“Fact Or Fiction” is a series that will be run every Friday. In this series, an assertion will be made regarding an impacting topic in the Premier League. EPL Talk writers Matt Hackenmiller and Earl Reed each offer their views on whether the statement is “Fact or Fiction.”

Fact or Fiction: It is time for Chelsea to leave Fernando Torres on the bench permanently.

MH: Fact. I know that owner Roman Abramovich wants Torres to start because he is a big name and to prove the transfer fee was worth it. But over the last two seasons, Torres has not been in form. He has looked lost at times on the pitch and has lacked the confidence to be a top-notch striker. Chelsea have plenty of other options at forward – Nicolas Anelka, Daniel Sturridge, Saloman Kalou and the soon to be healthy Didier Drogba – that look to be more viable starters than Torres at the moment. I think it would be a wise move by Andre Villas-Boas to make Torres work hard to prove to the team that he is ready to move back into the first team. Maybe then “El Nino” will show he is worth the fifty million.

ER: Fiction. Undoubtedly Fernando Torres has been embroiled in one of the worst slumps of his career. As he appeared to emerge from the abyss at Liverpool (scoring 8 goals between October and January for the Reds), Roman Abramovich came a knockin’ and draped a £50 million albatross around his neck. Fast forward to now: Torres has scored one goal since his move to London, and at times he has looked horrible. But lately his play has improved; he set up both goals in Tuesday’s victory over Bayer Leverkusen, and was unfortunate not to have one himself. As long as Torres continues to show solid effort on the pitch and in training, I’d let him work this out just as Manchester United did with Wayne Rooney – by playing. My belief is that Villas-Boas brought in Juan Mata and Raul Meireles specifically to supplement Torres, and showing the Spaniard that you have confidence in his abilities will settle his psyche. You get the feeling that if they can will the floodgates open with Torres (especially if it were to happen against the reigning champions), the talk might turn to a three-team race for the title.

What do you think, is it fact or fiction that Chelsea should leave Fernando Torres on the bench?

Join me LIVE at 2 PM this afternoon for a live blog of the four Premier League matches being played today, including a possible Fernando Torres Chelsea debut. Also a short discussion of yesterday’s transfer sagas beforehand to whet the appetite. See you then!

Arsenal v Everton (FSC); 2:30 PM ET
Sunderland v Chelsea (FS+); 2:40 PM ET
Manchester Utd v Aston Villa (ESPN2); 2:55 PM ET
West Brom v Wigan Athletic (foxsoccer.tv); 2:55 PM ET

Four of the top five battle it out with each other this week while Man City travel to bottom of the table West Ham. Arsenal could end gameweek 17 in fourth position, having started it Top of the table. Chances are it will be as you were. It has been such an unpredictable season that this has to be the weekend where the top five match each other and pick up a point a piece.

Having written off the Premier Leagues big hitters I’m looking further down the table for points this week. Fulham need to take three points off an in form Sunderland on Saturday. Midfielder Clint Dempsey(6.8) leads the way with 69 points this season. Man mountain Brede Hangeland(5.6) has also performed well picking up 53 points.

Sunderland are flying at the moment, due to the form of Ghanaian goal machine Asamoah Gyan(7.1), Jordan Henderson(5.5) and Nedum Onuoha(5.3). The Black Cats good run can also be attributed to the return of stopper Craig Gordon(4.5), the Scot has amassed 21 points in five games keeping two clean sheets along the way.

In gameweek 14 I said that Stoke’s Matthew Etherington(5.8) was worth a gamble. The winger has notched 27 points in his last three games, his good run is sure to continue against a Blackpool side that has conceded 29 goals in 16 games.

Alan Pardew’s first task as Newcastle boss is to address their inconsistent home form. Next up at St James Park is Liverpool in Saturday’s late game. Steven Gerrard(11.2) could feature, Fernando Torres(11.9) finally looks interested, Joe Cole(8.3) is nearing full fitness and most surprising of all Ryan Babel(6.7) played 90 minutes and scored a goal. The Magpies will be hoping that Kevin Nolan(6.1) will return from injury and that Andy Carroll(6.2) can add to his fantastic tally of 94 points.

Everton find themselves stuck in no man’s land. Right now their season could go one of two ways – An assault on the top eight, or a scrap in the bottom six. David Moyes men need to follow on from their point at Stamford Bridge with victory at home to Wigan. Centre Back Phil Jagielka(5.8) has reached a half century of points for the season, Tim Cahill(9.1) is doing for the Toffees what Steven Gerrard so often does for rivals Liverpool and Jermaine Beckford(5.1) may just be getting the knack of top flight Football. The Latics welcome back Hugo Rodallega from suspension, but I feel Roberto Martinez men will leave Goodison Park empty handed.

Last mention goes to Blackburn’s Chris Samba(5.1), one of those defenders who is imposing at the back and a genuine goal threat from set plays. Rovers have responded well after having their bottoms well and truly spanked by Man Utd and big Chris is an integral part of a normally(Old Trafford annihilation apart) tight defence.

That’s your lot for this week. If you feel like joining in the fun then join the EPL League by visiting: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ the code you need to join is 13413-5300

The Premier League has plenty of incredibly talented players, but who is getting more praise or attention than they merit, here is a countdown of the Premier League’s most overrated players. Feel free to add your suggestions.

10- Matthew Upson –West Ham

Played a key role for England during the 2010 World Cup, Upson was often seen as England’s third choice centre half. However at club level Upson hasn’t excelled, and has made some costly mistakes.

9- Charles N’Zogbia – Wigan

The controversial French winger has had some excellent performances over the last few years but is a real hit or miss player. On his day N’Zogbia is a real handful for defenders, but more often than not he frustrates. The former Newcastle United man has only played 45 minutes for his country, despite all the turmoil that has surrounded the France squad.

8- James Milner – Manchester City

After a couple of good seasons at Aston Villa, England midfielder James Milner made the move to Manchester City this summer, but the price tag surely isn’t a reflection on his ability. At a reported £26 million Milner has a world class price tag, but is far from world class, and while he may develop over the next few seasons, at present his transfer fee has made him very overrated.

7- Joe Cole – Liverpool

Another player who on his day has the ability to cause defences some real problems, but often frustrates. Cole’s move to Liverpool in the summer was supposed to be a time where he re-launched his career after been frozen out of the frame at Chelsea, but has struggled to find any real form in Liverpool’s disappointing start to the season.

6-Joleon Lescott – Manchester City

After a couple of good seasons at Everton, Manchester City made Lescott one of their top transfer targets in the summer of 2009. They signed the defender for a massive fee of between £22 million and £24 million, but since then Lescott has never really found any level of consistency and looks to be amongst one of the Premier League’s biggest transfer flops.

5- Ashley Cole – Chelsea

Cole is often labelled as the best left back in the World, but when he has come up against real quality Cole has often come up short. He has never really lived up to the hype, and for his country Cole disappoints on a regular basis, however he does have 85 caps to his name. For Chelsea, Cole is consistent but when things go wrong for him, he can become a real weak link in their back four.

4- Fernando Torres- Liverpool

There is no doubting that on his day, Torres is amongst the most deadly players in the league, however over the last few seasons the Spanish striker has struggled with injuries and a general lack of form. But despite just five goals this season Torres is still seen as talisman for Liverpool and amongst the world’s best forwards.

3- Steven Gerrard- Liverpool.

Liverpool’s second talisman and a player that could walk in to every single Premier League side. But Gerrard is another over-hyped player and is labelled amongst the world’s best midfielders, but in big games often struggles to impress. On his day, he can win Liverpool points on his own, but on others can go missing and make no impact whatsoever.

2-Wayne Rooney- Manchester United

Another English player who struggles to live up to a tag as one of the world’s best. At the World Cup in South Africa, Rooney made no impact at all, and has since struggled to find any sort of form. Rooney will need to consistently perform for the next few seasons if he is to really establish himself amongst the world’s footballing elite.

1-Glenn Johnson- Liverpool

The former Chelsea and Portsmouth man has been labelled as the league’s best right-back for the last few seasons now, but is so often exposed for his lack of prowess in the Liverpool defence. While very good going forward, his lack of awareness gets Liverpool in to trouble on a regular basis, and has often lead to dropped points. Johnson arrived at Anfield for a fee of around £17.5 million, which only emphasises how overrated he is.

Roy Hodgson finally saw his Liverpool side climb out of the bottom three with a hard-fought win at Bolton. It certainly wasn’t easy for the Hodgson’s men as the hosts frustrated Liverpool for long periods only to be undone by some Fernando Torres magic late on.

Torres’ delightful flick in to the path of an on-running Maxi Rodriguez demonstrated that while he is still lacking in form he can still be a match winner for Hodgson. In fact you could argue that with his assist today, coupled with a winning goal against Blackburn last week, the Spaniard has already earned Liverpool six points.

However the former Atletico Madrid man is still a million miles away from his best. Had it not been for his piece of individual brilliance, then mass criticism of Torres would have been the reaction from most pundits.

So often at the Reebok Stadium, the 27-year-old would miss place a pass or see his touch let him down. This is the reason why he is not getting anywhere near the number of goals that you would expect from a striker of his ability.

I’m reluctant to say “the Fernando Torres of old would have scored today” because it’s not as if Torres is a different player. His flick today was a timely reminder of the immense talent that he possesses.

In time, I think Torres will play himself in to form because his confidence will slowly grow. But I think Hodgson can help him by changing his tactics to ensure Torres gets the best service possible. Torres looked isolated at times in the first half against Bolton, and with his confidence low, a second striker to support him and ease the pressure on him to score goals could really help the striker return to his best sooner.

Hodgson did just that at Bolton with the introduction of David N’Gog as a second half substitute and Torres’ performance did improve as a result. In the long term I doubt whether N’Gog has the capabilities to provide a suitable foil for Torres, but with Dirk Kuyt’s return from injury expected in next week’s clash with Chelsea, Hodgson does have options.

The Chelsea game next week could be the ideal stage for ‘El Nino’ to return to form. The striker has previously thrived for Liverpool on the big stage, and there aren’t many bigger games for Liverpool this season. But you have to feel for Torres to shine he really needs the support of his team-mates and his manager now.

Hodgson would be a fool not to give him this support, because if he can get Torres firing on all cylinders, then Torres will fire Liverpool up the table.

There was finally some joy for Roy Hodgson after his Liverpool side gained a potentially vital victory over Blackburn at Anfield. While it might not have lifted Liverpool out of the bottom three, the result will certainly act as a real confidence boost, and will give Hodgson something to build on.

The former Fulham boss recalled all of his big names after making a whole host of changes for Liverpool’s Europa League trip to Napoli. Hodgson came in for substantial criticism for resting the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for the trip to Italy, but the win today was the perfect answer to his critics.

Torres looked like a completely different player after his rest as the striker ended his recent goal drought with the goal that proved to be the winner. While Gerrard was once again back to his influential best.

But Reds boss Roy Hodgson was just delighted to see his side finally get a victory. He said: “It was a deserved victory and one that was really needed. If we had come in at half-time several goals up no-one could have said a word.

“So I told them at the break they were going the right way and if they carried on they would be fine, which they were. It’s the three points that count and I’m very happy with that.”

Liverpool fans will be hoping that this result will finally mark the start of their season. By all accounts it’s been a rotten start to the campaign both on and off the field for the Anfield club, but the performance today was much better.

The question that remains is where can Liverpool finish after such a disappointing start? We all know the quality that they possess in the squad and with Torres looking somewhat like his usual self, there is no reason why they can’t at least challenge for another Europa League spot.

But to do that they need to find consistency, one thing that has been desperately lacking under Hodgson so far, and in many ways under his predecessor Rafael Benitez too. However the signs from today are good, Liverpool managed to grind the result out in the second half, and if they can keep doing this on a regular basis the momentum will build. The whole club needs momentum at the moment, now it is up to Hodgson to create it.

What do you think? Where will Liverpool finish this season?

It is never surprising to hear Sir Alex Ferguson saying something ‘controversial’. Whether it’s emotional, pointless sniping at a beleaguered enemy or an attempt some kind of Jedi Mind Trick deployed to ‘psych out’ Liverpool and their players is up to you. An interesting point with Ferguson’s ‘Torres is the biggest cheater ever, EVER’ (possible paraphrase) comments is that they made headlines in most of Monday’s (English) newspaper sport sections – and this is indicative of the apparent need for character-centric narratives for much of the English press.

Of more interest however, rather than his ‘diving’, is his lack of incisiveness when playing alone up front. His two integral moments in Liverpool’s temporary comeback (winning the free kick and penalty) came with the entrance of David N’Gog alongside him at 2-0. The former was created largely with N’Gog drawing Jonny Evans out of position, allowing Torres to play off the dozing O’Shea and run behind Vidic. For an hour, without a partner alongside him, Torres was ineffectually drifting along the back-four, as Liverpool’s midfield struggled to find him with the ball. Roy Hodgson’s initial reaction to that may well be to partner Torres with N’Gog for the forseeable future – and it will probably end up being a popular move with the Sky Sports/Match of the Day punditocracy, as it necessitates a change from The Purveyor Of All That Is Ever Wrong With Anything Ever, Rafa Benitez, and necessitates Steven Gerrard moving into his ‘best position’ (where, curiously, he rarely plays well enough to stay for an extended period of time) in the middle of midfield.

But that not only moves Gerrard from the position where he has been most effective for his club (in the ‘hole’ behind Torres), but also means Roy has to play a 4-4-2: yes, the very same 4-4-2 that was routed by Manchester City and their fifty holding midfielders at Eastlands. And yes, the same 4-4-2 that became unable to get the ball back off United yesterday once the score went to 3-2. Well, one could argue, he has to leave Torres up front on his own then – to maintain a midfield worthy of preventing a complete massacre – even if it reduces Torres’s efficiency, at least he won’t lose games, and Torres will surely start scoring sooner or later.

But what if he doesn’t? Jurgen Klinsmann stated when in charge of Bayern Munich that he will play two strikers at every opportunity, partly to help keep his strikers fresh. The strain upon a lone striker is so great, in terms of the physical stature, pace, technique and concentration needed to perform the role effectively, that playing the role without a significant break would soon be detrimental. ‘I wouldn’t like to be Torres in two years’ was the general idea, and the strain on Torres may be akin to that placed on Ronaldo at Inter Milan – as from a silky, quicksilver forward he too tried to become a buccaneering lone striker, with injured consequences. And now we look at the Spaniard. From his arrival at Liverpool in 2007 he has been working almost without a break: in 2008 he played in the Euros (a major tournament generally means a truncated break for players), then the next season he spent playing (without a winter break) and working hard recovering from injuries, then the Confederations Cup before the same story the next season, before the World Cup.

And it has taken its toll: once fresh-faced, blond and smiling, then blond and powerful, now Torres lopes around defences, unfit, brown haired and non-threatening, like a late-era Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester United. With a partner alongside, the strain is less apparent, as he is not having to work as hard against four defenders – but playing N’Gog or Kuyt alongside him leaves the midfield often unable to cope against teams with 3 central midfielders. Perhaps the solution is give Torres an extended break, perhaps for a month or two, in order to recharge his batteries. Roy can try and muddle through with Babel, N’Gog, Jovanovic and Kuyt – and maybe Torres could well come back refreshed and (at least) as good as ever.

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This coming weekend Liverpool will travel to Old Trafford giving Fernando Torres a chance to relive arguably his finest hour in a Liverpool shirt. In March 2008 Liverpool travelled along the M62 take on Alex Ferguson’s men knowing a win was vital to keep them in the title race. Enter Fernando Torres who raised his game to United defender to give Nemanja Vidic a torrid afternoon.

Liverpool would eventually run out 4-1 winners and although they wouldn’t go on to win the title, Torres’ performance had a raised expectations on him higher than ever. But unfortunately the former Atlético Madrid hit-man has never been able to hit the same heights since then.

A frustrating injury hit spell was topped off by yesterday’s performance in the dour draw with Birmingham demonstrated which just how far away from Torres is from his best. He looked completely lacking in confidence and motivation and the only positive to come out of his display was that he lasted the 90^th minutes.

Torres looked a shadow of his usual self, which is a worrying sign for Liverpool fans. After constant links with a move away from Liverpool in the summer, Torres ‘opted’ to stay put, but is he already regretting his decision?

Personally I don’t think that Torres did choose to stay at Anfield. I can’t but help think that if a potential move away from Anfield had of materialised then Torres would have jumped ship. I think the Spaniard has too much class about his personality to demand a move, and when nobody came in for him he was almost back in to a corner and forced to stay.

The reason why nobody came in for Torres is also down to his personality. I highly doubt he would want to move to another Premier League club out of respect to Liverpool. Likewise he wouldn’t play for Real Madrid due to his former connections at Atlético.

This means that Torres is now faced with a potential move to Italy or to Barcelona. With no Italian club seemingly in a financial position to bid for him, it is really only Barcelona that I can see him moving for the forward. Having said that though if rumors are to be believed than they aren’t in the most financially secure position either!

But I feel that if Barcelona want Torres they will find the money. Now Torres has to make them want him. The only way for him to do that is to return to his best form, and the only way to do that is to put in more effort than he did yesterday. The plus side for Liverpool is that they will get the best out of him this season if he adopts this attitude and up’s his game accordingly in a bid to get his dream move.

Can Raul Meireles (Right) add some bite to the Liverpool midfield?

Fernando Torres returned to goal scoring form to give Liverpool’s season a much needed kick-start against West Brom. But will this be the start of a bright season for Roy Hodgson’s side or will the men from Merseyside disappoint once again?

It’s been a bit of strange week for Liverpool. It started with midfielder Javier Mascherano apparently going on strike and refusing to play in their embarrassing 3-0 defeat to big spending Manchester City. But the week ended with their first league win of the season and a couple of very astute from Hodgson.

Hodgson has wasted little time in spending the money that will come when Mascherano completes his move to Barcelona and while neither Paul Konchesky nor Raul Meireles are of quite the same standard as Mascherano they will make the Reds a stronger side.

Meireles is very much in the Mascherano mould and would appear to be a like for like replacement. He was criticised by the Portuguese media before the World Cup for not having enough guile in his game, but this could be exactly what Liverpool need. He will add the steel and protection to the midfield that looked so desperately against Manchester City.

Konchesky is another who will improve Liverpool. He may not have the glamour of an Ashley Cole  type full back, but he is steady and will be a reliable player for Hodgson to turn too.

I would argue that Liverpool are in a better position for a successful season then they were at this time last week. Although losing Mascherano is a blow he was an almost a luxury player to have in midfield, and other players can do equally as good a job but for considerably less of the price. Namely Meireles.

I still don’t think Liverpool will have enough to challenge for the title, but if they can keep Torres and Steven Gerrard fit, the likes of Meireles and Konchesky will add a stern resolve to their side which was so bitterly missing during the Rafa Benitez era and I expect them to pose a much greater challenge for a Champions League spot.

El Niño has ended his silence today and has announced he “is more committed to Liverpool FC than ever.” This almost feels like a summer move, because with Liverpool finishing 7th last season, it seemed inevitable that the combination of his highly-overvalued price tag and Torres’ desire for Champions League football would lead to his departure from Anfield.

Depending on which Liverpool supporter you speak to, you get a different emotional response on Fernando Torres’ decision to stay put.

There are those with Torres tunnel vision, who dare not envision their hero in another uniform, plucking goals for a title rival like Chelsea. They claim that with Torres, Liverpool are a far better team than without him. Indeed, a Torres-Gerrard-Cole attacking triumvirate has mouths salivating in Liverpool, and will surely be among the best front lines in the Premier League.

And then there are those that feel in this Manchester City-distorted transfer market that maybe, just maybe, it would have been wiser to get the £50, £60, or even the mind-boggling £70 million for Torres, the astronomical numbers that City had purportedly been flirting with to land the Spanish striker.

With the potential of such an absurd amount of cash coming in, should Liverpool have listened to offers?

Such overvaluations only come around so often, and with Torres’ recent history of niggling injuries that keep him out for a month here or a month there, a £50-70 million offer is gross overestimation of his true value in my mind. While I lack genius knowledge of the world transfer market, surely Roy Hodgson could have replaced Torres with at least three top-drawer players had they resolved this situation very quickly post-World Cup.

Even with his dreadful World Cup performances, City and Chelsea were still pricing Torres at alarming rates. Had Liverpool sold early, that influx of cash could have given Liverpool a lot of leverage in the transfer market to go after top names like David Silva, Mario Balotelli, or Rafael van der Vaart just to name a few. Or perhaps buying a direct “replacement” (quotes because it is hard to replace Torres) plus some cheap, young up-and-comers to bring depth into the squad that Liverpool desperately needs. With either approach, money would have been less tight to try and lure players to Anfield that would serve to rebuild the club.

The reasons for second-guessing the retention of Torres are A) economics and B) improvement.

First, yes, Torres is a top 5 striker in the world when healthy, but he is not worth the ridiculous sums of money Man City were throwing out there, and much of that has to do with his propensity for injury. Any product with the very real tendency to break down at critical junctures should have its value lowered. Despite your deep love for that product, when a buyer comes along and grossly overvalues it, and you, as the seller, are in need of quick cash to improve your overall company, you should sell that product and reinvest in your business.

Second, does retaining Torres improve a Liverpool side that finished seventh last season? It was surprising to see them play so poorly last year, and one can blame various injuries and poor form from their captain Steven Gerrard, but their fall from grace last season begs the question of whether offloading star players to build depth at the club is the better way to respond to a disheartening season.

But as the powers-that-be at Anfield saw it, just like many Liverpool supporters spanning the globe see it, a Liverpool with Torres is better than a Liverpool raking in £50-70 million with which to rebuild.

Of course, there is no right answer, just opinion. Time will tell which option would have better served Liverpool and their fans.

What do you think? Leave comments and ideas below.