Hi Guillem, as you are a Liverpool fan I was wondering what your opinion was on how Rafa Benitez has not started with Fernando Torres against Portsmouth and Birmingham? It's very strange how Benitez has waited for three years for a player like Torres and he doesn't start him in both of these games! Don't get me wrong Rafa is a great manager, but you can start to sense the Liverpool fans are starting to get a bit fed up of seeing their star player keeping the bench warm, when in the last two Premier League games Torres should have been shooting Liverpool to the top of the table. Very frustrating to see Arsenal top of the league, when let's be honest, it could have possibly been Liverpool if we hadn't dropped four 'easy' points! No disrespect to Portsmouth or Birmingham but we should be beating these teams to win the title! Not looking good again! Andy Mclaren, Liverpool Fan
GUILLEM SAYS: Basically Andy, there are three reasons why Fernando Torres gets a rest on the bench:
1: You shouldn't need him to beat, with all due respect, Birmingham or Portsmouth. Andriy Voronin, Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt should be enough - especially if you are challenging for the league title.
2: This is marathon not a sprint, as they cliche goes - although I was surprised to see him play against Reading in the Carling Cup. I think you will see Torres play the last 10 Premier League games of the season, because he will be fresh. I know people are saying that at Atletico Madrid he played every week, but the same demands weren't put on him and they didn't play in Europe.
3: Under Rafa Benitez rotation is the name of the game and people will have to get used to it - including Torres. If he has a run of four or five games out of 10 on the bench, the look on his face will tell you he can give more to the team, but I am sure this is a long-term plan. Rafa knows what he is doing!
GUILLEM SAYS: Basically Andy, there are three reasons why Fernando Torres gets a rest on the bench:
1: You shouldn't need him to beat, with all due respect, Birmingham or Portsmouth. Andriy Voronin, Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt should be enough - especially if you are challenging for the league title.
2: This is marathon not a sprint, as they cliche goes - although I was surprised to see him play against Reading in the Carling Cup. I think you will see Torres play the last 10 Premier League games of the season, because he will be fresh. I know people are saying that at Atletico Madrid he played every week, but the same demands weren't put on him and they didn't play in Europe.
3: Under Rafa Benitez rotation is the name of the game and people will have to get used to it - including Torres. If he has a run of four or five games out of 10 on the bench, the look on his face will tell you he can give more to the team, but I am sure this is a long-term plan. Rafa knows what he is doing!
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