Tortilla9

The positive is Blackpool are missing Adam and Campbell and their defense is pretty porous.

Fergie's after match antics might have him in some hot water. Not sure he even cares. Guardian Article

Sometimes I need a picture or two for clarity. He's a streaky player who can go quiet for a few games and then score in consecutive matches. 07/08 he was a beast. Torres Goals by Season

Damn frozen computer - posted twice.

I noticed it in this game (and commented in the Player Ratings thread) but didn't notice it in the others too much. I noticed Torres moving and connecting with players more so than previous games. He seemed to understand that Cole likes to attack and looked and waited for him especially second half. The same with Yuri. He had a few good interchanges with Anelka and Frank and Essien. Malouda not so much but most seem to think Malouda had a crap game so maybe that's why. I didn't think he connected passes with Drogba too much but that's not a bad thing. When playing with Anelka and Malouda, Torres seemed to drift wide and deeper. When Drogba came on, Torres seemed to play a little more central, up top. I think there were a few times when Drogba could have been more aware of Torres space and movement but it wasn't a bad thing overall. It would be interesting to see them play an entire game - maybe Blackpool. I think they could pound a team into submission if given a chance to work together more than 20 minutes. I think because the overall team was pressing and attacking in the second half, Torres looked sharper and more of a threat.

Dodo, I think this this article is being piece-mealed from the Chelsea magazine article that's coming out tomorrow with the Guardian adding their own spin. I thought I'd read somewhere else where his family was with him now. They'd gone to Spain right before the transfer (smart move).

They're out.

Not saying Chelsea plays like Spain but it seems a little reminiscent of Spain where he plays up top with another striker, usually Villa. Villa praises him highly for the work he does for the team although it's usually Villa who gets the glory, ie the goals. An announcer mentioned last night "With a 50 million striker you should build your team around him but they seem to be fitting him in". With the timing of his introduction to Chelsea that's probably the case. We'll see if it's different next season. He had a few chances last night from difficult angles that were more speculative than anything. If they'd gone in they would have been fantastic goals. His closest shot nearest goal was in the 94th minute.

Watched the match on DVR. It was end to end stuff from beginning to end. It was full of challenges, tackles (good and bad) and acting. Entertaining. Not sure what happened in the first half but Chelsea seemed out of it for a good portion. Second half, not sure what was said in the dressing room and by who, but do it again. I remember saying a few weeks ago "what happened to the we're freaking Chelsea team of the past". That was out there in the second half. They didn't look too old or disinterested last night. Thought Nani was going to have a field day based on the first half. He was shut down the second half. Hernandez and Berbatov were pretty quiet too. Shrek and Nani - can't decide whose more annoying to watch. Vidic - he seems to have a short in his brain when playing teams with Torres on them. Luiz - can't say much that hasn't already been said. He was fun to watch and a little scary too. He's a fearless player who Chelsea fans are going to love and everybody else hate. Most important - 3 pts!!!!

Regarding Torres, he didn't play awful, didn't play great. The ratings here 6-7 seem about right. His touch was much improved His passing was better too His movement was good He's willing to take players on - sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't Was decent in the air - would love to see somebody able to get a decent cross in the box because he can actually score of his head or volleys He seemed to be looking for other players and had good linkup with Cole, Zhirkov, Lampard, Anelka, and Drogba (for the time they shared the pitch) Does Malouda know Torres is on Chelsea now? Doesn't seem to see or want to pass to Torres He kept the defense of Manchester honest, they had to account for him His finish on the disallowed goal was actually quite nice. At times he was very involved and other times he seemed to drift wide trying to find space, the ball, or something. Counted a few times when he was open, unmarked, waving for the ball. Think he and the team are still trying to find each other's wavelengths. Ex: Second half, he had the ball near the top of the 18, he passed to an overlapping Essien. It was a nice pass except Torres passed left and Essien went right. I've seen Torres a lot and I've seen him get in the other team's faces, seen him seem disinterested, pouty, etc. Didn't really see that tonight. He seemed up for the challenge and kept working. He's never going to have the workrate of a Shrek but he has other positive attributes. Think Torres will eventually score goals this season and get close to the 20 goal mark for the season (Liverpool and Chelsea combined). Think he'll be a bright spot next season with the summer off and this time with the team under his belt. He's a 5 1/2 year contract and hopefully he's part of a bright future for Chelsea. No matter what Carlo says about scoring for Torres, he's a striker and the goals need to come. Have belief they will.

I'm still not quite sure how you feel after the weekend and tonight.

You and a few others. Good, entertaining read.

Some said good movement, not a lot of service, kept Vidic on his toes. Some said slow, uninterested, out of form. I'm watching the game on DVR in a couple of hours. I'll give you my biased Torres opinion.

I know he just came back from injury. Prior to that, did he play often? Is he a supersub?

Guardian, BBC, Telegraph seem to have a bias toward Liverpool. He's no longer a Liverpool darling but the expensive toy of the Russian billionaire. The only people wanting him to succeed will be Chelsea and Spanish fans.

That $50M is hanging over his head and I love Torres. Blackpool to open his scoring account.

Is attacking an option for Chelsea?

I'm trying to follow online. Doesn't seem like we're going forward much.

Hernandez starting in place of Berbatov. Shrek still in. Hernandez is in good form lately (unfortunately).

I don't know why but me too. Maybe not "very" confident but confident.

They love him at Atletico, always have always will.

We bought the different versions of Torres when they came out. That total was scary. Now that the daughter has seen Luiz play she wants his next. She loves the way he plays with the ball at his feet and thinks the hair is cool.

Maybe Torres can put in a quiet word with Atletico. "Give us Augero now and I'll be back in 5 1/2 years".

An away win in CL = a good thing. Thought Torres looked very lively and looked like the Torres of old. His touch at times was sh*t but that's always been the case. It's coming (fingers crossed). Thought he had good linkup with Anelka. He also seemed to be looking for Lampard too, a la the Gerrard support he's used to. One slight negative - can Chelsea not cross the ball well? Let's see a win next week against United plus a Torres goal.

The internet will crash because the scousers will go into complete meltdown on RAWK, RAOTL, and whatever else they're on.