SHAKEandBAKE: Fernando Torres

AliW1993 02.01.11	Although they spent nearly 80million I think Liverpool should be the happiest with yesterdays deals. The concern I have for Chelsea is that I dont think Drogba and Torres will be able to play together. I'm a Newcastle fan and although we got a ludicrous sum for Carroll we're easily the worst off, we've got to settle with Shola Ameobi as our first choice striker for the rest of the season.
promiseswept 02.01.11	I like torres although he has been almost dead weight the past few years and was at the world cup...I would just wait and see although there's no way Chelsea is catching up to my favorite team in the table. man u ;)
Buccaneer 02.01.11	yeah, 30 million for Carroll was just ridiculous. its also crazy how 200+ million was spent in this window, and 130 million was spent on only 4 players...
promiseswept 02.01.11	ps im fucking stoked for DBM part 2 too
cirq 02.01.11	he'll do well for chelski
SHAKEandBAKE 02.01.11	Yeah I'd say Liverpool ended up on top. If Suarez can control himself I can see him being one of the new stars in the EPL. I just feel like Chelsea could have gotten a lot more for 80 million. I do like David Luiz though.
SHAKEandBAKE 02.01.11	and yes DBM part 2 is shaping up quite nicely
craigy2 02.01.11	I feel that the sheer amount being spent on players, and what is considered to be a reasonable amount for players, is ridiculous. £50 million?! You gotta be kidding me! Money aside, I think that Torres will do well at Chelsea, he's looked miserable playing for Liverpool this season and I think at a new club with more chance of success he will try harder and play better. In that sense it is a 'good deal' for them. Whether or not he (or indeed anyone) is worth that much is up to debate though.
SHAKEandBAKE 02.01.11	I think Chelsea needs to make a move on Adel Taarabt of QPR. Has anyone else seen this kid play? He's one of the most gifted, creative strikers I've ever seen. Rumor has it that United is interested though.
craigy2 02.01.11	Taarabt is incredible though he seems to be far more of an individual than a team player.
Aids 02.01.11	"I consider Torres the most overrated striker in the world" /discussion
Irving 02.01.11	Drogba's been pretty sluggish too guys. He's been nowhere near his imperious best this season. Also - there's an argument to be made about the necessity of rejuvenating a Chelsea squad which is starting to get on in its years.
Chrisjon89 02.01.11	Risky move I think considering his form has been patchy at best. He's joining an aging side too - I think Drogba, Lampard and Terry are all the wrong side of 30. $35 million for Carroll must have been a knee jerk reaction when they found out Torres was going cos that's insanity. He's a good player but that's more than Barca payed for Villa. Chelsea play Liverpool this weekend too. That'll be fun. As a neutral fan I hope Liverpool thrash them.
couldwinarabbit 02.01.11	drogba's gone to real madrid soon though.
Nikkolae 02.01.11	drogba's gone to real madrid soon though. i hope that never happens
Chrisjon89 02.01.11	I read somewhere a rumour of him going back to Marseille
couldwinarabbit 02.01.11	nah real madrid over the summer I think. I also think chelsea is still going to get neymar which would be fucking awesome.
craigy2 02.01.11	on an unrelated note, fuck craig bellamy and 7 minutes of added time. fuck
kanecooper 02.01.11	you guys are morons. if being unfit and out of form since just before the world cup has made torres a dead weight for the last few years then idk. considering he has been really good for the majority of the past few years. i see torres being more as a replacement for drogba who'll potentially want one last big money move himself in the summer. they're both central strikers but very different players. in the meantime i'd assume ancelotti will be reverting back from 4-3-3 to the 4-1-2-1-2 diamond formation he used at ac milan with torres and drogba up front, lampard slotting in behind and malouda going out on to the left
porch 02.01.11	torres' time at liverpool was injury blighted and he's been out of form for a while but he still has a fantastic scoring record for them, which, you know, is the main job of a striker would love for someone to explain (without sounding stupid) how he is the most overrated striker in the world
porch 02.01.11	kane got there before me
Thane 02.01.11	the amount of money they paid for torres was ridiculous. he's a really good striker when he's on top of his game but i don't think he will be back there in a while. don't think carrol was their best choice for liverpool but we'll see. will be very interesting to see how the two teams play now, especially cant wait for them to face each other! which will be very soon
AliW1993 02.01.11	ibrohimovic is the most overrated striker in the world 60million + Eto'o was the worst buy ever.
Thane 02.01.11	i agree with you on that AliW but eto'o was on his way out of barca anyway, so there wasn't much they could do tbh. Ibra is doing pretty well in milan, think they let him do his thing as opposed to in barca where he had to play a very specific role (which he complained about)
NorwichScene 02.01.11	I'm a Liverpool fan. Yeah 35m for Carroll is a lot for someone relatively unproven, but Man u paid 30m for Rooney when we was roughly the same standard (scoring 1 great goal v Arsenal). Happy with Suarez and Carroll. Torres did have a lot of injury problems and if saw a shaddow went to ground quickly. But on his day, he's a top player (as shown by his scoring record). Most overrated striker in the world is surely Robinho? Chelsea have the best strike force now with Torres, Drogba and Anelka. Time will tell...
kanecooper 02.01.11	"the amount of money they paid for torres was ridiculous. he's a really good striker when he's on top of his game but i don't think he will be back there in a while." the amount of money was ridiculous but it's chelsea ...if you're gonna spend that much money on a striker there's not many i'd rather have than torres (maybe villa, maybe tevez, maybe van persie if he could stay fit) as for you dont think he'll get back to his best quick enough i'm glad you think you know best. honestly ...i kind of expect him to hit the ground running at chelsea, he was clearly a disaffected individual in his last few months at liverpool
AliW1993 02.01.11	Carroll will do well for Liverpool provided he gets the service, which he surely will with your team. He's pretty much unstoppable in the air.
DaveyBoy 02.01.11	Torres will find his form sooner or later... The big question is will he co-exist with Drogba... Or will it be another Drogba vs Ballack type situation (except even worse as Torres is a striker).
SHAKEandBAKE 02.01.11	There was really no need for Torres in my opinion, I mean they already had three top-class strikers in Drogba, Anelka, and Kalou.
AliW1993 02.01.11	Drogba and Anelka wont be around much longer. Kalou is great back-up but not good enough to be Chelsea's first choice striker imo.
kanecooper 02.01.11	yes stick with two strikers coming up to their mid 30's and some second rate striker dont buy a world class striker just coming into his prime, there's no need for him
DoubtGin 02.01.11	debut vs Liverpool will be fun to watch
sifFlammable 02.01.11	"I consider Torres the most overrated striker in the world" you gotta be kidding me; have you seen Torres in form? This fella is capable of bettering his Spanish partner david villa by tenfolds when hes at his peak man. As for the transfer, it's not so bad given that Drogba was in decline and they didn't have anyone to play in Drogba's role. Gives chelsea plenty of options.
thebhoy 02.01.11	Drogba is past it and/or doesn't try half the time and Torres is unstoppable in form. If he regains his form he will be a great buy for them
sifFlammable 02.01.11	Good sell for pool too, getting rid of a disloyal prick. http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2011/01/30/2330472/liverpool-player-describes-fernando-torres-efforts-this
SHAKEandBAKE 02.02.11	People need to stop ripping on Drogba, he was obviously stellar last season and a bout with malaria was the only reason that he hasn't been quite as productive. He appears to be returning to form now though, and he's still 4th in goals this season. Sounds to me like he's still very much in his prime.
sifFlammable 02.02.11	have u watched any of his games recently
kanecooper 02.02.11	yeah i was just gonna say ...do you even watch football?
SHAKEandBAKE 02.02.11	Of course I watch football, did you see his strike against bolton the other day?
Kiran 02.02.11	i have no doubt in the world torres will be sublime for chelsea. i actually think the move has been a bit cathartic for him because at liverpool he'd been elevated to an impossible status where, surrounded by a lot of average players (lucas is not even half the player of mascherano or xabi alonso), the pressure was absolutely immense. he now has a considerably better squad with chelsea and even if he doesnt perform, its not going to be met with the kind of soulcrushing disappointment that scousers piled on to their star man because he's got a wealth of support to pick up the slack. really looking forward to seeing him play. plus, honestly, if worst comes to worst and drogba and torres are completely incompatible like davey mentioned, drogba has already peaked and everyone knows it.
couldwinarabbit 02.02.11	and isn't drogba confirmed to real this summer?
Kiran 02.02.11	definitely not confirmed and if real don't win anything (they've already fallen too far behind in the league), i reckon mourinho will leave in the summer which will probably be the deal breaker
sifFlammable 02.02.11	reckon drogba will more likely head to france, tbh
Baphomet 02.02.11	First and foremost I'm a rabbid Real Madrid supporter but when it comes to England I'm blue to the core. Now, Torres IS extremely overrated and has always been since he was the one redeeming fact about a crappy Atletico de Madrid who should have been relegated. English football suits him better, that much is true. But he's injury prone and when things get hard he's not the type to lead the team (i.e. Tevez). He would have been a good transfer for 25 mil, but because of the price tag he just won't live up to expectations. Also, Chelsea should have bought an offensive midfielder (Honda) and another winger to sub for Malouda or Zhirkov. David Luiz is a great purchase btw.
couldwinarabbit 02.02.11	luiz was a fantastic call
sifFlammable 02.02.11	Ancelotti said that they only needed defenders, which is I suppose a telling sign that this was roman's decision like it was for shevchenko. Can't blame the coach I suppose. Chelsea has quite a load of talent in mid in its youth ranks, so I dont know if that's necessary, but yeah I do agree zhirkov and even mikel sometime r just meh
jingledeath 02.02.11	Torres on his day is one of the best and it's now up to Chelsea to get him fit and playing at his best. A risky move but it might just pay off but as a United supporter, I hope they all foad.
SHAKEandBAKE 02.02.11	Honda would have been an awesome move
Irving 02.02.11	Gary Neville has just retired from football with immediate effect. It was just a matter of time, to be sure, but it seems like the end of an era has truly begun.
AliW1993 02.02.11	You could tell in his last few games that his legs had pretty much gone, it's good that he's known when to end it. Only a matter of time before Scholes follows I think/
NorwichScene 02.02.11	YES! I hate Gary Neville!!! Now for the other chuckle brother to retire too
TheJackal 02.02.11	Wenger did well as usual sigh good one Arsene
kanecooper 02.02.11	who would arsene have got for a sensible amount of money that's better than what he already has? if anything the transfer window showed who really are the best managers in the league; wenger and fergie
TheJackal 02.02.11	Wenger is a bit stubborn though, be honest. Just look at our CBs... Djourou is ok, koscielny and squillaci are shaky to say the least. That keeper who i can't spell isn't doing too badly though, better than flapianski anyway I love wenger and have a huge amount of respect for him, but he has the money. He should just spend it considering the glaring weaknesses (defence) in the side
kanecooper 02.02.11	no point in january when prices are so inflated trust me when i say kos is gonna come really good for this arsenal side, but yeah squillaci is shit. we'll be getting sakho in summer who is quality, bartley is looking good out on loan too and he should be coming back into the team in summer and then we've also got the young spanish centre back who is supposed to akin to gerard pique. trust me come next year had we bought anybody we would be overloaded with centre backs with a good mixture of experience and youth. i was going to suggest we need a back up plan for song if anything but once again nobody available at a decent price. and again next season frimpong (who was looking as comfortable in midfield as young jack in pre-season will be back from injury, plus coquelin who is playing wonderful on loan in france. trust me, we're sorted on that front too. attacking midfielders we have plenty and in summer you can expect to say bye to rosicky and hello to hazard (who is an immense talent). up front van persie is injury prone but on top of his game is class. totally commited to arsenal as well. chamakh isn't a bad back up plan not to mention the vastly underrated bendtner (22 years old, international pedigree, a champions league hat trick and a goal ratio of 1 goal every 2 starts). so actually, buying somebody perhaps wouldnt be in the clubs best interest, what would it say to the young players trying to break through if arsene did?
SHAKEandBAKE 03.05.11	In other news David Luiz is fucking phenomenal
AliW1993 03.05.11	...and Torres still hasn't scored yet
couldwinarabbit 03.05.11	ya but drogba hasn't ripped his head off yet so he is still a positive. And he's not playing that bad.
theacademy 03.05.11	fernando tatis
SHAKEandBAKE 03.10.11	Torres has played like complete shit, as expected... I honestly cannot fathom how anyone could value him at $80 million. Past or present, he's just never been that good.
kanecooper 03.10.11	he's not played that bad
TheJackal 03.10.11	torres hasnt been at his best for years...
kanecooper 03.10.11	by years i assume you mean since January last year (ie about a year then)
TheJackal 03.10.11	I was thinking back to the days when Liverpool were relying on the unstoppable Gerrard-Torres combo it feels like it was longer than a year ago