Monday, February 14, 2011

Ian Rush: Fernando Torres' Move To Chelsea Makes Liverpool A ‘More Complete’ Team

Anfield hero Ian Rush has showered praise on Kenny Dalglish for his management of Fernando Torres’ move to Chelsea and believes Liverpool are stronger without the World Cup winner.

A former team-mate of Dalglish, the Welshman insists the swift acquisitions of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll after Torres' departure underlines the capabilities of Dalglish as a manager and will go a long-way in taking Liverpool forward.

"Fernando Torres is a fantastic player, but if someone hands in a transfer request and says he doesn't want to play for Liverpool Football Club then you let them go,” Rush told the club's official website.

“The way Kenny Dalglish handled the situation was absolutely fantastic - he got two brilliant players in to replace Torres and we'll be a better team for it.”

Still Liverpool’s all time leading goalscorer, Rush also feels the behaviour of Torres showed a lack of respect to Reds' fans who took the Spaniard to their hearts following his move from Atletico Madrid in 2007.

“As good as Torres was, he was only one player. I wish Fernando success in what he does in the future but the thing that I can't get out of my head is the way he disappointed the fans,” added Rush.

“I think the supporters felt let down by him. They absolutely loved Fernando Torres and gave him everything they could in terms of their support. He was idolized by the Kop and I think they thought he would repay their support by staying with the Club for a long, long time but he had other ideas and now we've moved on and I think we've got the better deal.”

The signings of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez excite Rush and he is confident the different qualities each player possesses will give Liverpool greater flexibility in breaking down tough opposition.

Rush added: "In Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, Liverpool has got two amazing signings who can write themselves into Liverpool folklore in the future.

“Suarez scored on his debut, hit the bar and hit the post in his first start against Wigan and he's eager. He's running around and closing defenders down which is what I like about him. That's what you want to see from a Liverpool striker.

“Fabio Aurelio and Martin Kelly can both cross a ball very well and Andy Carroll will thrive off that kind of service.

“Fernando Torres was fantastic for Liverpool, one look at his goalscoring ratio at Anfield proves that point, but I think we may find that with Suarez and Carroll, we're a more complete team with more options to call on to break teams down."

Rush formed a formidable partnership with Dalglish during his playing days and is thrilled with the impact the Scot has had since his return to the Anfield hot-seat.

He added: “We've got some great players at the club but I think Kenny has restored the confidence in the side and we've seen the work-rate and the effort markedly improve over the last month or so and it's no surprise the results have improved too."

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