OVER the course of the last few days it was apparent to everyone at Liverpool Football Club that Fernando Torres could be moving to Chelsea.

When they realised the Spaniard was heading for Stamford Bridge in a record breaking deal, the money men at Anfield decided to stand firm and wait for their £50m valuation to be matched.

During the negotiations, Liverpool worked on a replacement, so they turned to Newcastle and started to push for a deal for Andy Carroll.

But while discussions with Newcastle were ongoing, Liverpool held back from granting permission for Torres to head for Chelsea until an agreement had been reached for Carroll.

Sensible? Or merely common sense?

Either way Newcastle did not adopt a similar approach. Instead they have gambled to such an extent that their chances of Premier League survival have been significantly reduced.

When it was revealed that Newcastle had given Carroll the go-ahead to head for Merseyside to discuss a £35m switch that, according to club sources, he had been angling for, it seemed obvious that there was a plan.

As the hours, minutes and seconds ticked towards the 11pm deadline, however, it became clear that the Mike Ashley regime did not have such a plan.

Perhaps he intends to invest in the squad in the summer, by that time though manager Alan Pardew will need to have somehow steered Newcastle to safety in the top-flight without a No 9.

Carroll's departure has left the shirt he has done so well to claim in the last 18 months open. Now Shola Ameobi, Leon Best, Peter Lovenkrands and Nile Ranger have the task of making up for his absence for the next five months.

Selling Carroll, a 22-year-old with just 34 goals in his short career and one England cap, for £35m is a sensible decision on so many levels. After all he is the eighth most expensive transfer in football history.

But to have allowed it to go through without a new striker lined up just looks to be another of those occasions when Newcastle have hit the self-destruct button inside the boardroom through no fault of their fans.

Perhaps a deal with Tottenham would have made more sense, which would have at least opened up the possibility of players arriving in part-exchange or on an initial loan.

But all a deal with Liverpool heralded was a frantic afternoon's reporting from Sky Sports News in which Newcastle appeared to be doing plenty while actually achieving, well, nothing.

There was a £12m bid for Wigan's former Newcastle winger Charles N'Zogbia, which in itself highlighted that Pardew and Ashley had been unable to find a suitable striker replacement for Carroll.

But in the end, as has been the case during so many transfer windows in recent years, Newcastle's supporters have been left feeling short-changed.

To be feeling like that after learning their No 9 has gone for a staggering £35m is bound to fuel the existing tensions between Ashley and those living on Tyneside.

And that will only deteriorate further if Newcastle's mid-table position becomes more perilous in the coming months.

Liverpool's American owner John W. Henry had to make sure the club's fans were left in no doubt about the Anfield board's ambitions after cashing in on Torres.

It's just a shame that Ashley failed to achieve a similar outcome after an unprecedented day of football transfer madness.