27 Nov 2012

'Forget it' - Alan Hansen insists 'busted-flush' goal-flop is beyond help. Agree...?

Since Rafa Benitez took the Chelsea manager's job, the main talking point - apart from Blues' fans utter rejection of their new manager - has been Fernando Torres, and how Benitez is going to revitalise his flagging career. Torres has praised the former Liverpool boos many times in the past for improving him as a player, but Anfield legend Alan Hansen is convinced that the Torres is a lost cause, and that Benitez will fail in any attempt to improve the £50m striker's form.

In his column for the Daily Telegraph, Hansen labeller Torres a 'busted flush', and argued that the Spaniard's problem is physical, not mental. He observed:

"Forget it. Benitez will not be able to inspire Fernando Torres to recreate his past glories.

"It does not matter which manager you put in charge - Torres’s main weapon [pace] has gone...and it has had a debilitating impact on the rest of his game.

"It is not a mental problem with Torres. It is a physical one. Without that speed, what are you left with?"


Watching Torres play over the last year, it is obvious that he's lost a yard of pace, and that has definitely affected his game. However, put him through on goal, and he'll hit the back of the net 9 times out of 10.

At Liverpool, the majority of Torres goals (69%) came as a result of defence-splitting passes, and his pace ensured that he had the speed to get on the end of those passes. Chelsea don't play the same way, which has negatively impacted the Spanish striker's goal ratio.

It surely can't be long before Chelsea put Torres out of his misery and sell him and/or replace him with another striker. At least Reds fans can take heart in the knowledge that Torres gave the best years of his career to Liverpool.

Benitez has his work cut out trying to fix the problem, and if he puts all his faith in Torres over the next 6 months, then the Chelsea boss may well end up following him out the door in the summer.

Jaimie Kanwar


36 comments:

  1. He'll follow him out the door regardless. Agree on Torres. Aside from the fact he should not be allowed to even buy LFC jerseys for his kids for the way he left us, he's just not that good anymore. To buy him from Chelsea will still take quite a bit of cash and whatever the price is, there are better strikers out there for that money.

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  2. Jaimie,

    Yet another article about a Manager of who been replaced TWICE since he managed Liverpool FC.
    You have not commented on the Swansea game yet again focus on Benitez.
    Please spend as much time commenting on Hogdson and Dalglish as you do on Benitez and we'll have no room for the current incumbent.

    You really should just concentrate on the here and now of the team and Manager than concentrate on the past which can't be changed.

    How about an article on the youth team or the game against Spurs?
    Prehaps some speculation about the team that will play?

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  3. I'd take prefer us to sign Torres back instead of wasting 12-15m on Sturridge. Torres might not be the same player he used to be but he is still capable of scoring 15 goals per season and his overall game has improved at Chelsea also his workrate and team ethic is much better compared to his time at Liverpool. I am sure playing alongside Suarez and Gerrard can reignite his faltering career.

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  4. Septimus, this article is mainly about Torres, not Benitez. Why should I just concentrate on the 'here and now'? Is there some LFC site template that I have to follow? I write about stuff that interests me, whether it happened yesterday or ten years ago, and this interests me. Just because a manager is no longer at the club doesn't mean they can no longer be discussed. If I was writing about Bob Paisley or Bill Shankly then I doubt you'd have a problem. Benitez is an interesting man and manager, and I'll be writing about him for years yet.

    I haven't commented on the Swansea game because there's nothing (IMO) to comment on. LFC are now unbeaten in 8 games in the league; Rodgers is only 4 months into his reign. I could write about Henderson and Downing, but I'd just be repeating myself.

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  5. Yeah, but who's going to reignite Gerrard's faltering form?

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  6. Thats your prerogative but you'd have a better site if you varied your articles.
    Benitez is indeed a interesting Manager as is Fergy but I don't see you writing articles about him as much as you do about any other 'interesting' manager.

    Since you mention Torres you've recently written more about him since Rafa showed up at Chelsea.

    Do you think Chelsea fans/supporters etc write as many articles about Brendan Rogers or Steve Clarke? (both worked there).

    I don't think they do there are more interested in there team and squad than anyone else.

    You can only get so much mileage about a previous Manager before it becomes repetitive.

    If your saying that you only write about what interest YOU with no consideration for what the people who post here say then whats the point of a comments?

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  7. @Lion,

    I'd rather not have any Chelsea rejects full stop.
    In my view Torres is not Hungry anymore he's won everything there is to win.
    World Cup, European Cup,Champions League,FA Cup,Premier League.

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  8. To suggest I have no consideration for people who post here is nonsense. In my experience, the majority of fans who visit this site love to have debates about Benitez (as do I); you are in the minority on that front.

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  9. Agreed, and that includes Sturridge.

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  10. Don't misquote me, you said you write articles about what you are interested in.
    Naturally, fans come will comment about Benitez as you focus on him to the detriment of other areas which could be covered.
    Attempting to suggest that my comments are out of step with the majority is a cheap shot.
    Have the debate about if other areas and then call tell me I'm in the minority without at first attempting it Jaimie.
    Just because you say something doesn't make it fact or true,.

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  11. We will see a different gerrard once lucas gets match fit. With Lucas in there, it will push allen and gerrard further up the pitch. Gerrads form hasnt been all that good but I believe once Lucas is in the team Gerrards form will improve.. I hope we get a quality striker and defensive midfielder as cover for lucas in January

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  12. Rafa might not be popular in England due to his rift with Alex Ferguson but club like Inter and Chelsea are still knocking his door after he had left Liverpool....and who the hell are you, Jaimie K to undermine him??

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  13. I got a hunch that 2 players will make their way into Liverpool this January. Darren Bent on loan (permanent transfer option) and Tom Ince for 6-7mn.

    That is it, no more player and no more funds. Also, I don't see to much transfer activity next season. FSG are into cost cutting thanks to 100mn wasted by KD and limited resources available to FSG

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  14. Dude if you're so upset with the content of this site a) set up your own b) go elsewhere. Keep up the good work Jamie

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  15. so i'm the minority...

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  16. Yeah, you're right. Mentioning Benitez in relation to Torres is massively undermining.

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  17. nothing to comment on [swansea match] oh we dropped more points dosent matter its rodgers lets scrape it under the carpet also jaimie i,ve asked you 3 times now what about allens blatent attempt to cheat against swansea .still no reply oh forgot its not suarez so theres no need to comment on that either .common jaimie play the game

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  18. Rodgers and the improvement on the pitch could be worth analysing though! A few weeks ago, I think it was Sterling who spoke about players working on arriving in the box. In the last 2 games, we're noticing our boys finally attempting to move that way. This is something I've been moaning about throughout Dalglish's tenure - About no one arriving in the box to receive the crosses.

    In Shahin, Enrique, and certainly the way Sterling and Suarez exchange their passes, we're seeing a move towards this approach which had served Man U and Swansea well over last season. It is evidently not perfected with our boys yet, but with every 2-3 games, there is evident progress in the way the ball is being moved around the pitch. There is a patience and sense of purpose we never had since the 08-09 season.

    I think Rodgers deserves a writeup based on the way our team is taking shape. It's Rafa-esque at the back the way we use our centrebacks or Allen-so to switch flanks but tight and slightly more co-ordinated upfront the way manure and Swansea do it. Not as smooth as we know our current crop are capable of and Suso and Sterling aren't exactly making the smartest choices yet but it certainly looks like everything is in place.

    With Sahin and Allen in for Spearing and Adam, our central midfield suddenly looks very decent and we're not short on creative players either, even if they are kids. Between Sterling, Suso and Assaidi, someone or even 2 of them will definitely have to sit a match out to accommodate the muscle of Enrique on the left. Between Shelvey, Gerrard and Sahin, they're all capable of launching attacks and contributing goal-wise.

    In terms of Kenny's buys being rectified, swapping Downing and Enrique's positions is a brilliant move, seeing as Downing is more comfortable with carrying the ball up, staying out wide and delivering crosses where Enrique is more likely to cut in to support our forwards. 2 goals from someone you wouldn't expect to score(even if 1 was chalked off for being offside) is relief for those of us who are missing Maxi. Henderson, not possessing much vision but with the speed, ball skill and industry is rightfully used as a cover player to execute carefully planned donkey work.

    I've been missing Rafa, but I'm impressed with Rodgers thus far.

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  19. boring? maybe but true to an extent

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  20. Benitez is unpopular over at Inter now. I don't think they'll knock on his door again. Nothing to do with his failure but all to do with Ferguson's worldwide power(!)

    Chelsea fans hated Benitez the moment he slated the Chelsea fans, back when he was managing LFC. Got no one to blame but himself, for the reason behind their animosity (although the level of animosity is somewhat OTT) for Rafa.

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  21. he nearly pulled the shirt of him {off the ball}because he {the swansea player had got away from him]ref did not see it its the same as diving its about getting an unfair advantage for you team

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  22. It's not the same as diving in the slightest.

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  23. Exactly, that's what LFC gonna be for few more years until we make profits and FSG recoup all the money they invested. After that, we might have good percentage of annual profits made available for transfer activity.

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  24. its cheating it was not a tug he was like his second skin and another thing about nothing to comment on {swansea game}after 13 league last season lfc were 6th with 23 points rodgers has the exact same number of points and is in the same league position as hodgeson after 13 games roy won his 14th and we all know what hapened to him lol

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  25. With you on that at least- Gerrard's pass completion is in nthe toilet recently. Although he did find Sterling with a brilliant one at one point, he misplaces passes far more these days. Lucas should hopefully help.

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  26. Darren Bent? he,s cack!! Rafa,s on his bike end of season whatever happens,

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  27. I don't blame you for not wanting to comment on the Swansea game.Watching a team try to master the ticki tack attack is bad enough...Both teams,naptime.

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  28. Do you know what is repetitive????????

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  29. useless article..........rafa is a better coach than rodgers............liverpool is not an academy...........fool

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  30. Torres' pace diminished during his second season with us. I remember saying back then that he resembled Shearer and Owen in that he would have to change his game drastically but was still capable of getting goals. Owens Hamstring trouble meant he had to really bulk up to help prevent the injury from reoccurring. The same thing happened with Torres and both had to pay with their pace. Both look like body builders these days and both look like they are running under water.

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  31. torres only moved to Chelsea for success obviously, in an ideal world he would of loved to stay.
    took Chelsea fans about 4 years to love drogba. he clearly and never will be loved at Chelsea.
    hes mentally not got it at Chelsea, he never going to be happy there.
    wheres there torres song for starters??
    he can still be a great player in the right team, regardless of a lack of pace, hes lost more will power than anything

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  32. Collectively we have been very unfair on both torres and Benitez. torres got bags of goals for us and whatever we paid for him we doubled our money. He left because he felt there wasnt any ambition at the club - and in hindsight he was bang on. to deny this is to close your eyes. Imagine if he had stayed do you think he would have been over the moon at the signings of henderson, downing etc. Or even most of Rodgers signings havent really inspired. Borini wasnt setting the world alight when fit and Joe Allen had a good few games at first but he hasnt been too clever since either.

    I dont think Torres left for the money it was purely because of what he could win at chelsea and well since he left we won the carling cup and he's got a champions league and FA cup medal.

    The reality is that FSG want an elite feeder club. The idea is to by young talent and then sell them on for huge profits. So in that model dont be surprised when the likes of Suso and Sterling are sold on.

    The biggest mistake made in our history was by David Moores selling to the cowboys instead of the Dubai Consortium so he could pocket a couple of million etc.

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