Ibime: Wonderful shape keeping by Torres. Only won 1 out of his 7 aerial battles at qpr and only found a teammate 12 of the 25 times he received the ball. That's not counting the other umpteen times weakling was barged out the way before he could even get to the ball. Shekpe keeper - nateevs greatest contribution to nairaland lexicon

The argument is that he has gone into another slump. A slump within a Slump. A multi-slump

Torres played his way out of the team with a horrible performance against Croatia.

Ibime: Wonderful shape keeping by Torres. Only won 1 out of his 7 aerial battles at qpr and only found a teammate 12 of the 25 times he received the ball. That's not counting the other umpteen times weakling was barged out the way before he could even get to the ball. Shekpe keeper - nateevs greatest contribution to nairaland lexicon

stop lying ibime.....
torres completed 13/18 passes(72%)
2/6 aerial duels
1/1 tackle
1 key pass
1 shot on target

http://fourfourtwo.com/statszone/share.aspx?i=0cKDy

12 completed passes. 7 unsuccessful dribbles. 25 times he received the ball, 12 times he found a teammate

Ibime: 12 completed passes. 7 unsuccessful dribbles. 25 times he received the ball, 12 times he found a teammate

robin van persie vs southampton

28 completed passes, 51 times he received the ball, 28 times he found a team mate.
conclusion: van persie is weak!!!

^^^ 51 times he received the ball! Should tell you he has the strength to receive the ball unlike weakling. 28 times he passed to teammates (60%), 3 of the other times he scored, and probably another 10 times he took shots or played through ball.

Same match Bobby Zamora received 50 passes despite Chelsea and QPR sharing possession evenly. Weakling receives 25 passes and wastes half of them. Zamora receives double his passes cos he is not a weakling. You play a pass in his direction and he will use his strength to shield the ball and receive it. Play a pass to shekpe keeper, half the time it doesnt reach him. Play an aerial ball to Zamora, he wins it, giving back to midfield in order that they recycle and give back to him. Play aerial ball to shekpe keeper, nobody is seeing that ball again.

Eediots been talking so long about how midfielders dont play for shekpe keeper, but anyone with footie intelligence knows from day one that Shekpe keeper is harming the midfielders by losing everything. Stronger striker would have provided good platform for his midfielders to build on. He is the biggest CANCER in Chelsea.

Ibime - did you see the goals that 'DM' Isco scored today for Malaga?

Ibime: Wonderful shape keeping by Torres. Only won 1 out of his 7 aerial battles at qpr and only found a teammate 12 of the 25 times he received the ball. That's not counting the other umpteen times weakling was barged out the way before he could even get to the ball. Shekpe keeper - nateevs greatest contribution to nairaland lexicon

Now this I agree with.

Ibime: Same match Bobby Zamora received 50 passes despite Chelsea and QPR sharing possession evenly. Weakling receives 25 passes and wastes half of them. Zamora receives double his passes cos he is not a weakling. You play a pass in his direction and he will use his strength to shield the ball and receive it. Play a pass to shekpe keeper, half the time it doesnt reach him. Play an aerial ball to Zamora, he wins it, giving back to midfield in order that they recycle and give back to him. Play aerial ball to shekpe keeper, nobody is seeing that ball again.

Eediots been talking so long about how midfielders dont play for shekpe keeper, but anyone with footie intelligence knows from day one that Shekpe keeper is harming the midfielders by losing everything. Stronger striker would have provided good platform for his midfielders to build on. He is the biggest CANCER in Chelsea.

you are a twit!
i have just made a mockery out of your line of argument! centre forwards lose the ball more often cos they operate in an area where markers breathe down their necks!

Ibime: ^^^ 51 times he received the ball! Should tell you he has the strength to receive the ball unlike weakling. 28 times he passed to teammates (60%), 3 of the other times he scored, and probably another 10 times he took shots or played through ball.

van persie received the ball 51 times because he completed 90 mins whilst torres did not!
the team van persie plays for dominated possession 55% unlike chelsea's poor 47% possession against a hapless side like qpr! if van persie is not seen as a weakling after losing the ball 23 times out of the 51 passes he received then you should shut your trap about torres!

coogar:
van persie received the ball 51 times because he completed 90 mins whilst torres did not!
the team van persie plays for dominated possession 55% unlike chelsea's poor 47% possession against a hapless side like qpr!

Van persie completed 90mins How many less minutes did Torres make?

debosky:

That is where your argument falls apart - if Torres was the only CF available to VDB then your argument may be plausible - if there were other strikers available and VDB did NOT play them, then that points to a deliberate tactical decision not purely dependent on the form of any single player.

Or are you saying that Torres that was so poor was the only choice available to Del Bosque in a squad that contained Llorente and Negredo?

Ohh on the contrary it doesn't!! My argument stand gidigba! not playing Negredo,Llorente is quite understandable due to their lack of pedigree in international football! What is not understandable is why a so-called "world-class" striker was benched for the better part of the tournament? He was quick to jettison the "no-striker" policy when Spain struggled against Italy
But went back after his strikers failed to function! Torres against Croatia,Negredo against Portugal

How did Zamora collect 50 passes with 50% possession?

STRENGTH, MOVEMENT AND WORKRATE!


Fernando Torres had a poor game, and your eyes should tell you that. But just in case you are convinced, here's what the numbers have to say. If you were crious enough to click on that link to Zamora's chart, you would have found out that the QPR striker received a total of 50 passes -- that's twice as many as Torres did in this game. So right off the bat, we know that Torres was not as involved in the game as his opposite number did. Part of the reason for this was that Torres failed to win aerial battles in the QPR's half. He only won 2 out of the 7 aerial battles he contested. Some might say he's not a target man, but then he did win 7 out of the 10 aerial battles against Newcastle.

Even if we forgive him for not being involved in the game as much, what he did when he got the ball doesn't tell a positive story either. Of the 25 passes received, 12 turned into complete passes. So what happened to the other 13 passes he received? Two of those turned into successful dribbles, with one of those dribbles leading to a shot on target (that was a brilliant move and the only shot he had in this game). Five were misplaced passes. Four more led to failed dribbles. The rest of the unaccounted received passes probably turned into loss of possession. That is a forward misusing half of the passes he received. That is simply not good enough.

dayokanu:

Van persie completed 90mins How many less minutes did Torres make?

that is irrelevant! it depends on which side is pressing in the last 10 mins. there can be an upward swing in possession. i have seen teams going from 15% possession for a period of 10 mins to 80% possession in the next 10 mins!

Ibime: How did Zamora collect 50 passes with 50% possession?
STRENGTH, MOVEMENT AND WORKRATE!

zamora had better team mates on the day than torres! it's as simple as that. how did qpr outpossess chelsea with fantastic players like hazard, lampard, mikel, etc on the pitch? let's even assume nando is crap - what happened to the other chelsea players on the pitch? you overstretch your idiocy because torres and zamora had the same stats in their aerial duels(2/6) for their respective teams. ibime, you are a phat philandering fool!

http://fourfourtwo.com/statszone/share.aspx?i=0cPHB

Fernando Torres had a poor game, and your eyes should tell you that. But just in case you are convinced, here's what the numbers have to say. If you were crious enough to click on that link to Zamora's chart, you would have found out that the QPR striker received a total of 50 passes -- that's twice as many as Torres did in this game. So right off the bat, we know that Torres was not as involved in the game as his opposite number did. Part of the reason for this was that Torres failed to win aerial battles in the QPR's half. He only won 2 out of the 7 aerial battles he contested. Some might say he's not a target man, but then he did win 7 out of the 10 aerial battles against Newcastle.

every chelsea player had a poor game. the aerial battle you keep harping about has finally confirmed this comment of yours as a witchhunt! zamora won 2 out of the 6 aerial battles he competed - nando also posted the same stat! ibime stop being economical with the truth! as you can see from the link, zamora won his aerial battle @ the centre circle with little or no pressure whilst torres won his aerial duels just outside the qpr's danger box and you are preaching about strength - you are a troglodyte!

http://fourfourtwo.com/statszone/share.aspx?i=0c57x

Even if we forgive him for not being involved in the game as much, what he did when he got the ball doesn't tell a positive story either. Of the 25 passes received, 12 turned into complete passes. So what happened to the other 13 passes he received? Two of those turned into successful dribbles, with one of those dribbles leading to a shot on target (that was a brilliant move and the only shot he had in this game). Five were misplaced passes. Four more led to failed dribbles. The rest of the unaccounted received passes probably turned into loss of possession. That is a forward misusing half of the passes he received. That is simply not good enough.

the above comment is idiotic!
you cannot just assume the passes he failed to give back resulted in a loss of possession.
what if he was fouled, what if his marker made a brilliant tackle to put the ball out of touch or torres took a shot! there are so many variables here.......van persie lost 23 passes he received and still got a hatrick - that is testament to the brilliance of the team mates behind him!

Possession stats was 52 to 48. Yet someone is telling us Zamora touched the ball twice as much cos his team had more possession.

Ibime: Possession stats was 52 to 48. Yet someone is telling us Zamora touched the ball twice as much cos his team had more possession.

it's 53 to 47 and torres left with 10 mins to end the game. qpr's dominance towards the end of the game explains why zamora got more touches. it could also be because qpr trusted their centre forward more than chelsea did for theirs. your witchhunt has been exposed - when you learn how to read stats and form a sound opinion with them, then get back to me!!!

Today he is back, tomorrow he flops. Na wa o.
Is this the striker we are to put our faith in? It's time DS is allowed to play as a CF.

Meanwhile, I hope we see a creative side tonight.
RDM could be a chicken sometimes, the dude should grow some balls and kick Lamps to the bench.

BlueDiva: Today he is back, tomorrow he flops. Na wa o.
Is this the striker we are to put our faith in? It's time DS is allowed to play as a CF.

Meanwhile, I hope we see a creative side tonight.
RDM could be a chicken sometimes, the dude should grow some balls and kick Lamps to the bench.

kick lamps to the bench, you want fat ibime to throw a fit?

BlueDiva:
Meanwhile, I hope we see a creative side tonight.
RDM could be a chicken sometimes, the dude should grow some balls and kick Lamps to the bench.

this was what AVB did, and y'all turned him inside out.

he tried to not be a chicken, he tried to bring up a creative side, and he kicked lamps and co to the bench.


it earned him the sack

Llorente was tired.

I ignored eediots who flagged up "Llorente was tired" comments yesterday because it was well reported. Guillem Ballegue even said it on TV as the reason he wasnt played even whilst Negredo was played. I even said it during the Euros and eediots did not laugh then. Llorente was tired, if not Llorente is TWICE the player shekpe keeper is and woulda played above both Shekpe keeper and Negredo.

Google is your friend. . .


The adverse circumstances he faced included the absence of his main goal scorer David Villa and hardworking defender Carles Puyol, a seemingly out of form Fernando Torres, and signs that some of the players he'd picked for his squad, like Fernando Llorente, might be exhausted after a demanding season of domestic and club international fixtures. Psychologically, there was the fear that Spain's general political and economic crisis, with the country increasingly divided regionally, might dampen the general enthusiasm La Roja had generated in brighter times.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/sep/07/vicente-del-bosque-spain



The other issue is at the opposite end of the pitch. The loss of David Villa is huge – his international goalscoring record is incredible, and so often he provided key goals for Spain in international tournaments. Assuming Del Bosque doesn’t start with Silva or Fabregas as a false nine (which remains unlikely), he has a straight three-way choice between Torres, Llorente and Alvaro Negredo. Each has a clear weakness – Torres lacks form, Llorente lacks fitness, Negredo lacks experience. This is very difficult to call, and it would be a surprise if all three were not used at some point in the competition.

Llorente would be favourite if fully fit, and Negredo’s clever runs in behind the defence give Spain offer most penetration, but Del Bosque’s loyalty to Torres shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s not the right decision on paper – but Del Bosque isn’t an ‘on paper’ man. He’s a ‘dressing room’ man, and as always, squad unity and harmony appears to come before tactical efficiency.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/06/euro-2012-preview-spain/

Ibime is truly a charlatan - how is Llorente not being 'fully fit' the same thing as being tired?

That the Guardian SPECULATES that Llorente MIGHT be tired is no proof of anything - like Coogar said, if Xavi played 50 something times and wasn't tired, how often did Llorente play to claim he was tired?

The fact is that Llorente was struggling to regain fitness from injury and wasn't tired.

This is the reason I didnt respond to you guys yesterday cos next thing I know you pedants would be arguing the nature of Llorente's fatigue. Spanish authority Guillem Ballegue told me on TV that Del Bosque believes Llorente is exhausted and I take it as that.

debosky: Ibime is truly a charlatan - how is Llorente not being 'fully fit' the same thing as being tired?

That the Guardian SPECULATES that Llorente MIGHT be tired is no proof of anything - like Coogar said, if Xavi played 50 something times and wasn't tired, how often did Llorente play to claim he was tired?

The fact is that Llorente was struggling to regain fitness from injury and wasn't tired.

You seemed to miss "Fernando Llorente, might be exhausted after a demanding season of domestic and club international fixtures"

So because Xavi wasnt tired means another player shouldn't be? Last weekend Andy Johnson and Lukas Podolski started the games How come Johnson left injured and Poldi wasnt? Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the field, How come others on the same field didnt collapse?

You see the stupidity oozing from your argument?

". . .and signs that some of the players he'd picked for his squad, like Fernando Llorente, might be exhausted. . . "

I am supposed to ignore the context in which the statement was composed and swallow it hook, ljne and sinker as VDB's reason for not playing Llorente for a single minute.

What a load of codswallop.


Is this percieved tiredness by a journalist the same reason Soldado was not selected as well? This numpty is caught right in middle of proving that Llorente' s tiredness and Torres' loss of form, though suppossedly known before the tourney, is reason they didn't play in it and proving that although the situation of players was known before the Euros began, it still was not enough to take along an in-form and "a striker who wasn' t tired" .

Very stupid argument when a sensible conclusion was that Del Bosque was using Barca's false 9 tactics.

dayokanu:

You seemed to miss "Fernando Llorente, might be exhausted after a demanding season of domestic and club international fixtures"

So because Xavi wasnt tired means another player shouldn't be? Last weekend Andy Johnson and Lukas Podolski started the games How come Johnson left injured and Poldi wasnt? Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the field, How come others on the same field didnt collapse?

You see the stupidity oozing from your argument?

you are a foolish beanpole -
that llorente "might" be tired was a mere speculation - it didn't come out of del bosque's mouth that llorente was tired......

del bosque said this about torres: "I think torres really was a help to us, and I got everything there was to have out of him. In the second match, he helped us beat Ireland, and he nearly scored against Italy, were it not for Buffon … I think he was in good physical shape. Yes, I heard the cries of 'Llorente, Llorente' from the fans. But just as I found a time to use Torres, I just could not find the opportunity to use Llorente over six matches … and I say that with regrets not because I favour one player over the other, which I don't, but because Llorente is on the personal front a really nice guy and is a great striker."

as you can see, del bosque simply rated torres more than the other strikers in spain. its so disgraceful that you and ibime would lie like zombies to witchhunt nando!

How can you witchhunt a player who's been crap for two years.

If he's a witch, it's not a witchhunt!!!

Ibime: How can you witchhunt a player who's been crap for two years.

If he's a witch, it's not a witchhunt!!!

but del bosque did not think so when he took nando to the euros - he said he could find the time to use torres but couldn't get the opportunity to play llorente in 6 games(even if it's for 1 min).......if llorente was so "tired" like you claimed, why was he in the squad?

fat ibime - stop this misinformation, it's smearing your reputation!

coogar:

but del bosque did not think so when he took nando to the euros - he said he could find the time to use torres but couldn't get the opportunity to play llorente in 6 games(even if it's for 1 min).......if llorente was so "tired" like you claimed, why was he in the squad?

fat ibime - stop this misinformation, it's smearing your reputation!

Rotflmao !!

nateevs: Is this percieved tiredness by a journalist the same reason Soldado was not selected as well? This numpty is caught right in middle of proving that Llorente' s tiredness and Torres' loss of form, though suppossedly known before the tourney, is reason they didn't play in it and proving that although the situation of players was known before the Euros began, it still was not enough to take along an in-form and "a striker who wasn' t tired" .

Very stupid argument when a sensible conclusion was that Del Bosque was using Barca's false 9 tactics.

Barca's false 9 tactics where used because Del Bosque did not trust his strikers! Isn't this obvious?

nateevs: ". . .and signs that some of the players he'd picked for his squad, like Fernando Llorente, might be exhausted. . . "

I am supposed to ignore the context in which the statement was composed and swallow it hook, ljne and sinker as VDB's reason for not playing Llorente for a single minute.

What a load of codswallop.


Is this percieved tiredness by a journalist the same reason Soldado was not selected as well? This numpty is caught right in middle of proving that Llorente' s tiredness and Torres' loss of form, though suppossedly known before the tourney, is reason they didn't play in it and proving that although the situation of players was known before the Euros began, it still was not enough to take along an in-form and "a striker who wasn' t tired" .

Very stupid argument when a sensible conclusion was that Del Bosque was using Barca's false 9 tactics.

Barca used a False 9 when Villa was out for the season and they had no other striker.

Spain had Villa out , had other strikers but chose to use the false 9 because the other inform strikers were not experienced at the top level and the experienced Mr Torres has been out of form since yar Adua died in Saudi

coogar:

you are a foolish beanpole -
that llorente "might" be tired was a mere speculation - it didn't come out of del bosque's mouth that llorente was tired......

del bosque said this about torres: "I think torres really was a help to us, and I got everything there was to have out of him. In the second match, he helped us beat Ireland, and he nearly scored against Italy, were it not for Buffon … I think he was in good physical shape. Yes, I heard the cries of 'Llorente, Llorente' from the fans. But just as I found a time to use Torres, I just could not find the opportunity to use Llorente over six matches … and I say that with regrets not because I favour one player over the other, which I don't, but because Llorente is on the personal front a really nice guy and is a great striker."

as you can see, del bosque simply rated torres more than the other strikers in spain. its so disgraceful that you and ibime would lie like zombies to witchhunt nando!

based on experience Villa and Torres were the top strikers. Villa was crocked and VdB would rather use no striker than try out Torres. The other option was to use Rookies like Lloriente and Negredo who had prior to Euro cup started 5 games each for Spain

He rather went with the no striker option than Play the useless Torres

dayokanu:

based on experience Villa and Torres were the top strikers. Villa was crocked and VdB would rather use no striker than try out Torres. The other option was to use Rookies like Lloriente and Negredo who had prior to Euro cup started 5 games each for Spain

He rather went with the no striker option than Play the useless Torres

That means to say Torres na short 1? Indictments don't get any bigger than that! If playing a false 9 was Del Bosque's de-facto preference then why did Torres start the Croatia game after scoring twice against Ireland? That is what the pro-Torres faction would not answer

dayokanu:
based on experience Villa and Torres were the top strikers. Villa was crocked and VdB would rather use no striker than try out Torres. The other option was to use Rookies like Lloriente and Negredo who had prior to Euro cup started 5 games each for Spain

i reiterate - you are a bumbling oaf!
puyol's absence and the out of form piqué made up del bosque's mind to load up his midfield and sacrifice strikers. had villa been fit, he would have played on the left side of the attack......it had nothing to do with torres being useless or negredo/soldado's few number of caps. how many caps did pedro cop before the 2010 world cup? busquets had how many caps before 2010 world cup? so in your little brain matter, cesc has had more experience as a centre forward than llorente? you should donate your brain to the ape kingdom!

He rather went with the no striker option than Play the useless Torres

but the useless torres won the golden boot! the useless torres got his manager's praise whilst some charlatans on nairaland are screaming like rhesus monkeys! in one fell swoop, "llorente is tired" metamorphosed to "llorente is inexperienced"!!! i want to know how many caps jordi alba copped before euro 2012 - i am sure it's not less than 500 caps for spain to have been in the starting xi!