Tortilla9

http://extremegoal3.blogspot.com/p/ch1.html This one is working for me

How much more $?

My heart says agree with Lum, my head says Ollie is probably right.

I'm texting Ancelotti right now. I'll post his response as soon as I get it.

I would love to see him score but I'm not seeing it to be honest. I hope I'm proven wrong the sooner the better. 9 minutes won't get it done. I don't think Torres is confident about his football now and it's a combination of factors. Do you think the manager is showing confidence in him? Questioning publicly whether he should have started Torres against United. That makes it too easy to place the blame of the United losses on Torres' shoulders.

The non-performers should be glad Torres is at Chelsea and taking one for the team. Torres according to the media is such a flop, waste of money, whatever negative comment there is, that he's taking the brunt of most of the negative press that Chelsea is getting. I wouldn't bet money on Torres scoring anytime soon. It's like watching a car accident in slow motion right now.

Why do the courts allow this in England? The press would scream bloody murder in the US, 1st Amendment and all that.

Guillem Balague on Talksport 041811 - take it for what its worth 1st minute - Torres talk 12-13 minute - Chelsea manager talk 28 minute - Chelse to spend more money in summer Chelsea think Villas Boas is too young, too Mourinho like Options limited Reviewing original list Looking for manager to get best out of Torres Chelsea to spend more in summer Carlo more out than in

Guillem Balague on Talksport 4/18/11 30 minutes. Love or hate him, Guillem hears a lot of information. Had the Torres transfer spot on and got bashed from Liverpool fans for it. 1. Torres talk at the very beginning 2. 12-13 minutes - talk about Redknapp at Chelsea, Benitez, Torres (gist of - want a manager who will make Torres better and that is counter-attacking football, Torres does not play best in beautiful football) 3. 28 minute - Chelsea to spend more in summer How long was this interview? Found the talk about Torres and Drogba: http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/listen-again/episode/28339 2030-2100 - 24:14 talk about Torres and Drogba

I have been ignoring the media for the most part because the shrieking was hurting my ears. 34M for Villa wasn't exactly chicken feed. Villa's streak is hidden by the greatness of Messi and playing for Barcelona. Winning and winning "nicely" helps overlook a lot of faults. To be so lucky to have that problem. The Spanish media are no prince charmings either but there is a Spanish love affair in the media with Barcelona right now. Plus Villa didn't go on a scoreless streak right at the beginning of his Barcelona career. Torres shadow of himself started with his knee surgery in Jan 2010 and then again in April 2010. Both I blame on Liverpool's over-reliance on him to play with knocks, injuries, coming back to soon. Listened to Guillem Balauge on TalkSport radio today and some thoughts from Guillem and Collymore (I know). Both were pretty rational and calm (no ranting and raving from Collymore today). 1. Torres is still living in a hotel waiting for his house 2. Some players have made Torres more welcome than others. Drogba is the alpha/top dog and he does not want to give up that position. Collymore referred to his relationship with ??? (didn't hear it) and said they both hated each other but still managed to play together. Both Guillem and Collymore don't see them playing well with each other. 3. The truth about Torres departure from Liverpool will never come out. Liverpool knew a month before Torres left that Torres was leaving Liverpool. 4. Torres likes to play into space and Chelsea's slow style of play doesn't play to Torres' strengths 5. Aguero - Roman loves him but wages are very high, ready to leave Atletico, 35 to 40M transfer fee, between Real Madrid and Chelsea 6. Mata - Chelsea have not made offer, Valencia's finances slightly better (still large debt), still need to sell players but paying immediate debts

I thought it was the yoga that was keeping him young.

I know there's been debate - is Torres a Carlo pick or not? I can't imagine any manager saying AFTER the player came to the team "I didn't want him". That would be piss-poor man-management at it's worst. That said, the Torres mess is getting worse and worse. I was almost embarrassed to watch that free kick at the end. Torres is in a bad stretch of games right now. Drogba is finally exiting his bad stretch. Carlo doesn't seem to quite know what to do with Torres and I think it's reflective of Torres on the pitch. I'm not advocating Carlo mirror Ferguson a la Rooney because the season is almost over. But.... Ferguson knew Rooney was getting raked over the coals by the media daily. Ferguson took him out of the firestorm and said get your sh*t together and we'll support you when you come back. United circled the wagons. Maybe Carlo asked Torres if he could deal with it, maybe Torres said yes. Maybe they were both naive about the pressure and anti-Torres media bashing that has gone on. As a manager its Carlo's responsibility to look out for the interests of the team. Short-term Torres starting and playing may not be in the best interest. Long-term he is but this early part of his Chelsea career is bumpy to say the least. 9 minutes as a sub in a 3-1 game? That's when Torres would have been pulled off the pitch and N'gog subbed in at Liverpool. God forbid if Carlo thinks Torres is Chelsea's N'gog. David Villa is going through a similar goalless streak as Torres. The media aren't discussing it ad nauseum. Villa plays with a midfield that I think we can agree is better than Chelsea's. He can't find the back of the net for Barcelona but I don't hear people thinking Villa is done. At times I don't quite get the Torres backlash. Is the Liverpool love affair that grand?

But is Roman keen for Carlo to stay?

Maybe Carlo know's he's gone so he doesn't care anymore about Roman's toy. Who knows.

Vincent, Glad you were able to find a donor. Stay strong, keep your head up. Thoughts and prayers with you and your family. T9

I'm reading Rafa's name more and more from different Chelsea supporter sites. Is it because he's available? Can somebody give a calm reason why Chelsea fans are anti-Rafa (ducks for cover as I type the question). I'm not pro or anti-Rafa. We know the guy with the red nose wouldn't be too happy. The media would have a field day.

Yep, even Torres wife would say he should have scored at least a few by now. He's like a golfer with the yips but worse. He's kind of like this guy where it's just not going right. 16 on a Par 4 On the other hand, the middle's poor play seems to get a pass by the mainstream media.

Yep, even Torres wife would say he should have scored at least a few by now. He's like a golfer with the yips but worse. He's kind of like this guy where it's just not going right. 16 on a Par 4 On the other hand, the middle's poor play seems to get a pass by the mainstream media.

I broke my media blackout to read the article since its BBC. Forgot about Shearer. To his credit he wasn't as negative in this article as he has been in others. He's still a jerk. Calvo: "I'm convinced this is a sporting thing and not a mental thing. Fernando is a very strong person. If you give him any task, he sees it through to the end. When he was a youngster at Atletico, you could see he would become a special player. He was very intelligent and always tried to help other players. He was an example to everyone at the club." Having joined Chelsea mid-season, the Spaniard has struggled to develop any chemistry with fellow strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka or creative midfielders like Frank Lampard, Ramires or Florent Malouda. (This is all true except the creative part.) Calvo: "At Liverpool he was always looking to get on the shoulder of defenders and look for spaces in behind, whereas at Chelsea he keeps coming towards the ball because he has other forwards around him. Chelsea don't need to build a team around Torres but they need to adapt their style a bit to get the best out of him. They have great players but he has specific movements that they need to learn to understand, like Steven Gerrard did at Liverpool. I don't think it's so much adapting a system to a player, it is about working on specific plays that suit the player. He needs a situation in which when he moves, Frank Lampard already knows what he is going to do, so he can play the right pass in time for Torres to finish it off. But I'm not convinced Carlo Ancelotti has maximum faith in him like Rafael Benitez did. That can't be easy for a player."

Jen Chang at SI (take it for what you think it's worth) doesn't think Sanchez is a Liverpool target anymore.

Rafa is Rafa but Torres has admitted Rafa made him a better player even if Rafa had no man management skills per se. I'm just talking about Rafa giving him little pointers like he always did at LFC. If not Rafa than a call to Xavi Valero who both Reina and Torres credit with making them better players. Anything to help right now.

Maybe Fernando needs to make a phone call to the Facts man. It couldn't hurt.

Can Gigi get in the locker room and give the boys a little motivational pep talk? That was fantastic. Martin Lipton - what an arrogant ass.

If pigtails is what it take then so be it. How about he shocks everyone and comes out with the blonde hair and baggy shirt?

The closer to closing time, the better they look... then comes the morning and reality. I feel that way with the whole Torres situation right now. It got closer and closer to January 31st/closing time. Was it the right fit at the right time for Torres? for Chelsea? Didn't matter because time was ticking down, can't go home empty-handed. I still believe Torres is a top-class player. I also believe his incorporation into the side (if you can call it that) has been a mess from the Liverpool match to Tuesday night. If the setup continues like this next season, Roman threw his money out the window. Changes will need to be made to get the best out of Torres and the entire team. He is not the only problem but he is the highest profile right now.