Steven Gerrard described Torres as the new Ian Rush, but it was reds veteran Ian St John who summed up the question on every Liverpool fans lips.
After Torres hat-trick last night, club captain Steven Gerrard was quick to point out the similarities with one of Liverpool’s striking legends:
‘Ian Rush was a great striker and I don’t want to put much pressure on Fernando as far as goals are concerned.
‘But Rushie got a lot of credit for working hard for the team, tracking back and not giving defenders a minute on the ball — he’s similar.’
But our quote of the day has be that of Ian St John:
‘Basically the boy is class. He just has the raw pace that is going to frighten the life out of defenders.
‘How can you have a player that good sitting on his arse every week on the bench if you want to win the title? It’s beyond me.’
MMxxii, if Torres hadn’t been playing and runnning the defenders so ragged then would there have been as much space for the likes of the Yossi to score this weekend?
Torres should be playing because not only is he a great, pacy goalscorer – but he instils a sense of unease in opposition defenders in which other players can create themselves some space.
So people say Torres is the key goal man for liverpool? Rafa not the man? well John Davies and co, who scored at Wigan. Who picked the team? Who wanted Benyon at liverpool?
Rafa is the best manager we have had for a long time. He beleives in team work to win the prem, and those who think one man is going to win it must have something wrong with heads. Its all about the team play in football. SSSShhhh
there are many different views here. some say rafa has goat-like obstinance (sorry rafa) for not playing torres in evry prem match. but sometimes rafa does focus more on champs lge, and cup competitions. if he was a manager focussing on the prem, we would never have know the great ac milan-liverpool game, and we wud have prem titles in the bag. rafa is trying to win evry competition, but I THINK THE PREM DESERVES PRIORITY OVER THE CUPS. we got to lge cup final, we won fa cup, we won champs lge and were runners up, WHY CAN’T WE GET THAT PREM? rafa, use crouchie for europe. thats where he belongs. and dirky too. the prem is the domain for nando and voronin, neither are well known in england and have excellent styles of football that will leave the opposing defences in knots. torres, voronin for prem….. crouchie, dirky for europe. (keep the opposites on the bench)
Doesn’t this situation sound familar. Yes it does, for the last three years Liverpool fans have been doubting Rafa at this point in the season. But then when May comes, we’re chanting his name because we reached two Champions League finals and won the FA cup. Just let Rafa work his magic, and jugde him when May comes. He knows exactly what he is doing.
i totally agree with the saint.iam beginning to doubt whether benitez is the right man to deliver the premiership to anfield where it belongs.why play torres in cup competitions and leave him out of premiership games? IT just makes no sense..perhaps what it takes to win the premiership is not what it takes to win the spanish la liga with a club like valencia..iam beginning to understand why pako ayesteran left the club afterall..he was fed up with benitez,s goat-like obstinance!
Tomkins has a point about protecting your best players but i don’t think that’s the issue for Benitez. Benitez has been clear about how he wants his teams o score goals tactically from the beginning of the season (even further back actually). He wants 15+ goals a season from all his strikers and he wants 10-15 goals from his mid-field. He doesn’t want teams to shut down one man who we depend on for goals and then for us to struggle. Ultimately its a tactical decision. Either you believe that the majority of goals should come from 1-2 players (like chelsea with Lampard and Drgba scoring the majority) or you spread the load. Both arguements have merit though its clear which system Benitez prefers. I personally support Benitez’s philosophy.
Ok, not really sure how a Hedonist or a Rat-racer (or I think he meant an in-between ) is really related to Rafa, he’s just second guessing what Rafa has in mind.
Yes in Rafa we trust, and in Torres we can trust too right? Paul said that Torres plays 40 so games in Spain and when he comes to England, Liverpool’s involvement in all competitions (of over 60 games) might wear Torres out (or worse, get injured). So how about letting El Nino play 40 over games, priorities being League and Champions League competitions? No disrespect to League Cup and FA cup, but isn’t Liverpool starved of Premiership glory for almost coming to 2 decades already? Who better than Torres to lead us there? I would rather play Torres in games that matter.
Rafa played a team to beat bermingham, and we almost did. I watched the game and can say that it was unfortunate we only got 1 point; Birmingham defended well. If your trying to say Rafa does not know what he is doing then you must see yourself as being very qualified in football management, which i doubt, you just seem to have a one track mind. Rafa has got liverpool playing good football and has made great signings, not bad for a manager everyone wants to dig at.
Tomkins article seemed to suggest that we should be avoiding hammering Torres too much early doors.
Even if you believe this then the argument is fundamentally flawed.
Torres started against Porto (Cup) and Reading (Cup). When really he should have been played in the Premiership. I don’t care if he is rested for every cup game. I want Liverpool to win the title and I want Torres in every Premiership fixture (not the Carling Cup).
Read Paul Tomkins article. Thought it was a load of garbage.
Trying to compare Torres to a ‘brand new Ferrari’ which you don’t thrash the engine in the first few weeks?
Torres is a professional footballer who has been playing football for years, is young, and eager to play. Rafa had the same excuses last year for rotating early on so much.
And what happened? The players may well have been fit at the end of the season but we were 20 points behind and won nothing.
If Tomkins wants us to have a super fit side in May, but nothing to play for then I will, politely, disagree.
MMxxii, your post makes very little sense.
‘Torres got kicked around at Reading? What if had got kicked around against Birmingham? We don’t want him injured.’
He may have got kicked around against Birmingham while scoring a hat-trick and getting us three points (which I would have taken any day over advancement in the league cup).
I would hardly suggest that Ian St John doesn’t understand football either – unless you want to list your own professional football achievements.
Rafa knows what he is doing that is why he is one of the best managers in the world. Cheap statements and uneducated jibes don’t mean a thing to people who really understand football. Torres needs to be protected and rested if he wants to play for a long time at liverpool, everyone saw how much he was kicked about at Reading, what if he was kicked about the same playing against Birmingham who are like Reading a defensive side. Would we win anything at all if Torres gets injured for a few months? Rafa has his best interest in the wellbeing of his team as a manager should. Liverpool is a great team and has got great manager to lead them, cups and league cups will come very soon.
I suggest you read Paul Tompkins column
Have to agree with the saint, why is Torres on the bench when he can produce results like this? Surely the draws with portsmouth and birmingham, with torres not starting have been four points dropped already?
We should be up there with arsenal still. Come on Rafa – get torres on there fom the start.