Fernando Torres – Past the Last Chance Saloon
By the end of this season, Fernando Torres will probably no
longer be a Chelsea player. A face-saving move to his former club Atletico
Madrid may be on the cards, but there’s no denying that Torres has been mostly
anonymous during his stint at the Blues.
For all his faults, Torres has offered an improved return in
front of goal, with 9 goals from 35 appearances so far this season, but the
paltry return of just four goals from 24 League appearances has left Chelsea
struggling to finish teams off as the season draws to a close.
Fans may look wistfully to two players plying their trade in
the city of Liverpool. One will probably never return. Daniel Sturridge is on
fire at the moment and has no reason to go back to Chelsea. The other, Romelu
Lukaku, is still on the Chelsea books and has helped Everton’s top four push,
but Chelsea haven’t been keen on young strikers since the Abramovich era came
into effect.
The maligned striker asked for a chance to prove himself to
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, but surely he’s been offered more than enough chances
to prove his worth over the last couple of years. The statistics show that
Torres simply cannot produce the goods, or at least not whilst playing in West
London.
He’s scored a few important goals during his time as a
Chelsea player, but his overall impact is that of a player who stifles the
creativity of his team. As a focal point, Torres loses the ball far too often,
leaving his team under unnecessary pressure as they push to counter.
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| Torres on the Bench |
Mourinho has placed his faith in Samuel Eto’o and at times,
no strikers as he battled for trophies over the season, but he has been unable
to compensate for Torres’ profligacy. Even the midfield maestro Eden Hazard,
who has notched 14 in 33 League games, has been unable to fill the gap up
front.
One of Chelsea’s other expensive strikers - Andriy
Shevchenko was loved by Abromovich – and had as much prestige as Torres at
Liverpool. Nonetheless, he was banished to the reserves because he didn’t fit
Chelsea’s style of play, yet Chelsea can’t afford to do that with Torres.
Despite Eto’s protestations that he’s young enough to lead
the line, he’s played less games then Torres this season. With 19 appearances,
he has double the tally of Torres with 8 goals, including a famous hat-trick
against Manchester United. The problem is, if you subtract that game from his
stats, he’s only scored 5 goals in 18 games.
The revered former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba once again
graced Stamford Bridge with his presence during the Champions League this
season, (albeit in the gold and red of colours of Galatasaray) - and Torres has
yet to truly cast his shadow from the club.
Since Drogba left, there has been a void up front for the
Blues – and Torres will never be able to take his place. Even with the plethora
of trophies he has won at the club, surely it must be time to call an end to
his spell at Chelsea, because it’s been obvious for a while now that it isn’t
going to work out.
Torres’ contract expires in 2016 but Chelsea can hardly
afford to spend another season with a frontline that lacks firepower. A striker
with confidence could help the Blues talented midfield to truly flourish, with
rumours that Mourinho is interested in Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa as a
possible replacement in the near-future.
Whether it be Costa, Lukaku, Eto’o or an unknown quantity up
front for the Blues next season, Torres profligacy in front of goal means that
he cannot stay at the club. A £40m loss may be hard to stomach, but it will be
for the greater good of the team.
