Roy Hodgson defends Fernando Torres
Liverpool manager, Roy Hodgson has defended his ace striker, Fernando Torres, following criticism from former Liverpool player Jamie Redknapp.
Jamie, the son of Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, is a football pundit at Sky Sports, and he called Torres’ performance as "diabolical" and "terrible".
Jamie said that there was a clear lack of commitment from the Spaniard, and the fans would be disappointed by the way he kept giving the ball away. He said that there was a lack of effort from Torres that is totally unacceptable.
At the half time break, Jamie Redknapp said that the World Cup winning striker was obviously frustrated. He added that he did not seem to have the commitment and did not make any effort of chasing the ball and when he had it he just could not keep hold of it. He went on to say that the frustration almost got him booked and he's been diabolical.
The Sky Sports pundit said that he is a big fan of Torres, and loves to see him play. But the way he conducted himself on the pitch was disappointing.
Jamie Redknapp said: "Of course you have to give [Roger] Johnson and [Scott] Dann [the Birmingham central defenders] credit but he's shown no appetite for the game. He's looked frustrated, sloppy, and lethargic. He cut a frustrated figure. I know people talk about his rustiness but he's looked fed up".
Liverpool manager, Roy Hodgson, however, has stood by his player, and said that he does not agree at all with Redknapp’s views.
Hodgson said that Torres is giving it all for the team. He said that even towards the end of the match you could see him trying hard. The manager added that a lot of credit has to be given to Dann and Johnson, they made it difficult for him to penetrate and it is well known to everyone that Torres lacks match practice.
Hodgson said, "He missed matches at the end of last year and he missed matches during the World Cup. But I'm not at all concerned about Fernando Torres. He will get better and better as the season goes on and I believe that, whether or not we will be discussing this as a good season or a bad season, we will be doing that in May, we won't be doing it at the beginning of September".
Hodgson has also had to defend his side's poor run of form recently, saying, "If you ask me the question, 'Can this team win the league?' I would say I don't know".
The former Fulham manager said that, it sounds amusing to him that the season is only 4 games old and people have already started making assumptions about who is going to win the league. Hodgson said that it’s too early to jump to any conclusions and teams and certain players need to be given time to prove their form and fitness.
Commenting on the match against Birmingham Hodgson said that, "This is a tough place and [Birmingham] are unbeaten here for goodness knows how long. I've got to say my expectations were not that high anyway”.
The manager said that if they had lost the match it would have been a huge disappointment, but a draw is not as bad. The Liverpool manager said that it’s a rebuilding stage for the club, and since he has taken over there are number of new things that he is trying to implement and his team also needs time to adjust to the new system. Hodgson said that former manager, Rafael Benitez was a very capable man, but his style of football was very different than his. So it would take some time for him to enforce his plans for the team on and off the pitch.
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