I think he’s getting a bad rap for the performances of others.
He ran himself ragged, making darting runs across, and through, their defence, only for the ball to go sideways or backwards.
I can’t think of a single early ball in behind their centre backs from either wing.
Late in the first half, he won the ball on the edge of our box and sprinted out in support, to make himself available for the quick counter, only for the ball to be stopped, Spurs retreated, we played it back to the center backs to pass it to each other a few times, and he just stopped and started walking around like everyone else!
Possession is great. When we have the ball, they can’t score. There are two problems with this being Pep’s mantra:
1) When we do have the ball, 2/3 of our possession is slowly knocking it about amongst the back 4 and the DM
2) When the opposition have their 1/3 of the possession, we always seem to look vulnerable, scrambling for cover and trying to stop a fast break!
Torres is built for the fast break, either himself in the channels or making the run in behind the centre backs for the incisive pass from the flanks. He got NEITHER again at Spurs!
Sadly, I think he worked his socks off doing exactly what Pep wanted, and did it well, but the average fan just sees him as anonymous because he got less touches than most.
Playing ANYONE as centre forward with that quality of service would have produced the same outcome.
I think he’s a player. He’s young, fast, and knows where the goal is. He’s one of the young stars of the Spain team, but we are trying to shoehorn his talents into OUR weakness, not his.
