Despite only scoring one goal for Spain during Euro 2008, one of his club team-mates certainly thinks Fernando Torres is better than any other striker on the planet. [Read the rest of this entry »]
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Posts Tagged ‘Fernando’
Kevin Keegan came out after Newcastle’s 0-2 loss to Chelsea and said that he could not turn the Toon into a Big Four team again within the three years his contract lasts for. Such talk has landed him in hot water with owner Mike Ashley, who has called him down to London for “crisis talks” today.
Since his emotional outburst though, it turns out that Portsmouth Manager Harry Redknapp and Reading manager Steve Coppell both actually agree with him, with Harry quoted as saying:
“You would need £150million to spend to have any chance of breaking into that top four, Look at Liverpool last summer, they spent £28million on Fernando Torres and he is a fantastic player but who else can compete with that?
I agree with Kevin Keegan, I do not see any way that anyone else can break into the top four. Tottenham came closest for a few seasons but if you look at them now they have fallen back into mid-table. Nothing is guaranteed by spending money and it is getting harder and harder to get there.”
And Coppell today saying:
“I have been saying that for a long time. At the start of the season you know within four teams definitely, probably within three and most betting people would say within two teams who is going to win the league, I contradict myself by saying it is brilliant to watch these teams do well in Europe but they have too much of an advantage on a week-to-week basis for it to be a really competitive league.
There are sub-divisions within the league that are competitive but in terms of winning the division you know who is going to do that at the start of each year.”
Are they right? Is the Premier League boring or just predictable? Should the Top Four be booted into an Elite Euro League? Should the Champion’s League rules be changed? Surely something needs to change or the fans will vote with their feet.
Tagged Under: Champions League, Fernando, Fernando Torres, Harry Redknapp, Liverpool FC, Newcastle United FC, Portsmouth FC, Premier League, Reading FC, redknapp, steve coppell, torres
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Should your team be bidding for Peter Crouch this summer? It’s clear that if the former QPR hitman gets a regular run of games for most Premier League clubs, he’ll score a fair few, both on the floor and in the air. It’s just a shame that Liverpool FC manager Rafael Benitez seems intent on persisting with a formation that includes just one forward, and that Crouch has to compete with the goal machine that is Fernando Torres.
While there’s been a whole heap of speculation surrounding Crouch all season, most of which has been rebuffed by the striker, it now appears as though the talented forward is moving to pastures new. Sky Sports report that Rafael Benitez has slapped a £15million price tag on his head (after getting a ladder out to reach that far), which is the equivalent of one-and-a-half Gareth Barry’s if Liverpool’s economics are anything to go by.
“Crouch wants to play every week but knows he must fight it out with Fernando Torres,” Benitez said.
“We keep seeing Portsmouth linked with the player but we have had no offer as yet.
“A £15m price tag would not be unreasonable.”
Which is basically the Spaniard’s way of saying ‘show me the money’ to potential buyers. Harry Redknapp is clearly a fan of Crouchaldinho, having been his manager when the pair were at Southampton. Will there be a little and large act at Pompey next season, with Crouch and Defoe wreaking havoc amongst opposition defences?
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Tagged Under: benitez, crouch, defoe, England, Fernando, Liverpool FC, peter crouch, Portsmouth FC, qpr, rafael, rafael benitez, redknapp, Southampton FC, torres
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The Reds might have come up short in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup this season, yet one player who has been anything other than a letdown is Fernando Torres, the Liverpool number nine who has had the Kop bouncing ever since he scored against Chelsea back in August.
The Times reports that Rafael Benitez is expecting life to get tougher for his compatriot next season, with defences more likely to keep a tight reign on the talented young striker. However, like Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s possible that Torres has plenty of room for improvement over the next few seasons.
“Fernando has been amazing, and he has reached that total without any penalties,” Benitez said. “Clearly it will be more difficult for Torres next season, defenders will have watched him and will work on stopping him. But he can improve even from this. He has a strong mentality and he can cope with what defenders do. It will not be easy to score this many goals again, obviously it will be more difficult for him.
“But if he scores a good number of goals and his team-mates, five of whom have scored 10 or more this season, also improve and increase their number of goals, it will be OK for us.”
Torres has currently scored 32 goals this season and will be hoping to add to this tally at White Hart Lane on Sunday. While defenders might be working harder on stopping him next term, it’s not as if they’ve been standing to one side and let him blaze a trail to goal this season!
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It must have come as no surprise to anyone to see Cristiano Ronaldo win PFA Player of the Year on Sunday evening. The Portuguese winger-cum-striker has been nothing short of sensational throughout the season, scoring 38 goals in all competitions to date and helping steer Manchester United towards another Premier League crown and a Champions League victory.
The Guardian report that Ronaldo picks up the award for a second successive season, what price a third next term, providing the Red Devils number seven stays free from injury, something he seems quite adept at doing. The player was suitably chuffed at receiving the recognition.
“I feel very happy,” he said. “When you work all season to play good, to do something for the team, to do your contribution for the team and then at the end of the season the PFA give you this award, it is a great moment, it is an honour, a pleasure. It is a great motivation to carry on like that, to work more and get better.”
It’s clear that no resting on laurels took place last term when Ronaldo won the award, although it’s scary to think that the boy might continue to improve! There was also joy for Cesc Fabregas as he won the young player’s award, which at least will go some way to compensating for Arsenal’s entertaining yet potless season.
“I’m very proud. It’s a very prestigious trophy,” said the midfielder. “Football is a collective game and you prefer to win trophies with team-mates but it’s always nice to have this type of award. I dedicate it to my team-mates because without them I would not have won.”
Fabregas’ Spanish team-mate Fernando Torres can consider himself unlucky not to have won the award, especially as he’s been so impressive during his first season in the Premier League. The Liverpool number nine is one of the reasons why the Reds might yet win the Champions League and will surely have his hands on one of these awards in seasons to come.
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Steven Gerrard seems to think so. It’s over four years since Liverpool scored at Stamford Bridge, something that doesn’t bode well for them when they play Chelsea on Wednesday. In their favour, the Reds can point to the fact that they have scored in every away match in the Champions League this season, including a 1-0 win away at Inter.
The match winner that evening was Fernando Torres and The Times reports that the Spaniard’s captain thinks the new goalscoring hero of the Kop could be the difference between the two teams. However, it’s questionable as to how much service the Liverpool number nine will receive; after all, he failed to hit the back of the net in the first leg.
“Chelsea might have a slight advantage, but there is another 90 minutes to go and we have got to have the belief and confidence that we can go through, otherwise it would be pointless going there,” Gerrard said. “We haven’t been to Stamford Bridge yet with Fernando Torres in the team – and that could make a difference. I could see on his face how disappointed he was at not scoring, but that’s how he is. He expects to score in every game and, to be fair, he has done more often than not. It was still apparent how he causes real problems for defences and it will be the same down there. You wouldn’t put it past him to get that all-important away goal that could end up taking us through.”
If Liverpool are to progress, you imagine it will be done either by winning 1-0 or getting that ‘all-important away goal’, drawing 1-1 and winning the match on penalties as they did last season. It’s not just Torres that needs a big game – the likes of Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel will have to rise to the occasion if the Chelsea defence are to be troubled.
Tagged Under: Chelsea FC, Fernando, Fernando Torres, gerrard, inter, Liverpool FC, steven gerrard, torres
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