Torres Set To Start At St. Andrews

THE last time Fernando Torres
went to St Andrews, his
afternoon came to an abrupt
end as Rafa Benitez opted to
hand him an unscheduled rest
for the final 25 minutes of a
game Liverpool needed to win.
Steven Gerrard reacted to the
sight of him disappearing to the
sidelines with a look of
bewilderment, muttering
expletives under his breath as he
did so, in a moment that
illustrated how one Anfield
regime was unravelling.
Five months on and when Roy
Hodgson spoke yesterday of also
curtailing Torres’ game time,
Gerrard would more than likely
have been nodding back in
agreement.
Torres will start against
Birmingham tomorrow and the
only prospect of his number
being held aloft by the fourth
official will be if Liverpool are
already out of sight. Instead,
Hodgson will probably earmark
next Thursday’s Europa League
group game with Steaua
Bucharest as one his Spain
striker can miss – but only in
order to ensure he is in perfect
condition to spearhead
Liverpool’s attack at Manchester
United a week tomorrow.
It is a strategy Hodgson hopes
will serve Torres and his team
well. “Fernando will be able to
play three games in seven or
eight days, but if you can spare
your players, you want to do
that,” said Hodgson.
“How fair is it to ask players to
do that on a regular basis? It
would be tough. The thing about
Fernando is that he went to the
World Cup with an injury, played
throughout it without being fully
fit and we are anxious now to
make sure through this season
that he will be fully fit.
“When he is fully fit, he will be
able to play three times a week.
But I am hoping that won’t
happen because, if I have to do
that, week after week, I will lose
players, like I did at Fulham. You
just can’t ask them to take on
that workload at the level we are
talking about.”