The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Grumpy Torres gets another vote of no-confidence Posted: 24 Jan 2013 07:04 AM PST
Sadly for the Spaniard (picture), that was not the case. As votes of no-confidence go, it was about as emphatic as it gets with the former Atletico Madrid and Liverpool goal machine left kicking his heels on the bench for 81 minutes. Chelsea began the second leg in south Wales 2-0 down and desperate for goals, yet Benitez refused to unleash Torres on Swansea's defence until the game was almost up. The manager bemoaned his side's lack of firepower in their quest to overturn a first-leg deficit, a complaint completely undermined by his failure to trust Torres to partner new signing Demba Ba in attack. Since Chelsea signed Ba from Newcastle United, Benitez has refused to start the pair together. A cup semi-final appeared to be the perfect moment to veer away from his policy yet Benitez, who has been at pains to defend Torres from the criticism that regularly comes his way, refused to bend. When Torres did finally get on the pitch he hardly got a kick as Swansea proved that the best way to defend a lead is to stop the opposition having the ball. "We knew we had to score three goals, but we didn't take the chances we had, especially in the last 20 minutes of the first half," Benitez told Chelsea's website. "We had pressure, they were dealing with it well and we have to congratulate them, we cannot change the situation again. "I was convinced that we could score. We were on top of them and pushing and pushing, but we didn't take our chances. This was the same as in the first leg. "We knew we had to score first to change things." It is two years since Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich broke the British transfer record to sign Torres from Liverpool. Three managers, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo, all struggled to consistently inspire the off-key striker, and Benitez appears no closer to sparking the player into life. Torres has not scored since the 8-0 thrashing of Aston Villa on Dec. 23 and he cut a grumpy figure on the bench on Wednesday. With his reputation tarnished it is hard to see any of Europe's leading club offering Torres a way out of Stamford Bridge while his wages and the fee Chelsea would demand also make a transfer window move unlikely. So it seems that Benitez, an interim manager who may not even be at Chelsea next season, must find a way of reviving Torres if Chelsea's season is not to fizzle out completely. Out of the Champions League and effectively out of the Premier League title race, Chelsea travel to third tier Brentford this weekend in the FA Cup clinging on to their last realistic chance of silverware this season. – Reuters |
| Mercedes seem hungrier than McLaren, says Hamilton Posted: 24 Jan 2013 06:45 AM PST
Before addressing Mercedes employees at the team's factory near Silverstone in central England, the 2008 world champion told reporters he had seen or heard nothing to cause him any concern. "There is a great spirit here. The guys seem hungrier than any group of people I've seen before. They seem seriously hungry to win and excited they have another shot at it this year," the former McLaren driver (picture) declared. "Every year there was always a great atmosphere at McLaren. But it's a different environment to come to and a different feeling because it's new and fresh. The guys seem to be just as on it if not more." Mercedes have made some sweeping changes since Hamilton signed for them last year, with Austrian Toto Wolff coming in as a shareholder and executive director in charge of all Mercedes motorsport activities. Norbert Haug, the previous Mercedes motorsport boss, has gone while retired Austrian triple champion Niki Lauda has joined the top management as a shareholder amid speculation about Ross Brawn's role as principal. Reports have indicated that McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe will follow Hamilton to Mercedes, a team that already has several former team technical chiefs on the payroll and is desperate for success. Hamilton, who has cautioned against expecting too much from the team on the track this season after their disappointing 2012 with the now-retired Michael Schumacher, saw no turmoil. "Everything feels really positive for me... I think it's important that they (the team) are always analysing and seeing what can be improved and what adjustments need to be made because they want to win," he added. "That's a big positive for me, to see that they are not scared of making changes, they are not scared of doing whatever they have to do to win. It seems like they are making some positive moves, I think." DODGY CARS The Briton, who turned 28 this month, denied any knowledge of plans to bring in Lowe. "There are lots of good people here and I've obviously had great experiences with Paddy but he works with McLaren as far as I'm concerned," he added. Hamilton said he had driven the 2013 Mercedes GP car, which will be unveiled at the first test in Jerez on Feb. 4, on one of the team's three simulators and had a good impression. He promised "to be flat out all the way" but still saw no reason to change his opinion on the challenge ahead. "I think it's important to be patient and it's important to be realistic," said the winner of 21 races for McLaren, including four last year, who grinned when asked whether he had the patience. "I'm pretty sure that I do. You have got to remember that I had a couple of half dodgy cars, 2009 in particular, but it did get better. So perseverance is going to be key for all of us," he said. Hamilton pointed out that Mercedes, despite winning in China last year, were up to two seconds off the pace in the later grands prix and it would be hard to make that time up in a year without major rule changes. "But I know that the guys are working as hard as they can and every little bit counts," he added. The season starts in Australia on March 17 with Mercedes hoping to improve on their overall fifth place in the championship last year. "This is a marathon not a sprint. It's the long haul. I hope that this year we can be competitive," said Hamilton. "If we arrive at the first race and we are in front, it's going to be spectacular. But if we are not, we know we just have to keep working at it." – Reuters |
LONDON, Jan 24 – With Chelsea needing to score twice to level up their League Cup semi-final against Swansea City, it should have been safe to assume that US$79 million (RM240.26 million) striker Fernando Torres would be a central part of manager Rafa Benitez's game plan on Wednesday.
BRACKLEY, Jan 24 – Lewis Hamilton rejected talk of Mercedes being a team in turmoil today and said his new Formula One employers seemed even hungrier for success than McLaren.| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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