Neil Ruddock now writes exclusively for FootballFancast.com. Read his column below. Make sure to check out the latest news, blogs and podcasts at FFC – ed.

You could say that Fernando Torres played his best game of the season for Liverpool on Sunday, as his complete no-show gave the Reds backline as comfortable an afternoon as they could have expected. The Spaniard just didn’t turn up and the lacklustre, passionless display, in truth, is exactly what Liverpool fans have been witnessing at Anfield for months. I don’t know what Chelsea supporters made of their new £50m striker’s tepid display, but I can guarantee that they won’t put up with, or show the same level of patience that the Kop did if his form continues.

Personally I have been left a little disappointed by the attitude of Fernando Torres. I share some of the sentiments that both John Aldridge and Robbie [Fowler] made last week, but it was the ill-timed comments about Liverpool Football Club that showed a level of ignorance and stupidity that certainly grated me. Having played for the football club and knowing the level of respect and support that they show to their players, I felt for them this week as they saw one of their former heroes put them down in statements that he didn’t have to make. Liverpool FC is the most decorated club in English football and didn’t deserve to be slighted in such a fashion.

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It was certainly one in the eye for a fan base that has showed an incredible amount of patience and support for their misfiring No.9, despite months of poor performances. You didn’t hear Sol Campbell slate Tottenham or say anything after his controversial move; therefore I failed to understand what the point was in putting down a club that you could argue made him the striker he is. Torres was always a good player at Atletico, but he didn’t get the worldwide recognition in the game until he proved himself at Anfield. The sad thing is that I am sure a large majority of Liverpool fans would have accepted the player’s desire to leave at the end of the season, should they have failed to make the Champions League for the second season running. I look at the Premier League table this morning and wonder if Liverpool would be the ones sitting in the top four rather than his new employers, had he shown some sort of commitment and desire, as opposed to sulking, in the first few months of the season.

So it is onwards and upwards for Liverpool and Sunday’s result now allows them to put behind what has been an eventful two weeks at Anfield. Kenny rightfully claimed that no one is bigger than the club and in Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez he has brought in two players that clearly have a huge desire and enthusiasm to succeed. In hindsight maybe Liverpool had become too reliant on him and that is perhaps why supporters had been prepared to look past the half-hearted displays; hoping that eventually he will snap out of it and show the same sort of hunger that he had in the past. Some sceptics may say he rediscovered it exactly when the transfer window reopened, but I guess that is a debate for another time.

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