Fernando Torres

osarusan · 08-11-2012 10:57am

kingtubby wrote: »

But he scored the opener against Newcastle, the equaliser against Norwich and he scored to put Chelsea ahead against Reading with only 10 mins to go.

Just because Chelsea went on to win those games by more than one goal does not mean they weren't all vital.

Absolutely. The idea that if Chelsea eventually won the game by more than one goal, Torres' goal can't have been that important is infantile in the extreme.

upandcumming · 08-11-2012 11:14am

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Under Rafa 09/10 - 18 goals 22 league games
Under Roy 2010 Sept - December - 6 goals 19 league games
Under Kenny 2011 January - 3 goals in 4 league games.

Of course his form didn't dip when Roy was manager, what a crazy suggestion.:pac:

And he loved it so much he handed in a transfer request and left.

And two of those in January 2011 were against Wolves! Ah here!

Blatter · 27-12-2012 11:42pm

What are peoples views on him now? 14 goals in 30 appearances this season.

Still not the player he was but a fairly big improvement in fairness. Could easily end up with 30 goals by the end of the campaign.

darced · 27-12-2012 11:54pm

This post has been deleted.

Rekop dog · 27-12-2012 11:55pm

I reckon Emile Heskey genuinely would have bagged at least 10 in that many games this season playing in front of Mata/Hazard/Oscar/Moses.

Hank Scorpio · 27-12-2012 11:55pm

Inconsistent, tends to go missing in alot of games, scores in games where Chelsea are dominating, not someone to rely on, that would be my opinion of him

Andersonisgod · 27-12-2012 11:56pm

Blatter wrote: »

What are peoples views on him now? 14 goals in 30 appearances this season.

Still not the player he was but a fairly big improvement in fairness. Could easily end up with 30 goals by the end of the campaign.

It's an improvement and he has looked better since Rafa took over as he seems to be moving off the ball more and is aided by the team getting the ball forward quicker and Moses and Hazard staying wide (this giving him more room to run into the channels) but he will never get back to his best. His pace is all but gone and he is struggling to adjust his game to the current condition of his body. I expect us to sign another striker in January (not Falcao apparently but maybe a short term solution) and then in the Summer I expect him to leave with a big money striker being signed.

Blatter · 28-12-2012 12:09am

Rekop dog wrote: »

I reckon Emile Heskey genuinely would have bagged at least 10 in that many games this season playing in front of Mata/Hazard/Oscar/Moses.

Aguero has 8 goals in 22 appearances for City this season despite playing with the likes of Tevez, Silva, Nasri, Toure etc.

I don't think it's as simple as any professional striker being guaranteed to have a decent strike rate just because he's getting excellent support. Of course it has a big part to play, but Torres does deserve credit for putting the ball in the net.

Courtesy Flush · 28-12-2012 12:44am

His first 18 months or so at Liverpool he was the best striker in the world. If you could think of the attributes that make a great striker, he had them. Dont know what happened to him, he was on the wane his last year or so at Pool and his tenure at Chelsea has been pretty terrible by his standards. Maybe Rafa will get the best out of him but at that club he has never looked really happy

GavRedKing · 28-12-2012 9:22am

Blatter wrote: »

What are peoples views on him now? 14 goals in 30 appearances this season.

Still not the player he was but a fairly big improvement in fairness. Could easily end up with 30 goals by the end of the campaign.

The problem is people will say he should have more.

The guy is damned either way really.

Of his 7 league goals hes opened the scoring in 4 of those games and scored in the first half 6 of those games so he is scoring when it matters.

His overall play has been better as hes more focused on the centre of the pitch where as under AVB and RDM hes pulled out wide and tried involving himself more hes now playing where he should be, centrally.

He'll finish with 25+ goals I reckon and could easily finish with 15 in the league if he keeps it up, it all depends on what happens in Janary with another CF.

slingerz · 28-12-2012 11:48am

Key to Torres' form is the inclusion of Victor Moses in the side. He has helped balance things up as Oscar, Hazard and Mata are three similar players

dreamers75 · 28-12-2012 12:57pm

Seen this on BBC other day

Fernando Torres without Rafael Benitez is like Gary Barlow without the rest of Take That.

That was Torres' 59th goal in 84 Premier League matches under Benitez. He has scored 20 goals for five other managers in 81 Premier League matches.

Leiva · 11-01-2013 8:20pm

and still a little but in love with Liverpool

Neil3030 wrote: »

There's deluded, and there's LFC. Honest to christ... ::rolleyes:

Well Neil Ashton now seems to saying the same as what I have been thinking..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2260472/Fernando-Torres-Chelsea-crisis--striker-tells-team-mates-wants-Liverpool-return.html?ITO=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss

his team mates have lost count of the number of times he has told them he wishes to be back at Liverpool.

Paully D · 11-01-2013 8:23pm

Courtesy Flush wrote: »

His first 18 months or so at Liverpool he was the best striker in the world. If you could think of the attributes that make a great striker, he had them. Dont know what happened to him, he was on the wane his last year or so at Pool and his tenure at Chelsea has been pretty terrible by his standards. Maybe Rafa will get the best out of him but at that club he has never looked really happy

I like Torres and he was excellent back then, but in reality he wasn't even the best striker from his country. David Villa was absolutely amazing at that time.

Melion · 11-01-2013 8:27pm

Leiva wrote: »

Well Neil Ashton now seems to saying the same as what I have been thinking..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2260472/Fernando-Torres-Chelsea-crisis--striker-tells-team-mates-wants-Liverpool-return.html?ITO=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss

If he asked nicely and we got him for 12-15m I'd take him back in a heart beat.

Yakult · 11-01-2013 8:34pm

Melion wrote: »

If he asked nicely and we got him for 12-15m I'd take him back in a heart beat.

Why?

fullstop · 11-01-2013 8:41pm

Leiva wrote: »

Well Neil Ashton now seems to saying the same as what I have been thinking..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2260472/Fernando-Torres-Chelsea-crisis--striker-tells-team-mates-wants-Liverpool-return.html?ITO=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss

Don't see any quotes in the article to back up that claim...

Augmerson · 11-01-2013 8:55pm

DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »

People are missing the main reason as to why his form has dropped so rapidly over the past two years, and its actually blindingly obvious. Its simply because he cut his hair. Back when he had glorious long blonde hair he was banging them in for the pool left right and center, and was arguably the best striker in the league. Then, for some crazy reason, in mid 2010 he decided to cut his hair considerably shorter. Almost immediately his form went into decline, spiraling downward to the point of no return.

While some argue that this is pure coincidence, one only has to look at the statistics to see the clear correlation. Based on various newspaper articles online, Torres defaced his hair in late May 2010, essentially at the end of the 2009-10 season. Up until that point, Torres had a remarkable scoring record, bagging 24 goals in 33 league games in the 2007-08 during his debut season, 14 goals in 24 league games in his second season, and a further 18 goals in 22 games in the 2009-10 season. This gave him an impressive pre-haircut premier league goal-to-game ratio of 1.4 (79/56).

Almost immediately after this, the goals began to dry up as did his confidence. In the season following the onslaught of his hair, which I will now refer to as 'the incident', he only managed a mere 9 goals in 23 league games which, while still a respectable tally, really didn't live up to the high standards set over his previous three seasons. Add to that his poor performance for Spain at the 2010 World Cup, some early alarm bells were beginning to ring. Unfortunately for Chelsea, they did not hear these bells and signed Fernando in January 2011 for an insane amount of money, enough for him to get all the haircuts and hair extensions in the world. It wasn't enough however for him to regain his confidence and form, as things quickly went from bad to worse. During his first half season with Chelsea he struggled to find the net scoring only once in 14 premier league games, which I believe is solely attributable to him still mourning over the loss of his once magnificent long golden locks. By the end of the 2011-12 season, he scored a pathetic 7 goals in 46 league appearances. While things have improved very very slightly this season, with 4 goals in 10 league games, he is undoubtedly still a shadow of his former self. This is clearly highlighted by his post-haircut premier league goal-to-game ratio, which increased dramatically from the impressive pre-haircut ratio 1.4 to a painful 5.1 (56/11). I just want to highlight the severity of these figures in simpler terms, this means that he now only scores a goal every 5 games since 'the incident' as opposed a goal every 1.4 games which he enjoyed during his glory years. Coincidence? I think not.

So there you have it, I hope you will all now agree that it wasn't his deep love of Liverpool nor the weight of a ridiculously high transfer fee on his shoulders that lead to his steady deterioration in form, it was simply due to the catastrophic mistake of cutting his hair, the source of all his power and skill.

This.

Crann na Beatha · 11-01-2013 8:58pm

This post has been deleted.

J. Marston · 11-01-2013 9:28pm

Yakult wrote: »

Why?

Exactly, why? He's past it, and playing in Anfield isn't magically going to bring it back. It's been over two years of uselessness from him with a couple of very brief moments of ''Maybe he's turning it around?'' which is quickly followed by ''Nope, he's crap.''

Melion · 12-01-2013 1:15pm

For 10-12m, he'd be worth the gamble. Certainly more than Daniel Sturridge was, it could prove to be a bargain signing or he'd keep up his Chelsea form and we could sell him to someone in Spain for 10m+. It's a no lose situation IMO.

I don't believe it will ever happen but I wouldn't be against it.

eagle eye · 12-01-2013 1:30pm

As soon as managers start to believe what people here believe(that he is past it) he will start scoring regularly again.

Every time I see him play he is taking defenders out of position and creating room for others. I don't think for one second he is finished. He used to be a very greedy player but scored lots of goals, now he is a team player and still scores goals. He has 7 Premier League goals this term which is one less than Sergio Aguero but I don't hear people saying Aguero is done.

RayCon · 17-01-2013 8:05pm

So now that the boo boys have started on Torres - is that it ... is he now done at Chelsea ?

Corvo · 17-01-2013 8:09pm

RayCon wrote: »

So now that the boo boys have started on Torres - is that it ... is he now done at Chelsea ?

I certainly think so. Would not be surprised to see Chelsea move for another player that would cost approx. £12-£18m (Lewandowski or Benteke) to add to the frontline.

For some reason I really can't see Roman going for Falcao due to the fee and possible wages.

Gonzovision · 17-01-2013 8:10pm

Griffin1988 wrote: »

I certainly think so. Would not be surprised to see Chelsea move for another player that would cost approx. £12-£18m (Lewandowski or Benteke) to add to the frontline.

For some reason I really can't see Roman going for Falcao due to the fee and possible wages.

Why would Chelsea move for Benteke when they have Lukaku......

Corvo · 17-01-2013 8:12pm

gonzovision wrote: »

Why would Chelsea move for Benteke when they have Lukaku......

Forgot about him. Apologies!

MUSEIST · 17-01-2013 8:13pm

RayCon wrote: »

So now that the boo boys have started on Torres - is that it ... is he now done at Chelsea ?

Hopefully yes. He has been at the club for 2 years now and has constantly flopped. We have built the team around him and played him purely because of how much he cost. It would not suprise me if he was loaned out to spain and chances are he will be gone in the summer. It amazes me how much support he has got from the chelsea fans considering how poor his performances have been.

SlickRic · 17-01-2013 8:51pm

he's only being booed out of association with Rafa.

such is the fickle football fan.

but I do think that, along with the fact Ba looks twice the forward player, the booing means his days are numbered unless he REALLY pulls the finger out.

and I don't think he cares enough to do that.

opr · 17-01-2013 9:12pm

SlickRic wrote: »

he's only being booed out of association with Rafa.

such is the fickle football fan.

but I do think that, along with the fact Ba looks twice the forward player, the booing means his days are numbered unless he REALLY pulls the finger out.

and I don't think he cares enough to do that.

Ah I don't think that was it the other night. Did you see the game Slick? Rafa replaced Lampard for him towards the end of the game when they were looking for a goal.

He came on and almost straight off the bat managed to inadvertently block a shot from Demba Ba inside the penalty area. He wasted a few other opportunities shooting wildly off target and lost the ball a couple of times. He clearly came on looking to try and make a point but as with most of his time at Chelsea he looked completely out of sorts.

Opr

carlop · 18-01-2013 3:05am

Phoenix wrote: »

will Atlético Madrid take him back + cash for Falcao I wonder?:pac:

Unfortunately yes. Atleti's owners are money-grabbing c1nts and the only thing that keeps them in check is their fear of falling foul of the fans. A majority already aren't too fond of them but the teams recent success has kept them sweet. Torres is still worshipped at the Calderon do this deal will suit everyone, even if in a long-term footballing sense it will f1ck over Atleti, who in Diego Costa already have Falcao's replacement.

GavRedKing · 18-01-2013 12:33pm

I like Torres but if we managed to do a deal that sent Falcao our way and Torres to Atletico then I can sum it up in one picture.

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTtsMDNnNc_nQwTvVRTOo5zPzOq5TTg5Tc1DIMwRRCD47PId2F_

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTtsMDNnNc_nQwTvVRTOo5zPzOq5TTg5Tc1DIMwRRCD47PId2F_

Bobeagleburger · 18-01-2013 12:48pm

Would Madrid take him back though?

He's not near the player he once was and his resale value would be pittance.

If they have any sense they'll stay clear unless his price is very low and his wages are majorly downsized.

GavRedKing · 18-01-2013 12:58pm

rarnes1 wrote: »

Would Madrid take him back though?

He's not near the player he once was and his resale value would be pittance.

If they have any sense they'll stay clear unless his price is very low and his wages are majorly downsized.

If we value Torres at€10-15 million max that would pay off some of Falcao's buy out clause.

Falcao is meant to be collecting €140-150k a week, I'm sure Torres could live off that with the money hes made in the last 5 years.

I still dont think it will happen though but one can dream, it would be ebst for Chelsea and Torres, not so much Ateltico.

carlop · 18-01-2013 1:28pm

rarnes1 wrote: »

Would Madrid take him back though?

He's not near the player he once was and his resale value would be pittance.

If they have any sense they'll stay clear unless his price is very low and his wages are majorly downsized.

Atletico fans still worship Torres, Atletico's board want many but want to avoid being followed home by maniacal Ultras.

I think Torres would take a pretty big pay cut at this point.

It's a win-win for everybody involved bar the actual footballing prospects of Atletico Madrid, which tend to be neglected anyway.

SlickRic · 18-01-2013 1:35pm

opr wrote: »

Did you see the game Slick?

i did.

Rafa replaced Lampard for him towards the end of the game when they were looking for a goal.

a switch that was surely antagonising in itself by the way; and Rafa may well have been doing it on purpose, knowing the fans were turning on Torres, and they're desperate for Lampard to stay,

He came on and almost straight off the bat managed to inadvertently block a shot from Demba Ba inside the penalty area. He wasted a few other opportunities shooting wildly off target and lost the ball a couple of times. He clearly came on looking to try and make a point but as with most of his time at Chelsea he looked completely out of sorts.

he was shít.

but he's been shít the whole time he's been at the club, save for a few games. Chelsea fans, at the ground in particular, still would sing his name and get behind him.

now they have Ba.

they;

1. now see what a proper striker could do for them.
2. know that Torres and Rafa come hand-in-hand. they hate Rafa, so some of that hate has now projected onto Torres.

he's been shít, but that didn't seem to matter before

Morzadec · 18-01-2013 4:26pm

1. Atleti as part of an exchange deal for Falcao (with Torres taking a wage cut and/or Chelsea subsidising part of the wage)

2. Some rich oil club looking to boost their profile.

3. Sees out his contract at Chelsea playing a bit part role.

These are the only options I see for Torres. The massive discrepancy between his wage and his ability make him almost impossible to shift. Also the huge transfer fee paid for him might make Chelsea unwilling to take such a big loss, for prides sakes if nothing else.

It's a very difficult situation for both Chelsea and Torres

passremarkable · 21-01-2013 11:21pm

stevie on goals on sunday saying he was heartbroken when nando left and reckons he regrets it now.
nando jumped the gun to early imo, he should have held until the summer and left then, he hung himself out to dry, it hurt us fans because we loved him so much. he was adored at anfield. no matter what anyone says about winning champ league with chelsea, majority of players are selfish and want to be on first 11/playing well...you know just by looking at him hes not happy.

djPSB · 21-01-2013 11:31pm

Torres is goosed and will never be BACK.

Pace was one of his biggest assets and it's gone.

I look at Suarez and wonder will he ever decline like that and I don't think he will.

Suarez is mentally tough and I don't ever see him losing that.

passremarkable · 21-01-2013 11:40pm

djPSB wrote: »

Torres is goosed and will never be BACK.

Pace was one of his biggest assets and it's gone.

I look at Suarez and wonder will he ever decline like that and I don't think he will.

Suarez is mentally tough and I don't ever see him losing that.

yea agree, pace was his biggest strength, unreal over 10 yards...he used to destroy defenders.
Suarez your right is completely different, hasnt got half the stride, but is far cleverer and obviously way more skillful, his close control is up there with messi imo, not bad at nutmegging either

suarez will always be this way, his body allows it, but i do believe if nando is to recapture any form rafa is the best man to get it out of him

Morzadec · 22-01-2013 12:41am

djPSB wrote: »

Torres is goosed and will never be BACK.

Pace was one of his biggest assets and it's gone.

I look at Suarez and wonder will he ever decline like that and I don't think he will.

Suarez is mentally tough and I don't ever see him losing that.

Not just that mental toughness and fighting attitude (though you're right that would be a factor) but Suarez doesn't rely on explosive pace to the same extent as Torres and Suarez seems to have an incredibly good fitness/injury record whereas the opposite is the case for Torres.

I see so many parallels between Torres and Owen's career and sadly for Torres it looks as if his career is going that way.

I've maintained from quite early on that this is not a blip or a loss of form we're seeing, and it's getting harder and harder to argue against this conclusion. Torres is done as a top player.

monkey9 · 22-01-2013 12:49am

Torres had two amazing seasons in his career, luckily it was at Liverpool with Gerrard helping him out.

Other than that, he wasn't really interested in being a twenty goal plus a season striker.

rossie1977 · 22-01-2013 1:49am

some of the posts in this thread are laughably bad

"torres is a big success at chelsea because he won champions league and fa cup"

yeah and harry kewell was a huge success at liverpool too because he won champions league and fa cup, that makes his time at liverpool much more successful than his time with leeds :rolleyes:

kfallon · 22-01-2013 11:29am

rossie1977 wrote: »

some of the posts in this thread are laughably bad

"torres is a big success at chelsea because he won champions league and fa cup"

yeah and harry kewell was a huge success at liverpool too because he won champions league and fa cup, that makes his time at liverpool much more successful than his time with leeds :rolleyes:

Did Torres play any minutes of either final btw? I honestly can't remember him on the pitch for either but I may be wrong!

He was brilliant but now he's nothing more than a shadow of his former self. He'll keep getting a few goals against rubbish teams....the likes of Njordslund (spelling?), Norwich, Ireland and when he does you'll get the usual stuff from certain pundits (he's looked sharper today than I've seen in a while :rolleyes:) but ultimately his bad games far outweigh his good ones.

His body language in games says it all, doesn't look happy at all!

MUSEIST · 22-01-2013 11:35am

kfallon wrote: »

Did Torres play any minutes of either final btw? I honestly can't remember him on the pitch for either but I may be wrong!

He was brilliant but now he's nothing more than a shadow of his former self. He'll keep getting a few goals against rubbish teams....the likes of Njordslund (spelling?), Norwich, Ireland and when he does you'll get the usual stuff from certain pundits (he's looked sharper today than I've seen in a while :rolleyes:) but ultimately his bad games far outweigh his good ones.

His body language in games says it all, doesn't look happy at all!

He came on in the CL final to play RW and won the corner which drogba scored the equaliser from.

In general though he has lost that electric burst of pace he once had and without it he has become extremely average. His confidence looks shattered as a result. I think a move back to spain may do him good.

missingtime · 22-01-2013 11:40am

MUSEIST wrote: »

He came on in the CL final to play RW and won the corner which drogba scored the equaliser from.

In general though he has lost that electric burst of pace he once had and without it he has become extremely average. His confidence looks shattered as a result. I think a move back to spain may do him good.

I've wondered would it be an idea to push him over to RW or RWF and play BA up front. I've seen him deliver some quality crosses from that area and would take some pressure off him as well.

Chelsea though probably have better options...

Caveman1 · 22-01-2013 11:45am

Against Arsenal he made two runs with the ball, both times he burst past defenders and looked lightening quick, but you can see his lack of confidence when he gets towards the goal. its like he slows down because he's thinking what to do.

When a striker is on form they just hit them and most likely they go in. When you lack confidence like Torres you just feel everything is going against you, and thats the look that he has on his face all the time.

IMO he would be more prolific in Spain, it's got to the stage now where it would be best for everyone involved if he moved on.

Regardless of what he goes on to do with Chelsea, he's been there 2 years and made no impression really. he's been a complete flop.

kfallon · 22-01-2013 12:06pm

MUSEIST wrote: »

He came on in the CL final to play RW and won the corner which drogba scored the equaliser from.

In general though he has lost that electric burst of pace he once had and without it he has become extremely average. His confidence looks shattered as a result. I think a move back to spain may do him good.

He didn't take a peno in the shootout tho, right?

Fowler87 · 22-01-2013 12:43pm

Regardless of the fee do Chelsea fans consider him more of a flop than Shevchenko?

GavRedKing · 22-01-2013 12:59pm

Fowler87 wrote: »

Regardless of the fee do Chelsea fans consider him more of a flop than Shevchenko?

No, not me anyway.

The only striker I was annoyed that didnt work out was Crespo, its a pity he and his family couldnt settle in London.

Caveman1 · 22-01-2013 1:04pm

kfallon wrote: »

He didn't take a peno in the shootout tho, right?

Supposedly he wanted to take a peno, he wasn't in the forst 5 though, that's why it looked like he was throwing a strop when he was talking with RDM.

Fowler87 wrote: »

Regardless of the fee do Chelsea fans consider him more of a flop than Shevchenko?

I would say Shevchenko was more of a flop, just because he had a bigger reputation & even though Torres isn't setting the world a light he still has a decent record this season.

Fernando Torres

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