate that the Liverpool Torres was a better player than the Chelsea Torres. Ironic bordering on funny, then, that he's won three trophies in two years, including the Champions League.

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  18. Did the team do it or was he on his own getting the trophies?

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  19. Exactly. Trophy wise his move was successful, but based on performances and the transfer fee, very poor IMO.

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  20. Some fans are ignorant, and I make no apology for saying that. Just because they're LFC fans doesn't change that. Should I have respect for the idiots racially abusing Collymore just because they're LFC fans?

    There are LFC fans who think I'm ignorant, but that's fine too. It's their right to think that.

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  21. Hi Pete. Re the hero worship thing - that's not what I'm trying to get across. My point here is that Suarez is hero-worshipped for his great goal record, yet Torres is maligned, despite grabbing 18/3 assists in 22 games (2009-10). Suarez achieves that kind of goal rate now, and is lionised, yet Torres doesn't get any credit for that when people talk about his exit.

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  22. Hi Pete. Re the hero worship thing - My point here is that Suarez is hero-worshipped for his great goal record, yet Torres is maligned, despite grabbing 18/3 assists in 22 games (2009-10). Suarez achieves that kind of goal rate now, and is lionised, yet Torres doesn't get any credit for that when people talk about his exit.

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  23. shit this Liverpool fans,how many trophies he have won with chelsea since he left,what have Liverpool won from then.even suarez not great without medals in his name,Torres is by far than him.

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  24. That makes sense. I just thought this way because of how the word is used and streaked out, where you have previously used the same idea to highlight how hero worshiping fans use support as a medium to overlook Suarez cheating...just an example. :) I confused the context.

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  25. I quite like Torres and don't wish him any harm. Equally I think some fans are entitled to express "cloying man hatred" for him without being regarded as thugs etc etc.

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  26. I hate Torres because we had to endure Carroll :-) waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

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  27. What if the money earned by Liverpool 50 million pound was utilized well instead of buying flops Addy carol,could there be this hatred.

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  28. and wasted chunk of it, not really the greatest work done. It was Newcastle who benefited from all the drama.

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  29. Actually, that's a pretty good point. I've now changed my mind: I hate Torres too! ;-)

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  30. Fair enough. By hatred, I mean genuine, malicious, irrational hatred.

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  31. Isn't Chelsea a bigger club right now?

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  32. sturridge is displaying torress goalscoring form atm. suarez is displaying goalscoring form beyond this.

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  33. Very well put. I can't argue with that
    Have you though about a career in football journalism?

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  34. i concur with our opinion on torres -he was a magnificent servant for the club. if he wanted to leave that was his prerogative. The fact that we received more than double what we paid for him should not be forgotten alongside his goals/assists.

    He wanted to achieve honours and by leaving us he has done that so he is not wrong. A lot of the negative attitude surrounding him is purely because the club sold him to a rival. The PR drive would have been to ensure that Torres took the blame for it and the club didnt. Which is what happened. It was the clubs fault that the bulk of that money was wasted not Torres. Maybe had he stayed then him and Suarez could have really lit the PL alight but we didnt show the ambition. We sold players like miereles and replaced them with adam and downing. We didnt play the likes of maxi and kuyt who were magnificent and persisted with hendo and carrol. The latter didnt show even 1% of the aptitude to be at a big club.

    So no i dont blame torres i blame the hierarchy of the club who were hell bent on self destruction - which started the moment we let go of rafa and went into the arms of hodgson. KK did well initially and gave us hope but his first full season in charge wasnt much to write home about. the cup runs could have been the saving grace but as we know it is the league that matters and the champions league place that comes with performing well.

    BR may take us there but problems persist as we have consecutively failed to get quality midfielders. Spending small amounts on bit part players whereas we could spend the lot on one quality player is something neither FSG or BR have thought off. Instead Borini and Assaidi and Suso are helping other teams whilst the likes of alberto, allen,aspas, ilori are a collective 40 million sat on the bench. imagine if 40 million had priced a pogba or a mata to the club?

    Despite clinging onto 4th we are still being linked to middle of the road players - why cant we be bold and tap up mata or pogba? This season is the chance to cut the man utd hold but there seems little desire to take advantage.

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  35. I always liked Torres and I still do. One of the main reasons I liked him was he was never a showboat. He scored, he celebrated with his team mates and it was game on again. I didn't mind that he didn't run around like crazy chasing balls of questionable utility, because when he did get the ball on his feet with room to maneuver, he was deadly. He did get bigger and put some weight on that slowed him down, but yeah I'd like to see him in red again.

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  36. He scored stacks of great goals for the club and gave them many memories. Why don't the fans rip into the likes of Johnson or one of the others who is still waiting to have a decent game after heaven knows how long? At Liverpool some players get virtually no chance at all while others are allowed to go on and on and on doing bugger all.

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  37. People are regularly criticising Johnson, with increasing frequency.
    He deserves it. I'm not one for criticising our own players but he has been deficient.

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  38. I'm sure Torres will comfort himself when he looks at his medal haul with Chelsea. Played a part in Chelsea's last two European trophies. May never have been the player he was at Liverpool but Chelsea fans have never turned on the guy.

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  39. As long as Torres is still at Chelsea, I can't want him to succeed. I find it sad to see him toil and to see he is a shadow of the player who made Vidic shit his pants (although the mere sight of him yesterday appeared to cause the same reaction) but he decided to move to one of our rivals and as such, I hope his barren spell continues until the end of his contract.

    As for him leaving with comparative dignity, I'm not sure that handing in a transfer request a couple of days before the end of the transfer window and only weeks after saying he wouldn't be leaving is especially classy. Nor is moving to Chelsea and within hours talking about moving to a big club. I don't expect him to go on TV and say "Chelsea aren't as good as Liverpool, but Liverpool aren't in Europe" but the way he handled it was tantamount to your girlfriend leaving you for a fella you work with and have to see all the time and then taking an add out in the paper about how big his dick is.

    As for him loving the club, I'll leave that to Torres himself:
    "I was not a Liverpool fan or a Chelsea fan in Madrid. I was an Atletico fan. I still am. Maybe they're the only badge I will kiss.
    ...
    I see some players doing that [kissing the badge] when they join a club, but the romance in football has gone. It's a different thing now. People [players] are coming and leaving. When you are joining a club you want to do the best for yourself and that club, and that's all. Some people like to kiss the badge. They can do it. I only want to score goals and do my job, and achieve all the targets the team has."

    He deserved a move, but went about it in the wrong way. People were willing to see Suarez move but do you think he'd have gotten a warm reception had he forced a move to Arsenal? No chance. Also, Torres was already loping around the pitch and whether that was because of injury or not (injuries impacted his performance, but you could also tell he plainly couldn't be arsed) is debatable and had we not sold him, how bad would he have been? Suarez we at least knew would still fight for the club (although the worry remains that he will literally fight someone for the club).
    I'll always have memories of his wonderful performances for us but he can have no complaints about no having a loving reception at Anfield. It is of his own making. I completely understand his reasons for moving but it was his insistence on moving to a rival that has really undone his legacy. I bet if Mascherano were to play at Anfield, he'd get a good reception. You know Alonso would (though obviously Benitez's handling of him sort of exonerates him).

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  40. Scored some great goals. Would love to have him back on the cheap. Mouth watering prospect with SAS.

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  41. By the definition that matters most to players, the ability to win trophies, absolutely. It was indubitably true then as well. The fact that it was so apparent means that there was no need in saying it. Several times in fact. Had he just kept it to the usual "I think this is a good move for my career" spiel and left the repeated pronouncements about Chelsea's 'bigness' to one side, it would have stung less. That said, once he moved to Chelsea I think the bridges were already alight. His lack of tact was merely kerosene.

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  42. I can't help it, I loved him so much and he broke my heart, my bitterness wont subside!!

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  43. If Torres is able to look at his medals from his time at Chelsea (and honestly, even the ones he won with Spain after he left Liverpool) and say "I've had a great career because of these medals", then it seems to me that he is a master of self-deception.
    His involvement in Spain's World Cup and second Euro triumph was largely inconsequential. He was awful in the World Cup and although he won the Golden Boot at the Euros, the bar was set low due to the fact that 3 goals was enough to be top scorer. I think it is telling that he won the Golden Boot but was not selected into the team of the tournament. He scored 2 against a weak Ireland side and one in the final when the game was won. In fact, of his 3 goals, two were in games where Spain were already leading by 2 goals.
    They were pointless goals. Like his one against Barca. I know to a Chelsea fan that goal was significant because it showed that you'd knocked Barca out (it was certainly the moment my heart sank completely!!), but had he not scored, you almost definitely would have progressed anyway. His stock at Chelsea was so low that he didn't even take a pen in the final.
    Djimi Traore has a stronger claim on being a European Cup Winner than Torres.

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  44. His move did NOT finance the move for Suarez,it financed the move for Carroll. which is another reason why he is unpopular.

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  45. Isn't perspective a funny thing. There's been a lot of goalscorers Who had successful careers and yet have never won any major honours. Shearer and Le Tissier come to mind. You can probably add in Suarez. Of course footballers will judge their careers by the medals they win is just plain silly to try and argue that they wouldn't. Torres made significant contributions and assists throughout Chelsea successful European cup season.

    Chelsea have not relied on Torres like Liverpool relied on him, Chelsea in the midfield has supplemented any shortcomings for any of the strikers.

    When Torres looks back on his medal haul it may not be quite the way a Centre forward would've wanted. But to be part of a successful team will give him the comfort he needs.

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  46. The problem you and other Liverpool fans was it signalled that LFC were no longer seen as a club to join. Other clubs had years of this, I remember you guys parking up the transfer bus outside Stamford bridge and taking Spackman.

    Get over it, it's happened to us all and it'll happen again (won't be too long before Hazard and Suarez are off to Madrid).

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  47. Couldn't care less about Torres. He's turned his back on us and it worked out well for us since we got Suarez. I'm against his return but not out of spite but just because he is past his best.

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