skiddypants
Well-Known Member
Found this by Alan Hansen
The Torres who was exceptional in his first 18 months at Anfield has gone and he is not coming back. When he arrived in English football, Torres was sharp, clinical, closed defenders down from the front and, most crucially, was blessed with lightning pace.
No defender in the Premier League could stop him in full stride. Put him against anyone in the world and they were frightened of his speed.
You could give someone a head start and he would still just glide away from them and it impacted on how opponents played against him.
You could not play a high line because he would outrun you every time. He is not capable of doing that any more, a point underlined several times during yesterday's 0-0 draw.
One incident in the first half when Vincent Kompany and then James Milner caught up and dispossessed a scurrying Torres summed it up. Two years ago he would have been clear on goal.
You can be sure that Roberto Mancini would not have prepared to face Chelsea warning his centre-halves not to get involved in a race with Torres.
I doubt any managers will have thought that way since his £50 million move to Stamford Bridge. Torres’s main weapon has gone, and it does not matter which manager you put in charge.
Since suffering a knee injury a year before he joined Chelsea, he has never had the same speed and it has had a debilitating impact on the rest of his game.
It is not a mental problem with Torres. It never has been. It is a physical one. Coping with the loss of such pace is the hardest adjustment for any player. Without that speed, what are you left with?
The Torres who was exceptional in his first 18 months at Anfield has gone and he is not coming back. When he arrived in English football, Torres was sharp, clinical, closed defenders down from the front and, most crucially, was blessed with lightning pace.
No defender in the Premier League could stop him in full stride. Put him against anyone in the world and they were frightened of his speed.
You could give someone a head start and he would still just glide away from them and it impacted on how opponents played against him.
You could not play a high line because he would outrun you every time. He is not capable of doing that any more, a point underlined several times during yesterday's 0-0 draw.
One incident in the first half when Vincent Kompany and then James Milner caught up and dispossessed a scurrying Torres summed it up. Two years ago he would have been clear on goal.
You can be sure that Roberto Mancini would not have prepared to face Chelsea warning his centre-halves not to get involved in a race with Torres.
I doubt any managers will have thought that way since his £50 million move to Stamford Bridge. Torres’s main weapon has gone, and it does not matter which manager you put in charge.
Since suffering a knee injury a year before he joined Chelsea, he has never had the same speed and it has had a debilitating impact on the rest of his game.
It is not a mental problem with Torres. It never has been. It is a physical one. Coping with the loss of such pace is the hardest adjustment for any player. Without that speed, what are you left with?
