Luis Suarez
“The last time I saw new Liverpool signing Luis Suarez in the flesh, he was playing his biggest game so far in his native continent. It was November 2009, and Uruguay were taking on Costa Rica with the final place in South Africa 2010 at stake. As Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez reflected recently, the World Cup can be enjoyed but the qualification process has to be suffered. Uruguay certainly suffered to book their place, and despite having a 1-0 lead from the away leg, they were certainly suffering that night against Costa Rica. They dominated the game, but while the goals refused to go in, nerves were jangling, especially for Suarez.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Agony and Empire
“And so it came to pass that a helicopter carrying Fernando Torres touched down on the wreckage of several earlier helicopters only thought to have been carrying Fernando Torres, and Fernando Torres raised his serene gaze from the book about helicopters that he had been reading on his helicopter and looked inscrutably out the window, leaving the rest of us to stare at his helicopter and wonder what it all could mean.” Run of Play

What’s next for Torres & Co.?
“After a flurry of activity on Monday, the January transfer window is closed. Clubs won’t be able to wheel and deal again until the summer. In the meantime, many teams will now have to adjust to new players joining their squads or key players leaving town. Here are the five big questions facing a few clubs in the English Premier League.” ESPN

A difficult decision that Torres could not resist
“Fernando Torres: Chelsea striker. Actually seeing it in writing feels strange, and the sight of him in a blue, rather than red shirt, harder for fans to come to terms with than the fact the former Liverpool number nine switched clubs for a record breaking £50 million. Last week, the idea that we’d be referring to Torres as a former Red by the following Tuesday was simply un-imaginable for the majority of Liverpool fans – yet the feeling that he was at a club progressing much slower than he had hoped had been growing within the player for some time – and when Chelsea made a serious enquiry ahead of Liverpool’s game against Fulham, Fernando sensed that this was an opportunity that he could not resist.” Guillem Balague

Andy Carroll: Is He Worth It?.
“Yesterday marked the third time Kenny Dalglish has broken the English transfer record for a Geordie striker. On the previous two occasions it worked out pretty well. In 1987, Peter Beardsley arrived for £1.9m, and Liverpool turned into arguably the finest English club side seen to date (certainly few have bettered that red vintage). The Reds won the league that season, and in a three year spell were one win away from completing the league and cup double each time.” Tomkins Times