I think not even a mention of HIcks or Gillett as being the real culprits falls short of describing what really went wrong with the club, and how the 08/09 season was good in spite of everything. H&G, along with Purslow, and then Hodgson, almost totally fucked this club. We were perilously close to the wall, not just in football terms, but in becoming bankrupt.
This should not be overlooked so much as it is. This article fails in that regard.
Torres may have had enough, but the club has changed owners, executive, board, manager, and moved on. It is not the club of last year, and THAT should be acknowledged above all else. And the extra 65k per week cannot be dismissed as a major influence.
I think it lets him off the hook as well. He could easily have done this with more class, and not at the last minute. He could have handed in his notice on Jan 1, and let all clubs come in with bids. Going to Chelsea at the last minute, half way through a season that we still have to play them and compete for a Euro place, is unforgivable. The club were left with little choice, and the fact he was thrown off like bad rubbish for the best price possible was good management of a bad situation. If any good comes out of this mess, it's that players will know that the club cannot be held to ransom in the style of Rooney/Tevez - if you say you want to leave, better be ready to follow through. If Torres called LFC's bluff, he failed, and that could also be seen as a source of his anger toward us and should be acknowledged as so.
Torres (aka "that other fella") has become a footnote in our history, and he castigated the fans for his greed and frustration, for which he may leave behind his best football.
He is no longer one of us, and he walks alone. That was HIS doing. It could have been done with more class, but Nando chose the low road. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he ended up playing for R.Madrid, his boyhood club's arch enemy. I can't imagine any other club that deserves him more (or would be willing to pay for his magic wand).
Goodbye traitor.