Here's what you need to do Torres

If Fernando Torres' first two games at Chelsea are anything to go by, it's going to take a long time before that GBP50 million price tag hanging over his head will be justified. But the Spaniard shouldn't despair. Instead, he should try to emulate what Wayne Rooney accomplished over the weekend.

Consider this: Much like Torres, Rooney's gone from hero to zero in the eyes of their legions of adoring fans. But Rooney, at the end of the day, stayed -albeit with a huge pay increase - at Man Utd while Torres is now a Chelsea player.

It has taken a while for the Old Trafford faithful to completely forgive their boy wonder and considering the fact that the England international's goal tally this season has been a grand total of FIVE, it's only logical if the fans at the Stretford End start to wonder if Rooney's worth all that money. Until he scores a goal like the one he did against City.

Rooney has often been critised this season of being unclinical in front of goal but against City last weekend, the former Everton striker showcased exemplary technique in dispatching Nani's deflected cross into the top right corner of Joe Hart's goal with an overhead kick.

Thanks to that goal, Rooney's betrayal earlier this season has been forgotten and England's favourite son is back in the limelight for all the right reasons. Best of all, everyone's forgotten the fact that until that goal, Man Utd's most expensive player had only netted four goals this season.

As such, the gameplan should be pretty clear for Fernando Torres. All he'll need to do is score a bicycle kick sometime between now and May and the papers will say the Spain international has justified his price tag. That's all it takes Fernando.

Of course, Rooney's got one advantage over Torres in that the former's English. Rooney's overhead kick is certainly a candidate for goal of the season but the kind of press attention it has received seems to suggest its the best goal in the world.

Perhaps its me but the English press tend to get a little excited when England players perform well. Take the Andy Carroll to Liverpool saga. At GBP35 million, Carroll is now the most expensive British player in history and was priced GBP13 million higher than his new strike partner at Liverpool, Uruguayan international, Luis Suarez.

Is Carroll really worth that much more than Suarez or was it because he's English and that English strikers with a high level of skill and technique are a rarity? For that matter, was Rooney's overhead goal against City that much better than Berbatov's overhead goal against Liverpool this season?

Is Hodgson back to where he really belongs?

Barely a month after getting the sack from Liverpool, Roy Hodgson's back in the Premier League. Will this be Hodgson's chance to repair his tattered reputation after his disastrous six-month spell at Anfield? Perhaps.

In fact, ironically enough, West Bromwich Albion are languishing just above the relegation zone in the league, much like where Liverpool were under Hodgson. But the similarities end there.

At West Brom, Hodgson's main goal will be to avoid relegation. This, if you remember, wasn't among his initial targets at Liverpool although he later made it the club's biggest priority after acrimoniously leading the Reds to their worst start in over 50 years. While we'll never know if he would have succeeded in keeping Liverpool out of the relegation zone by May 2011, chances are high Hodgson will save the Baggies from the drop.

One of the key reasons for this is the fact that Hodgson has a much better record at mid-table and relegation clubs. Sure, he'll remind everyone of his time at Inter Milan (although he might skip the part about being sacked by the Nerazzuri) but it does seem as though Hodgson's not cut out as a top club manager. The mere fact that Kenny Dalglish has rejuvenated the Reds to sixth place in the Premiership with the same footballers Hodgson had only adds testament to the fact that the Englishman had gotten it all wrong at Anfield. As Daniel Agger put it: "We were s***."

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that players of top flight clubs operate very differently to those in mid-table teams. At a big club like Liverpool (no pun intended Torres), the players are generally accustomed to competing against other top flight clubs in the Premier League instead of the bottom feeders in the league. Being placed above or in the relegation zone can cause severe damage to their confidence and just about anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Only a top-rated manager is capable of placing some confidence back into the squad to get them back to their winning ways much like what Harry Redknapp did with Tottenham when he took over Juande Ramos' disastrous reign.

On the other hand, mid-table clubs and other relegation zone regulars are used to playing for their survival in the Premiership to the point where their league position has no bearing on their confidence or performance. How else can you explain Wolverhamton Wanderer's season thus far? Mick McCarthy's side are currently second from the bottom but are the only club to have beaten Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City this season.

Thus, going by this logic, one can clearly see Hodgson having a much easier time at West Brom than he did at Anfield. And in a way, this is where he belongs.

West Ham to get the London Olympic Stadium?

West Ham United seems to have won in its bid to take over the London Olympic Stadium following the 2012 Olympics, according to "leaked" documents that's been obtained by nearly every credible media organisation in the United Kingdom.

If it's true - and it most likely will be - West Ham will have beaten city rivals Tottenham for ownership of the stadium. And Spurs, according to reports, are apparently livid with the decision and may appeal the decision.

Reports say West Ham was picked over Spurs as their plan entailed keeping the stadium's athletic track and using the stadium for concerts and other sports. Tottenham on the other hand intended to tear the existing structure of the stadium and converted it into a football-only arena.

No surprise then why West Ham's bid would have been favourable to the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

Additionally, under West Ham's bid, the club would reduce the seating capacity at the London Olympic Stadium to 60,000 from 80,000. All the same, it seems highly unlikely we'll see many sold-out matches for West Ham at the new stadium.

That being said, Tottenham's bid included keeping the seating capacity at 80,000 which again seems preposterous even if Harry Redknapp's men win the Champions League. Tottenham's expected to make an announcement on the decision tomorrow so stay tuned.

Guardiola only extends contract by 12 months?

Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola has somewhat quelled the speculation surrounding his future at the club by penning an extension to his current contract for - get this - just 12 months!

Guardiola's reluctance to agree to a longer contract certainly raises questions if Barcelona's manager, who's been with the club in some capacity or other since 1984, will eventually look to ply his trade elsewhere (hint: England).

At Barcelona, Guardiola's won nearly everything there is to win as a manager, much like he did as a player and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a switch to the Premier League where he's been rumoured to be the favourite besides Jose Mourinho to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd.

Then again, there could be a managerial position opening up at Stamford Bridge real soon. With Carlo Ancelotti's tenure looking more and more precarious each week, Guardiola fits the kind of coach Roman Abramovich would want at the club. It's no secret that ever since Jose Mourinho's departure, the Blues have struggled to recapture the success they enjoyed under the Special One.

But at the same time, would Guardiola have been as successful as he's been without the team he's got? As one would argue, just about any coach who's got Lionel Messi, David Villa, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta at his disposal would have to try hard to lose a game. And let's forget of those four players, one of them is the best player in the world.

The big question at the end of the day is not if but when Guardiola chooses to leave the Spanish champions. Moving at the end of next season may suit well for the likes of Man Utd (Sir Alex has to resign sometime and surely won't be this season).

Another club in desperate need of a big name coach would be Inter Milan who are desperate to regain their spot as the best club in Europe.

Now Liverpool's the bigger club?

Is Fernando Torres starting to regret his move to Chelsea? In his latest interview with the Spanish press, Torres has backtracked on his earlier comments about joining a 'big club' like Chelsea by claiming Liverpool is the bigger club based on its history.

At the same time, just days after claiming he never had a personal attachment to his former club, Torres now says the Reds will always remain special to him.

So what gives? It's probably unlikely the striker completely regrets his record transfer to Stamford Bridge but it does appear that he is beginning to at least regret the manner in which he left Kenny Dalglish' side as well as the various comments he made soon after the deal was announced on Jan 31.

Perhaps the fact that his much-anticipated debut for the Blues was a dismal affair punctuated by a defeat at the hands of his former employers. Perhaps Torres is beginning to realise he could very well be headed down the same path as another high-profile Stamford Bridge flop - Andrei Shevchenko.

Then again, Torres could just be learning a lesson in public relations the hard way. Truth be told, unlike Shevchenko, Torres has a lot more potential in succeeding with Chelsea than the Ukrainian ever did.

On another note, speculation seems to be rife that the last remaining star of the 'Rafalution' period in Liverpool - Pepe Reina - may follow his compatriot's footsteps and leave Anfield in the summer for Man Utd or Arsenal.  I would think a move to the former would be highly unlikely considering the fact that Reina isn't stupid. And after witnessing the Torres' jersey bonfires outside Anfield, the Spanish 'keeper can only imagine what would await him should he ever cross the great divide to Old Trafford.

Torres' big overrated debut

So Fernando Torres' big debut for Chelsea turned out to be just another uninspired performance by the Spanish forward. Only this time, he had a hefty GBP50 million price tag hovering over every move he made during the match.

At least when he was in Liverpool, the critics would sugar coat such performances as a consequence of a lack of form or confidence or an injury or just about everything rolled into one. The fact is, the pundits who've been sympathetic to Torres' shortcomings this season seemed to have turned their backs on El Nino now that the former Reds striker is the world's fourth most expensive player. And who knows, some of them may even be a little peeved at the manner in which he left Liverpool.

Still, Torres insipid performance against his old club should have been predicted the moment Kenny Dalglish decided to field five defenders and four midfielders to squeeze the pace and room out of a Chelsea team that's lacked inventiveness all season.

In fact, ironically, Torres' failure to have an impact on the match owed much to the fact that he received very little service from his teammates which is something he's been used to over the past one and half seasons at Liverpool. If he expected some revolutionary change by switching to Chelsea, he could have done himself a favour by actually checking out Blues' dismal run in recent months in the Premier League.

Nonetheless, Torres will eventually find his footing at his new club. The Spaniard will certainly need time to get used to his new striking partners (after having deployed as a lone striker for the last three seasons) and gel with his new teammates.

Speaking of which, with Drogba rumoured to among the ones on the chopping block in the summer to pay for Torres' transfer, one wonders if there will ever be some chemistry between the two. Drogba has always been reluctant to share the spot light with anyone and his current partnership with Nicolas Anelka has been uninspiring and a disappointment.

Et tu Torres?

In the final act of William Shakespeare's Julius Ceaser, during the Roman emperor's dying moments, he is shocked to find his close friend, Marcus Brutus, among his murderers. It is during this moment of betrayal the fallen Ceasar utters the legendary phrase, "Et tu Brute?" to the treacherous Brutus.

Not many other phrases aptly describe treachery like this Latin phrase and one imagines it would have been the first thing to cross Kenny Dalglish' mind on Jan 29 when Fernando Torres handed in his transfer request hours after an offer for the Spaniard had been rejected by the Anfield hierarchy.

Even more devastating was the fact that Torres' transfer request has completely overshadowed the signing of Uruguayan star, Luiz Suarez. Liverpool fans who had been dreaming of an explosive Torres-Suarez partnership were left shaking their heads and quite possibly, searching for the right phrase to describe the situation. Et tu Torres?

One wonders if Torres' transfer request was made without knowledge that a deal to bring in Suarez from Ajax Amsterdam was imminent. After all, until Jan28, it appeared as though the transfer policy of Liverpool's new American owners was very much similar to the previous regime that ran Anfield. Torres and fellow compatriot, Pepe Reina, had made it very clear at the beginning of the season that they would search for pastures greener if the club failed to invest in new players. As such, with even Dalglish complaining of the transfer impasse, one would understand if Torres too had finally thrown in the towel due Liverpool's lack of success in the transfer market.

Then again, this is based on the hypothesis that Torres really isn't the villain in this story and that some bad timing and impatience has landed Liverpool with a host of new problems. Still, Torres has yet to publicly state his true intentions and since his transfer request, Chelsea have followed up with two new offers and the latest rumour is an offer of GBP50 million from the Blues in the form of cash or a combination of cash and Nicolas Anelka.

But Torres' act of betrayal to the club where he has pledged his allegiance to on many occasions, while shocking, isn't anything new. In fact, it follows a series of similar events this season made by footballers. First it was Wayne Rooney who appeared to he heading for a sensational switch to Man City only to change his mind at the 11th hour.

Then it was Rooney's former striker partner, Carlos Tevez, who despite the many public statements of his action towards City's fans, shocked the Eastland's club by handing in a transfer request. Like Rooney, Tevez too was coaxed into changing his mind and their betrayals have been forgotten by Man Utd and Man City fans respectively. And it doesn't hurt to score a couple of goals in the process to heal the wounds.

Still, the precedents left by Rooney and Tevez is an example of footballers holding clubs to ransom and Torres is the latest high-profile star to follow suit. The days in which clubs could play hardball with these players are long gone. Players like Rooney, Tevez and Torres have become too important for their respective clubs to lose.

Perhaps if Liverpool want to dig deeper and search for that moment in history when players became bigger than their clubs can be traced back to 2005 when Reds captain, Steven Gerrard nearly
signed for the Blues only to change his mind at the 11th hour. Any player that would have dared commit such an act 10 years ago would never have been given a second chance.

But Gerrard's betrayal has been forgotten by the Anfield faithful thanks to the results churned out by their captain week-in week-out over the last five seasons and if Torres does stay, his repertoire with the fans will be repaired once he scores a few goals.

On another note, it is somewhat surprising that Torres would choose to move to Chelsea at a time when the Blues have looked just as lost as Liverpool have. Carlo Ancelotti's men have had one of their worst runs in recent memory and the Italian's stint at Stamford Bridge is expected to end prematurely if things don't get much better soon.

To be fair to Torres, his frustrations at Anfield are understandable. After carrying much of the weight of the team for so long, he finds himself desperately seeking some rewards for it. And he probably doesn't believe Liverpool will be winning the Premier League or the Champions League again anytime soon. But then again, the future doesn't look any brighter at Stamford Bridge.

Both Torres and Liverpool are going through a major transition and if history has thought us anything, the Spaniard will be better of staying with the Reds. The club's new owners seem willing to splash the cash on quality players and the return of 'King' Kenny has brought about a positive change to the team. In fact, for the first time since signing for the club in 2007, Torres will finally have a world-class striking partner up front for the Reds. Why would he want to leave now?