FAO Fernando Torres

[Jarvinja Ilnow]

I'm angry. So I don't want to say anything I will probably regret.

 

But Fernando, Fuck off. Your team mates are not beneath you, this club is not beneath you. You need to put a shift in, because for all your goals, you've achieved sweet fuck all at this club, and if you are going to achieve anything you're going to have to put in 100 times more effort than you are doing now.

 

Have a word with yourself.

 

Ant, FFS - he really wanted to join us, when he had Man U and others after

him. He looks sick and totally fucked off. Do any of us know what has gone on? He's acheived more than 'fuck all' as a striker. And in shit teams. His attitude lately sucks for sure but lets not ignore the fact that some players may have had a role in the appointment of the current imbecile as manager.

[Iantn]

pulling out of a tackle on the edge of our box. unforgivable.

 

Haha, boss that.

[paulo61]

I'm angry. So I don't want to say anything I will probably regret.

 

But Fernando, Fuck off. Your team mates are not beneath you, this club is not beneath you. You need to put a shift in, because for all your goals, you've achieved sweet fuck all at this club, and if you are going to achieve anything you're going to have to put in 100 times more effort than you are doing now.

 

Have a word with yourself.

 

Spot on - anyone that argues with this is pure blind, Torres tonight hit a new low, body language, lack of effort, piss poor. Ngog should have stayed on and Torres should have been hooked, one good performance this year against Chelski, says everything. Fuck off dis respecting the fans, put a shift in or fuck off Nando.

[Red Banjo]

I'm beyond tired of seeing the ball punted up to Torres. Hodgson does not know how to use the best striker in the world.

 

That is basically what it comes down to. Its the equivalent of giving Stevie Wonder the best, most precise, most advanced sniper rifle in the world and just expecting him to be a brilliant hitman.

[Iantn]

body language,

 

Was it a complete degree in body language reading you did or just like a part time course?

 

Only asking as so many seem experts in this field now that I should probably look at educating meself on these things.

[ngogswilly]

Spot on - anyone that argues with this is pure blind, Torres tonight hit a new low, body language, lack of effort, piss poor. Ngog should have stayed on and Torres should have been hooked, one good performance this year against Chelski, says everything. Fuck off dis respecting the fans, put a shift in or fuck off Nando.

 

Are you for real? I'd bet if we matched your IP address up we'd find a match with someone else on this site for sure.

[TheResonator]

Selling Torres at this point would be a mistake on a par with not signing a young Roy Keane. Who would you replace him with pray tell? Michael Chopra?

 

This is how fucking easy the press have it. "Fernando Torres..." *sigh* -- oh my God, Jamie said he's shit! We need shot! No, we fucking don't. Of course he doesn't look up for it. I'd love to see how long David Villa or Rooney would look chirpy being asked to go for ball after ball hoofed forwards by the centre-backs. "Ohhh but he doesn't show the bulldog spirit! He doesn't show enough passion for the shirt!" Fuck off. This is a man who cradled the world cup in his arms less than six months ago wearing our club colours on his scarf; a man who said he wants his daughter to grow up speaking Scouse. If our attitude is to let our best players stagnate under a shit manager and an absence of tactics is to pillory and reprimand them simply for not flying into challenges: I'm out. The passion he has had for the club is obvious - it's the club that's changed, not him - and we need to change it back.

[Coro]

Spot on - anyone that argues with this is pure blind

 

Good point, well argued.

 

Torres' form is symptomatic of bigger problems i.e. the fraud of a manager but for the short termists the better idea is to shout 'fuck off' to one of the worlds best strikers.

 

How many years do you reckon it will take to replace a player Torres?

[paulo61]

Are you for real? I'd bet if we matched your IP address up we'd find a match with someone else on this site for sure.

 

I'll take that bet m8. Take the money for Nando now while he still has decent market value.

[Guest PurpleNose]

Fuck him off.

 

Get Steve Howard in.

[ngogswilly]

I'll take that bet m8. Take the money for Nando now while he still has decent market value.

 

You know what mate I wouldn't disagree. I'd sell him because we will get fuck all out of him in this disgrace of a football hoof philosophy we have in place. Better off buying Emile Heskey at least he can get on the end of constant hoofing with his head.

[Kevin D]

He's probably still upset by Rafa's coldness - it can take years to get over a trauma like that.

 

Quality.

[Dicko]

I'm beyond tired of seeing the ball punted up to Torres. Hodgson does not know how to use the best striker in the world.

 

It's an achievement when you think about it.

[piscinin]

Just remember my fickle friends that class is permanent and tactics are temporary.

[BatChainPuller]

Not only only is he playing shit but he keeps picking himself too, the cunt.

[moof]

This place is fucking mental. Concentrate your anger towards Roy for fucks sake

[ngogswilly]

This place is fucking mental. Concentrate your anger towards Roy for fucks sake

 

Don't worry. The majority of people are. Theres just some denial flip flop attention shifting nonsense going on. But its not fooling anyone.

[Torvald Utne]

I'd say half and half. Certainly, earlier in the season, the effort was there, even when things weren't going well. But lately he hasn't shown the effort he should. I agree with what your saying about the tactics and isolation, but his attitude hasn't been the best lately either.

 

I do note a bit of a snowball beginning where some former ART members are laying a lot of blame at Torres's door. Are we going to see ATT, I wonder?

 

It's really quite pathetic, they have one opinion and share it amongst themselves.

 

Code is spot on by the way.

[Ste Mc]

It has been said on more than one occasion that Torres attitude has not been what it could, and should, be. That might well be true and might well be legitimate criticism. However, I do feel compelled to defend him somewhat - particularly after watching whatever that was that we saw tonight.

 

Put yourself in his shoes for a moment.

 

You’re one of the brightest stars in the game and have the good fortune to play in a Spanish side in which you’re surrounded by talented and intelligent footballers. From that perspective your club team mates will almost always be a step down but that is probably true of many international sides – they are by definition the finest players in their respective countries.

 

Nevertheless, you are at a club where you are worshipped by the fans because you have, over the course of a few seasons, despite injuries, been undeniably prolific as a goalscorer. Your record speaks for itself. If you are given chances, you score goals.

 

At present, you are playing in a side that provides little or no service to you. You are also being played in a completely different system than the one which has seen you be so successful. Rather than the game being played high up the pitch in the opponent’s half allowing you to make runs in behind and off the shoulder of the last man with the ball in front of you or at your feet; you are now expected to be a ‘hold-up’ striker. The ball is invariably played up to you from a distance, you are isolated. Often the ball is played into a channel more in hope than expectation and you are frequently expected to compete aerially with bruising centre-halves who relish the opportunity to physically impose themselves on you rather than you run at them with the ball at your feet or, god forbid, played in front of you. Even if you win the ball in the air – you’re extremely unlikely to have a midfielder making a run beyond you to collect the knock down and so your victory is largely pyrrhic.

 

In effect, you’re in the same boat as Meireles when he’s shunted out to the right. You are being played out of position. You might still be playing ‘up-front’ or ‘centre-forward’ but you are being asked to play a completely different game to your natural game and a completely different game than the one which has seen you score so many goals. What’s more – it is a type of game for which you’re not physically suited. You are the Kevin Phillips, not the Niall Quinn, the Keegan and not the Toshack. Rather than defenders be worried about you, they’re delighted to have the opportunity to run you into dead end channels, kick lumps of you and watch you grow increasingly frustrated.

 

Take two examples : tonight’s game saw the grand total of ZERO chances come your way (incidentally, at home against the bottom team in the league). Chelsea at Anfield saw you score two goals – one from a ball played in front of you and behind the centre halves – the second from a ball played to your feet in an area where you could attack the defender by running at him. Simplistic but perhaps illustrative.

 

So .... would you feel deflated, unappreciated, pissed off ? Would you feel as if the system was almost conspiring against you ? It is designed in such a way that your effectiveness is being reduced to a fraction of what it could be, and has been, when utilised properly. There is an element of that which is soul destroying. You lose belief in the system, in the manager, in your team mates, in the fact that you’ll ever get a chance in front of goal again !!

What is the point ?

Edited December 30, 2010 by Ste Mc

[BatChainPuller]

It's really quite pathetic, they have one opinion and share it amongst themselves.

 

Code is spot on by the way.

 

Poor old Roy's get out of jail free card isn't performing - let's get the excuses in place asap.

[Guest ShoePiss]

Surely it must be time for a Rafa thread to pop up. Torres being shit for ages has been blown out of the water so maybe try that as a deflecting tactic?

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

It has been said on more than one occasion that Torres attitude has not been what it could, and should, be. That might well be true and might well be legitimate criticism. However, I do feel compelled to defend him somewhat - particularly after watching whatever that was that we saw tonight.

 

Put yourself in his shoes for a moment.

 

You’re one of the brightest stars in the game and have the good fortune to play in a Spanish side in which you’re surrounded by talented and intelligent footballers. From that perspective your club team mates will almost always be a step down but that is probably true of many international sides – they are by definition the finest players in their respective countries.

 

Nevertheless, you are at a club where you are worshipped by the fans because you have, over the course of a few seasons, despite injuries, been undeniably prolific as a goalscorer. Your record speaks for itself. If you are given chances, you score goals.

 

At present, you are playing in a side that provides little or no service to you. You are also being played in a completely different system than the one which has seen you be so successful. Rather than the game being played high up the pitch in the opponent’s half allowing you to make runs in behind and off the shoulder of the last man with the ball in front of you or at your feet; you are now expected to be a ‘hold-up’ striker. The ball is invariably played up to you from a distance, you are isolated. Often the ball is played into a channel more in hope than expectation and you are frequently expected to compete aerially with bruising centre-halves who relish the opportunity to physically impose themselves on you rather than you run at them with the ball at your feet or, god forbid, played in front of you. Even if you win the ball in the air – you’re extremely unlikely to have a midfielder making a run beyond you to collect the knock down and so your victory is largely pyrrhic.

 

In effect, you’re in the same boat as Meireles when he’s shunted out to the right. You are being played out of position. You might still be playing ‘up-front’ or ‘centre-forward’ but you are being asked to play a completely different game to your natural game and a completely different game than the one which has seen you score so many goals. What’s more – it is a type of game for which you’re not physically suited. You are the Kevin Phillips, not the Niall Quinn, the Keegan and not the Toshack. Rather than defenders be worried about you, they’re delighted to have the opportunity to run you into dead end channels, kick lumps of you and watch you grow increasingly frustrated.

 

Take two examples : tonight’s game saw the grand total of ZERO chances come your way. Chelsea at Anfield saw you score two goals – one from a ball played in front of you and behind the centre halves – the second from a ball played to your feet in an area where you could attack the defender by running at him. Simplistic but perhaps illustrative.

 

So .... would you feel deflated, unappreciated, pissed off ? Would you feel as if the system was almost conspiring against you ? It is designed in such a way that your effectiveness is being reduced to a fraction of what it could be, and has been, when utilised properly. There is an element of that which is soul destroying. You lose belief in the system, in the manager, in your team mates, in the fact that you’ll ever get a chance in front of goal again !!

What is the point ?

 

I agree with most of the reasoning from you and Code. The point however, is still to make it show that you care and that you try. To work your socks off, to track back, to chase bad passes, to actually win a 50/50 header, to not moan at the referee every fucking time you lose the ball. By doing this your team mates, the supporters and maybe even the ref will reward you with some positive reactions back. This is not easy to do, see reasons in the menitioned posts, and I'm not saying Torres should be expected to do it. But I will say that this is what it takes to take the step from being a modern day superstar into becoming a true Liverpool legend. The same discussions were being made about Gerrard a few years ago. He settled, made his mind up and made the step. What Torres will do remains to be seen.

[Lee909]

Torres needs players around him. Torres needs to have the ball at his feet and a defender in front of him.

 

Torres also needs to put in a shift and press defenders like Sylvain Ebanks-Blake.

 

I dont think Hodgson wants the team pressing.

As soon as we loose the ball we drop 20 yards back as a team.

Its one of the things Rafa did have the team doing well for a couple of years

[ngogswilly]

Surely it must be time for a Rafa thread to pop up. Torres being shit for ages has been blown out of the water so maybe try that as a deflecting tactic?

 

I'm fully expecting a few new posters with about 10-30 posts with names like Robbo8 and Jamesy7 to start conveniently dragging up Benitez threads calling him a cunt and also don't forget the good old calling Hodgson a cunt posts for good measure.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

I dont think Hodgson wants the team pressing.

As soon as we loose the ball we drop 20 yards back as a team.

Its one of the things Rafa did have the team doing well for a couple of years

 

This.