In a bold statement the other day, Fernando Torres claimed he is unable to deliver on the pitch because he is surrounded by aging players who are too slow to allay his scoring quandary.
No doubt his desperate outburst was spurred by Fabio Capello’s claim to the Guardian and the Daily Mail respectively that he (Capello) “decides that England’s weak-minded players have to go” and that he “backs England kids to shed baggage of World Cup” (namely Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and John Terry.)
But the finger should point to Chelsea’s no. 9, not England’s senior players at Stamford Bridge. Terry might be aging but at least he’s scoring.
And if slow-paced ball-hogging players were in question, why didn’t they prohibit Drogba, Anelka and Malouda from scoring?
Past exclamations rested on managers and adjustments with new teammates.
Needless to say, if you dump all of Torres’s excuses in a sieve and shake it, what you’ll end up with is one ex-Liverpool ace.
Del Bosque can’t even save him. No longer is the striker’s drought excoriated by the Spain manager, as he already dropped Torres from the national squad for the Euro 2012 qualifying match against Liechtenstein. What was going through Del Bosque’s head should be taken seriously, as Liechtenstein didn’t pose any threat (Spain won 6 – 0 and sealed their place in the Euro.)
And it’s unlikely there is any relief looming over the goal line’s horizon, as according to Mail Online, Del Bosque said “the people selected for the national team are those who do well for their clubs…” Well.
If that’s the case, perhaps Torres should return to his native Spain, as most of his Spain teammates are taken up by Barcelona and Real Madrid.
If writing off Torres seems premature, one must define premature. What’s worse, is his performance isn’t considered spotty anymore. It’s consistently poor.
Time is like water, and as the weeks flow Torres continues to drown. Considering his dilemma, how long does it take before premature turns to too late?
