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You don’t want to be Fernando Torres. No one wants to be him now. How would it feel to be him now? At the end of this month, he would complete 2 years at Chelsea. Almost everything around him has changed – managers, playing system, formations, players, competition – everything has changed, except him and his form.
We’ve had numerous false dawns since then and Chelsea fans stood by him. Ever since Drogba left, Torres’ form or the lack of it has really hurt us. Only 100 minutes of Demba Ba showed us what we were missing all along and ‘what could have been’ if Torres was on half-decent form or if we had another striker.
And every time we don’t win, it’s Fernando Torres. Sometimes it’s true and sometimes it’s easy. Yesterday, it was true and easy. On a night when a central defender has practically gifted away two goals, the blame was still on Torres.
The problem was not that he missed chances. The problem was that he didn’t create situations where chances could be created for him. His movement was not confident. There was no hunger in his movement. A confident striker hungry for goals wouldn’t move like he does. He simply going through the motions hoping for something to happen in his favour.
Demba Ba comes in for the last 10 minutes and manages two good headers, came close to a penalty shout and scored a perfectly legal goal but had it disallowed. As everyone noted, he had done more in 10 mins than what Torres did in 80 mins. That summed up yet another sad night for the Spaniard.
If we are done with Torres we should move on to the rest. At Stamford Bridge, against QPR, after we lost 1-0, there was a massive tirade from Chelsea fans against Rafa’s team selection and particularly his decision to rest Mata, Hazard and Ramires. Yesterday, he started them all. Still got slated because he picked Torres. No matter what happens, I think Benitez will lose.
It’s not like he’s a nobody. If anything, he’s far more qualified than Roberto di Matteo to manage this Chelsea team. But he’s still a non-starter for many. The bitter Chelsea fans are in a win-win situation. If the team wins they’re happy – praise Mata, Hazard, Luiz and Azpilicueta. If the team loses, they’re not happy but at least helps them to pile the pressure on Rafa Benitez. That’s why it’s a win-win for that lot.
Any Chelsea manager who doesn’t have the privilege of having Petr Cech on goal is going to have problems. In fact, we’ve playing in a well organised and seamless way that Turnbull hasn’t been that poor as we all expect him to be. Rafa has done a decent job of managing Cech’s absence.
Ivanovic, under no pressure whatsoever, chooses to gift away two, not one, goals in a semi final home game against Swansea, it’s not your night. When Mata, Oscar, Ramires & Luiz all have a poor game, it’s not your night.
Yes, things got better in the last 10 minutes. Any top team, trailing at home, would pull up their socks in the last 10 minutes. Ba helped us nicely. But still doesn’t take away the fact that Mata, Oscar, Ramires & Luiz all had a poor game until then and for some even after.
Typically, Rafa waited too long to make the changes. Reminded me of the Carlo days. Waiting for the 75th min mark to even think about making changes. But this was a game where I’d have loved to makes six changes, not just three. That’s how we collectively played.
There it is. A 0-2 defeat in the home leg of the Capital One Cup semi final. As horrible as it may sound, the final is still within our reach. We need a monstrous performance in the away leg from everyone concerned – players to manager. And it’s by no means an impossible result to win by a two goal difference at Swansea.
This season, amidst all the drama, at least two trophies were within our reach, of which capital one cup is one. It’s a shame that we’ve made it hard for ourselves. For the return leg, John Terry will be back. And Demba Ba would have become more permanent. So it’s all there to play for. If we can’t beat Swansea in a two-legged semi final, we surely don’t deserve to win the cup. I’m confident that we can turn this around. Lets hope for the best. KTBFFH!
Torres did not lose the match for you Blues, he just didn’t win it.
The match was lost by your defense, I see no criticism there. Ba is going to prove a real problem for any opposition.
well Torres has been poor with his positioning as to creating of chances for him and i think BA should have been brought on early to change the face of the attack.Mata had a bad game so as Luiz KTBFFH
In my own opinion Rafa lost that game for us by starting torres.
How did we go from a club targeting 7 titles to one clutching at straws?
After the champions league win, there was talk of a seismic shift in the architecture of the team, with emphasis on a barcelonaesque style team, built aroud the nimble feet of Oscar, Mata, Hazard and co. Nice as it sounded, we have seen several trophies pass us by because the team has failed.
The question is why?
In my opinion the sacking of RDM was the harbinger. You don’t achieve success overnight. The Barcas of this world did not emanate overnight. SAF success at Man U is the outcome of 25 years at the helm. Because we have decided to go for the quick-fix, we are also subject to impatience when results don’t go our way.
Torres is a big disappointment. IMO, he has lost the fire in his belly and its time to cut our losses. The fans have been so patient with him.
Rafa of course did not help the team yesterday with the very late changes. Yes, Torres’ confidence will be dented. But was it not worse than getting booed off after 80minutes of headless chicken type movement?
I pity him, I really do, but the time to move beyond el nino has come. Roman should splash again or recall Lukaku to assist Ba.
In conclusion, I think the final is still a possibility. The team just has to believe in itself.
Ktbffh
You know, I’m usually never happy when Chelsea players leave our club. The exceptions were Wayne Bridge, Ben Haim, and Bogarde. I even felt a bit sad when Boulahrouz and Germei left the club. I know that when Torres and Benyayoun leave I won’t really care. I feel sorry for Torres who was even more deadlier than van Persie when he was at his best. But now I don’t think he would be even first choice at teams like Swansea and Aston Villa. We have to move on.
if rafa is medically sound he must stop his rotational method and stop been tribalistic at expense of chelsea § fans
Well i will blame Torres & Benitez, why i will blame Torres is for he to been on the pitch for 80mins without making any effort to score and i blame Benitez for leaving him up to 80mins. If Torres would have score 1 or 2 goals for us, it would have been batter, 1-2,2-2, than 0-2. Well, Benitez and Torres again lost our game. Up bluez
Now i wish Chelsea should bought Neymar instate of Torres.
Character in a team is not about talking of stepping up. I think our players like to talk, and a lot at that too.
Ivanovic is a good defender who gets a lot of goals but sometimes he is prone to gaffes like last night. That is why Carlo and RDM always played him as a lateral defender. He lacks self confidence and that is what you get when he is faced with the ball at his feet. I have said it here on this blog before that, most of our players are not leaders. They lack character. Even David Luiz for all his talk, is no leader. He lacks composure when the situation demands cool heads. Mata is a naturally timid fellow, Oscar is tough but still too young to carry the whole team. Cos you see guys, when we are counter attacked, watch the players. Every players shirks responsibility. They all leave it to the next person to deal with the situation. In the end, no one takes charge it then invariably ends up as a goal against us. As for Fernando, i think we all know he is no good now. Not because he’s a bad footballer, but because he is just a mentally weak man.Isn’t even prepared to prove the journalists and doubters wrong. Torres gave up a long time ago.
I am sorry but some parts of this article are ludicrous. Rafa is making it easy for others to slate him, he started second strings, he starts a striker in a semi who is as likely to perform as a 109 year old man in bed.
Play his best players at their best positions and then the players take the responsibility. People give bull arguments many were saying if Mikel has made ivanos errors he wld hav been sent death threats. Seriously? That average guy who will never score, who is lucky to play for us is equal to the guy whos won us many a games being a def least the pool and napoli game? Get some perspective.
The problem is that we cant even score 1 goal at home against qpr and swansea. Have been saying it for months the guys putting on our shirt are cowards and shirkers, not to mention midgets. No. Spirit passion or fight I mean who teaches these donkeys how to shoot? Everytime they want to put in a curler no matter how far or close yes I m talking about Mata Oscar and hazard put your foot through spineless cowards. No matter what situation of the match the same pass pass and blocked curler. Do something else for a change.
As for rafa wait until the end of game to put anyone on no matter we are losing or winning or drawing or sleeping what kind of manager is that? Screw him and his love child if this carries on I think theyll both taste the boot this month. All in all shameful pathetic and despicable all round.
Don’t need to be sorry. We always agree to disagree. Apart from the love for Chelsea there’s hardly anything in common between us
On Torres, yes I’d not have started him. I don’t know if Rafa truly thought starting Torres would do any good for the team. For a short term manager like him, even if he’s selfish about his job or stint, he might want to go for solutions instead of experiments. Don’t know why he would start Torres. But then, I tend to wonder if the ‘Roman wants Rafa to start Torres’ rumours are true!
And why are we talking about Mikel here? Anyway, he made a bad pass and got driven away from twitter by Chelsea ‘fans’ with racial abuse. Death threats aren’t too far away. And yes, I regard Mikel very highly. Brilliant player.
This is a young team. The new core of the team is young. They haven’t been playing together for too long and even in that time there’s been enough drama to distract them. This team will learn. Because they lost a few games or even because they lost the opportunities of winning these cups, I wouldn’t call them cowards or shirkers. That’d be silly.
Rafa not reading the game well enough and not making the changes soon enough and not being able to positively influence the game is very disappointing and annoying though.
BC I swear I read somewhere you re a piscean. That makes atleast 2 common things
Anyways I blieve that rafa’s job is in his hands, how much he wants it is upto him. Rotation just for the heck of it will only be his downfall I remember at Liverpool he was the same wld win one game against united at OT then get knocked out by some league 2 team.
The fact that has changed is this he manages chelsea now and getting us to an cup final and coming fourth dont count as achievements, the sooner he learns the better.
On torres I really hope its not Romans pressure that picks him cuz it is sinking the team, just having him there demoralises the team and fans. Its over for him.
Piscean indeed (that’s very good memory) but we are very different type of fish
I’m certain that Rafa will be gone in summer. This is too much pressure for him. Chelsea managers do work under pressure but Rafa’s challenge is different. He is not getting any support from anywhere. The fans hate him and are still revolting against him. I’m sure it’s a thankless situation for him. No matter how much he earns or wins, one would want to feel wanted and loved.
All that I’m looking for is a top four finish. If Rafa can’t deliver that with this Chelsea team, he might as well retire from football management.
Thank you for stating that you regard Mikel highly! I always feel that I’m the only Chelsea fan that thinks that. The same goes for Drogba before he scored the Champions League final. If you remember BC we had many people on this forum itself that bashed Drogba and called for him to be benched, now the Drogba bandwagoners call him a legend.
Chelsea fans should realize that Mikel has managed to stay at Chelsea while the likes of Diarra, Essien and our legend Maka have been left out of the team. Mikel and Ivanovic have been two of the most consistent players in the Abramovich era. Their contributions should not be overlooked. So what if Ivanovic had a bad game? Why don’t we talk about all the great games he had, oh wait that is too many to recall………..
BlueChampion. Did you actually speak to Anchelotti over the phone once? I read this on IamLUCA.com. I’m just curious.
Xersesk
Comparing drogba to Mikel?? Oh lord some people.
Drogba had a poor season and was getting old, he needed to be replaced dosent mean he aint a legend just like lampard will be replaced but will remain a legend. Stop thinking u are some special fan and judge others and stop saluting yourself in the mirror next u will say I wanted Roman when everyone hated him. Aint u some great nostradamus? In your own mind.
@xersek .The only time when Mikel would have been selected ahead of a fit Makalele or Essien would have been for a “lesser” game ie league cup ,FA cup or non important champions league game.He only really became a regular starter when Essien’s series of injuries restricted his availability and even then I recall players like Deco,Ballack and even Belletti playing in the holding role as whoever was manager at the time(think it might have been Carlo) felt we needed quicker passing and more creativity from the holding role.To me Mikel is a very limited one dimensional footballer and I am amazed we have given him a new 5 year contact.But then a lot of things going on at Chelsa amaze me at the moment.!
@xersek .The only time when Mikel would have been selected ahead of a fit Makalele or Essien would have been for a “lesser” game ie league cup ,FA cup or non important champions league game.He only really became a regular starter when Essien’s series of injuries restricted his availability and even then I recall players like Deco,Ballack and even Belletti playing in the holding role as whoever was manager at the time(think it might have been Carlo) felt we needed quicker passing and more creativity from the holding role.To me Mikel is a very limited one dimensional footballer and I am amazed we have given him a new 5 year contact.But then a lot of things going on at Chelsea amaze me at the moment.!
I dont think any chelsea player played poorly except torres. Mata could have had two goals, ramires one. Hazard was brilliant, oscar, passed well. Not winning doesnt always mean your team played poorly, it can mean you just didnt score. and in chelsea’s case the absence of Ba was telling. The rest of the team tried to score without him but his poor movement and hold up play in my view, cost himself opportunities. All the midfielders tried to push up, the defenders pushed up. Ivanovic did make two errors and the sad thing is that was a sign of swansea whom only got two opportunities from an ivanovic who had got to comfortablein the back and lost his focus, against a very entrenched swansea side.
two words RafaRRES OUT !