Malouda ignoring Torres?

[steve5221 91]

I think your right Malouda was definately ignoring Torres when he came on - could have played him in loads of times.

[Waterfall 893]

I immediately thought of this thread after the game

[Chelsea_Fan 227]

Malouda ignoring Torres !

[Term-X 7,891]

Don't worry, he's saving his goals for [insert team].

[ElNinoSemper 18]

It was obvious this time. Towards the end there Malouda definitely wasn't interested in passing to him. I was quick to dismiss this earlier but I'm starting to wonder if something's up behind the scenes.

[spuz 143]

Don't worry,Malouda is saving his passes to Torres against [insert team].

[HRiver 1,512]

Malouda reminds me of Robben. He always looks for personal glory and attempts to shoot from dead angles when he can pass to his team mates easily.

[Ollie 4,400]

it could also be:

Malouda ingnoring everyone and everyone ignoring Torres. I'm beginning to get a bit fucked off that Torres aint scored lol.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Don't worry, he's saving his goals for [insert team].

That quip was mildly humorous the first time you posted it, but its becoming rather boring now.

And in reference to Torres not scoring (bla bla bla), I personally don't give two shits. Why? Because a goal scored by John Terry or Branislav Ivanovic counts exactly the same. Hell, if we win all of our games until the end of the season thanks to own goals, I won't complain. Torres' first goal is coming.

[Styles 9,790]

Malouda must be on a incredible goal-bonus contract going by his numerous attempts from impossible angles in the last 20 or so minutes tonight.

I remember when he used to cross and get assists. Now it's almost all about goals for him with little interest in build up play or creating for others. What happened to the Malouda of 2 years ago?

Zhirkov was rubbish tonight as well. Two out of form wingers, brilliant.Should we try Luiz there?

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I see no harm in playing Kalou out wide on the left. His creativity (and faultless work-rate, which is always overlooked) was key in the victory tonight.

[dodojojo 510]

I don't know if it's just Malouda ignoring him. Nor if it's even intentional, but I did notice Torres waving his arms a bit and towards the end of the game, doing the "put the ball on my feet" gesture. I also noticed that there were a few times where he was unmarked in the box and the ball never got near him. I don't know if it's just a matter of teammates not quite being on the same wavelength or if some have lost confidence in him. Or even if some are intentionally ignoring him.

Torres is a pretty quiet guy so I don't think he's the type to rub people the wrong way but I wouldn't be surprised if some in the dressing room resent him. Not on a personal basis but what he represents—changing of the old guard, the owner's new darling, highest wage earner, etc. I don't think it's necessarily a huge deal because they are all professionals but it's gotta be on the back of some people's minds and that may manifest in certain behavior or pattern.

Watching today's game just confirmed what I felt last week. It's obvious and embarrassing for Chelsea FC and Fernando Torres. And it's not because I feel Torres is some delicate flower, but this is bad for the club and it's ambition to win anything this year. As the competition gets tougher, the team needs to function as a whole and there's no way you can get away with this shit. And when that happens, Torres is going to get stick from all sides when in fact there are fundamental factors that are out his control. The sad thing is Malouda knows he's on his way out so there's little incentive for him to buck up. Kalou may fall in the same boat. Torres is not Messi, he can't slalom his way through the entire pitch to score. He's an out and out striker and he needs service. Sorry if this is such a shock to some people. I don't think it's a big request to ask some of teammates feed him the ball when he's worked his way into some good positions. So he should keep running the channels for the rest of the season while being ignored? Torres is going to be around next season, some of the current players will not. I'm afraid though that the beating he will get for this season will be very difficult to shake off and seep into the next.

[ElNinoSemper 18]

Watching today's game just confirmed what I felt last week. It's obvious and embarrassing for Chelsea FC and Fernando Torres. And it's not because I feel Torres is some delicate flower, but this is bad for the club and it's ambition to win anything this year. As the competition gets tougher, the team needs to function as a whole and there's no way you can get away with this shit. And when that happens, Torres is going to get stick from all sides when in fact there are fundamental factors that are out his control. The sad thing is Malouda knows he's on his way out so there's little incentive for him to buck up. Kalou may fall in the same boat. Torres is not Messi, he can't slalom his way through the entire pitch to score. He's an out and out striker and he needs service. Sorry if this is such a shock to some people. I don't think it's a big request to ask some of teammates feed him the ball when he's worked his way into some good positions. So he should keep running the channels for the rest of the season while being ignored? Torres is going to be around next season, some of the current players will not. I'm afraid though that the beating he will get for this season will be very difficult to shake off and seep into the next.

Good points re:Malouda. He probably suspects he's out the door anyway come summertime so what's the worst that could happen if he sticks it to the new boy? I hope that's not what's unfolding but it certainly seems that way, especially after tonight. Jermain Defoe said something this past week but not scoring and having a poor season, like Rooney and Torres but that having support makes all the difference. Man U stuck with Rooney playing until he scored again and Defoe scored twice at the weekend. The positive is Torres appears to have Ancelotti's support, he certainly has RA's. Terry and Lampard have been vocal and enthusiastic about his arrival as well so there's that. The Malouda/Drogb/Kalou camp, as it appears to have formed in this context, might end up on the losing side of this one.

[dodojojo 510]

The Malouda/Drogb/Kalou camp, as it appears to have formed in this context, might end up on the losing side of this one.

Oh, they'll lose alright because they're all going to be gone before Torres. Not because Torres is so great right now, but realistically, Chelsea isn't going to dump their 50M striker in 3 months are they?

But there will be losers all around if this continues though. The team will lose because sooner or later good teams will punish Chelsea for not playing as a team and maximizing the best from one of their strikers. Imagine how shit it will be if in the Man City game, Malouda swerves Torres in front of an open goal? That can be the difference of two to three points lost. It didn't matter today 3-1 up on Blackpool but try that against Tottenham when 4th place is on the line. Or against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

And in the long term, how screwed up is Torres' confidence going to be? How long can he put up with the criticism and mockery? I'm not so concerned about his feelings but more about how that screws up a 50M investment!

I'm not blaming Torres' inability to score solely on this issue, really I'm not. But how about not crapping about like this and actually help out a teammate eh? Especially one who's getting shit on from every direction? Watching the last 10 minutes of game had me fuming because it was clear that there are some strange dynamics out on the pitch and it looks to be very petty.

[Tortilla9 390]

I was watching ESPN3 while trying to work so I got bits and pieces. I came home and watched the match beginning to end on DVR.

Those who know me know I'm a huge Torres homer so I was ready to burn Malouda's shirt (joking) and run him out of town. I tried to be objective and took my Torres colored glasses off. I missed the first ten minutes on DVR because of ESPN or DISH reception.

21 - Drogba played Torres in, Torres held the ball up waiting for the support, then had a poor cross. Supposedly to Lampard but I didn't see anybody in the tv shot.

22 - Torres a decent shot blocked in the 22nd after making good movement off a Ramires/Bosingwa run/pass

31 - on the break with Torres in acres of space to the right, Drogba passes to Zhirkov instead. Not a bad decision at all.

33 - Bosingwa clears, Torres collects, dribbles, then deflects off defender.

34 (I think) - Torres wins the header, flicks to Drogba's area, Drogba doesn't move, Blackpool get the ball

43 - Essien tries to pass to Torres, pass picked off by Blackpool

46 - Essien to Torres, Torres to Zhirkov, buildup leades to Ramires shot attempt

Second half:

46 - Drogba flick to Torres, Torres passes to Cole

52 - good movement by Torres, he receives the pass (from Ramires I think) but he's off

55 - Terry to Torres, Torres to Ramires

57 - Bosingwa to Torres, header to Kalou. Commentator: haven't engineered a single chance for Torres

58 - Terry passes to Torres, Torres passes to Cole

59 - Lampard shoots and gets a corner kick. Could have possibly laid the ball off to Torres.

61 - Zhirkov to Torres who tried to find Cole, Kalou gets the ball instead, gets the penalty

63 - Break, 2 on 2, Kalou finds Torres on the right, Torres tries to cross back to Kalou, intercepted by Blackpool

65 - Essien to Kalou to Lampard. Goal. If Lampard hadn't got to the ball first, Torres might have been in for a tap in. Can't complain about the play or the goal.

67 - Torres won the ball, pass to Cole, pass to Zhirkov. Corner

70 - Kalou looked to layoff to Torres but Zhirkov stepped up instead and shot blocked

75 - Kalou to Torres, Torres dribbled, shot with the outside of his right foot, no power. Fans singing for him (kudos!).

79 - Chelsea passing the ball around, Kalou to Torres, Torres to Bosingwa

79 - Lampard tries to find Torres on a little flick on the box, keeper easily gets it

82 - Kalou receives the ball from a defensive clearance, Torres makes the run to support and pressures the defender. Nothing comes of it.

83 - Malouda shoots at a difficult angle. Could have tried to pass to either Kalou or Torres who were in the box.

84 - Malouda dribbles, dribbles, loses the ball in the box. A wide open Torres moving and waiting for a layoff.

87 - Torres gets the ball on the touchline from a defensive cleaance, off Torres, out of bounds

91 - Luis to Malouda, Malouda shoots at acute angle. Either Kalou or Torres were open.

92 - Malouda good ball to Kalou, Kalou shoots over, Torres also in good position in the box.

First half neither Torres or Drogba received the ball much. Midfield was very narrow and it wasn't pretty. There didn't seem to be a lot of service to either forward. It was a dull first half except for the Terry header.

Second half, Torres received the ball much more. Was it because Kalou came on and the movement and space between the two was better? Chelsea moved the ball much better as a whole except for 5 or 10 minutes when they took their foot off.

I've seen games where Torres is just standing there looking like a poster boy. Today he had good movement and worked for the team. He didn't hang out waiting for the ball but came back looking and moving, trying to get involved. It wasn't until the 80th minute on that he seemed to be a little frustrated (do I really know though?) but he kept making runs. From my calculation he only had 2 decent chances. IMO you need to have a few more than that. I don't know if it was unwillingness to pass to Torres or inability to move the ball well as a team. The ball went sideways or backward a lot and the passing was slow and lumbering at times. It would have been nice to see Chelsea move the ball quicker and with more attacking intent. Maybe then Torres would have been more involved too. Maybe because Chelsea overlooked Blackpool a little.