Tortilla9

I noted when he had the ball and what he did with it so I could take off my pro-Torres glasses. I personally believe two shots on goal in a 90 minute match isn't good enough for any forward, Torres, Drogba, Villa, Tevez, etc. I also don't believe he received the ball in spaces where a goal was even a possibility except for those two chances. How many goals must a 50 million score? What would make him a non-flop?

I finally managed to watch the Chelsea TV interview (3/4/11) with Torres prior to the Blackpool game. 1. He said as long as Chelsea are winning and getting 3 pts that's what really matters, more important than his first goal 2. He knows he needs to score because he's a striker and that's the job of the striker 3. He's the last one to come so he needs to understand the way the team plays 4. It's one thing to play against a team, another to play with 5. Needs to adapts himself to the Chelsea style of play, movement of teammates, training 6. Feels more fit, sharper 7. Waiting for the first goal 8. Good players should be able to play together 9. Anelka, Drogba, Torres are different types of players and it's a good problem for the manager to have to decide lineup, formation 10. Dressing room has been good and teammates have been welcoming His English has really come a long way since he left Spain and he seems more comfortable.

Was the 4-4-2 to accomodate Torres or to accomodate Torres and either Drogba or Anelka? I ask because others seem to think no matter what Carlo will keep playing Torres along with another forward to keep the peace (somewhat).

I have to admit my knowledge of Terry has been watching him against Liverpool (Torres) for the past 3 years and for England. My view was also skewed a little by the whole Bridge thing added to a little of the England controversy. I also realize now the English media is something else. Having watched the last 5 Chelsea games I have to admit I am surprised how much Terry seems to settle the back, inspire team confidence, and get it. Some say he's too old, he's lost it. I don't know but my two eyes tell me he's still valuable to the team. Being a leader comes naturally to some and it appears that's the case with Terry.

That's nasty looking and if it had happened away from Anfield Carragher probably would have been sent off. Kenny's masterpiece PR move before the game about respecting refs didn't hurt either. Nani is talented but its his theatrical falling over at the slighest touch that makes him so damn annoying to watch. Even his own fans get irritated with his drama.

Daughter: Why are they booking Cole all the time? Just because he shot someone? T9: Well, he did shoot someone Daughter: It was an accident, not like he pointed a gun in his face T9: still, he's a grown man, you don't do stupid things like that Daughter: whatever. still don't understand why they're booing him. He plays for England and he's one of the best on England. Not sure whether I should have been appalled or not by her attitude.

My 16 year old daughter thought they were acting like a bunch of girls. She said "that's how you act when a new player comes in who plays your position or your friends". She thought only girls did that.

By all accounts he's pretty much a quiet guy who prefers to spend time with his family and group of close friends from Spain. He's got a little bit of nerd in him - he likes to play video games. He always looks a little pouty, bored, uninterested, whatever you want to call it on the field. Looked that way at Atletico, Spain NT, and Liverpool (good and bad days). I think it's just his nature so the whole body language thing is just a media spin. He can look like a spoiled brat one minute and then perform a piece of magic the next. That said I'm not feeling sorry for Torres (much as I love him) because he's a grown man, making millions of dollars, and the choice was his. A lot of people see that baby/pretty boy face and think he's a lightweight. I think there's a ruthlessness and ambition to him that keeps him going. He stayed at Atletico when the white part of Madrid hated him and seemed to enjoy thumbing his nose at them. He left to Liverpool for a CL and trophy chance even though Atletico was his first love. He left Liverpool where they loved him for a CL and trophy chance. He himself said he understood the decision and ramifications and still made the choice. I believe Torres will come good for Chelsea. I think the goals are coming but when? Who the hell knows. I personally don't think the 4-4-2 suits his best attributes unless he's at the top with the other forward supporting him. Chelsea have seen him for 3.5 years. They know what type of player he is and how he's the most effective. Does Chelsea make the decision to use tactics that get the best out of him? Yes, then Chelsea get their investment back. No, then there's going to be a lot of bashing of Torres to come. He did seem genuinely happy for the team after each goal. He only seemed to be frustrated at the end when Malouda was doing whatever the hell Malouda was doing. Again, this is all psycho-babble from the recliner chair experts isn't it? I watched the match last night and posted earlier Torres touches during the game. My daughter came home from practice and watched it so I watched a little here and there with her. Halfway through: Daughter: Do they not like Torres? Tortilla9: Why? Daughter: they never pass to him T9: the passing overall isn't that good Daughter: I thought only girls did that (she plays GU16)

Torres said last week that he needed to adjust to Chelsea and Drogba and Anelka. I think he was trying to defer to the two big dogs and not rock the boat more than it already has been. From all accounts he's pretty quiet and shy off the pitch. Maybe he has deferred a little too much and needs to show a little more arrogance and demand for the ball. Will that work this season during a push for CL qualification and a run through the CL? Maybe not the best time. On the other hand, Roman isn't going to throw 50M down the toilet either. Torres is the future and maybe the adjustment period for all is that they start to realize that. Maybe that begins this summer.

I was watching ESPN3 while trying to work so I got bits and pieces. I came home and watched the match beginning to end on DVR. Those who know me know I'm a huge Torres homer so I was ready to burn Malouda's shirt (joking) and run him out of town. I tried to be objective and took my Torres colored glasses off. I missed the first ten minutes on DVR because of ESPN or DISH reception. 21 - Drogba played Torres in, Torres held the ball up waiting for the support, then had a poor cross. Supposedly to Lampard but I didn't see anybody in the tv shot. 22 - Torres a decent shot blocked in the 22nd after making good movement off a Ramires/Bosingwa run/pass 31 - on the break with Torres in acres of space to the right, Drogba passes to Zhirkov instead. Not a bad decision at all. 33 - Bosingwa clears, Torres collects, dribbles, then deflects off defender. 34 (I think) - Torres wins the header, flicks to Drogba's area, Drogba doesn't move, Blackpool get the ball 43 - Essien tries to pass to Torres, pass picked off by Blackpool 46 - Essien to Torres, Torres to Zhirkov, buildup leades to Ramires shot attempt Second half: 46 - Drogba flick to Torres, Torres passes to Cole 52 - good movement by Torres, he receives the pass (from Ramires I think) but he's off 55 - Terry to Torres, Torres to Ramires 57 - Bosingwa to Torres, header to Kalou. Commentator: haven't engineered a single chance for Torres 58 - Terry passes to Torres, Torres passes to Cole 59 - Lampard shoots and gets a corner kick. Could have possibly laid the ball off to Torres. 61 - Zhirkov to Torres who tried to find Cole, Kalou gets the ball instead, gets the penalty 63 - Break, 2 on 2, Kalou finds Torres on the right, Torres tries to cross back to Kalou, intercepted by Blackpool 65 - Essien to Kalou to Lampard. Goal. If Lampard hadn't got to the ball first, Torres might have been in for a tap in. Can't complain about the play or the goal. 67 - Torres won the ball, pass to Cole, pass to Zhirkov. Corner 70 - Kalou looked to layoff to Torres but Zhirkov stepped up instead and shot blocked 75 - Kalou to Torres, Torres dribbled, shot with the outside of his right foot, no power. Fans singing for him (kudos!). 79 - Chelsea passing the ball around, Kalou to Torres, Torres to Bosingwa 79 - Lampard tries to find Torres on a little flick on the box, keeper easily gets it 82 - Kalou receives the ball from a defensive clearance, Torres makes the run to support and pressures the defender. Nothing comes of it. 83 - Malouda shoots at a difficult angle. Could have tried to pass to either Kalou or Torres who were in the box. 84 - Malouda dribbles, dribbles, loses the ball in the box. A wide open Torres moving and waiting for a layoff. 87 - Torres gets the ball on the touchline from a defensive cleaance, off Torres, out of bounds 91 - Luis to Malouda, Malouda shoots at acute angle. Either Kalou or Torres were open. 92 - Malouda good ball to Kalou, Kalou shoots over, Torres also in good position in the box. First half neither Torres or Drogba received the ball much. Midfield was very narrow and it wasn't pretty. There didn't seem to be a lot of service to either forward. It was a dull first half except for the Terry header. Second half, Torres received the ball much more. Was it because Kalou came on and the movement and space between the two was better? Chelsea moved the ball much better as a whole except for 5 or 10 minutes when they took their foot off. I've seen games where Torres is just standing there looking like a poster boy. Today he had good movement and worked for the team. He didn't hang out waiting for the ball but came back looking and moving, trying to get involved. It wasn't until the 80th minute on that he seemed to be a little frustrated (do I really know though?) but he kept making runs. From my calculation he only had 2 decent chances. IMO you need to have a few more than that. I don't know if it was unwillingness to pass to Torres or inability to move the ball well as a team. The ball went sideways or backward a lot and the passing was slow and lumbering at times. It would have been nice to see Chelsea move the ball quicker and with more attacking intent. Maybe then Torres would have been more involved too. Maybe because Chelsea overlooked Blackpool a little.

Thanks - I should have realized. Been talking to a lot of people at work about GMT and that should have clicked.

I watched this match in bits and pieces. Is it possible that Copenhagen is worse than Blackpool?

Torres hasn't been involved much at all. Drogba seems to be trying to prove something and having an awful first half. I thought Drogba/Torres would work. Not seeing it in this half. Would be nice to see either of them getting any type of service. It's painful to watch and not just Drogba and Torres.

Have you been able to hear the entire Torres interview done prior to the Blackpool game? I hear the first 20 seconds, hear a beep in the background, and then it freezes and static.

Not that anybody at Adidas or Chelsea are asking me, I prefer it without the collar.

Is there something I need to do on my end to fix the "time left to next game"? Mine says 10 hours 33 minutes and the game is in 2.5 hours, right?. I checked my settings and the time is 9:26 am in California which is correct. I'm ok with the time being different if I can get the game time to match.

Another article from Sid Lowe who is based in Spain and who did the Reina interview. The article is translated from Spanish to English. It loses a little context in the translation but you get the general idea. Sid intimates that Liverpool wanted to make Torres out to be the bad guy and succeeded. Torres to Chelsea Liverpool faithful are losing their mind: 1. How dare Sid Lowe and the Guardian publish the Reina interview right before the United game! 2. Why did Reina do this interview right before the United game? If they could read they would see the interview was done early Feb, right after Torres move and at the Spain NT camp. 3. Accusing Sid Lowe of not doing the interview and piece mealing it. Sid Lowe sat down with and interviewed Reina.

Not sure if the entire family is with him but Torres and his wife were watching the FA Cup game vs Everton with Yossi in the stands. That's what FSC showed.

In my younger days I tried everything - tequila, rum and coke (the smell alone makes me gag now), ouzo, beer, bitters. Don't drink too much anymore but when I do - vodka and 7.

Interesting read about Pepe Reina and his possible future. Posting it here because he talks about Torres move. Reina and the Future "So why is he still there? "That's the question. I imagine the fans will recognise my commitment, they will appreciate that. But those who say that Fernando is a mercenary or a money-grabber for going are wrong. Fernando gave them the opportunity in the summer by staying at the club and things haven't changed much." "In fact, Reina, Torres and Gerrard the club's three greatest assets were told they could not leave at a time when the club were looking for a new buyer. Reina will not admit it and nor will he deny it. "The clauses in my contract are between me and the club," he says simply but he secured a buy-out clause understood to be in the region of £20m. In the meantime, little changed to encourage him to stay. In fact, the handling of Torres's departure did the opposite. Loyalty cuts both ways." "The offer for Torres came back again," Reina says simply. The offer for him did not. But it will. And then? Reina puffs out his cheeks. "I can't … I don't want to guess what the future holds."

You may be right. He played twice against United this season with Liverpool, lost both games. Came to Chelsea and United lost. Torres came off injured against Blackpool the first time. I don't even think he played 20 minutes. Second game he scored then Liverpool blew it. A "big" club? I thought it was a "top" club. Isn't that what made RAWK go into meltdown?

Newbie error. I was trying to post, listen to a conference call, and text my daughter at the same time. Getting too old to multi-task.

How long will the suspension last? Is that up to the club, the FA?

Toure Suspended Manchester City have suspended defender Kolo Toure after he failed a drug test. That hurts them.

I loved watching him. My only concern is because of Fergie's rant and the media kissing Fergie's.... that refs may watch him a little closer. Any bets on him being sent off at OT later?