West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson says that he is delighted that Chelsea striker Fernando Torres is back in form.
Baggies boss 'very glad' with Chelsea striker's form
West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson says that he is delighted that Chelsea striker Fernando Torres is back in form.
The duo worked together at Liverpool in the first half of last season, and while Hodgson departed in January following a string of poor results and was eventually appointed the Baggies boss, Torres joined Chelsea for a record transfer fee of £50million.
Hodgson and Torres will shake hands again on Saturday when West Brom take on the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
The Spain international showed glimpses of his class against Stoke City in the Premier League last weekend and the former Fulham manager is delighted to find him recapture some of his old magic.
"I am very glad for him that he appears to be showing some of his old form," Hodgson told reporters on Thursday.
"Torres, in the form he is capable of showing, is capable of causing a lot of problems for my defence.
"But I am particularly pleased for him. I enjoyed my time working with him. It was not a good time for him. But these things happen at football clubs."
A serious professional
"I do not know what he would say, but so far as I am concerned I have a lot of time for him and a lot of respect for him," the 64-year-old continued.
"If he is now getting back to his top form for Chelsea, as I knew he would, then I am very pleased for him.
"He is a good fellow, a serious professional. I was unlucky that I caught him, and a few other players, on the back of a World Cup, and in his case an unsuccessful World Cup.
"Under me, he had serious injury problems. His wife was having a baby at the time as well, which was an important point in his life.
"If you take that very short period we worked together, there were things going on in his life which had little to do with football and which I could not control.
"I never doubted him as a person or as a player. It was bold of Chelsea to pay a big transfer fee for him when the consensus was that he wasn't at his best."
Taking pity
However, Hodgson hopes that Torres fails to perform to his usual level against his side and stated: "But I always believed that it was a move which would pay dividends because he is a top-quality player - and I fear that I will see that at close hand on Saturday!"
"I only hope that he takes pity on me and has a bad game out of sympathy with our plight!"
West Brom lost their opening game of the season 2-1 to Manchester United at home on Sunday.
