The last day of the January transfer window proved to be one of the most tense in recent history, with there being excitement all the way until it slammed shut at 11pm on Monday night. Of course, the biggest talking point of the day was the comings and goings at Anfield with Luiz Suarez and Andy Carroll arriving and Fernando Torres leaving for pastures new.
Fernando Torres leaving for Chelsea is undoubtedly a huge loss for the club and it is especially hard for the Reds fans to take with him leaving for one of their closest and fiercest rivals. On Monday evening, when he was in West London trying to negotiate his contract, angry Liverpool fans were burning their Torres shirts on the Walton Breck Road outside the Kop - and who can blame them?
I was at the game last Wednesday night - which turned out to be his last for the club - and the fans sang his name throughout as they have done since he scored his first goal for the club on his Anfield debut back in August 2007. It is ironic that this first goal was in fact against Chelsea, and if Torres is to feature at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, then you would not be a fool to bet on him doing the reverse this time around.
Some of Torres' finest moments on Merseyside were against the Blues, scoring goals against his new employers on several occasions and they will be understandably relieved that he will not be wearing the red of Liverpool on Sunday. His stunning brace against the club back in November was a rare glimpse of the quality he had showed in the previous three seasons at the club. In truth, it has looked obvious on many occasions this season that his heart wasn't completely with the reds, especially after the installation of Roy Hodgson in the summer.
And you can feel sympathy for the former boss because if Torres had scored more goals and played with the same kind of passion he had done prior to Hodgson’s appointment, then his job may have been spared. There is not much you can do as a manager if one of your few world-class players fails to play to their potential that everyone knows they have.
Many had hoped that after club legend Kenny Dalglish had taken charge following the former Fulham bosses departure, then Torres would gain renewed belief and enthusiasm. And after three goals in as many games that included a brace away at struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers, it looked as if 'King Kenny's' return might have done the trick.
But it wasn't to be. The world cup winner was one of Rafael Benitez's boys, and after his sacking in the summer after a disappointing 7th place finish and no trophy in four seasons, it was going to be difficult for any manager to keep one of the finest strikers in the world motivated playing at the club. Despite pledging his commitment to the club by donning the Liverpool scarf after the final whistle in Johannesburg after Spain's world cup final triumph against Holland, it was always speculated that he was going to head out of the Anfield door in the same way the rest of Benitez's Spanish contingent has done, with the exception of keeper Pepe Reina.
It is frustrating for fans of Liverpool however, and could be seen as an act of betrayal who have given him immense support ever since his arrival from Athletico Madrid three and a half years ago. Torres was a legend at Anfield and was one of the most popular players of all time. Some will say it is similar to Michael Owen's departure as he too was considered as being one of the Kop's firm favourites. But at least Owen went abroad to Real Madrid and some may even say that the Cheshire boy was forced out when Benitez arrived in June 2004.
Although Torres has only had positive words to say about his former club since his departure, thanking them for making the player he is now, it will annoy the Liverpool faithful that he said he has now reached the top level and that no club is bigger than Chelsea. Essentially, the Blues are a plastic club and prior to Roman Abramovich's arrival in 2003, had only one league title way back in 1955 and have still never won a European cup. And Kopites will be quick to note that this is not even a shadow on the 18 league titles and 5 European Cups that have been won by the club who have the best history in the land.
Another thing is that Owen left at the end of a season, whereas Torres has abandoned a club where the fans adored him mid-way through a campaign when things have started to look on the up for one of the first times in what has been a miserable period for the club. And this is hard to take for fans of any club - let alone Liverpool, whose supporters are widely regarded as the best in the business.
There is little doubt that a player with as much quality as Torres will succeed and be a great player for the London club, but it is unlikely that he'll ever be considered a legend at Chelsea in the same way as he was at the Anfield. The hero status he once had at the club has now been well and truly destroyed, in much the same way as Michael Owen's was, with him unlikely to ever receive a warm welcome whenever he makes a return to the club in a blue shirt. Many will pounce upon the fact that Torres never actually won a trophy at the club, but scoring 81 goals in only 142 appearances, no-one can deny that this isn't a phenomenal ratio.
The consolation for Reds fans is of course the signing of two quality strikers in Luiz Suarez and Andy Carroll. However both players have been brought in for a lot of money and if any striker in the world is irreplaceable, then many would say that Fernando Torres is that player.
A British transfer record of 35 million for Andy Carroll, a player who has only ever made 41 top flight appearances, is a huge gamble and has been laughed off by many. But there is little doubt that he has promised a lot so far in his short career and his height will offer Liverpool a different dimension when going forward. And after only just turning 22 at the beginning of last month, he is only going to improve and some may be forced to eat their words if Carroll does turn out to be a real success story at the club.
Luiz Suarez is yet another very young player, showing that the new owners really do believe that signing young players is the way forward. The Uruguayan's record at Ajax is undisputed, scoring 111 goals in just 159 appearances in all competitions, and if he can replicate anything like this goalscoring ratio on these shores, then he certainly will turn out to be the perfect replacement for Fernando Torres.
But it has to be said that players moving from the Dutch league to the Premiership have often struggled, with Mateja Kezman and Alfonso Alves both having largely disappointing spells at Chelsea and Middlesborough respectively, despite both having better records in Holland than Luiz Suarez.
Only time will tell how these pieces of business on deadline day for Liverpool will turn out, but despite the departure of 'Fernando Torres, Liverpool's number 9', who was undoubtedly one of the greatest players to have ever worn the famous Red shirt, the signings of Carroll and Suarez may mean that the future is still bright on Merseyside.
