He changed the game against Fulham and put in a good performance against Swindon, he deserves a start in a big game and I hope he does.

I think last night was the best i have ever seen him play for us. Which for me is a worry. IF he can still perform to the level he did last night then why hasnt he bothered for the last 2 years? Is it the Jose effect? Only Torres knows. I hope he can keep up the level he played at last night. Only time will tell.

Torres played very well last night but watching him beat up on the little kids again doesn't make me come anymore.

 

Personally I wouldn't have him anywhere near the starting line up for such a massive game as the y*ds, but I would definately give him a game next week against Steaua Bucharest.

In fairness to him he also played very well against Munich, If you are going to praise players for the performance last night and say they deserve a shot in the first team based on it you need to apply it to Torres. Never been a Torres supporter but his performances merrit a start in the prem

He played well against Munich Barak but did fade signifcantly in the 2nd half, no disgrace there though as he was quite isolated for much of that time. He looked good against Swindon but you have to factor in the quality of the defenders he was up against.

 

Essien was the real plus for me last night. We all know what he was, an absolute beast of a player in his pomp but one we thought was finished by serious injuries. The combination of his positioning, his tackling, his sheer physicallity and his drive through the middle is something we have sorely missed. If Jose can get him match fit and he stays injury free, he could well be invaluable this season.

Edited September 25, 201312 yr by just

Personally I think Torres has been one of the better players in the team in all three games he has started this season, he also had a positive impact on the Fulham game when he came on as sub. 

 

I don't think he is going to suddenly start scoring freely but I do feel he is our best performing forward right now so deserves a start against Spurs based on that. 

Personally I think Torres has been one of the better players in the team in all three games he has started this season, he also had a positive impact on the Fulham game when he came on as sub. 

 

I don't think he is going to suddenly start scoring freely but I do feel he is our best performing forward right now so deserves a start against Spurs based on that. 

 

I dunno. You might be right FC but haven't we been fooled too many times before? Has a little spell where he looks like he is getting his act together but then stick him in for a big, vitally important league game and he disappears once more. I dont think I can take anymore Fernando let-downs. Especially against that mob on Saturday.

 

Incidentally, on a different note, I also thought Demba Ba looked very sharp for the time he was on last night.

I dunno. You might be right FC but haven't we been fooled too many times before? Has a little spell where he looks like he is getting his act together but then stick him in for a big, vitally important league game and he disappears once more. I dont think I can take anymore Fernando let-downs. Especially against that mob on Saturday.

 

Incidentally, on a different note, I also thought Demba Ba looked very sharp for the time he was on last night.

 

Thing is, Eto'o has been allowed a run of three games on the bounce to come up with the goods up front. As sharp as he has looked at times, he has yet to significantly contribute (for me).

 

Torres has had three starts spread out over our 8 games so far and has 2 goals and an assist to his name.

 

Is it another false dawn in Torres Chelsea career? Probably. But the truth is he has earning his place in the team at the moment, something he hasn't done for large parts of his time with us, he can start against Spurs and if he really does play poorly we'll have Ba or Eto'o available to replace him. 

 

Jose isn't judging Mata on his past glories for the team so I doubt he is going to judge Torres on his past failings. Based on form Torres should play. 

Torres has also been here for nearly 3 years now, i'd still prefer to start Eto'o.

 

Let's keep in mind he was playing Swindon too.

 

As for people saying he changed the Fulham game when he came on, are you sure that isn't because he came on just after Oscar scored and Fulham had to start coming out at us?

Torres is by far and away our best striker at the moment, which isn't saying much. But you can tell he really is trying to earn his place in the team now that Eto'o has arrived and has failed to impress thus far. I'm sure once he's shaken off "Russian football mode" he'll manage to score a few.

 

But for now Torres should be starting every game, and certainly against the Spuds.

Torres has also been here for nearly 3 years now, i'd still prefer to start Eto'o.

 

Let's keep in mind he was playing Swindon too.

 

As for people saying he changed the Fulham game when he came on, are you sure that isn't because he came on just after Oscar scored and Fulham had to start coming out at us?

 

As I've just said in my last post, Jose can't judge him on his Chelsea career prior to taking over the same way he isn't with Mata. 

 

Yes it was only Swindon but he was still our best player on the night and overshadowed the likes of KDB and Willian with contribution to the team. He can only beat what's in front of him and so far he has played well when picked from the start against Hull, Munich and Swindon.

 

I don't think he changed the game against Fulham but he certainly made life difficult for them following his introduction with smart movement and link up play, up to that point we looked a bit devoid of ideas in the final third. Could just be a coincidence things improved around the time he came on but we have generally been playing our best football with him on the pitch which can not be overlooked. 

As I've just said in my last post, Jose can't judge him on his Chelsea career prior to taking over the same way he isn't with Mata. 

 

Yes it was only Swindon but he was still our best player on the night and overshadowed the likes of KDB and Willian with contribution to the team. He can only beat what's in front of him and so far he has played well when picked from the start against Hull, Munich and Swindon.

 

I don't think he changed the game against Fulham but he certainly made life difficult for them following his introduction with smart movement and link up play, up to that point we looked a bit devoid of ideas in the final third. Could just be a coincidence things improved around the time he came on but we have generally been playing our best football with him on the pitch which can not be overlooked. 

 

I think to ignore the last few years would be ignorant on Jose's part. I don't think Torres so far this season has shown himself any better than he did under the FSW last season, that is that he is capable of playing well and scoring goals against 2nd rate defences with the occasional moment of brilliance overwhelmingly overshadowed by long periods of nothing.

 

Perhaps Torres has outplayed Eto'o so far this season, but the quicker we integrate Eto'o into the squad and get his match fitness to its peak, the better it will be for the team in the long run. Rotating him out of the squad isn't going to help him, and if we weren't going to give him a proper chance at being the first choice striker I have to wonder why we bothered getting him, particularly on a 1 year contract when he won't have all that much time to fit in.

 

Even if Torres is seen as the better option so far, we'll benefit in the long run by putting faith in Eto'o now.

I think to ignore the last few years would be ignorant on Jose's part. I don't think Torres so far this season has shown himself any better than he did under the FSW last season, that is that he is capable of playing well and scoring goals against 2nd rate defences with the occasional moment of brilliance overwhelmingly overshadowed by long periods of nothing.

 

Perhaps Torres has outplayed Eto'o so far this season, but the quicker we integrate Eto'o into the squad and get his match fitness to its peak, the better it will be for the team in the long run. Rotating him out of the squad isn't going to help him, and if we weren't going to give him a proper chance at being the first choice striker I have to wonder why we bothered getting him, particularly on a 1 year contract when he won't have all that much time to fit in.

 

Even if Torres is seen as the better option so far, we'll benefit in the long run by putting faith in Eto'o now.

 

And if Eto'o fails to produce the goods?

 

Suddenly you've rotated your most in form striker out of form. Torres, at the moment, is coming up with the goods and even though past evidence suggests it won't be sustained for a long period that's no reason to drop him in the hopes that a player who hasn't been playing in a top level league for 2 years now might just rediscover his form of yesterday.... In fact that is allowing Eto'o the benefit of a doubt that wouldn't be extended to Torres. 

 

I'm very much for picking your inform players and right now, that's Torres. If he a complete mare against Spurs and we look the worse for him being in the team then by all means I want him hauled off and replaced by Eto'o or Ba and to not start the next game following that.

And if Eto'o fails to produce the goods?

 

Suddenly you've rotated your most in form striker out of form. Torres, at the moment, is coming up with the goods and even though past evidence suggests it won't be sustained for a long period that's no reason to drop him in the hopes that a player who hasn't been playing in a top level league for 2 years now might just rediscover his form of yesterday.... In fact that is allowing Eto'o the benefit of a doubt that wouldn't be extended to Torres. 

 

I'm very much for picking your inform players and right now, that's Torres. If he a complete mare against Spurs and we look the worse for him being in the team then by all means I want him hauled off and replaced by Eto'o or Ba and to not start the next game following that.

 

I don't necessarily agree that Torres has been that much better than Eto'o so far, the games against Fulham and Everton we came up against two very defensive minded teams and I don't think Torres would have done any better than Eto'o did given the circumstances.

 

Anyway, my point is that it's been nearly 3 years and I feel like we've seen how good Torres is ever going to get again, we've only seen Eto'o for a few games and I think he definitely has the ability to exceed whatever level Torres can get to right now.

 

Obviously there is no certainty in this but we're not going to win sh*t with Torres as our main striker again so I feel like we don't have much to lose.

Torres is by far and away our best striker at the moment, which isn't saying much. But you can tell he really is trying to earn his place in the team now that Eto'o has arrived and has failed to impress thus far. I'm sure once he's shaken off "Russian football mode" he'll manage to score a few.

 

But for now Torres should be starting every game, and certainly against the Spuds.

 

Totally right.

 

Torres is the in form striker right now so has to start against Sp*rs. Eto (and Ba) on the bench and to throw on if Torres fails and/or we need goals.

I think to ignore the last few years would be ignorant on Jose's part. I don't think Torres so far this season has shown himself any better than he did under the FSW last season, that is that he is capable of playing well and scoring goals against 2nd rate defences with the occasional moment of brilliance overwhelmingly overshadowed by long periods of nothing.

 

Perhaps Torres has outplayed Eto'o so far this season, but the quicker we integrate Eto'o into the squad and get his match fitness to its peak, the better it will be for the team in the long run. Rotating him out of the squad isn't going to help him, and if we weren't going to give him a proper chance at being the first choice striker I have to wonder why we bothered getting him, particularly on a 1 year contract when he won't have all that much time to fit in.

 

Even if Torres is seen as the better option so far, we'll benefit in the long run by putting faith in Eto'o now.

 

Eto'o has been playing competitive football since the start of July, if he isn't match fit, then there is an issue. 

Our most in form striker, doesnt say a lot but he should start v Spurs.

I would have thought most fans had got onto how it works with Torres now. In Europe and the domestic cups he turns into Messi. In the league it just GETS messy.

Torres is the in-form striker?

Can we keep things in perspective?

 

Swindon are League One, and he's been a flat track bully since he's joined us, it's never meant much on the big stage.

 

Against Fulham he had fresh legs and they were knackered.

 

He played well in those games but please, come on people, Jose knows what he's doing, and Eto'o's in the side for a reason, he's just a much better striker, their movement is miles apart.

 

Eto'o will get better as well, as we see more of him.

 

We've been watching Torres for three years.

 

However the real point is this .. if there is an improvement in Nando, Jose gets lots of credit, his methods are working, he should keep employing them.

It's a tough one; I am slightly torn as to who should start against Spuds.

 

Based purely on the games this season I would say Torres is the in form striker. If you had never watched Eto'o or Torres play before and were basing it purely on this seasons games I am pretty sure everyone would say Torres was the more in form player if you are being honest with yourselves. He has scored a couple, one of which was a beauty against the current European Champions and put in a man of the match performance last night scoring and getting an assist, albeit against a league one side. Eto'o has shown decent movement, been involved in the games showing promise but ultimately has missed a host of good goal scoring opportunities when they have been presented to him.

 

The fact of the matter is that we have seen both strikers play before and with Torres we have been here so many times before. A run of semi decent games is always followed by run of games where he completely fails to turn up and it is usually in the big games against big opposition where this happens. I get the feeling Eto'o is going to score soon and when he does the potential is there that the goals could keep coming and on this basis I think he edges it for me. Torres deserves a start in the CL midweek and he is a lot more likely to turn up for that sort of game too.

It has to be Eto'o. In three average games he's still averaged more shots than Torres. Torres will be a good option on the bench but Eto'o only real criticism is that he's missing chances.

It has to be Eto'o. In three average games he's still averaged more shots than Torres. Torres will be a good option on the bench but Eto'o only real criticism is that he's missing chances.

Eto'o has three starts and no goals.

Torres has three starts and two goals.

Eto'o may have had more shots but he's not made them count. Torres has found the net and for me, that's why he starts.

Clinicalness is a poor predictor of performance, especially for a striker who last displayed some form before the global financial crisis.

Torres is the in-form striker?

Can we keep things in perspective?

 

Swindon are League One, and he's been a flat track bully since he's joined us, it's never meant much on the big stage.

 

Against Fulham he had fresh legs and they were knackered.

 

He played well in those games but please, come on people, Jose knows what he's doing, and Eto'o's in the side for a reason, he's just a much better striker, their movement is miles apart.

 

Eto'o will get better as well, as we see more of him.

 

We've been watching Torres for three years.

 

However the real point is this .. if there is an improvement in Nando, Jose gets lots of credit, his methods are working, he should keep employing them.

Even if you think eto is the better striker how do you come to the conclusion he is much better? From what i've seen of him so far in a chelsea shirt yer he has good movement but he still rarely gets any chances and when he does he has missed them so far. He doesn't really get involved in the link up play like torres so I struggle to understand how you keep popping up with this gem. I think your thinking your getting the same eto that was at inter and barca all those years ago.

It has to be Eto'o. In three average games he's still averaged more shots than Torres. Torres will be a good option on the bench but Eto'o only real criticism is that he's missing chances.

That's right guys it doesn't matter how many goals a striker scores it is the one who shoots more than should start 

Where did I say that?

Strikers that take lots of shots score lots of goals. That's common sense.

Scoring a goal in your previous game doesn't really help predict whether you'll have a good performance next time out, but it's easy to demonstrate that a striker who is consistently taking lots of shots- implying they are good at creating scoring opportunities for themselves- tends to score more goals.

You can look at any top goalscorer around the world and see they average over 3.5 shots per game. Torres, both now and through his Chelsea career, has struggled to average 2. Sure, he hit 3 against the might of Swindon Town, but forgive me for being a little cautious before declaring his 13, 467th comeback.

Edited September 25, 201312 yr by SydneyChelsea