Torres on this season

[zigackly]

Fernando Torres has blamed Liverpool’s failed Premier League title challenge on the club’s perilous financial state and lack of top-quality signings.

 

Torres, whose own future has been called into question following Liverpool’s dismal campaign, bemoaned the sale of key players last summer.

 

And Torres, a £50million summer target for ambitious Manchester City, revealed his disillusionment at the situation at Anfield and laid the blame at the feet of the club’s owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

 

“There have been various important factors, like the fact that we were so far off the top of the table so quickly,” said Torres.

 

“That killed us psychologically and has stopped us changing the situation. After that, injuries hit us pretty hard and we have felt that a lot.

 

“After a good season last year, circumstances dictated we had to sell players and everything got messed up.

 

“The sale of Alvaro Arbeloa, Sami Hyypia and Xabi Alonso was an important loss. Alvaro was a player who did a vital job for us and his flexibility was a huge bonus.

 

“Sami may not have played every week but he was a 10 out of 10 on and off the pitch, bringing equilibrium to the ground and having everyone’s admiration.

 

“And Xabi? Players like Xabi are very rare. He was the team’s engine and you know that when you change an engine, it takes time to work again.”

 

Fernando Torres blames Tom Hicks and George Gillett for the failure of Liverpool title challenge - MirrorFootball.co.uk

[Coro]

“After a good season last year, circumstances dictated we had to sell players and everything got messed up.

 

As in a very unhappy RBS came calling?

[kalasoma]

I like the use of the words "circumstances" and "dictated" in this article. He's rather eloquent is Torres. I like him so much more now.

[zigackly]

As in a very unhappy RBS came calling?

 

I think that's part of why we had difficulty replacing them and being unable to refresh our attacking options at the same time and get the left back we needed, although Rafa also made certain choices about which players to buy. Sadly the circumstances which dictated we sell them seem to have involved all of them wanting to leave.

 

Certainly Rafa was handcuffed to a degree by financial circumstances though, however wisely he chose to spend his budget.

[WaltonRed]

Sami and Xabi was down to Rafa and no one else.

[zigackly]

He certainly played a part. I also think Xabi probably didn't mind the extra money and playing for Real Madrid back in Spain, and Sami may have wanted more football regardless of whether or not he was in the CL squad the season before. But Rafa didn't exactly encourage them that they were wanted.

[Guest LFD]

Well I disagree with Nando there.

 

Of course we have missed Alonso, Hyypia and Arbeloa - three quality players, all with different strengths on and off the field.

 

But I think we still have the players to be challenging for the title, certainly not being out of it by October. Arbeloa was good but Johnson is better - certainly going forward setting up a fair few goals and making them.

 

Rafa spent big on Johnson and Aquilani - I think he could have used these funds better, even if I do rate Johnson very highly.

 

Rafa chose to go into the season with Ngog, a raw, inexperienced striker to cover for Torres - who had his injuries the season before. It was a risk and one that hasn't paid off.

 

Rafa chose to buy an injury prone Aquilani - it was a risk and one that thus far hasn't paid off.

 

Rafa chose to big on a right back, which is a lot when we only have one top striker in the squad.

 

A side that has Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Aurelio, Mascherano, Gerrard, Kuyt, Benayoun, Riera, Babel, Torres etc should be challenging for the title, not facing the prospect of potentially coming 8th and to be out of the title by October is awful.

 

Rafa has played Mascherano / Lucas together far too often against weaker teams, ones where we don't need two defensive minded players. These games against Sunderland, Stoke etc we need a player who can make us tick, pull the strings and get us playing, as Gerrard showed against Sunderland and Aquilani showed against Pompey.

 

I think Rafa has gone for graft too often over craft,always selecting Kuyt, regardless of form and the type of game. When again we need the craft of a Maxi or Benayoun over the graft of Kuyt against the weaker teams.

 

It is easy to blame the owners, because frankly everyone wants them out. But it is not their fault why we got kncked out of the Champs League in the group stages. It was not their fault we got knocked out of the LEague & FA Cups early. It was not their fault why we were out of the title by October. Why we have lost 17 times already this season.

 

This is Rafa's squad, his back ground staff, his team selections, his tactics, his zonal marking system, his non-attacking threat at corners, his subs, his decision to have Ngog as back up to Torres, his decison to play two defensive midfielders, his general approach to games - which is cautious.

 

He is accountable for this season - and it is not good enough, especially as he promised us fourth position.

[Torvald Utne]

Sami and Xabi was down to Rafa and no one else.

 

Rafa must have put him up to this.

[Torvald Utne]

Twice in 1 post lfd, you really are something...

 

Still say it all came down to cashflow last year and who we could sell for big cash upfront and who we could buy for little cash upfront.

[Torvald Utne]

The clubs gotta keep paying g&h's loan somehow

[Liverpool lad]

I like the way he has pointed out that there is a sense of despondency around the club, I have often thought that, I get that feeling around the ground nowadays. I am surprised how it has affected some of the players though.

[zigackly]

I personally believe we bought the wrong players and spent far too much on two of them fungus. I think everyone knew we would need a first choice left back going into the season, and even with his cameos the season before it was a huge ask for Insua to play the majority of our games. Similarly we absolutely HAD to get cover in for Torres after the previous season where his loss was a big part in the shit patch we had from January to March.

 

Perhaps if Rafa had cut his cloth to fit and spent less on those two players we would have had that cover and still got more out of our midfield. A cheaper right-back wouldn't have been an upgrade on Arbeloa necessarily, but would have done a job one hopes.

 

We might never know at what point in the window he knew what he had to spend. I think that his not coming out and saying something or leaking something to the press about it speaks volumes though, in comparison to previous seasons.

 

Torres confirms that our engine was broken and morale was low. I want to know why we didn't try something different when it was clear that Lucas and Mascherano were not creative enough though, like dropping Gerrard back into midfield and playing Yossi in the hole or two up front, perhaps seeing much more of Aquilani when he got fit. I also want to know why Rafa could not address squad morale and reverted to such a cautious approach. I am 100% sure he has not got anywhere near the level from his resources this season that he could have got.

 

I don't really buy your point about the up-front cash. Very few deals these days are done with a huge cash payment up front.

Edited April 7, 2010 by zigackly

[Liquid football]

Nando would be in negsville if he posted on here!

 

Having said that, those quotes read like they've been translated because the English is too good.

[Jose Jones]

Fernando Torres has blamed Liverpool’s failed Premier League title challenge on the club’s perilous financial state and lack of top-quality signings.

 

Torres, whose own future has been called into question following Liverpool’s dismal campaign, bemoaned the sale of key players last summer.

 

And Torres, a £50million summer target for ambitious Manchester City, revealed his disillusionment at the situation at Anfield and laid the blame at the feet of the club’s owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

 

“There have been various important factors, like the fact that we were so far off the top of the table so quickly,” said Torres.

 

“That killed us psychologically and has stopped us changing the situation. After that, injuries hit us pretty hard and we have felt that a lot.

 

“After a good season last year, circumstances dictated we had to sell players and everything got messed up.

 

“The sale of Alvaro Arbeloa, Sami Hyypia and Xabi Alonso was an important loss. Alvaro was a player who did a vital job for us and his flexibility was a huge bonus.

 

“Sami may not have played every week but he was a 10 out of 10 on and off the pitch, bringing equilibrium to the ground and having everyone’s admiration.

 

“And Xabi? Players like Xabi are very rare. He was the team’s engine and you know that when you change an engine, it takes time to work again.”

 

Fernando Torres blames Tom Hicks and George Gillett for the failure of Liverpool title challenge - MirrorFootball.co.uk

 

I haven't read the article, but if all it says is what Zigackly posted there, Torres doesn't mention the yanks once. Basically it says we fucked up by selling Alonso, Sami and Arbeloa. All of whom wanted to leave, but only really Arbeloa was unpreventable.

Then he blames the players for not being able to cope with losing a couple of games at the start of the season.

[zigackly]

That's why I didn't use the same headline as the article Jose.

[Jose Jones]

That's why I didn't use the same headline as the article Jose.

 

Presumably it must have been written by a friend of Rafa's then!

If Torres had given those same words to another journalist the headline could easily have come out as "Torres blames Rafa and Liverpool players for shit season".

I wonder if he made some more strident comments about the owners, but asked for those not to be included or something? Either that or the headline writer is a red who wants to make any point for getting the owners out.

 

Still all that aside it is fairly interesting his comments on not being able to challenge after going behind early. I've thought for a while that we're almost a bit too desperate to win the league. Carra and especially Gerrard are particularly desperate as well as they can see they’ve only got a few years left at Liverpool. As we haven’t got the experience of winning it, sometimes we over react to set backs.

 

Obviously all the bollocks with the owners and the debt hasn’t helped the situation. I don’t think Rafa has really helped either, he’s played politics with the owners, has complained about money and how rivals have spent more. It’s bound to filter down.

[WaltonRed]

I was going to say he doesnt mention the owners once.

[Coro]

I like the headline in that it will turn some attention towards the parasites asset stripping this club.

 

It's not the first time Torres has had a pop at the owners this season, even Reina alluded to the off field problems back in September.

 

Given the drastic change in demeanour of the players from May 09 to the team we saw line up in August 09, it begs the question what actually went on last summer to effect the cohesion and manner of the squad so badly?

 

David McDonnell is Mirror Sports Manchester correspondent.

[Kevin D]

He certainly played a part. I also think Xabi probably didn't mind the extra money and playing for Real Madrid back in Spain, and Sami may have wanted more football regardless of whether or not he was in the CL squad the season before. But Rafa didn't exactly encourage them that they were wanted.

 

Sami should have been offered a two-year contract at the end of the 07/08 season where he was our best defender by a mile. I also think Rafa shares the blame for Arbeloa, not so much his leaving, but the relatively low transfer fee we got; I recall him being asked about extending contracts and he said that contracts wouldn't be offered 'till his was resolved.

[Royal Family]

Interesting to read that - it's of course demoralising for the players when better players leave than come in (I've said before how underrated Arbeloa was, whilst Hyypia rather than Carragher was always the leader of our defence). I suspect Nando was surprised about the failure to bring in a striker - any striker - especially when over the summer he'd spoken about how we needed someone like David Villa! I imagine there would have been some serious head-scratching in the squad when Aquilani came in too.

 

You have to remember that Rafa was offered, at various stages of the Alonso deal, Arjen Robben, Wes Schnjeider and Alvaro Negredo plus cash: it was Rafa, and Rafa alone, who decided he only wanted cash and not players in exchange. Looking back now, that seems a massive miscalculation to say the least.

[Herp McDerp]

Interesting to read that - it's of course demoralising for the players when better players leave than come in (I've said before how underrated Arbeloa was, whilst Hyypia rather than Carragher was always the leader of our defence). I suspect Nando was surprised about the failure to bring in a striker - any striker - especially when over the summer he'd spoken about how we needed someone like David Villa! I imagine there would have been some serious head-scratching in the squad when Aquilani came in too.

 

You have to remember that Rafa was offered, at various stages of the Alonso deal, Arjen Robben, Wes Schnjeider and Alvaro Negredo plus cash: it was Rafa, and Rafa alone, who decided he only wanted cash and not players in exchange. Looking back now, that seems a massive miscalculation to say the least.

The cash from alonso's sale was used for interest payments wasn't it? Has it occured to you that maybe, just maybe, he was told to take the cash by his bosses? I'm not saying that that's what happened, as I obviously don't know what went on there, but it does make sense doesn't it? Why else would he take the money when he couldn't spend it?

 

Edit: Just realised something else to, how do you know he was offered those players? Was never anything concrete was it? Just speculation by fans wasn't it? Agree about Arbeloa by the way, he was more than decent, how I wish we had him playing at left back this season, but he did want to leave, not much we could do.

[Guest Ulysses Everett McGill]

Sami and Xabi was down to Rafa and no one else.

 

If you repeat something often enough......

[Guest Ulysses Everett McGill]

Interesting to read that - it's of course demoralising for the players when better players leave than come in (I've said before how underrated Arbeloa was, whilst Hyypia rather than Carragher was always the leader of our defence). I suspect Nando was surprised about the failure to bring in a striker - any striker - especially when over the summer he'd spoken about how we needed someone like David Villa! I imagine there would have been some serious head-scratching in the squad when Aquilani came in too.

 

David Villa, ok, yeah, why not throw a cheeky bid in for Aguero while we are at it?

 

You have to remember that Rafa was offered, at various stages of the Alonso deal, Arjen Robben, Wes Schnjeider and Alvaro Negredo plus cash: it was Rafa, and Rafa alone, who decided he only wanted cash and not players in exchange. Looking back now, that seems a massive miscalculation to say the least.

 

You do know it was Christian and Christian alone who negotiated with Madrid?

 

Do you know what terms we were offered Robben and Schnjeider, if at all in Robben's (Who no one on here actually wanted) case?

 

Have you thought that maybe their wasn't enough cash left over to go into the big jar labelled "Bank interest" if we did a swap?

 

Even if you did, would it stop you from posting half-truths?

 

Some of the shite pedalled on here just for sake of getting a dig in is fucking shameful.

[Jose Jones]

David Villa, ok, yeah, why not throw a cheeky bid in for Aguero while we are at it?

 

 

 

You do know it was Christian and Christian alone who negotiated with Madrid?

 

Do you know what terms we were offered Robben and Schnjeider, if at all in Robben's (Who no one on here actually wanted) case?

 

Have you thought that maybe their wasn't enough cash left over to go into the big jar labelled "Bank interest" if we did a swap?

 

Even if you did, would it stop you from posting half-truths?

 

Some of the shite pedalled on here just for sake of getting a dig in is fucking shameful.

 

Torres was talking about David Villa and David Silva over the summer though wasn't he? That's not made up to have a dig.

 

I wasn't aware that Purslow did all the negotiating with Madrid, and I doubt whether Royal Family did either. What about the stories of Rafa taking the piss out of the initial Real bid "who's team beat who's 5-0?" etc. Were they just fabricated?

 

Interesting that we were told that Rafa wanted and got full control of the football budget - but now it seems he doesn't have full control of the football budget?

[TommyW]

It was common knowledge and well reported at the time that Purslow was out in Madrid doing the deals

 

sod it though, you guys have far more patience than me if you can keep having the same arguments continuously

 

every bloody thread