SOCCER:DANIEL AGGER has denounced Fernando Torres for showing a lack of "respect" for Liverpool by joining Chelsea, but he admitted the Merseysiders' dismal start to the season had contributed to the Spaniard's inconsistent form.
The Denmark centre half has been a key member of the Liverpool side revitalised under Kenny Dalglish, rising to sixth in the table and six points from Champions League qualification.
The Spaniard’s move, triggered by a desire to leave Anfield, frustrated Agger. “It is unacceptable to play for one of Liverpool’s arch rivals,” he said. “For a Dane, it’s about having respect for the club you play at. I am proud to be able to pull on my Liverpool jersey and will never go to another club in England. I would never go to Manchester United or Everton. It’s about a form of respect for the club.
“I suppose Liverpool got a lot of money for him and, if the player doesn’t want to be there any more, there is no reason to keep him. I should say I think everyone at Melwood liked him and still do, because he is a good guy and we wish him all the best in a blue shirt – except against us.”
Asked why Torres’s form had been so stodgy in the first half of the season, Agger said: “That is a big question, isn’t it? How to explain that . . . Look at the team – we played awful, we were s**t. And he is a part of the team. When every element of the team plays well, he plays a lot better.
“It is the same for everybody – for me, for Stevie (Gerrard), everyone. When the team are performing, look at every single player and he is playing better. But when we are losing, everybody is on top of us.”
Liverpool have rediscovered their poise, with Dalglish overseeing four successive victories, the last of which came at Torres’s expense last Sunday.
“A big part of it is down to Kenny and (the coach) Steve Clarke,” said Agger. “They have made a major difference. But it has also something to do with confidence, because we are the same footballers. Confidence can win games and, somehow, Kenny and Steve have put the confidence back into the players.”
Dalglish has rejected a claim Andy Carroll could miss the rest of the season with the thigh injury that has delayed his debut. “We said right at the beginning that it will be a few weeks. There is nothing sinister in it,” Dalglish said.
FORMER Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton is set to be given the task of guiding West Bromwich Albion to Premier League survival following the club’s decision this week to replace Roberto Di Matteo.
Hughton has held talks with chairman Jeremy Peace, and his case is helped by the fact Roy Hodgson, reportedly the first choice, has opted against a return to the dug-out so soon after his dismissal by Liverpool.
