I do not know if you will ever see this letter or if somewhere in Liverpool you are lying awake like me, unable to sleep thinking.. thinking.. Nando, one thing supporting LFC has taught us is that we must have faith when everyone around us has lost hope. It is for that reason I write this letter – until the referee blows the final whistle, I always believe we have a chance to make things right.
Friday brought the news of Chelsea FC having a bid rejected for you, £35m allegedly. I laughed when I heard of the bid and the number, I thought Fernando Torres is worth more than £ and numbers, Chelsea can have their big money but big money doesn’t buy our Nando’s affections!
All my favourite journalists were telling me we had no reason to worry, that with King Kenny in charge and Liverpool looking to sign Suarez Nando would never desert us. I never needed to read that because I never questioned your loyalty but it was good to hear nonetheless.
Then Mr Balague spoke saying you wanted to leave Liverpool and you had asked Liverpool to listen to offers. I laughed at that too! I have a lot of respect for Guiliem but I said, unless Fernando Torres comes out himself and says he is leaving, I will NEVER question his loyalty.
I knew people were thinking I was stupid, stubborn and naive but I didn’t care. When you believe in someone or something, the true test of your faith is during the bad times not during the good!
All day I was hearing the same rumours flying around, all day I watched as more and more people began to lose faith. The silence was deafening. The buzz of rumours and hearsay too loud. Still, I kept faith refusing to question your love and loyalty to Liverpool FC and to the fans.
I must have fallen asleep at some point during the night only to be woken at 3am with a need to search the news. There it was in black and red. The words I did not want to see or hear all day. The words I was refusing to accept even as I read them; Fernando Torres has handed in a transfer request.
My heart broke Nando as did so many others tonight.. They say something feels like a kick in the stomach – this felt like Stevie G had smashed the ball straight at me gut.
I can not see what will happen for the rest of the year, I do not know whether LFC will be pushing upwards or falling back downwards until May. But I can tell you that Liverpool FC needs you to help us fight to move upwards.
Fernando, you do not need a history lesson from me explaining to you why you should not leave us. And I will not give you one. I will speak openly to you about what you mean to us and what we mean to you.
Nando when you joined Liverpool FC fresh from Spain, we had already fallen in love with you because of your famous armband. But, the day you stood up to John Terry against Chelsea was the day you wrote yourself into Liverpool legend..
We sang for you Nando, home and away. We cheered for you every time you came on and clapped you every time you came off. Our song for you followed us around Europe to Atletico and to the Bernabeau where we showed your rivals you were ours! When you were not even on the pitch we sang your name. When you played well we cheered your every touch and when you played poorly we stood up for you.
We fell in love with Spain because of you Nando, Liverpool became Spain in honour of you. We made friends with your fans in Atletico because of you. We sat with them and sang your name aide by side. We watched you as you played for the Spanish National team, praying you would come back home happy and free of injuries.
We watched as you scored the winning goal against Germany and you won the world cup in South Africa. We followed the post world cup festivities only see your face – your joy! We cried when we saw you celebrating with a Liverpool scarf on and we smiled knowing you were ours and we were yours.
We made Merseyside your home Nando. We afforded you every respect. Stopping you in the street to ask about your family; your wife and beautiful children.
Our children made you their heroes, you fulfilled their dreams every time you scored. You made them happy Nando. You made us all happy.
We waved our flags bearing your name, fans paid money to create flags placing you and King Kenny side by side. Some of us bought our first Liverpool shirts with your name on. We bought your autobiography and cried over your love and dedication to us…
We gave you our love Nando and you made us happy. You respected us. Clapped us when you scored and when we lost. You understood us Nando, understood our passion to succeed.
But it has been a tough 18 months for us all. Fans and players alike. We watched as we nearly lost our great club, we sang, protested and marched and we won that battle. Then, we watched our performances get worse on the pitch, listened as so many people criticised you but we took to our forums, blogs and twitter defending your abilities. When King Kenny took over, we saw a new Liverpool. A happy team fighting for the club and the manager. We saw you Nando proving your doubters wrong – proving us right.
Fernando, I think what hurts us the most from this is that we do not understand the timing of your request. King Kenny loves you, he has faith in you and needs you to help get his club out of this mess. Leaving us in January, Nando would be as bad as a soldier turning back on his men when the battle is at it’s most trying moment..
I will end this letter now by asking you to think of our bond, our love and our respect for you before you make a decision. Know this Nando, no team will love you the way we have and still do..
People may think me naive and idiotic for having held faith in you for so long, but it is my way – it is The Liverpool Way. But, If you leave Nando, we will console ourselves knowing that players come and go but the club and it’s crest will always remain.
YNWA – A besotted fan
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