WHO NEEDS TORRES?

The acrimonious departure of Fernando Torres to Chelsea may prove to be a blessing in disguise for Liverpool, as far-fetched as it sounds.

Although the Spaniard’s defection to Chelsea for the pricely sum of £50m may have been hard to digest at first, certainly for Kopites, it is certainly being met with more positivity – especially after his torrid debut on Sunday.

The former hero, now very much public enemy number one on Merseyside, was shackled out of the game by his former team-mates, most notably the trio of Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher.

This, however is not the only reason why many think his move may not work out so badly for the Reds. I think Torres will score goals for Chelsea, of that there is no doubt. I just believe his departure will have a much more positive impact on his former club than was first thought when he left on deadline day for the new British transfer record.

The money Liverpool received for him was overgenerous, even in today’s inflated market. They also managed to bring in two young, hungry players in Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. The two could form a lethal partnership; however that must wait for the time being, whilst Carroll recovers from his thigh tear.

For the moment, Liverpool are bobbing along quite nicely, and have developed a siege mentality. The new owners have wisely installed Kenny Dalglish as caretaker manager, although it is almost a formality that his role will be made permanent in the summer. They have also paved the way for wantaway stars (such as Torres and Ryan Babel) to leave the club, leading to a supposedly-more happy Anfield.

That would certainly seem to be the case given their current four-match winning streak. They are currently six points off the top four and certainly seemed to have turned the corner after their ill-fated stewardship under Roy Hodgson earlier in the campaign.

The question now is whether they can maintain this form. Whether Carroll and Suarez will get the amount of goals Torres did, is another matter.

One thing for sure is that the camp is now a much happier place without senor Fernando. And who would have thought that at 11pm last Monday?

NEW ERA, NEW CHANGE

Alan Irvine’s departure will come as no surprise.

Recent defeats, not just defeats but hammerings, at Exeter, Leyton Orient and Peterborough have put paid to his indifferent spell in charge.

The Scotsman was praised by almost everyone for his hard work and determination, but those two qualities alone are not enough to succeed, especially at a club where results are judged on a bigger scale than most rivals.

Irvine was undoubtedly far too negative, opting for a cautious approach.

The facts do not lie and since his arrival in January 2010, the Owls scored more than two goals, in a league game, on only five occasions, with them all coming this season.

Those are statistics that do not do him any favours.

He was a likeable figure, but you always got the feeling he was never the right man for the club. Supporters grew tired of the cliché-ridden interviews, stating the upcoming game will be “tough” whatever level the opposition were.

It would seem he parted with the club on amicable terms, and obviously SWFC wishes him all the best for the future.

Let us not forget that he did enable us to take our relegation battle to the final day, something that seemed impossible had the previous regime been still in charge at that time.

Moving towards future developments, and whoever Milan Mandaric chooses as the man to take Wednesday forward, you would hope that they will have experience of getting out of this League and hopefully the one above it.

My personal choice would be Alan Curbishley, but there will be tireless amounts of rumours in the coming days and weeks.

However, this isn’t something that can be rushed.

It has to be well-thought out, as it is arguably the most important managerial decision that the club has made in the past decade.