Not really. I was just stating a fact. I'm not putting him down or belittling his performances in those games in any way whatsoever, he was outstanding in both games. However, were it not for that mistake by Hart, he would not have got a goal in either of those two games where he played out of his skin. I say this not because I have anything against him, I don't at all, I love the guy, I say it because it's true. He didn't force Hart to make that mistake at all. Hart is just an idiot. Thankfully though that worked in our favour that time around.

So he was outstanding in both games and scored a goal and assisted a goal and hit the bar but your 'point' is if it wasn't for a mistake by Hart he wouldn't have scored? Hmmm. The thing is that he did score, he did get an assist, he did play well and he did almost score a stunner from a chance he carved out of nothing. These facts all take a dump on your 'point'

Of course he forced the error, had he not chased down the ball Hart wouldn't have felt impelled to run off his line. It was his presence, energy & composure that achieved the goal, he made it happen.

Like I said, I am not saying Torres will get the golden boot, not by any stretch, but the basis of your argument is pretty stupid.

Strangely, that's the kind of goal I love seeing strikers score, shows they are switched on and hungry even that late in the game.

Absolutely.

Reminded me of the sort of aggression he showed for the goal at OT for Liverpool when he robbed Vidic; it's the presence & energy of the striker that forces the defence into making these sort of mistakes.

Of course he forced the error, had he not chased down the ball Hart wouldn't have felt impelled to run off his line. It was his presence, energy & composure that achieved the goal, he made it happen.

 

This. Torres doesn't make that run and we draw the game. Torres had everything to do with the mistake Hart made.

Edited November 2, 201312 yr by Stim

I have been out in Espana for a week and watched the Man City game in a bar with Citeh fans in attendance. The most telling change for me about Torres is in his mentality and that was illustrated perfectly by the early miss. It was a gift of a chance and he fluffed it. Now, for the past two and a half years that miss would have killed the old, mentally weak Torres and and seen him disappear into his shell for the rest of the match. But not now. He simply shrugged it off and got on with the game. In fact it seemed to galvanize him even more to have a positive impact. That tells me he has regained two things he appeared to have lost a good while ago, self-belief and determination. The way he chased down the ball, a seemingly lost cause, for the winner was a prime example.

 

There are other strikers in the league who are out-scoring him; Aguero, Sturridge, Suarez. But at the moment I don't particularly care because we are beginning to see a rejuvanated Torres. And if he can maintain his mental strength, the self-belief and determination should continue and the goals, I believe, will come.

So he was outstanding in both games and scored a goal and assisted a goal and hit the bar but your 'point' is if it wasn't for a mistake by Hart he wouldn't have scored? Hmmm. The thing is that he did score, he did get an assist, he did play well and he did almost score a stunner from a chance he carved out of nothing. These facts all take a dump on your 'point'

Of course he forced the error, had he not chased down the ball Hart wouldn't have felt impelled to run off his line. It was his presence, energy & composure that achieved the goal, he made it happen.

Like I said, I am not saying Torres will get the golden boot, not by any stretch, but the basis of your argument is pretty stupid.

Sorry, I disagree. From what I saw, Hart had absolutely no need to come off his line like that. That City defender whose name I can never remember had it covered, he nodded the ball towards Hart and all Hart had to do was catch it, but inexplicably he came off his line and ended up colliding with the ball, allowing it to bounce past him and for Torres to move past him and score. It was entirely Hart's fault which is why City have finally dropped him.

 

Like I said, brilliant for us, and I would never put down Torres's performances, I think he's been magnificent for us lately, and it's all very promising. I was just pointing out that he has been outstanding against Spurs and City yet in those two games scored one goal that was entirely down to a ridiculous error. I don't believe he forced it at all, but of course others may disagree with me. In any case he certainly deserved the goal.

 

It's not important now, anyway. We got the three points and Torres is working hard for the team whether he's scoring or not.  Even today he worked like a horse, he just wasn't getting the service.

Edited November 2, 201312 yr by TorresBlue9

Thigh injury now out for Schalke and probably West Brom too. 

What a strange feeling I have,gutted Torres is injured.

He was awful against Newcastle, but then so was almost every player. Hope this injury doesn't end his 'purple patch'.

He was awful against Newcastle, but then so was almost every player. Hope this injury doesn't end his 'purple patch'.

He was not awful against Newcastle, he had probably 2/3 half chances, you cannot blame a striker when the rest of the team fail.

He was not awful against Newcastle, he had probably 2/3 half chances, you cannot blame a striker when the rest of the team fail.

 

I agree, i don't actually know what else Torres could have done against Newcastle. Not a single one of our players even tried to get the ball to him in any dangerous area throughout the whole match. If nobody is going to pass to you what else are you supposed to do ? we can't expect him to pick it up himself from the halfway line and run past every player himself. In the games where he has performed at his best this season is when we have gotten the ball to him quick in dangerous area's, if we carry on doing that we will see a much more consistent player.

Torres was probably one of our best players last Saturday, but sadly that isn't saying much. He was trying, he just wasn't getting any decent service cos our midfield just looked disinterested and I wanted to go out there and boot Luiz up the a**e.

 

I'm disappointed Torres is injured. I'll be at the game Saturday and would have liked to have watched him newly in form at the Bridge. Still, Eto'o or Ba now have the chance to make a decent impression and let's hope that one of them does cos we desperately need a lift after that shambles.

 

Something I would like to point out about Torres, just an observation- could it be that playing well affects his physical being? I know that sounds really strange, it's just he was consistently brilliant at Liverpool for two and a half seasons and spent every couple of months out with a hamstring injury or suchlike. He's been really poor for us most of his time here but he's never picked up an injury. Now he's been playing like the old Torres again and hitting some brilliant form of late and since he has, he's suffered two injuries.

 

Like I said, just something I have picked up on, but it might be worth thinking about.

Something I would like to point out about Torres, just an observation- could it be that playing well affects his physical being? I know that sounds really strange, it's just he was consistently brilliant at Liverpool for two and a half seasons and spent every couple of months out with a hamstring injury or suchlike. He's been really poor for us most of his time here but he's never picked up an injury. Now he's been playing like the old Torres again and hitting some brilliant form of late and since he has, he's suffered two injuries.

 

Like I said, just something I have picked up on, but it might be worth thinking about.

At LFC once he got hurt he was screwed by the injury bug - he'd get hurt, come back too quickly, get hurt again, come back too quickly again.  It was a cycle that never ended because LFC was so dependent on him and Gerrard to score.  Throw in the rush to get healthy for the WC and the cycle never ended.  CFC doesn't have the same reliance on him.  Maybe he came back too quickly from the knee injury which resulted in him over-compensating and causing another injury or maybe.........he has absolutely no luck at all.  At least the Intl break is coming and that will help him recover.  Hopefully he comes back in Man City form.

At LFC once he got hurt he was screwed by the injury bug - he'd get hurt, come back too quickly, get hurt again, come back too quickly again.  It was a cycle that never ended because LFC was so dependent on him and Gerrard to score.  Throw in the rush to get healthy for the WC and the cycle never ended.  CFC doesn't have the same reliance on him.  Maybe he came back too quickly from the knee injury which resulted in him over-compensating and causing another injury or maybe.........he has absolutely no luck at all.  At least the Intl break is coming and that will help him recover.  Hopefully he comes back in Man City form.

That is true. I hope that is the explanation. Ba and Eto'o, particularly Eto'o, have made a statement tonight, though. Those goals will have given them confidence and Eto'o played well.

 

Torres will likely miss the weekend game too so it's yet another chance for one of those two to stake their claim. Torres could possibly have another fight on his hands should Eto'o or Ba score again at the weekend.

Torres, Eto'o, Ba? At the moment it is all good IMO. Newcastle game aside, for the first time in a long time we have strikers actually looking like strikers. Working hard, mobile and threatening. Hopefully it continues and competition for the starting spot galvanizes them further.

As such, and whilst I accept no-one has yet firmly nailed down the centre-forward position as their own, it is not currently the huge concern it was.

The David Luiz conumdrum, using Lampard as a starting holding midfielder, and the left back spot are more pressing issues now.

I'd give Eto'o the nod. I think he can do things on the pitch that the others cant and seems to link up well with the rest of the team.

No posts here for a couple of days.

I'm getting withdrawal symptoms.

Hope our man is back soon.

The game was very disappointing yesterday. I couldn't see the penalty incident from where I was sat in the Shed Upper but looking at it on MOTD I definitely think it was a harsh decision if I'm going to be unbiased. We were very lucky to get a draw there, and by the 80th minute I would have taken one just to save our blushes.

 

Dismal stuff, really, to match the weather. Found myself wishing Torres was playing cos I'm pretty sure in the form he was in he could have bagged a couple for us yesterday.

I hope Nando is back in the squad for West Ham. He will have fire in his belly after another set back to what has been his best season for us yet. 

 

Eto'o played well Saturday but regardless, it is Nando's 'turn'. 

I hope Nando is back in the squad for West Ham. He will have fire in his belly after another set back to what has been his best season for us yet. 

 

Eto'o played well Saturday but regardless, it is Nando's 'turn'. 

Well Torres got the nod a lot over Eto'o and Ba, so maybe not so much his turn but I do think he will get started when he is back fit.

 

Plus, I'll bet Eto'o and Ba were privately thrilled Torres got injured. Not in a nasty way, cos we are all a team etc but they probably saw this as a perfect opportunity to get a chance to shine. With Torres in form and starting/playing most games the full 90 recently, both of those players saw the bench more than anything else, and they were likely getting a little fed up of playing second fiddle. Any player who says they love the competition is lying, I reckon. All three of these strikers want to be number one, and they'd take any opportunity to be so.

im sure Torres will be back, but you cant argue with eto'os goal scoring record. he's hitting the back of the net regularly, even if it is a result of defender/keeper errors. i think torres has got a fight on his hands, personally

Do you think? For some reason I think he'll just be right back in the starting line up soon as he's fit, regardless of how well Eto'o is playing or how many goals he's banging in. I don't know why. Just a feeling I have.

It's a good feeling to have, knowing that all three strikers are not completely useless.

The only danger is that the club might deem any of them good enough to keep on next season.

I dont think players should get "turns" apart from in the League cup. Players should fight and earn their spot in the team. Eto'o has done that since Torres has been out. Dropping him because Torres is fit again is just wrong imo. For far too long at Chelsea players have been picked because of price tag or name. We now have a squad good enough to make players fight for their spot in the starting 11.

That is what's good about the striker situation this season, they are all much of a muchness, as long as the keep popping up with the goals

I do not mind who has the the shirt this season.

Next season will be a entirely different matter.