The Transfers Thread

[ADL9798]

Torres' problems aren't to do with the formation, tactics, presence of a strike partner or even anything to do with his technical ability, it's all 100% in his head.

The injuries took their toll on his body (particularly the repeated hamstring tears) and he's now unable to get that explosive acceleration off the mark that once made him so dangerous. Because of this he became more conservative in his play because he's now far less inclined to back himself in to beat a defender one on one. This meant that straight away he was getting less opportunities to score, and the opportunities he was getting, he was so nervous about making them count that he would freeze and seemingly forget how to finish (which seems odd since at his peak he was one of the best in the world in those situations).

This then snowballed into an extended goal drought, although you would have thought at some point it would click for him. However, I think back to his days at Liverpool and even at his best there were always doubts about his mental strength. If he was having an off day or was coming back from injury (unlike someone like Suarez) he'd really just retreat into his shell and give you nothing, the difference is that at that time his confidence was so high that he would recover from this dip within a game or 2 and be back to his unstoppable best. Unfortunately he's been in one of those slumps since the first day he joined Chelsea. He's been stuck in a negative feedback loop and it seems he's now incapable of climbing out of it and I worry for him that it's gone on for so long he may never get that confidence back.

He'll be very difficult to sell at this point because of a combination of his form and his contractual situation. I think he'll be at Chelsea for a while longer, with FFP it's now far more difficult to just write off the remaining wages of a high earning player's contract and let them leave on a free, for someone like Torres that's going to involve a significant outlay of money that you get no return on whatsoever. In addition to that I can't see him swallowing his pride, taking a wage cut and leaving with no pay out because with the way he's playing, he's never going to get another big contract for the rest of his career. Unless he seriously turns it around this is it for him financially so he'll sit on that for the duration of the contract, in the meantime the club should be hiring a psychologist full time to try to unlock him and see a return on that investment.

 

[BluesMan]

Chelsea fans have been extremely patient with Torres since he arrived at the club.However, it has become painfully obvious that he is finished as a top line footballer.

agreed. I've been patient, one to hold judgement, now im at the "its about time he performs stage" and he just fluffs it. He's just average at best.

 

[chef]

Torres continues to frustrate and I have officially given up on him, looks like he will be making way for Falcao anyway.

I've never seen a striker so reluctant to get into scoring positions. It's just so bizarre. The reason Torres' scoring record is so poor at Chelsea is not just the ones he misses but the reluctance to gamble and anticipate like any other striker. He seems to have no desire or hunger to score goals anymore. If that's just a confidence thing or not I don't know.

If he has just lost his pace then he needs to adapt his game, like great players do.

 

[Cruyff14]

Failure to adapt really after the injuries.

 

[manureid]

The longer he keep playing at Chelsea the better. Just say 'NO' to Falcao!!

 

[BluesMan]

Im certain had we had a good striker over the time frame of how long torres has been at the club, we would not have finished 6th last year, and we would be challenging the title this year.

 

[Stratton_Gun]

South Korean superkid Seung Woo Lee is being blocked from continuing his career with Barcelona.
The teenager is playing for Barca's cadet B team and has club coaching staff excited about his progress.
However, FIFA have ordered Barca to deregister 14 year-old Lee as he moved to Europe before turning 18, which breaks existing transfer laws.
Lee has been making great progress at Barca for over a year, but FIFA have acted after an anonymous complaint, says Sport.

Pretty obvious with a name like that..

 

[kaiserchief13]

South Korean superkid Seung Woo Lee is being blocked from continuing his career with Barcelona.
The teenager is playing for Barca's cadet B team and has club coaching staff excited about his progress.
However, FIFA have ordered Barca to deregister 14 year-old Lee as he moved to Europe before turning 18, which breaks existing transfer laws.
Lee has been making great progress at Barca for over a year, but FIFA have acted after an anonymous complaint, says Sport.

Pretty obvious with a name like that..

Maybe his parents are Korean and he has lived his whole life in Spain?

 

[Magma]

what a ****ing joke. another example of stupid rules coming before a players happiness and development.

he's a 14 year old kid, his development and future should be much more important than some regulations AS A KID. how are there any transfer regulations for someone that young if their entire family has moved to a new country?

 

[scottwade]

Maybe his parents are Korean and he has lived his whole life in Spain?

No he grew up in South Korea and was spotted by Barca in the U13 World Cup tournament held in South Africa.

what a ******* joke. another example of stupid rules coming before a players happiness and development.

he's a 14 year old kid, his development and future should be much more important than some regulations AS A KID. how are there any transfer regulations for someone that young if their entire family has moved to a new country?

He is a kid and therefore needs to be protected.
I've seen no suggestion that his family relocated to Spain.
No one is suggesting that Barca don't look after the kids in their academies, but you can't have one rule for a club like Barca and another for the clubs that essentially exploited kids, by bringing them to Europe (mainly from Africa), failed to properly care for them and then dumped the kid if he didn't develop to their satisfaction.
That is why the rule was brought in.
Incidentally Barca have 3 Korean youngsters on their books all of a similar age.

 

[Magma]

i would assume in normal circumstances that his family have at least re-located to spain near barcelona to be with their child. and that's example obviously doesn't apply in this circumstance, but this situation isn't infringing on the rights of a human being, whereas the other one is. a child in la masia will be properly looked after and given a good education, both book and footballing wise. the exploitation of young children is a much more extreme example where powers higher than fifa should be and would be involved. if all is up to standard and kids are being looked after, i fail to see how a 14 year old child needs to be pulled away from a place that is taking care of them.

what if where he came from falls under your second example of poor care, standards and such?

 

[Kompany]

Clubs don't bring in kids from Africa - it's agents who ship them in, put them all in a single house and try to to find clubs who want to trial/sign them. If things don't work out, these kids are then often afraid to go back home because they feel they've disgraced their family and blown the chance to save them out of poverty, so some end up playing for lower division sides and doing underpaid work.

This is a reality that is so far from the life of a kid at Barca's academy.

 

[Magma]

and if the kid was no good, i bet this wouldn't even be happening. it's only because he's talented that some jealous bitter has dobbed them in.

 

[pantskyle]

and if the kid was no good, i bet this wouldn't even be happening. it's only because he's talented that some jealous bitter has dobbed them in.

The rules are in place for a reason. Barca broke them. I don't understand why you are mad. Doesn't matter one bit if the kid is being looked after by them.

 

[Kompany]

So, the rule that has been broken is that he moved to Europe before he was 18. Now we have Man Utd fans here finding it a good decision to send him back "coz the kids need to be protected". Come on, Utd signs under aged players themselves all the time. I guess they don't need to be protected then?

 

[Hawthorn United]

I'm sure there's more to it than been reported. Why else would he be sent back when others aren't.

 

[Stratton_Gun]

If they were breaking the rules then of course he should be sent back

 

[Kompany]

It says that an anonymous person put in a complaint. Quite likely that would be a jealous person/club or some party who has an interest in Barcelona losing this kid who is doing very well by the way. http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/t...ee-14-scores-4-whilst-showcasing-his-talents/

If you ask why some get sent back and others don't, that's easy. FIFA/UEFA only react when they receive a complaint. Compare it to the Australian immigration dept - they don't actively go looking for tourists or working holiday makers bending the rules. What you will see is that occasionally someone will be jealous (a competitor or someone who wants the same job...) and will call up immigration. Only then immigration will get into action, because they have no choice.

 

[Kompany]

If they were breaking the rules then of course he should be sent back

You mean just blindly accept any rules? Why is it ok for Utd to sign kids while this kid has to go back?

Anyway, in this thread people have been claiming that the kid has to be sent back because "he is a kid and needs to be protected". If that is the idea behind the rule, then this situation around this player is a joke. Clearly a party with interest in Barcelona losing him is behind this. That's all there's to it and that makes it hard to accept.

 

[HolyRioli]

Can someone tell me how this is different to Messi moving into La Masia at the age he did?

 

[pantskyle]

So, the rule that has been broken is that he moved to Europe before he was 18. Now we have Man Utd fans here finding it a good decision to send him back "coz the kids need to be protected". Come on, Utd signs under aged players themselves all the time. I guess they don't need to be protected then?

Don't be precious and don't turn it into a United thing. It's a rule which was broken. Is it fair? Maybe not in this case but you can't just break the rules and not expect something like this.

It doesn't matter which team did it. For Barca it sucks as the kid has talent.

 

[Kompany]

Don't be precious and don't turn it into a United thing. It's a rule which was broken. Is it fair? Maybe not in this case but you can't just break the rules and not expect something like this.

Precious? There's Utd fans here claiming this decision is fair - of course I'm going to make the comparison. Utd signs kids just like Barcelona.

I'm just wondering what logic makes it acceptable for Utd to sign them while when a kid gets sent away from La Masia it's "a correct decision".

 

[pantskyle]

Precious? There's Utd fans here claiming this decision is fair - of course I'm going to make the comparison. Utd signs kids just like Barcelona.

I'm just wondering what logic makes it acceptable for Utd to sign them while when a kid gets sent away from La Masia it's "a correct decision".

Instead of attacking United supporters why don't you provide some proof to back up your argument.

I guarantee you that if this was United losing a player I would have the same opinion and if anything be shitty with my club for doing the wrong thing and losing an obvious talent.

 

[Kompany]

Instead of attacking United supporters why don't you provide some proof to back up your argument.

Hang on darling, who's being precious here?

No, I don't "attack" Utd fans, I just question the double standards that one or two have shown here considering they too sign kids.

Proof? What do you mean? You've got 5 Belgians I know of - 4 are minors and 1 was a minor when you signed him.

As far as I'm aware, Barcelona didn't break a rule that said it's ok to sign a 16 year old but not 14 year old. The rule said he had to be 18. That's ludicrous. I could have sympathy for the rule if it would really protect helpless African kids or something, but I doubt that's the reality.

And yeah, like HolyRioli mentioned, I too don't see any difference with Barcelona signing Messi in the past.

 

[Magma]

The rules are in place for a reason. Barca broke them. I don't understand why you are mad. Doesn't matter one bit if the kid is being looked after by them.

because it's a stupid rule. and with most stupid rules it's not looked at as a case by case example. there is a kid here, who is a fantastic talent, most likely enjoying his life and having fun with all his friends and dreaming of one day playing for barcelona. now, because of one dickhead, there's a chance he's going to be yanked out of his position and probably shoved back in south korea. now how is that fair to the kid? that's why i'm mad. the child's side never gets a fair go, and it's ridiculous that this is even happening. let a kid be a kid, no matter what country it is, unless it's shit like those african agents pull.

clubs sign underage talent all the time from outside europe. messi was only 13 when he signed for barca and played for the youth teams. by these laws he should've been forced to stay in argentina and suffer for another 5 years. but that would've been perfectly fair.