Rafa puzzled by criticism of Torres substitution

By This Is Anfield On · 28 Comments · In LFC News

Rafa Benitez says he is confused by criticism of his decision to take off Fernando Torres after 63minutes of Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Fulham on Saturday.

After scoring the Reds’ equaliser, Torres was taken off just after the hour mark as a precaution with the Spanish striker recently suffering from an adductor injury.

Following the full-time whistle, and a fifth league defeat of the season for Benitez’s side, many fans and press questioned Benitez’s decision to bring the star striker off.

“I was surprised with the critics after the game because Fernando has had problems in the last month after the international games,” Benitez responded today.

“We are trying to manage because he was close to having an operation. Still this morning, two days after the game, he is feeling something.

“He is not comfortable. He has not got the power he had before, so we have to manage and try to protect him. He cannot play well if you keep pushing him. Maybe if you push him he will be injured for a long time.

“So, I am really surprised with the critics. When you talk about big names, people just analyse the names and not how the player is when he is on the pitch. He was not 100 per cent fit.

“We have to take Fernando to Lyon because we don’t have too many options. We have to keep working with him and the rest of the players.”

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  • aaron

    I think the problem is about the injuries or the benitez we can lost games with small teams

  • aaron

    I think the problem is about the injuries or the benitez we can lost games with small teams

  • Adam

    Well thats why you should have bought adequate, FIT cover then, isnt it!?!? Spending the bulk of your transfer money on a player who has only just made his debut, because of long standing injury- a player who is also notorious for spending half the time injured anyway. Im looking forward to seeing Aquilani doing well for us, but our season is over before he’s had a chance to do anything. Transfer folly, YET AGAIN. Time for a new manager please.

  • Adam

    Well thats why you should have bought adequate, FIT cover then, isnt it!?!? Spending the bulk of your transfer money on a player who has only just made his debut, because of long standing injury- a player who is also notorious for spending half the time injured anyway. Im looking forward to seeing Aquilani doing well for us, but our season is over before he’s had a chance to do anything. Transfer folly, YET AGAIN. Time for a new manager please.

  • abdulkarim

    Please funs stop critising benitez for this happens teams loose matches just keep incoraging him things will turn arround.

  • abdulkarim

    Please funs stop critising benitez for this happens teams loose matches just keep incoraging him things will turn arround.

  • Rome 77

    Gareth Southgate isn’t doing anything.Im sure he’ll pull 20-30 million out of his ar*e
    to buy you your adequate cover.

  • Rome 77

    Gareth Southgate isn’t doing anything.Im sure he’ll pull 20-30 million out of his ar*e
    to buy you your adequate cover.

  • Nikhil Michael

    look , we should never give excuses and straight away blame the manager all the time, have you all forgotten what our motto is “YOULL NEVER WALK ALONE” benitez i will give you 3 more games , 3 to turn all this around, i have not forgotten the champions league you managed us to, or the Fa cup or the last season which was memorable victories over Man utd , i will not forsake benitez just because of this, but 3 games , if e cant deliver, we have to immediately get mourinho in Anfield……

  • Nikhil Michael

    look , we should never give excuses and straight away blame the manager all the time, have you all forgotten what our motto is “YOULL NEVER WALK ALONE” benitez i will give you 3 more games , 3 to turn all this around, i have not forgotten the champions league you managed us to, or the Fa cup or the last season which was memorable victories over Man utd , i will not forsake benitez just because of this, but 3 games , if e cant deliver, we have to immediately get mourinho in Anfield……

  • rootsLFC

    some really silly comments ..from all over the place….Rafa has NO money to strengthen, in fact he has been finanacially under supported the entire time he has been at anfield . he has had to shop around the bargain basement to try and build a squad that’s competitive against Chelsea, man U ,other top euro sides. we are supposed to beat every one with a average squad

    the brutal truth is that his squad is barly strong enough to complete against the likes of spurs and man city. and yet year after yera he achieves more than we should expect

    adam says bring mourinho….come on which other TOP manager would take this job with a net spending power of 20 million since the Yankee jokers bought the club with our money??? Remember the quality of the squad before he came??? Traore!!!! Biscan!!!! come on Real reds support the manager (not the owners)

  • rootsLFC

    some really silly comments ..from all over the place….Rafa has NO money to strengthen, in fact he has been finanacially under supported the entire time he has been at anfield . he has had to shop around the bargain basement to try and build a squad that’s competitive against Chelsea, man U ,other top euro sides. we are supposed to beat every one with a average squad

    the brutal truth is that his squad is barly strong enough to complete against the likes of spurs and man city. and yet year after yera he achieves more than we should expect

    adam says bring mourinho….come on which other TOP manager would take this job with a net spending power of 20 million since the Yankee jokers bought the club with our money??? Remember the quality of the squad before he came??? Traore!!!! Biscan!!!! come on Real reds support the manager (not the owners)

  • Egan

    In RAFA we TRUST – What is all this that is being said on these sites about people losing support of Liverpool fans and players??? This is an injustice to RAFA and all he has done and achieved in the space of time that he has with the limited amounts of resources at his disposal.
    Lets talk about Facts:
    Yes LFC have lost 5 games. FACT
    LFC hasnt drawn any so far. FACT
    LFC can still win the Premier League from this position. FACT.
    How you ask?
    2008/2009
    The number 11. LFC drew 11 games last year. Meaning we got just 11 points from a possible 33 in those 11 games.
    And lost 2 games all season in the league which means a total of 11 points from 39 points from 13 games.

    2009/2010
    Liverpool have got 0 points from possible 15 points from 5 games.
    Which means LFC has 8 games more to make up and still beat those 11 points they got last year from those 13 games that were bad for them.
    If LFC lose a further 4 games and win 4 games from those 8 games then they will be on 12 points. 1 point still better off than last year.

    The league table is not good to look at right now while theres still so many games to go through.

    Man U, Chelsea, and Arsenal have all lost 2games already.

    So expect the league to be much closer this year and get off Rafa’s back and support him and the team.

    The players and the entire team needs all Liverpools support in every game.

    Rafa is not going to get the media support coz they hate him and love to write alot of nonsense to make headlines.

    IN RAFA WE TRUST

    YNWA

  • Egan

    In RAFA we TRUST – What is all this that is being said on these sites about people losing support of Liverpool fans and players??? This is an injustice to RAFA and all he has done and achieved in the space of time that he has with the limited amounts of resources at his disposal.
    Lets talk about Facts:
    Yes LFC have lost 5 games. FACT
    LFC hasnt drawn any so far. FACT
    LFC can still win the Premier League from this position. FACT.
    How you ask?
    2008/2009
    The number 11. LFC drew 11 games last year. Meaning we got just 11 points from a possible 33 in those 11 games.
    And lost 2 games all season in the league which means a total of 11 points from 39 points from 13 games.

    2009/2010
    Liverpool have got 0 points from possible 15 points from 5 games.
    Which means LFC has 8 games more to make up and still beat those 11 points they got last year from those 13 games that were bad for them.
    If LFC lose a further 4 games and win 4 games from those 8 games then they will be on 12 points. 1 point still better off than last year.

    The league table is not good to look at right now while theres still so many games to go through.

    Man U, Chelsea, and Arsenal have all lost 2games already.

    So expect the league to be much closer this year and get off Rafa’s back and support him and the team.

    The players and the entire team needs all Liverpools support in every game.

    Rafa is not going to get the media support coz they hate him and love to write alot of nonsense to make headlines.

    IN RAFA WE TRUST

    YNWA

  • haqeem

    benitez………….PACK UP AND LEAVE!!!!!!!!u nothing but a disaster

  • haqeem

    benitez………….PACK UP AND LEAVE!!!!!!!!u nothing but a disaster

  • Macedonian_Cred

    Why dont you lot f**k off and support another club?

    Best manager, we have had for 20 years.

    Why not criticise the real culprits, our owners who are bleeding our club dry?
    We have shite players like Degen and Voronin because Rafa has no money to spend.

    How about if Rick Parry had let Benitez sign Gareth Barry instead of over ruling him to sign Robbie Keane, we might be in a completely better position.

    So f**k off you bunch of clueless idiots.

    YNWA

  • Macedonian_Cred

    Why dont you lot f**k off and support another club?

    Best manager, we have had for 20 years.

    Why not criticise the real culprits, our owners who are bleeding our club dry?
    We have shite players like Degen and Voronin because Rafa has no money to spend.

    How about if Rick Parry had let Benitez sign Gareth Barry instead of over ruling him to sign Robbie Keane, we might be in a completely better position.

    So f**k off you bunch of clueless idiots.

    YNWA

  • D.hughes

    I think it just goes to show how worried benitez is of the current situation at lfc when he has to play an unfit torres with painkillers to beat a mid table side in fulham and a french team who are nothing like they were a couple years back!! its benitez fault its come down to this, the squad(cover for our top players) he has built over 5 years is terrible in my opinion. a crouch, bellamy or keane would have been ideal for this current situation, but he cant get the best out of players!! he wont even break a smile wen we score a goal!! his substitutions, team selections are abysmal!! how voronin is still wearing the number 10 shirt is beyond me!! i could go on and on and on! europa leauge, channel 5 on a thursday with pat nevin awaits!!

  • D.hughes

    I think it just goes to show how worried benitez is of the current situation at lfc when he has to play an unfit torres with painkillers to beat a mid table side in fulham and a french team who are nothing like they were a couple years back!! its benitez fault its come down to this, the squad(cover for our top players) he has built over 5 years is terrible in my opinion. a crouch, bellamy or keane would have been ideal for this current situation, but he cant get the best out of players!! he wont even break a smile wen we score a goal!! his substitutions, team selections are abysmal!! how voronin is still wearing the number 10 shirt is beyond me!! i could go on and on and on! europa leauge, channel 5 on a thursday with pat nevin awaits!!

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