Leaving aside the emotion and sentiment, and based purely in terms of their market value, yes I'd swap Rickie for Torres. We'd simply get more money if we were selling them and Torres is still worth more than Rickie. In terms of usefulness, form, reliability, in fact almost every other single playing factor, excluding longevity [age] I'd keep Rickie. In my opinion, at this point, Saints would still be getting out of the lower leagues if we hadn't signed Rickie Lambert. You could measure his value by that alone, if you want, and exclude his contribution this season, which has been excellent as well.
Always an admirer of Torres, but he has deteriorated since he joined Chelsea (and cut his hair). He's a player who needs either a new manager or, even better, a new club. I find it very hard to get past my love for Rickie with all he has done and all he contributes...why, oh why didn't he reach this standard five years ago!! He thinks he will be even better next year and I believe him, but time is still stalking him.
When Mauricio was asked if Torres had scored against him, he replied (with a smile) he might have done but I don't remember. Bit of selective memory there
