Don't bet on Torres



I have a say

Posted Monday, September 20, 2010 by The Sun

Don't bet on Torres

IT hasn't been the greatest eight days for Fernando Torres.

After last Sunday's scrambled goalless draw at Birmingham, Jamie Redknapp described the Liverpool striker as being variously 'diabolical, 'frustrated', 'sloppy' and 'lethargic'.

And, for good measure, 'showing no appetite for the game'.

It was some coating. Then, again, we always complain that former footballers are anodyne, hiding behind generalisations and never having anything to say - especially when asked to comment on players at former clubs.

And then we came to yesterday.

It was certainly no day for an out-of-touch Torres to be compared with the high-flying Dimitar Berbatov.

Even more so when the Bulgarian took his season's league tally to six in five games with the first Manchester United hat-trick against Liverpool since Stan Pearson 64 years ago.

Pearson, incidentally, ended up a sub-postmaster in the modern-day millionaire footballers' enclave of Prestbury.

Berbatov's hat-trick included two bullet headers and a beautifully-judged overhead-kick that went in off the underside of the bar.

Even worse for Torres, the first of the headers came when he was supposed to be marking his opposite number at a corner.

In fact, Torres had both arms wrapped round Berbatov as the ball came in, only to notice referee Howard Webb was watching closely.

He then relaxed his grip, the Bulgarian momentarily broke free - and the ball was in the net.

Yet, by the end, you couldn't help but feel sorry for the Spaniard.

United got the win they deserved with Berbatov's third six minutes from time after Liverpool had come back from 2-0 down.

While the United No 9 continued to be mobbed by team-mates, Torres stood on the centre circle, hands on hips, his right foot resting on top of a match ball that would soon be on Berbatov's mantelpiece.

Considering everything, Torres hadn't done quite as badly as some were claiming.

He had won the 63rd-minute penalty that had put Liverpool back in contention and then earned the free-kick five minutes later from which Steven Gerrard squared the match.

On another day (though not the World Cup Final), Howard Webb might even have sent off John O'Shea when, as the last defender, the Irishman sent Torres spinning to the ground.

Needless to say, there were a fair number in the ground - including United boss Alex Ferguson - who claimed Torres had dived.

Then, again, Ferguson also claimed United could have won by 10. A slight exaggeration even by his standards of hyperbole.

For Torres, at least, it was a considerable improvement on the previous weekend. And it has to get better game by game.

But you can't really see him being at Liverpool beyond the summer - especially with the planned refinancing of the club's ?82million debt unlikely to produce fresh funds for transfers.

Even without it, there seems little to keep Torres at Anfield.

The Spaniard must have looked at the support available to Berbatov and wept. He had Ryan Giggs on one flank and Nani on the other. They, in turn, were supported by Patrice Evra and O'Shea.

Then there was Wayne Rooney tucked in just behind him.

If you can't find the target with that sort of ammunition available to you, you might as well go home to Blagoevgrad.

And what did Torres have? Apart from isolation?

In the absence of injured Dirk Kuyt, the game but withdrawn Raul Meireles was 20 yards adrift with a four-man midfield even further back.

Yes, Liverpool enjoyed a fair amount of possession at times but never looked like hurting United.

Until manager Roy Hodgson finally sent on David Ngog for Maxi Rodriguez in the 62nd minute.

It was no coincidence they scored twice in the next seven minutes. In the end, even that was to no avail.

It hasn't been the best 12 months for Torres, what with a series of injuries last season and a disappointing World Cup that saw him play just 24 minutes in the semi-final and final in South Africa.

Despite all that, he still managed 18 league goals last season to give him a phenomenal aggregate of 57 in 73 starts at Anfield - against 27 in 58 for Berbatov at Old Trafford.

If he looks a bit jaded, are we surprised?

At just 26, he has already played 446 games, most of them as a lone striker. Compare this with Didier Drogba's 507 at 32 and Berbatov's 535 at 29.

This season Torres has just one goal in six games, though with the Liverpool team going through another of its rebuilding phases this is scarcely a surprise, either.

Hodgson admitted: "He needs more games and time in training. There is no doubt he was a lot better than last week but he is still not firing on all cylinders."

Rafa Benitez may have left Torres and Pepe Reina as a legacy at Anfield but not much more.

The club now lie fifth bottom of the Premier League, their only source of comfort Everton's presence one off the foot of the table.

They need goals from Torres like never before. And he requires the same level of support.



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