• Premier League

Liverpool 'hadn't made plans' for Torres exit - Hodgson

ESPN staff
February 14, 2011
Roy Hodgson was present as West Brom's 3-3 draw with West Ham at the Hawthorns on Saturday © PA Photos
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Roy Hodgson has confessed he saw Fernando Torres' Liverpool exit coming during his time as manager at Anfield, although he revealed the Reds had not planned for the Spaniard's departure.

Hodgson was unveiled as the new West Brom head coach on Monday, less than two months after he departed Liverpool following a disastrous spell on Merseyside. The Reds picked up only one away victory in the league under Hodgson's stewardship, due in large to his inability to get the best out of star striker Torres.

Liverpool cashed in to the tune of £50 million during the January transfer window, selling Torres to Chelsea in order to fund the captures of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, but Hodgson confessed the Liverpool board had not expected the Spain international to leave so suddenly.

"Fernando's an outstanding player and a very good person, I think he'll do very well at Chelsea," said Hodgson. "I presume he was happy to leave, I've had text messages from him, I haven't actually spoken to him.

"When you have a player like Fernando who, in the summer we had to fight to keep at the club because even then he was being courted by other clubs, you then can't be that surprised I suppose when it happens in the January window.

"Damien Comolli and I hadn't made plans for that, we thought we would have him until the end of the season at least, and I think that would have been the case had Chelsea not put such a large offer on the table.

"I wouldn't have been surprised if the club (Liverpool) had refused lesser offers in order to keep him, but maybe this offer was sufficiently great to take it and invest it in other players. You would have to ask Damien and Kenny Dalglish."

The Englishman admitted he still feels 'hurt' at the manner of his departure from the Anfield club.

"Of course it hurts," he said. "Every time a club decides they don't want you to continue doing the job they've employed you to do, of course it hurts. It would be foolish to say anything other than that.

"I knew when I took the job I was taking a bit of a risk because there was likely to be a change of ownership. Therefore I'm reasonably philosophical about it. It's a great club, with some very good people there, the players were extremely good to work with, and I'm happy to see them now getting some good results.

"I don't regret going there."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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