Roman Abramovich may finally have had enough with the misfiring Fernando Torres, whose time at Chelsea seems to be running out. With another miserable performance last night, the Chelsea striker is set for a summer exit.
It cannot be stressed enough on how poor Fernando Torres has been for Chelsea, since he joined them from Liverpool for a hefty 50 million pounds. One has to feel sorry, for what has become of one of the most ferocious strikers in the world.
Fernando Torres was an instant hit when he joined Liverpool back in 2007, it did not take him long to become a kop favourite and soon became Liverpool’s most influential player. In his first season at Liverpool he scored 24 goals in 33 appearances, keeping in mind that it was his first season in England this was a commendable scoring rate. His next two seasons at the Merseyside club were plagued with injuries, but Torres still managed to maintain a decent scoring rate, scoring 14 and 18 goals in respective seasons.
The 2009/2010 season, marked the end of the incredible Fernando Torres we once knew. In the summer of 2010, Torres was included in Spain’s squad for the World Cup 2010, even though he had undergone a knee surgery in April. Torres was not able to recover and failed to deliver in the event, he came under heavy criticism but it was soon forgotten as Spain clinched the World Cup beating Netherlands in the final.
Torres never returned to form from then onwards and in his 23 appearances in the first half of the season, he only managed nine goals for Liverpool in the league.
His transfer came under much speculation but Liverpool dismissed any possibility of parting with their star man, but in the winter of 2011, Chelsea made Liverpool an offer they could not possibly refuse and El Nino made his move to Chelsea.
Since then Fernando’s form seems to be depleting more and more season after season. From a beast of a striker, Torres has turned into a timid mouse hiding under the shadow of his former self. His lack of sharpness, form and consistency has now become a source of humour for footballs fans and for pundits.
Torres was given a lot of time to adjust to new surroundings and rediscover the form which had made him, one of the most threatening players in world Football. His progress was at first hampered by the presence of Didier Drogba, who was a much better overall player than him. Torres was however given opportunities and he was not able to make the best out of them. In his first full season, he made 49 appearances for the club but only managed 11 goals, an embarrassing scoring rate for a striker.
Then Chelsea manager Di Matteo bought a host of talent to Chelsea the next season, buying the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Marko Marin. Even though he was about to lose his first choice striker Didier Drogba on a free transfer, he reinstated his faith on Torres and did not buy another striker to compete with the Spaniard. Torres returned his manager’s faith by starting the season brilliantly, he scored four and assisted three in the first seven games of the season and Chelsea fans finally took a sigh of relief.
However the form did not go for long and after a very promising start, the Spaniard’s performances once again faced a decline. Even though he was surrounded by the creative trio of Mata, Hazard and Oscar, El Nino failed to register a goal in the next eight matches nor did he contribute much to the team in any other way.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made another attempt to justify his 50 million pound signing and after dismissing Di Matteo of his post, he reunited Torres with his former manager Rafa Benitez at Chelsea. It was Rafa only who had signed Fernando back in his days at Liverpool and it was under him, that Torres blossomed the most. The trick seemed to have worked at first with Torres shining in all competitions, he scored two goals against Sunderland and followed this with a brace against Nordsjaelland in the Champions League.
He continued his inspiring run with a goal against Monterrey in the Club World Cup and scoring again against Leeds in the League Cup. His next goal came in Chelsea’s 8-0 battering of Aston Villa, much to the dismay of Chelsea fans that was his last goal for Chelsea.
It was becoming more apparent that Torres’ time was running out at Chelsea, with the Blues being linked to high profile players including Falcao and Cavani. Instead the club bought Demba Ba, a player who possessed a lot of quality but is surely not a player to replace Chelsea’s marquee 50 million signing. Money is not really an issue for Abramovich or for Chelsea, if they wanted to they could have purchased almost any striker in the world. Instead they chose to spend 7 million pounds on a player who was surely on a better run than Torres, but was bought not to replace him but to assist him.
It was thought that now since Fernando had to be in competition with the Senegalese for the starting berth, his form would improve automatically as a result. However his form has gone from bad to worse and last night’s display against Middlesbrough ensured, that Fernando Torres no longer qualifies to play for a club of the stature of Chelsea. Playing against a lowered tiered club, the number nine’s only contribution was a weak strike from 20 yards out which was caught by the goalkeeper without making much of an effort.
Chelsea cannot continue to pamper the Spaniard and it is about time that they should let him go. The striker who was bought to win titles for the Blues, is slowly turning into their biggest liability. It is important to realise the fact that Torres is on 175,000 pounds per week wages and along with Terry is the second highest earner at the club. With his current form he probably does not even deserve a tenth of what he is receiving and it will be in Chelsea’s best interest, if he is shipped out in the summer transfer window.
Fernando Torres was an instant hit when he joined Liverpool back in 2007, it did not take him long to become a kop favourite and soon became Liverpool’s most influential player. In his first season at Liverpool he scored 24 goals in 33 appearances, keeping in mind that it was his first season in England this was a commendable scoring rate. His next two seasons at the Merseyside club were plagued with injuries, but Torres still managed to maintain a decent scoring rate, scoring 14 and 18 goals in respective seasons.
The 2009/2010 season, marked the end of the incredible Fernando Torres we once knew. In the summer of 2010, Torres was included in Spain’s squad for the World Cup 2010, even though he had undergone a knee surgery in April. Torres was not able to recover and failed to deliver in the event, he came under heavy criticism but it was soon forgotten as Spain clinched the World Cup beating Netherlands in the final.
Torres never returned to form from then onwards and in his 23 appearances in the first half of the season, he only managed nine goals for Liverpool in the league.
His transfer came under much speculation but Liverpool dismissed any possibility of parting with their star man, but in the winter of 2011, Chelsea made Liverpool an offer they could not possibly refuse and El Nino made his move to Chelsea.
Since then Fernando’s form seems to be depleting more and more season after season. From a beast of a striker, Torres has turned into a timid mouse hiding under the shadow of his former self. His lack of sharpness, form and consistency has now become a source of humour for footballs fans and for pundits.
Torres was given a lot of time to adjust to new surroundings and rediscover the form which had made him, one of the most threatening players in world Football. His progress was at first hampered by the presence of Didier Drogba, who was a much better overall player than him. Torres was however given opportunities and he was not able to make the best out of them. In his first full season, he made 49 appearances for the club but only managed 11 goals, an embarrassing scoring rate for a striker.
Then Chelsea manager Di Matteo bought a host of talent to Chelsea the next season, buying the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Marko Marin. Even though he was about to lose his first choice striker Didier Drogba on a free transfer, he reinstated his faith on Torres and did not buy another striker to compete with the Spaniard. Torres returned his manager’s faith by starting the season brilliantly, he scored four and assisted three in the first seven games of the season and Chelsea fans finally took a sigh of relief.
However the form did not go for long and after a very promising start, the Spaniard’s performances once again faced a decline. Even though he was surrounded by the creative trio of Mata, Hazard and Oscar, El Nino failed to register a goal in the next eight matches nor did he contribute much to the team in any other way.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made another attempt to justify his 50 million pound signing and after dismissing Di Matteo of his post, he reunited Torres with his former manager Rafa Benitez at Chelsea. It was Rafa only who had signed Fernando back in his days at Liverpool and it was under him, that Torres blossomed the most. The trick seemed to have worked at first with Torres shining in all competitions, he scored two goals against Sunderland and followed this with a brace against Nordsjaelland in the Champions League.
He continued his inspiring run with a goal against Monterrey in the Club World Cup and scoring again against Leeds in the League Cup. His next goal came in Chelsea’s 8-0 battering of Aston Villa, much to the dismay of Chelsea fans that was his last goal for Chelsea.
It was becoming more apparent that Torres’ time was running out at Chelsea, with the Blues being linked to high profile players including Falcao and Cavani. Instead the club bought Demba Ba, a player who possessed a lot of quality but is surely not a player to replace Chelsea’s marquee 50 million signing. Money is not really an issue for Abramovich or for Chelsea, if they wanted to they could have purchased almost any striker in the world. Instead they chose to spend 7 million pounds on a player who was surely on a better run than Torres, but was bought not to replace him but to assist him.
It was thought that now since Fernando had to be in competition with the Senegalese for the starting berth, his form would improve automatically as a result. However his form has gone from bad to worse and last night’s display against Middlesbrough ensured, that Fernando Torres no longer qualifies to play for a club of the stature of Chelsea. Playing against a lowered tiered club, the number nine’s only contribution was a weak strike from 20 yards out which was caught by the goalkeeper without making much of an effort.
Chelsea cannot continue to pamper the Spaniard and it is about time that they should let him go. The striker who was bought to win titles for the Blues, is slowly turning into their biggest liability. It is important to realise the fact that Torres is on 175,000 pounds per week wages and along with Terry is the second highest earner at the club. With his current form he probably does not even deserve a tenth of what he is receiving and it will be in Chelsea’s best interest, if he is shipped out in the summer transfer window.
