Closed Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool

[Muzchap 8,966]

Hahaha, I love the look on his face when he realizes nobody actually went there to celebrate with him.

Forever alone.

I would have him at CFC in a flash, with an attitude change he could easily win player of the year...

[The Skipper 20,609]

It is not about this match in particular but what it showed. To me, it just seems unthinkable that a Manchester team would play against a team that put in such a weak performance and not win, especially of they had the chances that we had tonight.

Again as I said before, that has to do with their forward lines being a lot more experienced and mature than ours.

RVP, Rooney, Valencia and Young are a lot more experienced than our three maestros. So is a forward line of Silva, Tevez, Nasri etc.

That's the difference really.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Again as I said before, that has to do with their forward lines being a lot more experienced and mature than ours.

RVP, Rooney, Valencia and Young are a lot more experienced than our three maestros. So is a forward line of Silva, Tevez, Nasri etc.

That's the difference really.

Exactly. I completely agree. And that is why they are favorites for the tittle imho.

[edetarod 2,155]

these last two games have been very AVB-esque for my liking

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

Yes..... RDM clearly doesn't have the balls to bench him for poor peformances, so I guess the fans can force the issue and help the coach know torres is terrible. We've booed sturridge before.

Or, maybe you're wrong and RDM thinks that Torres is a better option for the team than Sturridge is and you have to accept that fact that playing Torres ahead of Danny is simply making the best out of a bad situation. I've no doubt that we'll be buying a new forward in January, so you have to accept the fact that Torres will be no.1 until then at least. It's evident that he was given this season to turn things around for himself and he's not delivering, but it's not going to change the fact that we don't have anyone better. The board made a mistake in that aspect, it's not Torres' fault that we don't have any other options aside from Sturridge. Frankly I don't know what Sturridge has done to become so highly rated on this board anyway, because, based on what i've seen of him, he's not a better footballer than Torres and he doesn't work anywhere near as hard. He's never played the CF role at the club, so to expect him to instantly be the answer to our prayers is simply naive.

This is chelsea fc not torres fc.

Thanks for that, i've made a note of it.

[drog.ba 239]

Torres is our main problem, cant afford to keep carrying him; it's the most important yet weakest area of the team. Time to accept he's crap, we've given him every opportunity, shipped out Drogba, made him first choice with no one to challenge him, but he's just gone to shit. It's going to be impossible for us to win the league with him up front; with a top striker we'd have a very good chance. Still this team is just coming together, it just seems we are wasting a good opportunity to win trophies while the team is still being built.

[chelseathebest 150]

It's a shame to lose 2 points after leading of 1:0 and a number of missed chances, but nothing's over yet.

Manchester teams won't keep winning in 80+ forever. They will also drop some points eventually.

If we keep thinking that we are not title contenders, than we surely won't be ones.

Next two months are crucial, if we stay on top, I am sure that we will be fighting for the title up to the very end.

In January we have to get rid of Torres and bring at least a striker to our squad. That is a must, otherwise all of our ambitions will sink in a moment.

We could also think of bringing Josh back.

Furthermore, RDM needs to sort some things out. His subs are fucking weird.

Torres needs to be dropped for either Danny or Moses.

And we need to rotate a bit more.

Anyways, I think we have it all in our hands.

[drog.ba 239]

It was stupid to go into the season with only two unreliable strikers

[Tomo 21,751]

It is not about this match in particular but what it showed. To me, it just seems unthinkable that a Manchester team would play against a team that put in such a weak performance and not win, especially of they had the chances that we had tonight.

Not true, Tottenham were terrible at Old Trafford and still won, we need to stop focusing on the Manchester two this term, we won't cut the 25 points gap in one go, we need to focus on keeping Arsenal and Spurs at arms length.

[Las7 951]

Or, maybe you're wrong and RDM thinks that Torres is a better option for the team than Sturridge is and you have to accept that fact that playing Torres ahead of Danny is simply making the best out of a bad situation. I've no doubt that we'll be buying a new forward in January, so you have to accept the fact that Torres will be no.1 until then at least. It's evident that he was given this season to turn things around for himself and he's not delivering, but it's not going to change the fact that we don't have anyone better. The board made a mistake in that aspect, it's not Torres' fault that we don't have any other options aside from Sturridge. Frankly I don't know what Sturridge has done to become so highly rated on this board anyway, because, based on what i've seen of him, he's not a better footballer than Torres and he doesn't work anywhere near as hard. He's never played the CF role at the club, so to expect him to instantly be the answer to our prayers is simply naive.

That doesn't explain how virtually any other team rotates their strikers as much as possible but only us and Liverpool play Torres/Suarez every game. Sturridge has had 220 minutes on the field Torres 1550 minutes.

Pretty much Torres is playing till he comes good and it's starting to cost us.

At the very least we can do now is give Sturridge a few games in a row up top both for him and Torres's good - the more Torres is playing the worse he gets. No surprise he has been completely ineffectual in the second half in the last 3-4 games we have played.

Hernandez has played 700 minutes for MU while Dzeko has played 600 minutes for City.

Only player in a similar situation is Adebayor. Who has had 300 minutes at Spurs. But he has Zero goals - Sturridge at least got a few goals for us. Didn't stop AVB starting him tonight ahead of Defoe

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Or, maybe you're wrong and RDM thinks that Torres is a better option for the team than Sturridge is and you have to accept that fact that playing Torres ahead of Danny is simply making the best out of a bad situation. I've no doubt that we'll be buying a new forward in January, so you have to accept the fact that Torres will be no.1 until then at least. It's evident that he was given this season to turn things around for himself and he's not delivering, but it's not going to change the fact that we don't have anyone better. The board made a mistake in that aspect, it's not Torres' fault that we don't have any other options aside from Sturridge. Frankly I don't know what Sturridge has done to become so highly rated on this board anyway, because, based on what i've seen of him, he's not a better footballer than Torres and he doesn't work anywhere near as hard. He's never played the CF role at the club, so to expect him to instantly be the answer to our prayers is simply naive.

I've calmed down after the match. But I was attacking torres bcos of how many times he lost the ball or the attack was halted when the ball went to him.

Holding up the ball should be basic for any striker and if sturridge is given a chance and he doesn't give possesion to the opposition more than he passes to team mates like torres, then I would take him over torres anytime. But he hasn't had the chance at all but I think moses can play there. RDM just has to be concerned enough to try somthing else instead of hoping torres comes good till the 82nd minute.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

That doesn't explain how virtually any other team rotates their strikers as much as possible but only us and Liverpool play Torres/Suarez every game. Sturridge has had 220 minutes on the field Torres 1550 minutes.

Pretty much Torres is playing till he comes good and it's starting to cost us.

At the very least we can do now is give Sturridge a few games in a row up top both for him and Torres's good - the more Torres is playing the worse he gets. No surprise he has been completely ineffectual in the second half in the last 3-4 games we have played.

We don't have anyone to rotate him with though, same story with Liverpool. They have Borini, who is a striker/winger, we have Sturridge, same difference. Neither are true centre forwards. Obviously RDM isn't convinced by Sturridge up top either and we can't afford to give him a few games to see if he's good enough to be our lone striker (there have been suggestions for Moses at CF as well, but as far as i'm concerned, that'll never happen, nor should it). You can wish for Sturridge to get his chance and perhaps come good, but it ain't gonna happen. We're stuck with Torres as the number one striker at the club until January, and that's the unfortunate truth. The board took a gamble, and as yet, it's not paying off.

[Las7 951]

We don't have anyone to rotate him with though, same story with Liverpool. They have Borini, who is a striker/winger, we have Sturridge, same difference. Neither are true centre forwards. Obviously RDM isn't convinced by Sturridge up top either and we can't afford to give him a few games to see if he's good enough to be our lone striker (there have been suggestions for Moses at CF as well, but as far as i'm concerned, that'll never happen, nor should it). You can wish for Sturridge to get his chance and perhaps come good, but it ain't gonna happen. We're stuck with Torres as the number one striker at the club until January, and that's the unfortunate truth. The board took a gamble, and as yet, it's not paying off.

Torres has not been good enough, Sturridge has outscored him 2 seasons in a row it's about time he is played instead of Torres. Simple as that.

If he is also awful it won't hurt us anymore than Torres at the moment. Obviously Torres is not good enough to be our lone striker so there is nothing to loose anymore

[Laylabelle 9,535]

Manu lost to a City team that was, on the day, world class in a once in a life-time match. Liverpool were excellent against city at the start of the season; they played their best game so far against them. While we face a below average Liverpool team and lacked the character to take all three points; the kind of character that Utd showed yesterday to come back from 2-0 down.

Of course I'm not saying that whoever beats Liverpool wins the title, it's not about Liverpool themselves but about the side that we faced today, and today they were very weak and we couldn't take advantage of that and that is why I don't think we can 't challenge for the title with results like this.

They were very weak but as shown dont take chances you get punished.We drew against QPR and they were shite and still are shite really.Any team can beat anyone on their day weak or not.

We had the charatcter against Man U when we came back..until the bookings and offside goal happened but Carling Cup wise we came back and on Weds so at least its still there in some form the not giving up ness.Least it was less 'meh' and you could see they cared just didnt manage to make the most of chances given

We didnt loose..our stats of late against them are crap so a point not mega bad espically seeing as we nearly threw that away as well

Man U show character but its crazy them going 2-0 down or so in the first place.They at times dont look like title contenders either not with the defence way it is

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

Torres has not been good enough

I can't dispute that. I'll just repeat that we don't have any other true strikers.

Torres has not been good enough, Sturridge has outscored him 2 seasons in a row it's about time he is played instead of Torres. Simple as that.

If he is also awful it won't hurt us anymore than Torres at the moment. Obviously Torres is not good enough to be our lone striker so there is nothing to loose anymore

I won't get into comparing their goal return purely because they have been in and out of the team and in and out of favour with the different managers we've had. Personally, i'm of the opinion that we'd be a poorer team with Sturridge up front than Torres, but then again i've never really rated Sturridge and I fail to see why so many people hold him in high regard. Playing the lone striker role when you're not scoring goals is difficult, yes we know he's not good enough when it comes to goal return, but I don't just base my opinion of a striker on goal return alone.

It's pretty clear to me that Torres is the no.1 striker until at least January even if he isn't playing well, Sturridge is a backup option at best who is probably going to leave anyway. I've accepted it, hence why I get bored of reading 'Torres this' and 'Torres that' after every single touch of the ball he has.

[Blue Armour 4,442]

Torres has not been good enough, Sturridge has outscored him 2 seasons in a row it's about time he is played instead of Torres. Simple as that.

If he is also awful it won't hurt us anymore than Torres at the moment. Obviously Torres is not good enough to be our lone striker so there is nothing to loose anymore

That's what I'm (and I think RDM) not sure of. Criticism of Torres , whilst deserved, has been slightly exaggerated. He still serves as an outlet for the midfield players helping with the passing around the final third, as well as occasionally holding up the ball.

[robsblubot 3,595]

Defensively, conceded on set pieces and let Suarez get behind a sleeping defense line -- Czech got us a point today because that was a sitter.

I was concerned about Terry form, but he was great until picking up that very scary injury. Interestingly enough, we started with a low defense line, letting Lpool have possession, but defending well with many players behind the ball. Ironically, when we moved the line higher up in the second half was the time Lpool played better. I agree with many who posted Lpool improved after Oscar was subbed. I thought Hazard would've been a better sub.

I'm still unsure whether we can have possession or even defend well with Hazard, Mata, Moses, And Sturridge on the pitch at the same time. It's just too many pure attackers in the team.

Oh well... just hope Terry isn't out for the season.

[Las7 951]

That's what I'm (and I think RDM) not sure of. Criticism of Torres , whilst deserved, has been slightly exaggerated. He still serves as an outlet for the midfield players helping with the passing around the final third, as well as occasionally holding up the ball.

As was the case today and on many other occasions he looses the ball too often. His passing accuracy of around 70% and constantly either getting dispossessed or passes leading to turnovers. Link up play is the thing that's being exaggerated about Torres.

You can't loose the ball over 50% of the time you get a pass in a match(like tonight) and than harp on about link up play.

I can't dispute that. I'll just repeat that we don't have any other true strikers.

I won't get into comparing their goal return purely because they have been in and out of the team and in and out of favour with the different managers we've had. Personally, i'm of the opinion that we'd be a poorer team with Sturridge up front than Torres, but then again i've never really rated Sturridge and I fail to see why so many people hold him in high regard. Playing the lone striker role when you're not scoring goals is difficult, yes we know he's not good enough when it comes to goal return, but I don't just base my opinion of a striker on goal return alone.

It's pretty clear to me that Torres is the no.1 striker until at least January even if he isn't playing well, Sturridge is a backup option at best who is probably going to leave anyway. I've accepted it, hence why I get bored of reading 'Torres this' and 'Torres that' after every single touch of the ball he has.

He might be leaving, doesn't mean that until he does we should not use him - you don't rate him fair enough. But Torres is worse goal scorer than Sturridge and at the moment we need someone up top to finish up chances setup by our midfield. Torres is on the wing; deep in midfield; or simply not busting a gut standing in one spot instead of trying to actually score far too often.

Right now points are key - we should concentrate on winning games rather than who is going to be sold and who is our main striker.

Torres has not done enough to be one and hence he should be dropped for a few games till we test alternatives.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

At least Hernandez gets a half or 30 minutes, unlike Sturridge who gets 5 minutes at the end. Parallel worlds really.

We don't need to sign two strikers at all.

Well if Danny stays, then no.

But do you think he will play more if we get Falcao?

Trick is that he needs play time, but he wont get him. And in this situation, he clearly isnt good enough. Chico is player that sits on bench all time and then scores goals. Danny is not such player. He will evolve only with regular playtime. And lets say we have Falcao and Danny. Falcao needs rest or worse, he falls out of form and who will play instead? Danny? We all have seen that he just cant score simple. And that is our weakness. Manchester clubs have Rvp and Aguero as their main strikers. If they dont show enough in game, or more pressure is needed, Dzeko, Tevez, Chico, Welbeck are send in game. Then they win. If we will play with Falcao and that wont be enough, Danny will change anything if we send him in game?

Every big club (except Barca) has at least two super strikers. We all know for ManC and ManU, but Bayern has Gomez and Mandzukic (and even Pizzaro), Real has Higuain and Benzema,...

IF Danny stays doesnt improve in next months, we will need two strikers. Falcao type and Jovetic type are necessary. Trust me. Having two top strikers will give more options, we could play both or they will be switching. Sure because of reputation and price tag, they will both play.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

He might be leaving, doesn't mean that until he does we should not use him - you don't rate him fair enough. But Torres is worse goal scorer than Sturridge and at the moment we need someone up top to finish up chances setup by our midfield. Torres is on the wing; deep in midfield; or simply not busting a gut standing in one spot instead of trying to actually score far too often.

Right now points are key - we should concentrate on winning games rather than who is going to be sold and who is our main striker.

Torres has not done enough to be one and hence he should be dropped for a few games till we test alternatives.

Perhaps his goal return is worse, but you could argue that Torres is a better option for the team, which is obviously what RDM thinks. I couldn't care less where the goals come from in the team personally, as long as the team is winning. And we are winning games, today was down to the whole team not taking their chances, not just Torres. Perhaps he should get dropped, but we all know he won't be. I've learned to accept it. Roll on January!