Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has spoken of some of the immediate differences he noticed between Luis Suarez and former striker Fernando Torres. Writing in his column for the Liverpool Echo he said:
“I don’t know if he’s (Suarez) been watching Dirk Kuyt, but he’s probably got that same sort of mentality about giving everything for the shirt. Like the Dutchman, he looks to have a habit of closing down defenders when they’re on the ball, defending from the front. Compared to what we saw from FT (I use the initials instead of his full name these days) their attitudes were poles apart. Watching Suarez so committed to the cause at the weekend was a breath of fresh air.”
Suarez’s ability to close down opponents is not the only difference between the 26 year old Spanish striker and our new Uruguayan number seven. While Torres was somewhat of a lone ranger, more inclined to wait for a chance to be created by his team-mates, Suarez is much more inclined to make a chance out of nothing for himself. As well as working hard without the ball to close down opposition players, Suarez loves to get involved in build up play and make the link between midfield and attack. As you can see on Suarez’s Guardian chalkboard for the match versus Wigan on Saturday, he finds himself both in wide areas, as well as in central midfield areas to link up with team-mates. If we compare this to the seventy minutes that Torres played against Fulham yesterday, the difference is significant:
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Certainly it could be said that Torres is settling into a new system and new style of play at Chelsea, but the same could be said of Suarez, and it shows that most of the Chelsea’s striker’s passes came in the final third on the left hand side of the pitch. Of the 19 attempted passes by the Spanish forward yesterday, only 11 reached their intended target, while Suarez was a lot busier, making 37 with 26 completed to team-mates. It adds to the fire that Torres is less of a team player, and although he scores his goals, his strike rate is determined by how well his team plays to get him into threatening areas around the opposition penalty box. In addition, other Chalkboards from their matches against Wigan and Fulham show that Suarez was by far the more active player.
While Torres only had three off target shots all night, Suarez had seven shots on goal, one on target, four off target (with two hitting the woodwork) and two shots blocked. Significantly too, Suarez won 6 fouls in the opposition half while Torres conceded two fouls to the opposition, suggesting that both Suarez was troubling the opposition defence more often and that Torres was frustrated with the lack of possession he was getting up front.
Certainly both players are class strikers, but they are also very different in style. Suarez has a more all round game, defending from the front, getting involved in link up play and not afraid to shoot when given a sight on goal. Torres is a goalscorer but he rarely commits to tackles or offers himself for passes as readily as Suarez. One leads from the front while the other drops off into midfield, and so far, only one player is adapting quickly to their new surroundings, and his initials are not FT.
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This week it is even more of former Liverpool WAG Amii Grove!
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I agree with some points but not with everything, Suarez looks to be working really hard, abit too hard i think to prove himself to us, he should just play his game we will love him no matter. He certainly likes to come to the ball rather than wait for it to come to him, and he can create chances out of nothing. But so could Torres and did so against Blackburn, Sunderland Chelsea etc he was abit lone up front at times and wanted players to help him create chances but when he was on form he could do it himself aswell.
I also don’t think its fair to compare them both at this early stage for their new clubs, compare them to how Torres was at Liverpool and Suarez at Ajax respectibily. FInally i wish both strikers all the best……YNWA
Well said mate 🙂
caroll is the one should be comapred with torres when he fit
carroll is more of a targetman unlike torres and suarez…
suarez and torres are more of a goalscoring type whereas carroll can hold the ball up and bring others into play…
its safe to say, suarez is more of a replacement for torres and shud be compared with each other…
I think if you had similar stats for Torres when he first joined Liverpool then they would be not too dissimilar to Suarezes current one. As was telling the way Torres started getting moody in his game against us, I think maybe he’s given his best at least in terms of enthusiasm and belief over the first 2 years with us and it is this which is now lacking. I think him leaving has probably turned out quite well for Liverpool. Time will tell if this is the correct assumption. I am really happy with the way Suarez is playing. I just hope Carroll turns out similar. If that turns out to be the case then this January transfer window will in hindsight turn out to be a blessing in disguise. YNWA.
let us be honest up until a month before torres left he was shown up by every single opposition centre forward – they all closed us down and never stopped running – no excuses he wasnt trying.
with what i have seen far out the games both of them played i rate-SUAREZ-as a brilliant and hard working striker,i think if we can watch lfc game against wigan,and also watch chelsea match against fulham believe me you see the differenc in both of them,and i believe [SUAREZ]is going to be a striker to be afraid of.
Suarez and Torres are both very very different players, however is you asked me which one id like to have in a team, (hence the word “TEAM”) then it would be Luis Suarez.
Like Torres was and has been in the limelight at their old clubs, both captains and both well thought of in their respective home lands.
But every liverpool fan wants effort and desire, Torres showed nothing in the last 1 and half years at his time wearing the great red shirt.
Suarez debut goal was a touch lucky but he came on with no trainning and no time to settle, when Torres came in during the summer and had time to settle in! Suarez has better work rate, he is better at playing across the front either up top alone, or even wide on both flanks,,,,
For me Suarez is better price at 22.8 then Torres was at that over all deal at 26.5 million, whihc did see luis garcia go to madrid,
Suarez has better energy, even when torres was fit and at it, he never worked that hard, we seem to play around him, now with Luis the team will be more flexible and have his movement form wide areas and pace down the middle too.
People think torres is very fast, think again suarez maybe not as quick over 20 -30 yards, but suarez is lightning over 10 – 15 yards to get that bit of room for a shoot or pass.
I wouldnt swap torres with suarez at all.
SUMMER LFC.
REINA
KELLY CARRAGHER AGGER COENTRAO
YOUNG GERRARD RAUL JOHNSON
CARROLL SUAREZ
GET IN!!!!!
We don’t think we know Torres has pure pace, Suarez is a top quality striker, but so is Torres. Suarez is a different player to Torres stop comparing them, doing so will just put pressure on Suarez back, hes got nothing to prove……YNWA
Torres is a great striker on his day, when he first arrived at Liverpool he worked hard, chased the ball and scored goals, but he was a striker a moody striker, who if things do not go his way seems to start pussy footing around. Suarez is different, he likes to get involved way back, he drops off and starts the move ( very difficult for defenders to track) and will like to finish the move or create something, something the current manager (KK) used to do. So Suarez gives you more than what Torres has. I would have loved to have seen the Suarez-Torres partnership, but not to be anyway we seem to have found a monster in the box in Carroll.
Suarez was chosen by LFC to complement Torres. They’re not the same sort of player. Of course Suarez is the busier – that’s what we’ve got him for. Yes, he’ll score plenty himself, but he’ll also create plenty for others.
I’d suggest too that Torres was a busier player when he was in that partnership with Gerrard. He’s looked a bit lost since the skipper moved back, although that’s almost certainly also because of his desire to get away from LFC.
You will only miss Torres if you dont find a more than suitable replacement, Suarez looks like he has an all round better game than Torres, he looks physicaly stronger, more tenacious, hungrier, has quicker feet, more of a team player and so far has only managed to build on his reputation following the world cup. Torres however looks like a man who knows he has made a mistake, well done FT you are now part of the section 18 neo-nazi brigade!!
Torres was silly for leaving LFC because Suarez was only bought to compliment him, after years of him moaning he was all alone up front with all the pressure, then he leaves when Suarez was to join. Now Suarez is claiming all the glory and i’m sorry Torres was great in his time, but thats been and gone, just look at how he is at Chelsea.