Forget Clattenburg, Robin van Persie made as much difference during Manchester United’s 3-2 victory at our place recently.

As Torres laboured, the Dutchman who cost half the £50million we shelled out, was a constant threat - as he has been all season.

Even when he fails to hit the onion bag Fergie has Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck to rely on to provide a goal.

In contrast, our only other forward option is Daniel Sturridge

.

It was even more apparent, that before the Liverpool game kicked off, Manchester City showed what wealth of talent they have at their disposal up front once again with Sergio Aguero and super sub Edin Dzeko securing a late comeback win against Tottenham.

Carlos Tevez played, while Mario Balotelli was left in the stands!

So it made the performance from Torres, so typical not only against his former club but from the first time he pulled on a Chelsea shirt, all the more disconcerting. On occasions he looked pumped up and dangerous but, tellingly, there was no end product.

Given we rely so heavily on Mata, Oscar and Hazard to create and take chances and from the likes of Cahill and Terry at set pieces to give us more goals than we continue to concede, you have to think 'burn out' will come with the Christmas period and World Club matches coming up.

As our system has only room for one striker, unlike City and United - three not four strikers of that calibre are required.

I would recall Lukaku for a start and then make five bold moves in the January transfer market. TWO strikers IN - TWO OUT

and sign a player that if needed can let us play the system Spain played when they won EURO 2012 or give our three stars a rest

now and then.

Willian is open to a move to the Premiership and his performance against us against Shaktar reminded me of Aquero's in Madrid

before Man City beat us to the punch. He would be my final piece of the midfield jigsaw.

It looks clear Lampard and Cole are off in the summer, we are losing experience rapidly in such as short space of time but as

financial fair play goes are shaving shedloads in wages.

Drogba (How we miss the big fella), Anelka, Alex, Kalou, hopefully Malouda as well - all the biggest earners of the budget.

I would sign Falcao at the drop of a hat and Torres, who once said two years into his Liverpool contract he "Will return in the

later stages of his career to his hometown club" would jump at the chance to rejoin Athletico in part exchange and I am even

more convinced Athletico would soften the blow by thinking the same to please their own fans who are the most passionate

of people.

Danny Sturridge for me, has got too big for his boots and has not developed into the player his loan spell at Bolton led

many of us to believe. He can go with my blessing in January wherever his ego decides.

The otther striker signing, well Cavani has to be in discussions here, proven over a few seasons in Italy and Robbie

might just need a fellow countryman to keep the knives away or Guardiola off Roman's mind in the summer.

Edited November 12, 201213 yr by Star

Torres as part of the deal for Falcao would benefit us all, even himself.

Would Atl. Madrid be up for it though? in other news Torres staying as back up to our new striker coming in wouldnt be bad at all.

It's not as easy as Falcao swap for Torres.

Torres is on a far bigger wage than Falcao and with Atletico in the financial mire they simply can't afford Torres unless he takes a wage cut of almost half.

They are almost certain to keep the striker untill the Summer as they are 2nd in La Liga and a top 4 finish this summer nets them a near £20 million with CL football, it make much more sense to hold on to him till then.

Cannot fault what you say much. Can only add that we need an alternative to Mikel and Ramires in that pivot role.

It's not as easy as Falcao swap for Torres.

Torres is on a far bigger wage than Falcao and with Atletico in the financial mire they simply can't afford Torres unless he takes a wage cut of almost half.

They are almost certain to keep the striker untill the Summer as they are 2nd in La Liga and a top 4 finish this summer nets them a near £20 million with CL football, it make much more sense to hold on to him till then.

I have a feeling Torres would take some cut.

I have a feeling Torres would take some cut.

I'd hope so because £175 grand or whatever crazy amount it is would be mental for a club to pay especially when it's in the red like Atletico.

Hopefully he has made enough money to take a cut and enjoy playing again but you never know, I still think we wont get Falcao as that time went and gone (AVB).

Valid points and some great ideas, Star... Torres swap for Falcao, plus cash to assist in his salary could be a game changer for Atletico. And lets not forget their keeper is ours so we could dangle that in front of them like the carrot in front of the donkey. Not permanently though, just lend him out a little longer where he seems to be enjoying himself.

Sturridge for me is as good as gone... Had really high hopes for him but clearly his attitude/ego seem to overshadow his ability. I would give him a run of matches up top though to see what he could do. He's been crying about it for a while so maybe that opportunity would do justice. Either he shines and says I told you so or he stinks it up and his ego is knocked down a notch. Either way, the club and the player would know where they stand...

Willian wouldn't come cheap, especially now but could prove to be a good pick up... So wished we were able to get Modric because I think he would've answered all of our midfield issues (not that there are so many)... Whatever happened to Modric? Does he even play for Madrid? Such a shame but glad he's not on Spurs anymore so... Fellaini could be a great signing but at a high price. I hope it doesn't happen but I think he is going to get nicked by Utd... If they do, the league will be there's easily, even with Rio on the backline...

Edited November 12, 201213 yr by DoubleHelix74

I'd hope so because £175 grand or whatever crazy amount it is would be mental for a club to pay especially when it's in the red like Atletico.

Hopefully he has made enough money to take a cut and enjoy playing again but you never know, I still think we wont get Falcao as that time went and gone (AVB).

I agree which is why I think we will se Pep next year unless we win CL or the PL which is looking unlikely right now however after last year anything is possible, but would it require a managerial change again or something else to apply the kick up the ass.

I agree which is why I think we will se Pep next year unless we win CL or the PL which is looking unlikely right now however after last year anything is possible, but would it require a managerial change again or something else to apply the kick up the ass.

Not sure.

Robbie deserves his chance and sacking again after such little time could ruin the team spirit we have.

I'm not sure Pep would come or wants to come, he would face the same problems if he was here too (No striker to score 30 goals a season). I pretty much assume it was RA who said Torres was to be the main man and thats why no back up was brought in so I cant blame Robbie there.

Hopefully we get options in Jan and Robbie can show how good a manager he is then.

Not sure.

Robbie deserves his chance and sacking again after such little time could ruin the team spirit we have.

I'm not sure Pep would come or wants to come, he would face the same problems if he was here too (No striker to score 30 goals a season). I pretty much assume it was RA who said Torres was to be the main man and thats why no back up was brought in so I cant blame Robbie there.

Hopefully we get options in Jan and Robbie can show how good a manager he is then.

I really do hope so. Be nice if we fixed it before then, I'm not a total doom and gloom merchant always watch the games hoping.

Torres plus cash for Falcao would be awesome. I like Torres but his hesitance and overrunning of the ball is getting the better of my patience. There are probably at least 10 occasions this season when Torres could have scored that a player like Falcao would have scored. Torres link up play is good but so is Falcao's.

Malouda should go.

Cole should be given a 2 year deal.

A 3rd striker is necessary in my opinion. A lot of people disagreed with me at the beginning of the season when I said we should get Ba in. It would have been a good signing. Even though we only play 1 up front we need some depth for when Torres gets injured. And we'd only need them for 1 or 2 seasons as Lukaku should be vying for a pot in the first team by then. I'd go for someone like Kerzhakov, Ba, Odemwingie. I'm amending this slightly as Huntelaar is a realistic buy and quality player. In 2 years our strikers would ideally be Torres/Falcao, Lukaku, Huntelaar and maybe Sturridge.

Edited November 12, 201213 yr by CunningStunt

The two in two out striker change in January won't happen as it will leave us totally hamstringed for the Champions League. If we could beat the others in the race to get Falcao in January we would certainly need to keep one of Torres or Sturridge until the summer. If we could persuade Madrid to take Torres as part payment for Falcao and keep Sturridge then I would be delighted with that.

The two in two out striker change in January won't happen as it will leave us totally hamstringed for the Champions League. If we could beat the others in the race to get Falcao in January we would certainly need to keep one of Torres or Sturridge until the summer. If we could persuade Madrid to take Torres as part payment for Falcao and keep Sturridge then I would be delighted with that.

We would also need Torres to agree to a severe wage cut.

Maybe a loan with an option to buy could be the answer?

Edited November 12, 201213 yr by RFC_CFC

Fair point there Loz.

I'm kinda thinking that the Premiership Title is key to Robbie keeping Guardiola away from Roman's clutches though.

Fair point there Loz.

I'm kinda thinking that the Premiership Title is key to Robbie keeping Guardiola away from Roman's clutches though.

To be honest it should be however Roman, not Robbie, probably calls the shots when it comes to priorities and I doubt Roman will allow a transfer policy which is detrimental to our CL chances.

To be honest it should be however Roman, not Robbie, probably calls the shots when it comes to priorities and I doubt Roman will allow a transfer policy which is detrimental to our CL chances.

Im not so sure. I think it would be far too short sighted not to sign a player in Jan just because he would be cup tied in the CL for the rest of the campaign. After all we could just be talking about 2 matches couldn't we ?

A big signing in Jan would likely be on a 4 and a half/5 year contract - we need to be looking ahead to the future not just the remainder of the season. If it means we go into a Champions League knockout tie short of options up front and without a new big striker signing but have him available for another 4 years in my view its not even a debate. We'd have to make do as we have to look long term. Basically i wouldn't want to us not to sign a player because we couldn't play him in some upcoming knock out ties in which there is no assurance of progression.

Would the club be so short sighted ? I hope not but who knows....

Edited November 12, 201213 yr by bjd

BJD

I am not saying we shouldn't sign someone, what I meant was that I doubt we would let two go and replace with two in January as chances are the two we bring in would be cup tied for the CL.

We certainl should bring someone in in January.

BJD

I am not saying we shouldn't sign someone, what I meant was that I doubt we would let two go and replace with two in January as chances are the two we bring in would be cup tied for the CL.

We certainl should bring someone in in January.

erm yeah, thats exactly what you were saying wasnt it ? sorry, I should read posts properly

http://youtu.be/4aTENOX8VRM

We are now at the end of November and with about 6 weeks and 12 meaningful games to go I would have thought the groundwork would have been laid for any January signings rather than a late knee jerk reaction at the 11th hour, which by the way would have seen another 4 weeks and another 4 games gone by the wayside by which time we could be either in all competitions or hanging by a thread for 4th spot, hopefully not the latter. Another striker is crucial and another world class CDM would be my choice but any deal would have to be done at the begining of the transfer window not the end....no need to spend stupid money I am sure we could get someone like Lorenzo Insigne he has a decent goalscoring record in Serie B on loan and went back to Napoli this season, he has been picked by Italy...just throwing it out there..

Edited November 12, 201213 yr by CFCCAN

Torres as part of the deal for Falcao would benefit us all, even himself.

Would Atl. Madrid be up for it though? in other news Torres staying as back up to our new striker coming in wouldnt be bad at all.

I agree n I think Atl would go for it but we'd probably still have to had over £30 mill + to that, I don't know how that would work. However, I do feel we need to get Falcao in pretty much at all costs. I also think just as much we need a real quality defensive midfielder too.

http://youtu.be/4aTENOX8VRM

We are now at the end of November and with about 6 weeks and 12 meaningful games to go I would have thought the groundwork would have been laid for any January signings rather than a late knee jerk reaction at the 11th hour, which by the way would have seen another 4 weeks and another 4 games gone by the wayside by which time we could be either on with ahttp://youtu.be/4aTENOX8VRM shout in all competitions or hanging by a thread for 4th spot, hopefully not the latter. Another striker is crucial and another world class CDM would be my choice but any deal would have to be done at the begining of the transfer window not the end....no need to spend stupid money I am sure we could get someone like Lorenzo Insigne he has a decent goalscoring record in Serie B on loan and went back to Napoli this season, he has been picked by Italy...just throwing it out there..

He looks like a fantastic player. It's young talents like that that we should invest more money in for the future.

Edited November 12, 201213 yr by omnidroid70

http://youtu.be/4aTENOX8VRM

We are now at the end of November and with about 6 weeks and 12 meaningful games to go I would have thought the groundwork would have been laid for any January signings rather than a late knee jerk reaction at the 11th hour, which by the way would have seen another 4 weeks and another 4 games gone by the wayside by which time we could be either in all competitions or hanging by a thread for 4th spot, hopefully not the latter. Another striker is crucial and another world class CDM would be my choice but any deal would have to be done at the begining of the transfer window not the end....no need to spend stupid money I am sure we could get someone like Lorenzo Insigne he has a decent goalscoring record in Serie B on loan and went back to Napoli this season, he has been picked by Italy...just throwing it out there..

He looks like a fantastic player. It's young talents like that that we should invest more money in for the future.

Don't be fooled, these videos are made to make a player look amazing. Yes he looks decent, and his goals look great, but he needs to prove himself at the top level before i am convinced.

Yeah I agree that he needs to prove himself, if he has been called up for Italy then it sounds like a good place to show off!

I doubt Falcao will join us in January I think maybe in the summer. Athletico are 2nd in the table and if they qualify for the CL I wouldn't be surprised if Falcao stays for another season

Don't be fooled, these videos are made to make a player look amazing. Yes he looks decent, and his goals look great, but he needs to prove himself at the top level before i am convinced.

Simply trying to suggest that there are other options out there that are far cheaper than Falcao and we need to look at all options. I'm sure anybody can compile a video of goals or moves....boy you should see the one of Torres..would make you want to sign him up..