Torres love or hate?

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I have no problem with Torres fighting for his position, that's the way it should be.

But how is he going to fight for his position by playing 13 mins against FUCKING Wolves? the weakest team we will play till January.

If it was Torres that started, he would have been taken off by the 70th minute mark for sure. Probably even before that.

He probably wanted to give Drogba a longer run to be fair, he knows they can't play together so it's either/or.

I think Torres was probably brought on to appease the crowd tbh - Who knows, maybe he'll play a bigger part tomorrow, if he starts ahead of Romelu.

[SW_Blue 71]

Okay, I must write this here.

When El Nino was at Liverpool, I loved him, but I couldn't show this, because we had Liverpool supporters in the class and I was both, angry and happy, when he scored against us. He's just a player that I like everything about him. He's so calm, speedy and he's great finisher. I've watched Liverpool games only because of him. And you can't believe what was going with me, when he signed for us. Shame I wasn't member of this forum then, so you would see. I screamed so much, I jumped on balcony with Chelsea flag, I wore Chelsea skirt in school and so on... But his start in Chelsea wasn't the best, but I believed as everyone. I don't know what's problem about this and I won't disscuss it. I'm training football, I'm forward, I wear number 9, I've long hair and everything is because of him - my idol - Fernando Torres. He will be my favourite player, no matter what.

If that is true, I'm convinced you are the biggest Torres fan :eyebrows:

[Sheva. 5,373]

He probably wanted to give Drogba a longer run to be fair, he knows they can't play together so it's either/or.

I think Torres was probably brought on to appease the crowd tbh - Who knows, maybe he'll play a bigger part tomorrow, if he starts ahead of Romelu.

Yeah, because the 81 and 90 minutes he had against Liverpool and Leverkusen were not enough

[Blue Armour 4,289]

But your Drogba lenses are much harder to get rid off, clearly.

In his current 'form', hardly. And it's Torres' poor form rather than his own good one, that has left AVB with literally no choice.

You see its a two way street. If Chelsea should be 'grateful' to Drogs, its about time he grows up and shows some respect to the fans by not acting like a spoilt brat on the field. I appreciate his performances over the years which have helped us win so much, but equally loath his attitude around the field - bossing around other players, arguing over petty spot kicks, slapping a player in a CL final, the QPR game, I could go on...

Ridiculous statement. Don't see what kind of "respect" he needs to show, as long as he contributes when it matters.

Anyways leaving the Drogba-Torres debate aside I don't think you see what the crux of the argument here. No one really cares who's getting more chances to prove themselves. What this team needs is an in-form and consistent CF to support Sturridge and Mata who are the real ones taking the team forward.

To have such a CF, AVB should settle on one CF and stick with him for the next few weeks and get him into a good run of form. Right now this happens to be Didier. Now it could just as easily have been Torres, but the manager seems to prefer the Ivorian atm. So Torres will have to make do with the minutes he gets and look to supplant Drogba the old fashioned way: In other words, the same way a second-choice player supplants a first-teamer.

ONCE AGAIN, we could all be wrong, and AVB probably chose Drogba for the type of opposition we were up against. This I hope is not true...anyways, we'll find out from the team selection during the next few games

[YankinBlue42 72]

By his own doing, and by the manager's I feel like he hasn't had the opportunity to really find his legs this season. There have been many times where he has looked fantastic. And there have also been times where he couldn't buy a goal. Recently, he can't seem to beat Drogba for the starting striker position.

I am still 100% behind our #9.

[The Big Drog 1,110]

But your Drogba lenses are much harder to get rid off, clearly.

In his current 'form', hardly. And it's Torres' poor form rather than his own good one, that has left AVB with literally no choice.

You see its a two way street. If Chelsea should be 'grateful' to Drogs, its about time he grows up and shows some respect to the fans by not acting like a spoilt brat on the field. I appreciate his performances over the years which have helped us win so much, but equally loath his attitude around the field - bossing around other players, arguing over petty spot kicks, slapping a player in a CL final, the QPR game, I could go on...

Anyone who wants him to be sold in January wants so only because they feel he isn't doing enough in terms of performances and showing the right attitude.

Most people here, Torres fans or not, will agree that he needs to get more match time to prove himself. Something Drogs has had plenty of, as someone else pointed out, despite being below average for the first two seasons.

I'm all for selling Torres in January or next summer if he's still useleess, but he can hardly do that sitting on the bench. And I think villfying him because of his price tag makes us no better than the media vultures; anyone who comes in has to prove himself regardless of his price tag.

I don't like to cascade other Chelsea fans but I genuinely found that post to be rather disgusting and that isn't something I've ever said about any post I've ever seen on this forum.

Yes it is Torres' poor form that has allowed Drogba to get a chance to reclaim the main striker role but credit to Drogba for taking that chance.

Drogba has shown us nothing but respect during his time at the club. Let's not forget that Didier was the hottest young (well somewhat) striker in Europe at the time he joined Chelsea, he has had ample opportunity to move to other big clubs but he has remained at our club, all of the while showing nothing but appreciation to our fans, he has been the focal point of the greatest team in our club's history, world class performance after world class performance and he will rightly be remembered as one of our all time greatest players, does he boss other players around? Damn right he does and he has earned the right to do that as one of the senior players in the squad, does he have his controversial moments, sure he does but then all great players do and make no mistake about it, Didier Drogba has been a truly great player for Chelsea.

What more do they want? At 33 (?) he is still the bloody main striker at Chelsea, ahead of the shiny new 50 million pound megastar, he played well against Liverpool and his performance against Leverkusen was close to a one man show, he was one of the few Chelsea players who could walk off the pitch that night with his head held high and he followed that up with another very good performance against Wolves, I would say its complaining for complaining's sake but that isn't true it's simply that you would rather see Torres start ahead of him.

I also don't think Didier was as below average as you would think in his first two seasons and that difference between Drogba then and Torres now are quite different.

Honestly the way some people talk it's as if Torres has only started a handful of games at the club, that isn't the case, we have played him, we will keep giving him chances but its getting beyond a bit ridiculous, he hasn't done it for us, we need wins, we have a crucial game against Valencia on the way and we are trying to stay in the top 4 in the league, we need to win games and that is why Drogba is being picked ahead of Torres, because AVB feels we have a better chance of winning games with Drogba leading the line ahead of Torres. Honestly I find it sad at just how quickly people forget a legend like Drogba's contribution to our team when a bright new thing arrives, very sad indeed.

[DJ Nevin 24]

Why all this criticism of Drogba? It's more than a little unfair considering how much he's contributed to the club's success over the years.

I can understand why AVB is reluctant to play Torres. Let's face it the shitstorm surrounding the player is not going to die down. Creeps like Lipton are never going to let it go unless he scores hat tricks in successive games or something terrible happens to him. There seems to be too much primal pleasure for these grubby little hacks in seeing a career potentially destroyed.

Perhaps AVB, with similar troubles of his own, feels it's safer to play Drogba who gets far less criticism from the media when he doesn't play well, and so has reverted to Carlo's tactic of playing Torres for a few minutes at the end of games. From the press reaction (with the exception of Henry Winter) it's clear that any implied criticism or lack of faith in the player wins media approval and takes some of the pressure off himself. It's instructive that it was Di Matteo who spoke to the press about Torres in the wake of the league cup game against Liverpool when he might be playing.

Maybe AVB just isn't used to handling this level of media criticism and sees washing his hands of the player as one way of taking some of the heat off his own situation and part of his strategy for survival as Chelsea manager, If this is the case it's probably better for all concerned if Torres is sold or goes out on loan to a Spanish club in January (Malaga has been mentioned in dispatches) and the club look for a new striker to combine with Sturridge and Mata.

[Peace. 4,352]

He probably wanted to give Drogba a longer run to be fair, he knows they can't play together so it's either/or.

Yeah, I think it is one of the reason for which he keeps playing Drogba. Because, it is impossible to give to the two strikers exactly the same amount of playing time. For their form it would be catastrophic. A player, to be on form, needs a good run of game. Torres had his run of games earlier this season. Now it's just Drogba's turn.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

You see its a two way street. If Chelsea should be 'grateful' to Drogs, its about time he grows up and shows some respect to the fans by not acting like a spoilt brat on the field. I appreciate his performances over the years which have helped us win so much, but equally loath his attitude around the field - bossing around other players, arguing over petty spot kicks, slapping a player in a CL final, the QPR game, I could go on...

Drogba does more for the fans of the game than any other player I have heard of. A true philanthropist and a great, great man!

[Krypt 241]

I dont think anyone is doubting Drogba's contribution over the years , he has been a great servent to the club , but with his age its about time someone else took over.

[SW_Blue 71]

Ridiculous statement. Don't see what kind of "respect" he needs to show, as long as he contributes when it matters.

The kind which is demonstrated by a senior player in controlling his temper in the final of an event for which everyone, including he himself, worked his ass off for one whole year. Or not mouthing off your team mates on the field even though you know you are wrong.

I know you are still clueless, since perhaps in your world, those who have earned their stripes need not be questioned even when they've wronged.

Anyways leaving the Drogba-Torres debate aside I don't think you see what the crux of the argument here. No one really cares who's getting more chances to prove themselves. What this team needs is an in-form and consistent CF to support Sturridge and Mata who are the real ones taking the team forward.

A laughably trivial argument. Let me explain in simpler words what I was trying to say, and this time, please pay more attention. You state the obvious in saying we the team needs an 'in-form blah blah blah..', yes everyone knows that already, and I wasn't saying that Torres is the one at the moment. But, if people keep slandering himself for not proving his 50 million price tag, while at the same time he warms the bench, hell, he never will prove his worth anyway. Don't start him but at least give him more than 15 mins in a game where ffs we are leading 3-0 against a poor opposition.

Now it could just as easily have been Torres, but the manager seems to prefer the Ivorian atm. So Torres will have to make do with the minutes he gets and look to supplant Drogba the old fashioned way: In other words, the same way a second-choice player supplants a first-teamer.

ONCE AGAIN, we could all be wrong, and AVB probably chose Drogba for the type of opposition we were up against. This I hope is not true...anyways, we'll find out from the team selection during the next few games

A welcome change from the preceding gibberish, the only part of your post which actually makes some sense. Of course AVB has had something in mind while making all the choices so far, but again a little more playing time for Torres will only help him him prove something before the pitchforks come out in January. Only then will it be a fair trial.

[SW_Blue 71]

I don't like to cascade other Chelsea fans but I genuinely found that post to be rather disgusting and that isn't something I've ever said about any post I've ever seen on this forum. Yes it is Torres' poor form that has allowed Drogba to get a chance to reclaim the main striker role but credit to Drogba for taking that chance. Drogba has shown us nothing but respect during his time at the club. Let's not forget that Didier was the hottest young (well somewhat) striker in Europe at the time he joined Chelsea, he has had ample opportunity to move to other big clubs but he has remained at our club, all of the while showing nothing but appreciation to our fans, he has been the focal point of the greatest team in our club's history, world class performance after world class performance and he will rightly be remembered as one of our all time greatest players, does he boss other players around? Damn right he does and he has earned the right to do that as one of the senior players in the squad, does he have his controversial moments, sure he does but then all great players do and make no mistake about it, Didier Drogba has been a truly great player for Chelsea. What more do they want? At 33 (?) he is still the bloody main striker at Chelsea, ahead of the shiny new 50 million pound megastar, he played well against Liverpool and his performance against Leverkusen was close to a one man show, he was one of the few Chelsea players who could walk off the pitch that night with his head held high and he followed that up with another very good performance against Wolves, I would say its complaining for complaining's sake but that isn't true it's simply that you would rather see Torres start ahead of him. I also don't think Didier was as below average as you would think in his first two seasons and that difference between Drogba then and Torres now are quite different. Honestly the way some people talk it's as if Torres has only started a handful of games at the club, that isn't the case, we have played him, we will keep giving him chances but its getting beyond a bit ridiculous, he hasn't done it for us, we need wins, we have a crucial game against Valencia on the way and we are trying to stay in the top 4 in the league, we need to win games and that is why Drogba is being picked ahead of Torres, because AVB feels we have a better chance of winning games with Drogba leading the line ahead of Torres. Honestly I find it sad at just how quickly people forget a legend like Drogba's contribution to our team when a bright new thing arrives, very sad indeed.

I can see why you dislike some of my comments against Drogs. I speak of aspects you choose to overlook, as simple as that.

But in no way do I intend to undermine his contributions to our club. I've loved so many of his match winning performances over the years - the 2007 FA Cup Final, the 20008 CL campaign, especially making Rafa Benitez eat his words in the semis, the almost ritualistic spanking we gave Arsenal each year thanks to him. He has earned his place amongst Chelsea greats, no fan can question that. And I know he is an awesome guy off the field as well.

But I disagree that he can boss around anyone he likes just because he's a legend. And I've hated only some of his on field antics for years, way before Torres arrived at SB. And I think he needs to do more on the pitch every game, just like everyone else who plays for Chelsea.

But if people say Torres needs more match time to prove anything, why should you interpret that as an anti-Drogba campaign? In the same way as you accuse people of forgetting Drogs contribution, it can be argued that your labelling Torres 'a 50 million pound megastar' shows your refusal and cynicism in accepting a new player who competes with your favourite star for a place in the team.

I was trying to make 2 seperate points - Drogba's form and attitude on the field is not top notch right now and Torres deserves some more time on the pitch if we are going to decide on his future at Chelsea sometime soon, otherwise his move away is really a foregone conclusion.

[Blue Armour 4,289]

The kind which is demonstrated by a senior player in controlling his temper in the final of an event for which everyone, including he himself, worked his ass off for one whole year. Or not mouthing off your team mates on the field even though you know you are wrong.

I know you are still clueless, since perhaps in your world, those who have earned their stripes need not be questioned even when they've wronged.

A laughably trivial argument. Let me explain in simpler words what I was trying to say, and this time, please pay more attention. You state the obvious in saying we the team needs an 'in-form blah blah blah..', yes everyone knows that already, and I wasn't saying that Torres is the one at the moment. But, if people keep slandering himself for not proving his 50 million price tag, while at the same time he warms the bench, hell, he never will prove his worth anyway. Don't start him but at least give him more than 15 mins in a game where ffs we are leading 3-0 against a poor opposition.

A welcome change from the preceding gibberish, the only part of your post which actually makes some sense. Of course AVB has had something in mind while making all the choices so far, but again a little more playing time for Torres will only help him him prove something before the pitchforks come out in January. Only then will it be a fair trial.

Sigh...This is what happens when you don't have a clue about sports (At least I think you don't....heck if you can make assumptions about me, then well touche' pal, tit for tat)...Remember Zidane, WC final? Absolute travesty, that was...

But no-one hates for it...Yes he let his team down, but no-one can deny he was the one who took them there. Bottom line: Players like Drogba and Zidane, are emotional and passionate on the pitch..yes they have flaws but this makes them a more complete player..A refreshing change from the cold-hearted money grabbing mercenaries you see these days..Maybe you like to surround yourself with such people...good for you

"In form blah-blah-blah"??? That my blue friend, is gibberish for you and shows that you didn't even spend time to comprehend what I was trying to point out..doesn't matter, I'll say it again: The team supersedes the player. The manager just wants an in-form CF to support Sturridge and Mata. It could be Drogba or it could be Torres. You get an in-form CF only by allowing them to play regularly. Simple as that.

Hardly anyone is "slandering" Torres here. If anyone isn't bothered about Torres here doesn't mean they hate the guy. So please don't go around like some deluded twat hunting down people for making comments that don't exactly paint him in gold.

[SW_Blue 71]

Sigh...This is what happens when you don't have a clue about sports (At least I think you don't....heck if you can make assumptions about me, then well touche' pal, tit for tat)...Remember Zidane, WC final? Absolute travesty, that was...

But no-one hates for it...Yes he let his team down, but no-one can deny he was the one who took them there. Bottom line: Players like Drogba and Zidane, are emotional and passionate on the pitch..yes they have flaws but this makes them a more complete player..A refreshing change from the cold-hearted money grabbing mercenaries you see these days..Maybe you like to surround yourself with such people...good for you

"In form blah-blah-blah"??? That my blue friend, is gibberish for you and shows that you didn't even spend time to comprehend what I was trying to point out..doesn't matter, I'll say it again: The team supersedes the player. The manager just wants an in-form CF to support Sturridge and Mata. It could be Drogba or it could be Torres. You get an in-form CF only by allowing them to play regularly. Simple as that.

Hardly anyone is "slandering" Torres here. If anyone isn't bothered about Torres here doesn't mean they hate the guy. So please don't go around like some deluded twat hunting down people for making comments that don't exactly paint him in gold.

Could've replied to your red-faced retort, which by the way is in the same condescending tone as your original inflammatory post where you chose to just jump in without fathoming what I was trying to say to the OP. But that will clearly be a waste of time since your last statement there, liking me to a 'deluded twat' shows that your increasingly silly defense from now on will rely on kiddish personal remarks (yes touche 'pal'). Go on then, call me names, since I don't have time for a pissing contest right now.

[Blue Armour 4,289]

Could've replied to your red-faced retort, which by the way is in the same condescending tone as your original inflammatory post where you chose to just jump in without fathoming what I was trying to say to the OP. But that will clearly be a waste of time since your last statement there, liking me to a 'deluded twat' shows that your increasingly silly defense from now on will rely on kiddish personal remarks (yes touche 'pal'). Go on then, call me names, since I don't have time for a pissing contest right now.

That's funny, my original post just disagreed with your statement about respect. I don't know how you picked up the condescending tone from the remaining words on the screen, seeing as they were not even addressed to you in the first place...

Have a good look at your own replies, before you start gauging the tone of other people's posts. Hah, I'm GLAD you found my "kiddish" (childish more appropriate, I suppose? The irony...) remarks amusing. I could have used something else if I really wanted to make a comment out of spite..

And yes...there's no point in contesting your hypocritical remarks...I will refrain as well.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

He's done.

Drogba till June, or Jan if we get a new striker. The latter, almost unlikely.

[Blue Armour 4,289]

He's done.

Drogba till June, or Jan if we get a new striker. The latter, almost unlikely.

That is worrisome, since Drogba's energy levels are not what they used to be....

[Kieran. 6,317]

Given up on Torres. Took me a while, but I want him to fuck off now.