Mis-firing Torres

[BLionheart 516]

In the 31st of January 2011 CFC has completed the signing of El nino who was back then as some might call the best striker on this planet . Chelsea and particularly Roman Abrahimovic was trying to force this move since 2008 as Torres without a doubt was a striker that would easily step in any team of the world and will add to its quality.

But did this move come too late for Roman and Chelsea ?? or was it just a case of Torres moving during the club's worst circumstances since the RA era ??

I have gone through his season was liverpool in 2009/2010 and half of 2010/2011 , during 2009/2010 his season was absolutely great regardless what some might say , he had a great season and scored 22 goals in 32 appearances.

He had his worst days with liverpool during 2010/2011 before moving to chelsea but it was almost known for everyone that torres was seeking a way out and that he wasn't happy with the reds , but even then on his day he was deadly as all of us would recall his 2 superb goals against chelsea in the stamford bridge .

So Untill torres moved to chelsea he had the class in him , he was still a great striker and superb goalscorer but since then it's a whole different story ...

El nino scored just one goal since January , and has played poorly , he seemed to lose his pace , his touch was too heavy , his movement was average and his finishing ... well he didn't have that much of chances but based on the very limited chances he had , his finishing was poor as well.

Many people would say that torres's best days are behind him and that due to his several injuries he has lost his pace and that was his best attribute and now he is just an average striker . they will point to his poor world cup form and his start of the season with liverpool and say that his dip in form didn't start when he wore the blue shirt but there was signs of it . They will say Torres is overrated and benefited from the fact that the liverpool team was built around him and they absolutely think that Torres is Sheva no.2

While others will argue that Class is permenant and form is temporary , No player can suddenly lose all of his greatness and that torres has a confidence problem and as soon as that get fixed he will be firing again .

Torres moved during a very "BAD MOMENT" for chelsea , all of their strikers were firing blanks so it wasn't just a case of fernando , as most of our goals came from corners or Defense . Torres heavy touch , lose of pace and whole body language showed that he is not comfortable at all , may be he needs to adapt to life in london , may be chelsea style of play needs tuning to suit him more as AVB said but what was clear that torres had a mental problem . but as soon as that is fixed Torres will be back .

As i have said before , i have spent most of the day watching El nino's old seasons and I don't think that a player can lose all of his attributes that quickly , that is why i am inclined to the second argument . Torres has been a superb striker and you can't just get from being superb to pure shit , if he was average or he had bad games and good games i might have said that he is losing it but to suddenly lose it all doesn't make sense for me.

I am one of those who believe that we shouldn't build the team around torres but a good play-maker and 2 wingers is very much needed to get torres back and to help any other striker playing instead of him.

[Term-X 7,891]

The team is crying out for creative players and natural wingers anyway, so if that doesn't work for Torres then we have our answer. Although you could argue unless he gets his confidence back he's still going to play poorly, regardless of any newly found creativity in the team.

AVB's views on Torres from his press conference, and the comparisons he made with Falcao were encouraging though, to say the least.

[warnie_666 1,081]

30 Goals from him this season. TX you can have my post as your signature.

Too good a player to not score for two consecutive seasons. Has had a good break and with pre season he should be fit to fire

[Shane 2,275]

I read the co title and didn't bother reading your post. To suggest a 27 year old is a finished article is just nonsense.

[BLionheart 516]

I read the co title and didn't bother reading your post. To suggest a 27 year old is a finished article is just nonsense.

OK , read the post then ...

[Ollie 4,400]

He was never fully fit last season and he was injured a lot towards the back end of the season before prior to the world cup. He was clearly not fit in south africa too and then he got injured there, he hasn't been fully fit for over a year imo. Once he gets fully fit ,he'll bang the goals in. He had some impressive displays last season without scoring, he seemed to miss hit so many shots so it's fine lines. Coulda had 4 against Fulham and Copenhagen but just didn't get the breaks. He'll score many for us next season if he has a good pre season. I believe he will. He's 27, lots of time left.

[Blue Armour 4,289]

I don't quite agree with everything that was said about Torres in your post...

Yes, his first touch was heavy, his shooting seemed nervy and he seemed to lack that burst of acceleration needed in the final third.

BUT, his movement was far from average, it was actually very good...He was always seemed to be present in the right position for a goal scoring opportunity...

And like Pat Nevin said himself, that's the best sign that he can pick himself up from this slump.. However, he does seem to lack motivation at times, especially when the team is

facing difficulty (similar to Malouda)...but I think a good manager should easily inspire the players...

As for why Torres never improved with the rest of the team in Feb-May...well that was largely due to the fact Drogba returned to form in that period..He played so well it seemed to bring out the best in

the rest of the attack (notably Malouda and Kalou), and Torres never got many chances after that. Even if he did get a chance to start, it was rarely with Drogba.....

[Eluwande Yomi 15]

AVB is surely gonna fix him! Why: everybody remember jao moutinho, yeah we taught he was just another govou! had potential but no fufillment, well AVB changed that! His release clause is now 40 million!

[Duppy Conqueror 1,494]

although i didn`t want him,especially at the price..i`m pretty sure that by the time we play Man U in game 5 or 6 of the upcoming season..he will be back to his best. it will depend on us getting better service to him,but i believe AVB will sort that out for him and the other strikers.

[ulsterchelsea 3,221]

We created very little most of the season, none of our players had a great goalscoring run and Nando came in right in the middle of having a poor run and just continued that through till the end of the season. I started like most to run out of patience with him in the end but i still honestly believe that with a good summer rest (his first in something like 4 years), a new exciting managerial team looking to emphasize attacking flair play and hopefully a bit more creativity brought into the middle of the park that he will be back to his old self. I also think he is a player at times who needs someone to put an arm around him and i think that will be Bobby Di,s job. Come On Chels

ps. We also need to work out our system fairly sharpish because mixing Nando and Drogs about or trying to force them together seemed to be counterproductive last term!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I wanted him regardless of the price.

Torres struggled last season because of half-hearted service up to him. We had no natural width besides when Malouda decided to play there instead of drifting infield, and a lack of a creative midfielder meant he was feeding off Drogba's scraps.

This year is a question of confidence moreso than creativity. Yes, we need the width and the intelligence installed in the midfield (I don't see why we can't play JM46 in the 'Xavi role,' he'd be perfect), but if AVB can instil confidence in El Nino once again, we'll see him win the Golden Boot next year.

[TomCFC 356]

A very bad dip in form, not helped by injuries, a January move, lots of attention from the media and Carlo, no midfield creativity and so on. His very best days may be behind him, but there's still a lot of life left in El Nino, hopefully powered by AVB's group ethic. He knows he hadn't given 100% all season - he said that in an interview. But look at how people like Ramires started out and keep the faith.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I'm just going to quote Villas-Boas here..

Torres has struggled since his £50million transfer from Liverpool, yet Villas-Boas said: 'We faced this question last year at Porto with a striker of the quality of Falcao. He was a striker who didn't find the back of the net in pre-season and was frustrated. We didn't tune the team to provide to him. We tuned the team as a whole. Once we did that, he scored 30 goals in a season, 60 in two seasons. 'It's about fine-tuning the team, not the player.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2009623/Fernando-Torres-Falcao-treatment-says-Andre-Villas-Boas.html

[dodojojo 510]

I know he'll never live down having an awful World Cup and many won't forget it but the man had TWO KNEE SURGERIES before the tournament. Not one but two within 4 months. And for all who said he was shit in 2009-10, 18 league goals in 20 starts/2 subs. He finished the season with 9 goals in his last 7 games. Yes, more than one goal a game. That was during the time when many accused him being shit.

I don't know definitively if Torres will get back to his best. If I did, I would also be betting big on the stock market, buy lottery tickets, etc. I'm just saying give him a honest try with him fit and playing to his strengths, not his weaknesses.

He's my favorite player but I'm not blind to his faults. He's never had a stellar touch, it's always been inconsistent. And at 27, that's not going to improve. It's something you live with, just like Italy lived with Inzaghi being offsides half his life. What I saw this past season was a tentative Torres in front of goal. He had some superb strikes, the two against Chelsea of course, but check out his goal against Wigan in the following game. But overall, he just seemed to not strike the ball cleanly or with confidence. This I feel can be fixed because he had the quality before and it's not about pace so it's not something he lost due to aging or slowing down. I really hope AVB works with him on this, tweaking his mechanics but most of all, his confidence and mentality.

It will also help if Chelsea plays in a way that generates many more chances in the box for the strikers. No striker has a 100% strike rate. You got this feeling last season that if Torres missed one, he would not see another for awhile and it became a vicious circle of pressing and anxiety on his part (on our part too...).

[steve5221 91]

but the man had TWO KNEE SURGERIES before the tournament. Not one but two within 4 months.

That feels me with complete dread given how good our medical team are. The medical probably involved him smoking a fag and having a pint.....His knee could go again at any time......

[dodojojo 510]

That feels me with complete dread given how good our medical team are. The medical probably involved him smoking a fag and having a pint.....His knee could go again at any time......

That's not entirely accurate, Torres doesn't smoke.

Well the team doc was recently canned and AVB is bringing in Porto's fitness coach so let's pray to every god possible Torres and everyone else stays fit.

[steve5221 91]

That's not entirely accurate, Torres doesn't smoke.

Well the team doc was recently canned and AVB is bringing in Porto's fitness coach so let's pray to every god possible Torres and everyone else stays fit.

I would imagine that it would have been a glass of fine red rather than a pint to.....

[nullabletype 987]

I don't get why people worry about Torres. It's not as if the entire team was playing brilliantly and he was a week link. Torres was unfortunate to come in to the team during a heavy slump, with a seemingly uninspired coach. Then we can throw the fact we lacked the quality a player like him needs to thrive and getting to know new team mates in to the mix, and it's hardly surprising he wasn't firing on all cylinders.

Looking at his performances objectively, he really didn't play all that bad. Sure he lacked goals, but he was a decent team player. The only reason he looks particularly bad is because of all the press surrounding him. I think he'll be back and scoring this season.