Does the board see what we see?

[zolayes 14,489]

I really don't care if he never scores again if he is worth his place and the team keeps winning and at the moment he is worth his place and we are winning so I'm happy!

AVOID the forum when we dont win ...It is BEDLAM then

[Joe Tyler 84]

Sturridge has had a poor attitude since his first appearance for Man City.

I tend to avoid everyone when we lose!

[Kieran. 6,317]

I get that we should be grateful for the team we have, but I don't think it's a big deal that some people want to keep improving...

[TheCount 146]

Oh please, what are you actually implying with those statistics? Just tell me, are you claiming that Torres is the man we need for the task or what?

And regarding Sturridge: What do you know about his attitude? I seriousley dont get where people get the idea that he has an attitude issue. PLEASE, tell me,.

No one has ever said if he's the right man for the job the way he's playing atm, we said he's better then sturridge and he is.

And secondly sturridge has a childish, selfish attitude.....quite similar to yourself funny enough lol. It makes sense now.

[Joe Tyler 84]

Agree 100% Kieran, you have to keep improving to stay on top. Would be nice though to see everyone support the team and every player in it, especially after once again pulling a miracle out of no where to keep outselves in the competition...

[Muzchap 8,966]

This is a period of transition, but todays game was worrying, because Shaktar outplayed us in most part of the game.

Shakthar were awesome, what a great balanced, settled team - if we look as good as them in 12 months I will be delighted.

I know they aren't rated in Europe, but they are a club going places - expect to hear a lot more about them in the future...

Our team needs to work on positioning on/off the ball, this will come through training (or it should do)

Love our never say die attitude though, that's something that cannot be underestimated...

[Joe Tyler 84]

People seem to be forgetting, that is Shakthars first defeat in any competition for 37 games.

[Muzchap 8,966]

People seem to be forgetting, that is Shakthars first defeat in any competition for 37 games.

Agreed! At times I thought they looked better than Barca tonight..

What an amazing game of football - such a great game, any fan in the world would be proud if his team competed and played as well we did tonight.

I know we no longer park the bus, but can't we leave the odd bumper/spare wheel in the box? Need a little help.

[TheCount 146]

Agreed! At times I thought they looked better than Barca tonight..

What an amazing game of football - such a great game, any fan in the world would be proud if his team competed and played as well we did tonight.

I know we no longer park the bus, but can't we leave the odd bumper/spare wheel in the box? Need a little help.

Exactly why the fuck would be be attacking for attackings sake, if the game needs defending defend and if its need attacking attack, and the rest of the time do a bit of both. Great teams do everything not one thing.

[Kinol 337]

I really don't care if he never scores again if he is worth his place and the team keeps winning and at the moment he is worth his place and we are winning so I'm happy!

We've only won 2 games (one of them on extra time) in our last 5 games, so we aint really winning, in terms of winning everything. What im saying is that we are far away from a perfect team and thats also what we have to have as a target, to become the most perfect and best team in the world, so you cant just sit back and say "ohh, we are "winning", lets not do anything".

You could clearly see today that we have some "problems" in our team and thats problems which we have to fix. Torres is in my, and many others opinion a big problem in our team and something that has to be fixed as the main striker is a very vital part of the team.

Im not trying to be negative after having a win like this against Shaktar but football is always about looking forward. If we just sit back now we wont be winning for very long.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Agreed

We all knew this would be a transition year though...

To expect perfection immediately is unrealistic.

But, I strongly believe we can and WILL get there if we keep the winners never quit mentality!

So yes, plenty to criticise, but for a transitional team - big game, big win!

Now lets carry that momentum into Sunday and tear the Scouse a new asshole!

[RamiCFC9 258]

I support this thread, yes we won and you can bet iam happy but there are many problems to highlight.We were outplayed 2/3rds of the time by Shaktar at home, well that's a problem ! We sat deep for 2/3rds of the time like a championship side with players like Mata, Oscar, Hazard ? RDM still plays Torres ..and the guy is, let's just say past it.Let's be honest we've only won because :

1.Individual skill - we forked ~100m this summer, no wonder.

2.LUCK

RDM is frustrating for me sometimes there are games like the united ones where the team plays really well and Robbie got everything right, but also there are the Swansea and the yesterday game where his tactics are just plain wrong and everytime it's because he is too affraid.If he continues with the over deffensive approach.Iam affraid he will stall the squad's improvement and won't be the days too far away when the phrase "Guardiona can't come soon enough" will be handy.

[Rambo 1,729]

Good post, spot on.

[terraloon 5]

The question was do the board see what we see. The simple answer is no as they see the full picture. They know what is going on on the pitch but they also know what the contractural obligations and with that the cost and other implications of player dealings.

Going back to your point re Torres . Would it not have been rash to see what he did he was able to do with a change of the players behind him? I agree he isnt the player we thought we were buying but we have no idea what the clubs plans are and do they see this year one of transission with one simple target namely to finnish in the top 4?

I dont rate Sturridge at all. Not many CFC supporters do but it seems other EPL managers do and from what is being said if an acceptable offer comes in then he will be gone.

As for Cole well you cant mix the contract thing and is Ryan up to it into one. The real big EPL clubs dont offer more than one year deals to players over 30. We have several players quite a bit over 30 on very very big deals. These players arent offerring value for money and in many ways hinder the rebuilding project so whilst I agree the Ashley still performs the club have to stick to a policy which will become basic ground rules in negotiations with other players.

[YouNameIt 1,511]

People seem to be forgetting, that is Shakthars first defeat in any competition for 37 games.

This thread is not for discussing that game, but whats your point? Did u even think we looked good? And hardly would have scored if it wasnt for big mistakes by shaktar, with the exception of Moses goal. Its not like we can look at this game and say "hey, since we ended Shaktars non-loss streak of 37 games, we're all good and got nothing to worry about".

No one has ever said if he's the right man for the job the way he's playing atm, we said he's better then sturridge and he is.

And secondly sturridge has a childish, selfish attitude.....quite similar to yourself funny enough lol. It makes sense now.

Im just curius. Would you care to tell me what makes Torres better than Sturridge?

And also, and this Ive asked several times from people who think that about Sturridge: Where do you get the idea that he is childish, selfish etc? Just tell me that.

[YouNameIt 1,511]

We've only won 2 games (one of them on extra time) in our last 5 games, so we aint really winning, in terms of winning everything. What im saying is that we are far away from a perfect team and thats also what we have to have as a target, to become the most perfect and best team in the world, so you cant just sit back and say "ohh, we are "winning", lets not do anything".

You could clearly see today that we have some "problems" in our team and thats problems which we have to fix. Torres is in my, and many others opinion a big problem in our team and something that has to be fixed as the main striker is a very vital part of the team.

Im not trying to be negative after having a win like this against Shaktar but football is always about looking forward. If we just sit back now we wont be winning for very long.

I totally agree. Sometimes you get the feeling that people think that we are flawless and just because we are alot better than when we arent in a dip in form, that we should just be satisfied. There are always things to improve and at the moment it is clear that we are without clear leadership without any of Terry, (Cole), Lampard or Drogba on the pitch.

And once again, we are shown that we dont have the kind of strong, big moment guy that u can trust up ahead, but we got a 50m striker who is performing like he plays in the championship. I really got discusted by him this game, at several times he lost the ball because he was trying backheels and all other types of shit.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Yes and they see even more. They get to see the training ground, the team meetings, the tactical briefings, the interactions between players, the player's fitness levels, the players injuries, the player's mental wellbeing, the player's personalities. If I'm missing something, feel free to add to the list.

They see so much more that we do...they see their own long term plans, they see their budget, they see scouting videos of other players, not just youtube compilations they see and study game tape and are able to analyze player performance much better than we can, they see dossiers of information on our own players and our opposition. The internet is a fantastic source for information but it's also a fantastic source for bullshit and everyone thinks they are an expert.I reserve the right to criticize management moves and player deployment I don't like, we all do, but thinking that we generally know more than the board or RDM is ridiculous.

[Strike 7,491]

it's not fair to criticise the board in the comfort of our armchairs. they have done exceptionally well to rebuild the team around the summer. we've to credit them for that. but i agree with the points you've put up. there are still problems existing in the side but the season is going according to plan atm. at the start of the season, we weren't really in the title picture and now we are talkin abt a title challenge. we are on the right track to negotiating a tough CL group (after last night) and the team has played good football. i've got no complaints

[Las7 951]

I don't understand neither the board or RdM's insistence on using Torres every game. Sure he is making 175k p/w and cost us 50 million pounds but it's about time we stop being slaves to his wages and transfer fee. The fact is the board and RdM felt that at least for 6 months having Torres and Sturridge would be enough - we might have tried to sign someone to replace Sturridge but in the end he is our second choice striker. Right now Sturridge has had about 180 minutes on the pitch compared to 1500 minutes for Torres out there. We have no idea what exactly he bring to the table at this point.

With Torres people are pointing at his link up play but he looses the ball more often than combining with other team mates. He gets dispossessed 3 times per match; his passes lead to turnovers 2 times per match; his passing accuracy is in the low 70% when most players playing in his position have better accuracy than him; he scored 7 goals in 1500 minutes on the pitch averages a shot on target once in 90 minutes and is unable to fashion chances for himself.

Torres might be a very likable chap, but simply put he is playing to a degree which is to be expected from any average striker in the EPL, not a degree that should guarantee him a first team spot in the team or 90 minutes every game.

No matter how troubling Sturridge might be in training at the start of the season RdM felt that two strikers would be enough, but compared to pretty much any other top team in the EPL the amount of time our second striker has played is minuscule. And we are not talking about Torres performing even to the level of RvP - who is still given a rest in favor of Chica and Welbeck, we are talking about a lot of average performances.

[mediator 2,026]

What guys do you think about this ?

Torres to be sold. We can recall KDB and Lukaku.

Marin as sub on the left, sturridge sub striker or on the right. Rambo, mikel, lamps and romeu as sub on the pivot. Ivan as 3th CB and sub of Azpi.

More balanced team without having to spend a lot of money. We will be more than ok for Fifa Fair Play.