THE post match reaction thread....

[JPK]

Torres was very pissed off today. He was sitting on the bench and you could see his frustrations and anger. Quite rightly so if I may add I'm getting more frustrated with Rafa each week.

Torres was top of the world before the Internationals after 3league goals and then he sits out the next two league games.He is 22 and if he needs a rest in September there is something wrong with our training methods.Van Nistelrooy or Henry were never dropped when on a hot streak.

If I was Torres I would be questioning whether I made the right move after all.Is Pako leaving and our poor performances a co-incidence????

[rage]

its not just torres , or one game, its the whole policy....

and that my friend is rafa's folly.

As long as he continues with this stupid policy we will never win the league.

Babel is young and has talent and will only get better.
Pennant is garbage.
Kyut is Heskey all over, did anyone see his attempts at close control, reminded of Heskey chesting the ball back to our keeper from the oppositions half.
The crow is not a starting player, impact at best.

We had no pace upfront, they sat back and got their point.

Over-reaction my arse if rafa continues like this we will not win the league. Sell Pennant, Play Torres and stop picking the team like a lottery.

[tomasjj]

Pace has little to offer when teams sit back and defend deep with 10 men.

[rage]

ok pace and a bit more talent - torres. Come on how the **** has rafa not played torres.

[Sarb]

Can some it up in one sentance. Rafa has lost the plot and lost us the chance of number 19!

[Lee]

As disappointing as todays game was, we are a better team than last year and should end up higher than last years at the end of the season.

I do agree mate

But two 0-0 draws at Pompey (no real disgrace), and against a newly promoted Birmingham at Anfield are dangerous. They should be your 'Gimmes', where we should expect and get three points from each game. You really can't afford to slip up on these games when you need 80-90 points to win the league.

Torres has to start every game, he's 22, fit, strong, played every game for AM, scored 3 in 4 for us. Then Rafa drops him saying that Kuyt & Voronin were a better option today. ****, even Stevie Wonder can see that's completely not the case.

Still, as said before, our defence - even with the injury problems - has looked rock solid. Plus we're still undefeated.

[Sarb]

Simple question to ask, when a striker is scoring goals and you have spent £21.5m on him, why the **** do you put him on the bench?

People can put whatever positive spin on it they want, but Rafa's tinkering has cost us 4 points. Arsenal are looking unbeatable.

I hope Gillett and Hicks are watching and have made a note of how their £21.5m is used to get splinters in his ar*e

[cobain]

Pace has little to offer when teams sit back and defend deep with 10 men.

Yes, BUT Torres can dribble past defenders! Which is something I can't really say for Kuyt, Crouch or Voronin

We needed Luis Garcia today! Where are you Luis?!?!

[cobain]

Simple question to ask, when a striker is scoring goals and you have spent £21.5m on him, why the **** do you put him on the bench?

People can put whatever positive spin on it they want, but Rafa's tinkering has cost us 4 points. Arsenal are looking unbeatable.

I hope Gillett and Hicks are watching and have made a note of how their £21.5m is used to get splinters in his ar*e

Exactly!

I mean, even Real Madrid don't do that

[Imy]

Yes, BUT Torres can dribble past defenders! Which is something I can't really say for Kuyt, Crouch or Voronin

We needed Luis Garcia today! Where are you Luis?!?!

i've said this for ages but we need a playmaker a difference maker someone to conjure something from nothing a Tevez if you must. Until Rafa buys a player like that we will struggle vs teams like Brum

[tomasjj]

Yes, BUT Torres can dribble past defenders! Which is something I can't really say for Kuyt, Crouch or Voronin

We needed Luis Garcia today! Where are you Luis?!?!

Yes, I wanted Torres to play.
My comment was more in relation to the general cry for pace up front.

you are spot on about Luis though.

[Lee]

Simple question to ask, when a striker is scoring goals and you have spent £21.5m on him, why the **** do you put him on the bench?

We needed Luis Garcia today! Where are you Luis?!?!

Are the correct answers

Rafa's choices can be bloody mind boggling at times

[cobain]

Yes, I wanted Torres to play.
My comment was more in relation to the general cry for pace up front.

you are spot on about Luis though.

No, there was no space for pace (wow!) today ... We needed someone to unlock their defence or come up with a goal from nowhere. Luis Garcia used to do that. I'll never forget his goals v. Charlton and v. Spurs that came from absolutely nothing. That's the thing we need! Unfortunately, we don't have a player in the squad who can do that. I guess Benny is the only one who could do something against Brum today.

[JPK]

i've said this for ages but we need a playmaker a difference maker someone to conjure something from nothing a Tevez if you must. Until Rafa buys a player like that we will struggle vs teams like Brum

Play Gerrard off Torres.Both are **** hot and have pace and will link like we seen when Torres scored against Chelsea.Have Monster and Xabi behind.
On the wings have Aurelio and Babel.The back 5 are a well organised unit and know how to keep a clean sheet.

[Sarb]

"Before play we knew they would play deep and compact," added Benitez.


"Without space it would have been more difficult for Torres and we thought it was better for Voronin and Kuyt.


"The understanding between the two was good in the first half. In the second half Kuyt and Torres had chances as the other team were playing deeper and we had more control."

Rafa on Torres' omission

So Rafa. Because you thought they would play deep you thought Torres wouldn't have done as well. So when he came on they played even deeper and Torres did well.

So you made the wrong decision?!

I'm at my wits end with Rafa's selection....what a ****ing joke. Can't justify spending £21.5m on Torres and starting him on the bench.