Fernando Torres’ misery has reached that point now where the bets are on regarding whether or not the Spaniard will ever score a goal again. Those who have tried to defend his barren spells bring scores of arguments on the table; including a stagnant midfield, unsuitable formations and lack of chemistry with Didier Drogba. There is a damning fact if there ever was one that neither of Drogba and Torres scored while the other was on the pitch, and hence the pundits and even Andre Villas-Boas reached the consensus that it was either going to be the Ivorian or the Spaniard, leading the line for Chelsea. And while Drogba was bagging his share of goals, El-Nino was struggling with or without the Ivorian. Therefore, when Drogba was away at international duty with Ivory Coast for the African Cup of Nations, the month was going to be possibly Torres’ last chance of convincing Villas-Boas that he shouldn’t be put on sale for a discounted price come the summer transfer window. And Torres has duly wasted that chance, much like all other opportunities in his spell at Stamford Bridge, by failing to score even a single goal in Drogba’s absence. Hence, when Drogba finally returns to contention, with the ‘either Drogba or Torres’ question still valid, Chelsea’s manager would undoubtedly go for the former. It is possibly the biggest mystery of the BPL era that a proved goal scorer like Fernando Torres, who was banging them in for fun at Anfield, is failing to score so miserably with Chelsea. And of course the 50 million pound price tag doesn’t help lower down the pressure at all. The argument of a stagnant Chelsea midfield was a valid during the early phase of Torres arrival at the Bridge, but after Juan Mata’s arrival, the camaraderie and the interplay between the two Spaniards has been there for all to see. But it is ironical that it seems to be the midfielder who is benefitting from the striker’s assists and not the other way round – not the way Villas-Boas thought of it when he was chasing Mata’s signature.
The biggest factor in Torres’ protracted goal drought is the escalating shortage of confidence on the part of the Spaniard. He is quite often seen prowling on the wings, when he should be making runs inside the box, and getting into positions where one of his teammates can pick a pass and offer him a goal scoring opportunity. All the same, what a goal scoring opportunity also connotes is a goal missing opportunity, and it is clear from Chelsea’s number 9’s reluctance to receive balls in decisive areas, that the fear of missing another gilt-edged opportunity is considerably more in the mind of the Spaniard, than the desire of scoring a goal. He wants the goals to come to him, and aid him end his drought, rather than him taking the initiative for it. That’s unfortunately not how it works, and more often than not the longer the barren spell the lesser is the chance of a lucky break – the sooner Torres understands this and picks up the gauntlet that has been lying in the wait for ages, the better it will be for his stuttering career.
