You'll Never Walk Alone, Unless You're Handed a P45

Last year when Arsenal’s youth side destroyed Liverpool 6-3 in the Carling Cup, Rafa Benitez swore he would never be embarrassed in the 5^th most important competition in England ever again.

So he went out and spent £27 million on El Niño Fernando Torres to give his team some bite up front. While some fans complained about the superstar’s omission from the side recently, the 400-pound Gaffer kept to his guns, resting his striker in Mickey Mouse competitions such as the English Premier League and Champions League, so that he would be fit and ready for Tuesday’s showdown with Reading, a team once referred to as the Crystal Palace of Reading.

The Spanish international delivered the goods, scoring a hat-trick against the struggling second-season team’s B-side, which many pundits were surprised they had. What made the performance all the more impressive was the selection of dregs Rafa the Hut played along side Torres. With Benayoun, Leto, Lucas and Crouch providing the service, Reading’s reserves could concentrate solely on the one person of skill on the pitch. Yet the Madrid magician shouldered the team’s hopes and dreams of raising the Carling Cup in March and carried them to the next round.

His three superb goals have reinforced Benitez, who now claims that Torres will start one game a week. And you can bet your paycheck on the game being in the Carling Cup. If Liverpool can increase their record 7 cup tally to a starling 8, the £2,000,000 prize would go a long way to erasing the debt of Torres’ record signing and the prestige would easily win over the Scouser faithful.