Today's Banter: Torres backs Benitez, Pepe praises defense, Baros EPL return possible, & more

Fernando Torres has warned that a Rafa exit could result in a mass exodus of players including himself. I believe this 'crisis' has been pretty much put to rest, unless of course the upcoming meeting between Rafa and the owners doesn't go accordingly. You can't really blame Rafa for leaving if he isn't going to get the funds needed to continue to strengthen our side. The thing I find interesting is Rafa saying he was asking about two 'free' transfers. One is widely considered the signing of Masche on a permanent but the other is still a mystery. I wonder if it's someone like Francesco Coco or Jonathan Zebina?

Pepe Reina made sure to thank his defenders for making his job easy. Ya think, Pepe? He should probably pay homage to lady luck as well after Anelka missed a wide open net yesterday due to a poor decision by the Spanish keep. Clean sheets are great when earned, but yesterday Reina had no right walking away with a goose egg under our opponents name on the scoreboard. I realize he probably gets a little bored and rusty with minimal involvement in the match, but it's still no excuse to make glaring mistakes.

Milan Baros may be returning to the Premiership as the Czech striker has lost hope in retaining a first team spot with Lyon. To increase his chances at making the Czech Republic Euro squad, the 26-year-old is looking to move to a club where he'll have a better chance of playing regularly. Wigan, Middlesbrough and Birmingham apparently are all interested in obtaining 'ole condom head'.

Finally, for the FA Cup, we drew the winner of Luton Town and Nottingham Forest. Personally I prefer Forest. Competition-wise, there's little difference between the two League One sides. Forest may be the slightly better club at the moment, but it's far from apples and oranges. The chance to annihilate old foes is always a relishing prospect. Cheers.