Mata Torres Sturridge - a dream team?

[SeB 1,281]

Torres is not a scapegoat.

We've criticised Lampard, Malouda, Kalou, Anelka ect. Some people like to make Torres untouchable from this, because it a "midfield problem" and it's quite annoying. I, also, didn't want Anelka to spearhead the attack, I wanted him to play wide to that Danny can play upfront.. The position he's used to.

At the point the lone striker has to leave his position to touch the ball there is necessarly a fundamental problem. Anyway Torres is not a victim, he is just misjudged by the what I read everywhere, a lot of people look at the "problem" in a tabloïd way, not considering evident things and bashing him for stupid things

GodZola is completely right, some people seems to want him to crash himself just to satisfy their ego

I do agree with you about Sturridge/Anelka, but otherwise, the what I want to see is if these 3 players (JM10, Nico and Danny) can play together because of their way of playing

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I don't necessarily think that's true, some members were boasting that Torres was finished during the close season & I think they would rather see that happen to prove their assumption correct than having to eat some humble pie.

Torres like Anelka & Drogba have been fed scraps, he wasn't 100% fit last season & confidence is a massive thing to lose to any footballer but especially a striker. He is in the last chance saloon, he looks fit, hopefully will get the service now & with that his confidence will return by scoring goals. If he fails after being given a run then he will be replaced but fans should judge him at the end of September when he has been given that service not after so many games of poor service.

I've also stuck up for Anelka many times on here too, he is NOT a winger but fans also wrongly judge him for playing there, played his best football as a lone striker or alongside a big striker - Kevin Davis, I think be has been unlucky in regards starting in his preferred position but I respect him for taking it on the chin & for wanting to stay, he will prove useful as the season goes on & deserves better imho.

Funny thing is we have got arguably 4 world class players fighting for that position which is great but up til now our midfield is poor & that's the area that needs addressing or scrutiny!

Apart from the first part, this is a good post.

I agree player confidence does play a big part in football. I've also said many times, his attitude has improved this season and he does look hungry to score. He has good players around him now in Sturridge, Mata, Miereles & even Lampard.

The point I've been trying to make here is, if Torres fails to shine, we do have reinforcements in such positions, like you've said. Anelka, Sturridge & Lukaku are all ready to fill in.

[Ollie 4,400]

Mata - Drogba - Sturridge

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I think the problem is wider and is a combination of things. The fact is that he needs support around the box, and considering he has one, suddently it frees a lot of things especially in his mind, then his confidence, then what he tries on the pitch. So he is better

As I've mentioned in my reply to GodZola.. He's got his support now, so now it's time for him to show his individual game.

I actually think Torres can do more with this squad than he already has. He's still a ball playing striker who used to be able to dribble around defenders, not get bullied by them. Again it comes down to confidence. But we've given him the players now, and we've given him the support (with AVB giving him 100% starts this season). Now it's really up to him.

And I think you're being unfair to members who are criticising him too. No-one wants him to fail, I don't buy the "ego satisfaction" story.. This is silly.

[lionsden 4,689]

We have heard of terms such as Glory hunter, spoil brat, Abramovich's boys used as adjective to describe those that dare speak the bitter, unadulterated truth, criticize under-performing players/managers, demand more from the team/club and refuse to settle for mediocrity. Add "ego satisfaction" to that list. You learn something new every day and such is the beauty of life

[GodZola 630]

Apart from the first part, this is a good post.

I agree player confidence does play a big part in football. I've also said many times, his attitude has improved this season and he does look hungry to score. He has good players around him now in Sturridge, Mata, Miereles & even Lampard.

The point I've been trying to make here is, if Torres fails to shine, we do have reinforcements in such positions, like you've said. Anelka, Sturridge & Lukaku are all ready to fill in.

My first paragraph wasn't aimed at you but fans have been trigger happy regarding Torres without given him the benefit of the doubt. I concur that Torres should be benched after a poor spell this term but more importantly AVB has made a point of this & for me this can only be a positive step for our club because AVB will drop the under performers (which was distinctly lacking last season) this will mean players like Torres will have to work their nuts off to get back in the team - no player safe which will keep them on their toes, has to be the right way.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

this will mean players like Torres will have to work their nuts off to get back in the team - no player safe which will keep them on their toes, has to be the right way.

Agreed.

We all hope Torres will rediscover his devastating goal scoring instinct, but if not, I don't think we can say it's because of "lack of service" at the end of the month. Because that excuse can only go so far before it becomes a cliché for all our problems.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Torres seems like a good guy, which makes his struggle harder to bare IMO. I really just want him to start scoring.

[Blue Armour 4,158]

We've criticised Lampard, Malouda, Kalou, Anelka ect. Some people like to make Torres untouchable from this, because it a "midfield problem" and it's quite annoying. I, also, didn't want Anelka to spearhead the attack, I wanted him to play wide to that Danny can play upfront.. The position he's used to.

Also a good point...Considering the form of our forwards, I think he deserves a chance...If form is anything to go by, he should be the one up front considering our pre-season, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be shunted to the wing...

I also hope,that AVB decides to play McEachran at some point in tomorrow's game (if he's fit)...might get something better out of this team...

[GodZola 630]

We have heard of terms such as Glory hunter, spoil brat, Abramovich's boys used as adjective to describe those that dare speak the bitter, unadulterated truth, criticize under-performing players/managers, demand more from the team/club and refuse to settle for mediocrity. Add "ego satisfaction" to that list. You learn something new every day and such is the beauty of life

I have no problem with criticism mate as long as its got foundation & is indeed the truth & not complete bollocks that is posted with pure negativity. I do agree with you & wouldn't settle for mediocrity either but patience is the key.

I'm too old to learn something new everyday but I have the pleasure of being enlightened by the young & the old from time to time that makes me chuckle & that one moment that made me laugh really is the 'beauty of life'

[Kostas 1,468]

Sturridge & Lukaku are both itching to play as a centre forward for this club and are both ready to step up.

Not sure if that is 100% correct.

I don't necessarily think that's true, some members were boasting that Torres was finished during the close season & I think they would rather see that happen to prove their assumption correct than having to eat some humble pie.

A horrible assumption but I doubt it's too far from the truth..

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Not sure if that is 100% correct.

Fair do's, slight bit of rhetoric there.

[shark_ly00 0]

just wait for the coming match

but i think Sturridge will be substitution

[SeB 1,281]

As I've mentioned in my reply to GodZola.. He's got his support now, so now it's time for him to show his individual game.

I actually think Torres can do more with this squad than he already has. He's still a ball playing striker who used to be able to dribble around defenders, not get bullied by them. Again it comes down to confidence. But we've given him the players now, and we've given him the support (with AVB giving him 100% starts this season). Now it's really up to him.

And I think you're being unfair to members who are criticising him too. No-one wants him to fail, I don't buy the "ego satisfaction" story.. This is silly.

But we are OK

I said above that now there is Mata and Sturridge, there would be no problems anymore. Now there can be support and pace & good deliveries, and maybe also the most important thing: team mates on the same wave length and on the same technical level.

I do completely agree with you, my aim wasn't to argue that Torres is a victim and it's all the fault of the team (the midfield...). It's just that since he arrived, a lot of people did judge him whereas he wasn't at his best and in the best conditions to be judged. The fault was shared, no unique guilty because it was up to a global number of things and an environement.

We are OK, now it's up to him, no problem with that

Otherwise I didn't say that Torres was our best player by far since the start of the season, I just wanted to mean that considering the options available and the form of others, considering that the team has room for improvement and was/is not near to it's best ; Torres was at the moment the best solution, or the less worse

About the "ego satisfaction" sometimes it's a general impression that I have, I did not target anybody but I also may be wrong.

[Peace. 4,352]

A ) It's not a matter of level or confidence, if we play the same lineup than against WBA, no support for Torres, you can give a lot of games to Torres and you can also wait long to have a decent performance for him.

The only matter about him is to provide him direct support like he did always had at Liverpool when he was on fire. Mata or Sturridge can be this support.

B ) He needs direct support very near around the box, nothing less or more... You speak about the old Torres, but he wasn't made of nothing, he had some support. The fact he hasn't any now implies the consequence that he irretrievably looks far from his best level

A ) Humm... While I would agree that the lack of support could partialy explain his poor performances, I do believe his problems are mainly due to his confidence and his physical. Indeed, even when he is playing for Spain - where he has some of the best passers of the world around him and one of the best midfield (let alone the fact Spain is one of the two best teams in the world) - he doesn't look any good ! One could argue that Spain style of play doesn't suit Torres, of course.

And mate, when I do speak about Torres, I base my argument on his overall and personal playing, not his goalscoring chaces. I mean, he seems to struggle to dribble, et al... He gets knocked by players who are far smaller than him (we saw this in the pre-season tour, in Asia). All those thing, in my opinion, prove that there something wrong in his head. He doesn't fall at the merely collision because he lacks of support.

B ) Of course he wasn't made out of nothing. But the old Torres was breathing confidence. When he was on the pitch, when he was on the ball, you were seeing someone full of confidence. And to my eyes, his confidence hadn't have anything to do with the support he was getting... His lack of confidence as well. His ghost mode has started more or less at the World Cup. Since this tournament you can witness his dip in confidence. It has continued at Liverpool, now at our club.

All this to say, our squad isn't to be blamed for Torres' poor form. Of course our midfield doesn't help him to be good, but it (our midfield) didn't have provoked Torres' poor form. The problem with Torres has started well before we bought him.

[Madmax 9,219]

Let's judge Torres once he has others around him who will bother giving a shit. He's been working alone so far this season so let's see if Mata and Sturridge give him the much needed support. Given how he has talked up bothof them I think we can assume they've been working on doing just that.

If he gets support and still fails to deliver, then by all means we should ask for heads to roll.

[DanAdibi! 106]

Yh 3 big attacking players. If we can get Torres scoring we can have the best attack in the league.

[Badboy 1,526]

Yh 3 big attacking players. If we can get Torres scoring we can have the best attack in the league.

See that is my point though, its not for us to bloody get him to start scoring. Torres must adjust to the team not the team adjusting to Torres.