Saturday, June 07, 2008

Torres Tells Liverpool's Feuding Owners To Start Spending

Fernando Torres wants to be surrounded by more stars at Liverpool, urging feuding owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. to start spending more.

"In order to compete with Manchester United and Chelsea, if we can't keep up with them economically, then we have to get it absolutely right in the transfer market,'' the Spain striker was quoted as saying in an interview published on journalist Guillem Balague's Web site.

"It's clear that they have a lot of 20 or 25 million pound (US$40 or 50 million; £25-32 million) players, and that difference is what separates us in the league table,'' Torres said.”I hope that the club does what needs to be done and we can quickly catch them up.''

Liverpool finished fourth in Torres' debut season in the Premier League and was ousted in the Champions League semifinals by Chelsea.

The season was marred by a dispute between the club's American owners, who have struggled to agree on anything since January and have often criticized the other through media interviews.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard blamed the rift for hindering the Reds' bid to win the English title for the first time since 1990.

"It may have had more of an effect upon my teammates,'' Torres said.”But the truth is, that between the language and the fact that I don't pay much attention to that stuff, or to any of the problems, that it hasn't affected me.''

Torres witnessed turmoil during his Atletico Madrid career.

One training session in 2006 was interrupted by fans invading the pitch to demand the firing of the coach and club president. A potential move from the Vicente Calderon stadium, which sits on prime real estate land, caused further ructions in the boardroom.

"At Atletico Madrid I saw how even smaller problems can affect everyone at the club, right down to the last employee, and that can be damaging,'' Torres said. "This (Liverpool) is a big club that knows how to isolate you from those issues in order to stay competitive.''

When Torres returns from the European Championship, he is expecting a tougher season at Liverpool after 24 league goals in his first season.

"The second season is always the more difficult,'' Torres said.”People know all about me now, although I know more about my opponents as well, and I know how to take advantage of their weaknesses.

"But there's no doubt that I will have to account for the fact that I am better known from now on.''

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