Clubs that have actually won the Premier League title like Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have done it on the back of stunning form from consistent performers throughout the season. Think of Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo almost single handedly driving their teams to the top. Those players weren’t subjected to constant rotation, seemingly just for the hell of it.
If Drogba or Ronaldo got rotated as much as Torres and Gerrard do, would Chelsea and Manchester United have won their last couple of titles?
Well it looks like we’re about to find out. Fernando Torres, annoyingly left to languish on the bench in the weekends snore-draw with mighty Birmingham, scored a hat-trick yesterday in the Carling Cup game against Reading. But Rafa “Mid-Life Crisis” Benitez, still can not guarantee poor Fernando a starting place because only Peter Crouch can play on the final Saturday in September according to the Benitez Lunar Calendar.
Benitez stroked his facial accouterments and glumly mumbled:
“With FernandoÂ’s pace you know he will kill defenders and he had a terrific game…If he is not injured and if he keeps training well, maybe he will start the game against Wigan on Saturday.We have four good strikers and I need to watch all of them. If you play well you have got a chance and as a manager you have to make difficult decisions.”
Difficult decisions is right, it is very difficult to decide to leave out a striker who is in blazing form but someone has to do it, right?
What is wrong with this man? Torres has frightening pace, skill, scores for fun, and a workrate that would even make David Moyes go weak at the knees. Plus he cost Liverpool £26.5 million, their record signing yet Rafa still dumps him and other key Liverpool players regardless of form with Peter Crouch still wondering what he has to do, other than score everytime he plays, to get a regular spot in the team.