Fernando WHO? What went wrong?

Everyone catched it at the weekend, unmissable really, the tie between Chelsea and Liverpool and it was made more interesting with all the hype surrounding the Fernando Torres transfer. Going in to the game, both contestants had identical records of having won their last three games. Chelsea, having got through probably their worst patch of form in more than 5 years, were looking to put one over a Fernando Torres-less Liverpool. On the other side of the fence, The Merseysiders were probably distraught at losing their hitman, and were filled with anger maybe, which fueled them going into the game.

Carlo Anxious-lotti was probably just that, as he was eager to give Torres as start after less than a week at the club. It was made even more surprising after the exclusion of Florent Malouda. The Frenchman does bring some needed width to the Chelsea team and he would be sorely missed on the night. That mean that Chelsea had a three-pronged attack, the last being Anelka. The midfield and defense remained the same with David Luiz on the bench. Kenny Dalglish played his cards right by going with a five man defense with three in the centre, (Carragher, Skrtel, Agger) and Johnson resumed his role on the left with Kelly on the opposite wing. Kuyt was the lone man upfront for the Reds and the midfield was pretty much the same.

I won't waste time going through what went on the game as millions watched it. Liverpool won it, deservedly so and Chelsea were made fools really, after splashing out vast amounts of money, yet never threatening much. I'll leave it at that I think.

The surprising thing (which proved to be a masterstroke) was Luis Suarez was left on the bench. Ancelotti, the master tactician he is, failed miserably on the night. He bizarrely, couldn't come up with ideas to break into the Liverpool defense. At the start, Dalglish got one over on him by deploying three men at the back. Ancelotti knew it was not working after half an hour, yet still remained quiet. In the first half, he should've moved Essien to the right and Anelka out left. That would've at least dragged out the Liverpool centre backs. In turn, it would have enabled Torres to get in-behind the defense which did not happen all afternoon.

At half time, he didn't do anything either. He should've brought Malouda and Kalou on for Anelka and Mikel. He was missing from the game really. Defenders love having to defend players in front of them rather than behind and Sunday was a clear evidence.

An interesting statistic was that when Torres was at Atletico, they did not win any trophies. Then, he moved to Liverpool and became their best player, but again no trophies to show for it. Now, he's at Chelsea. Will history repeat itself?


Jay Jay

The Fight for EL NINO!!...

Most of us who are up-to-date with the football news will probably know that Abramovich's millions are after Liverpool and Fernando Torres. A bid of 35 million or so was initially rejected by Dalglish & Co. but Chelsea are intent on getting their man.

All of this has resulted in Torres handing in a transfer request which has been firmly rejected by Liverpool.

Chelsea really need Torres because of their aging squad. Both Drogba & Anelka are on the wrong side of 30 and there is no back-up. Of course, they do have Daniel Sturridge as reserve but he is not proven at the top level, yet. The latest is that Chelsea have offered 46.5 million plus Sturridge. It does sound tempting but whether Liverpool will accept losing their best player is a different matter altogether.

Torres will certainly bring much needed pace to Chelsea's attack which has been lacking this season. Anelka has lost a lot of pace which was the main weapon he had. Drogba does have impressive pace but, being 30, has also lost some of it, but his physical prowess is still his main threat. So, if Torres arrives, it will certainly be 'au revoir' for Nicholas Anelka. With Drogba & Torres up front, Chelsea will be dangerous team to play against. (Keep in mind, the same was said when Anelka arrived from Bolton, and they took two years to really perform together).

On paper though, they look deadly, but football is not played on paper as we know. For Liverpool, they have to keep Torres although they've just signed Luis Suarez, if reports are to be believed. On this side of the fence, the combination of Torres & Suarez will also be fantastic. Suarez will definitely be able to add goals to the Liverpool team. Some of the pressure will also be taken off Torres and Gerrard as well. Suarez will also bring energy to the Liverpool front-line and he is also a deadly finisher. The only thing is, he's unproven. The players who've arrived from the Dutch league have not been great bar Dirk Kuyt. Ryan Babel would've been good, but he was hardly given a chance. Huntelaar failed to impress at Madrid as well. Judging by the way Suarez played at the World Cup, he will certainly be good. He doesn't have blinding pace but makes it up for his positioning and anticipation.

The game he played against Real Madrid this season wasn't great though. He was marshaled well by the Madrid defence, but that could be a one-off.

Whatever the outcome, it will certainly be interesting to see because he would certainly complement both clubs.