With the latest setback regarding Torres' injury, we find ourselves in an uncomfortable situation. Our latest goalless draws at home are no coincidence. We're very impotent when faced with a side parking the bus in front of their goal. We lack ideas, we lack sharpness and most importantly, we have no killer instinct.
Now I do not know why is Rafa ignoring Babel and even preferring N'Gog in a striking role ahead of him, but doing so is choosing the "safe" route and it hasn't paid off.
One of the problems Torres' absence has given us is the lethargic form of Dirk Kuyt. When playing in his right sided role, Kuyt was actually more dangerous as he had more freedom to venture into the box, unmarked, and add in crucial goals for us. Torres' presence meant Kuyt was given less attention.
Now however, Kuyt is no longer a novelty, and he is being carefully guarded by opposition players and struggles to "carry" the burden of scoring goals playing next to our invisible man, Robbie Keane.
But this isn't just Kuyt's problem, it is affecting all of our attacking starters at the moment (Benayoun, Riera, Kuyt and Keane).
What is common with these four? It's not hard to see that all of them are support players. They do their role to help the match winners shine and take some pressure off them, but none of them have the primacy to carry a side. Each player has some deficiencies which prevents him from being a consistent threat to the opposition, especially when he's being targeted.
And when is it most glaring? When we're playing an inferior side that looks to neutralize us. This is why we can beat Man United and Chelsea yet struggle to Stoke and West Ham. There is no siege mentality, and none of these support players can win us a game in the manner Kuyt and Mascherano did during the second goal against the mancs. You can bet that ball would have been cleared long before they had a chance to take it if the opposition was Fulham and not the confident reigning champions.
So for me, the only alternative to Torres' unpredictability is Ryan Babel. If we keep the same team that Rafa had marked from the start of the season as his first 11 (with either Keane in a 4-4-2, or Masch in a 4-5-1 the only question left unanswered) and just put Babel in Torres' role, we get stability, we give one of our most talented players a chance to shine in his favoured position, and let our support players, Riera and Kuyt, do what they like to do without being given the "most dangerous attacking player" tag by the opposition.
Yes, Babel is not as good as Torres, but he's the closest thing we have to him and he's the one player in the squad who could develop into more than just a "support" player.
He's our third match winner in the making.
Now I do not know why is Rafa ignoring Babel and even preferring N'Gog in a striking role ahead of him, but doing so is choosing the "safe" route and it hasn't paid off.
One of the problems Torres' absence has given us is the lethargic form of Dirk Kuyt. When playing in his right sided role, Kuyt was actually more dangerous as he had more freedom to venture into the box, unmarked, and add in crucial goals for us. Torres' presence meant Kuyt was given less attention.
Now however, Kuyt is no longer a novelty, and he is being carefully guarded by opposition players and struggles to "carry" the burden of scoring goals playing next to our invisible man, Robbie Keane.
But this isn't just Kuyt's problem, it is affecting all of our attacking starters at the moment (Benayoun, Riera, Kuyt and Keane).
What is common with these four? It's not hard to see that all of them are support players. They do their role to help the match winners shine and take some pressure off them, but none of them have the primacy to carry a side. Each player has some deficiencies which prevents him from being a consistent threat to the opposition, especially when he's being targeted.
And when is it most glaring? When we're playing an inferior side that looks to neutralize us. This is why we can beat Man United and Chelsea yet struggle to Stoke and West Ham. There is no siege mentality, and none of these support players can win us a game in the manner Kuyt and Mascherano did during the second goal against the mancs. You can bet that ball would have been cleared long before they had a chance to take it if the opposition was Fulham and not the confident reigning champions.
So for me, the only alternative to Torres' unpredictability is Ryan Babel. If we keep the same team that Rafa had marked from the start of the season as his first 11 (with either Keane in a 4-4-2, or Masch in a 4-5-1 the only question left unanswered) and just put Babel in Torres' role, we get stability, we give one of our most talented players a chance to shine in his favoured position, and let our support players, Riera and Kuyt, do what they like to do without being given the "most dangerous attacking player" tag by the opposition.
Yes, Babel is not as good as Torres, but he's the closest thing we have to him and he's the one player in the squad who could develop into more than just a "support" player.
He's our third match winner in the making.
it does have some merit. I recall Babel stating a preference for playing up front too, so perhaps this would be somehting to get him out of his current malaise - it may well be the filip he needs.
RAFA 
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