Monday, July 26, 2010

Sports World

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Torres and Mascherano set for Liverpool decision Posted: 26 Jul 2010 07:14 AM PDT Since taking over at Liverpool, Roy Hodgson has found himself locked in a series of crisis meetings in an attempt to convince the side's key players to remain on Merseyside. He's already secured the commitment of Steve Gerrard but, as he's spent his entire career at the club, he was always going to most likely to stay put. Hodgson is also battling to retain the services of Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano and even now their futures are very much up in the air. The Spanish striker has revealed he has problems with the club, although he has refused to say he wants to leave. Those who bet on the Premier League know he's likely to be in with a shout of becoming top scorer, so it's a big decision. Mascherano has been similarly elusive, he only returned to training today so it will be the first time he has met his new manager and the talks they hold could be make or break. Of course, even if Hodgson does have to face up to life without two of his leading stars it won't all be bad news. If Torres and Mascherano do go, expectations will fall and a bit of pressure will be taken off the manager. Some will blame him for failing to convince them their futures lie at the club, but most of the anger will be directed towards the current owners. Then there's the money side of things. If Manchester City really are willing to cough up around £70 million for Torres - although this seems unlikely now - then Hodgson would surely bite their hand off. Even if any fee is nothing more than a significant proportion of that sum, it's still plenty of cash for one player. Of course, the worry is that the club would be forced to use a significant amount of any transfer income to pay off its debts and this would hinder the manager significantly. Any Premier League betting prediction would reflect this. Still, as things are Hodgson will know it's not the end of the world if either or both players leave the side. It's what happens afterwards that's most important.

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