Former Liverpool player Jamie Redknapp commented on Fernando Torres’s first half performance yesterday:
“Fans will suffer to a certain extent when you give the ball away, but they won’t suffer a lack of effort. Out there for 45 minutes today he (Torres) has been terrible. He hasn’t got hold of the ball, he hasn’t chased, he’s got frustrated, he could have been booked; he’s been diabolical. I’m his biggest fan, and of course you have to give Johnson and Dann credit, but he’s shown no appetite for the game. He’s looked frustrated, sloppy, and lethargic. I know people talk about his rustiness, but he looked fed-up.”
For me, these were extremely harsh comments made by Redknapp over Torres’s display. There could be many mitigating circumstances that could explain a sub-par performance from the Spanish striker:
Frustration over tactics – Fernando Torres may have looked a frustrated figure yesterday because of the nature of the tactics employed by both Birmingham and Liverpool. The Reds employed two holding midfield players in Christian Poulsen and Lucas Leiva, neither which looked to get forward too often. It left Fernando and Gerrard both isolated up front, and his frustration over a lack of service and time on the ball clearly showed on occasion. Birmingham players were always in his face too and Torres was relatively easy to mark because of the lack of support he had up front. On the occasions he did get the ball, he did miss-control the ball and snatch at some shots, suggesting to me other factors were also at play.
Fitness levels – Martin Tyler in his commentary for Sky Sports yesterday offered another reason for Torres’s lack of spark. He said that he had talked to team-mate Dirk Kuyt about Torres and the Dutchman believes that the Spaniard’s recovery from his knee injury will take a great deal of time. A lot was made about Torres’s poor performances during the World Cup but it was clear his fitness levels were not very high after being sidelined for months with an injury. The frustration and lack of energy against Birmingham could be because of the fact he is yet to recover fully.
Club situation – The ownership and uncertainty around the club could also be a factor. Torres clearly loves the club but the lack of investment in the summer and the belief it may be some time before the Reds are challenging for the title again could be concerning him. Does he believe the players around him are capable of performing to the required level?
Form – Like all footballers, Torres could just be suffering from an ailment that every player will be troubled by. Despite the world class finish against West Brom two weeks ago, Torres has not been on the greatest of form since his return from injury. He had a poor World Cup, and like any human being, he maybe suffering from a crisis of confidence, and he may just need a few goals in a few games in a row so we can get back to seeing his great first touch, fantastic speed, composed finishing and great link up play.
What do you think is troubling Fernando, if anything at all?
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Simply put, Torres has an attitude problem.
What’s Torres’ problem? It’s called ‘attitude’. If Torres persists to be indifferent, he could very well become another Adebeyor!
i feel the game pln was pretty obvious and to get a draw was the main priority…which a striker in his calibre is not used to…if it was a must win home game then im sure he would hv been the elnino we know….Somehow we have to avoid away defeats until jan..(new owners) and hoping no injurie problems even if we loose agaist manu next week..ynwa
I personally thnk the root of all the problems are the oners. The guys hve to go men. I don’t know what they are waiting for to sell their shares to new owners who could invest in money.Till then even if you have ferguson or maurino as mangers nothing great could be achieved.
everyone talking only bout fernando and a what a awful game he had on Sunday..no one mentioned Kop hero Stevie G…he had a terrible match too…its not just about one player..Liverpool is not just about one player..
biggest problem is we’re missing Xabi Alonso or a player of his caliber..
Lucas,please do everyone a favor and quit pretending you can play football..
Poulsen’s a good player, he’s only had a few games..his problem is having Lucas as partner..
RH will have Joe Cole & Meireles for next game..shud be interesting..
On Sunday Torres played awfully. In fact he played as badly as S Gerrard, and Skrtel, Lucas, Poulsen, Jovanovic or Maxi.
@ tinydino
totally agree with u…lucas is fkin useless..the way he presents himself in pitch itself looks like an total idiot….hope he gets injured
the problem ? roy hodgson !
Roy should ave taken off Maxi and replaced him with Babel as Maxi was quite ineffective. Jova kept coming inside and did not stay out wide. Meireles was a breath of fresh air! Babel would have caused more problems and given Fernando an outlet and a few crosses into the box! We cried when Rafa neva made substitutions until the 65min but Roy waits even longer! Come on Roy your the manager of Liverpool not Fulham! YNWA!!!!!
I said this before and I will say it once more:
is this the same Jamie, son of Harry, we are talking about? ‘Jamie tells it as he sees it ‘? ‘Redknapp who just says what he feels’? ‘fair assessment’? C’mon guys, as a player, he did nothing and was injury prone. As a pundit, he was equally shxxte.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/benitez-hits-out-at-critics-1930430.html
Torres often looks disinterested and can then score a class goal out of nothing and is all smiles. He isn’t in top form but what striker is at his best all the time? Liverpool have no one of quality to rest or sub Torres so he has a lot of pressure.
Also, he must be demoralised seeing players like Lucas and Poulson in midfield. Even Jovanovich looks a headless chicken to me. Not even as good as Riera.
Hodgson was meant to be a change from Rafa but is playing the same DOUR football. Torres and Gerrard must be sickened with Woy’s tactics.
if torres stays fit he will score 25 to 35 goals this season – so stop writing such rubbish, do you know what jet lag is ? and all those who call kuyt, we missed hin diddnt we !
redknap could have done us a big favour,
Great! Just what I was looking for, well written this.