Torres in Blue – First impressions of Fernando

by Joe Steppel

How do you solve a problem like Fernando? The question itself sounds like the foundation upon which a melodramatic Andrew Lloyd Webber reality show would be based. Roman Abramovich sitting on his gilded chair, stroking his white cat as he casts his gaze over Stamford Bridge; his finger hovering over the eject-o-button with Carlo Ancelotti’s name emblazoned across it in the colours of il Tricolore. Fernando Torres, a giant MC Hammer style £50m pendant hanging from his neck as he fails to quite recapture the running man moves that made him famous…

Okay, I may be slightly over exaggerating the complexity of the situation, but the drama that will encapsulate the final stages of the football year at Chelsea feels like the kind only manufactured by Simon Cowell and his cohorts. Where Chelsea ultimately finish this season will largely be determined by three factors: Carlo Ancelotti’s boldness of selection; the players “manning up” (JT26©) and lastly in the boots of El Niño himself.

The instant impact that Torres’ fee probably demanded has been unforthcoming, with subdued displays in his initial appearances in royal blue. No first goal and arguably no discernable contribution to date has left Chelsea’s number nine writing the hacks’ back pages for them. However, to borrow a quotation from King Kenny® himself, “we bought Torres for 5½ years, not three weeks.”

It would be fate that a move of such magnitude pitted Torres against his former employer in his first appearance. Hardly a touch came off, his control was awry and Jamie Carragher playing as if he was 23 did not help his cause. The debut from hell was compounded by a Raul Meireles goal that saw Liverpool take all three points at Stamford Bridge.

As first impressions go this was hardly memorable. As retrospective thought goes, it was possibly the wrong time to give him his debut. Dropping him in the midst of a team devoid of confidence, showing no tangible sign of recovery and expecting an instantaneous catalyst was certainly a long-odds gamble. Torres, though, appeared quite philosophical in a recent interview:

“It was just life that we played Liverpool for my debut and lost […]”

To say Torres is suffering from a lack of confidence is certainly an understatement. The comments from Ancelotti about rebuilding Torres from the ground up suggest a player devoid of the belief that makes him one of the world’s elite strikers. Confidence is the key to any profession, but the assurance that goals bring to a striker is unlike any other position on the park. Torres believes that “[…] the goals will come for me in due course because I always expected that there would be a settling in period.”

The alarming part about Torres’ lack of form is the loss of his touch inside the penalty area. As a Liverpool player you half expected Torres to score against Chelsea, with his sublime touch and unparalleled ability to finish chances. His few glimpses of goal have seen him labour with his touch and the customary finish has been lacking. If Ancelotti is to rebuild Torres, working on his confidence in the short-term is of vital importance.

I will say that I believe the best of Torres will be seen next season. I have predicted much change at Chelsea over the summer and I believe that a pre-season combined with a unified sense of transition will see an entirely different player lining up for Chelsea next year.

The Torres “To Do” List…

Philosophy – this will be the first thing that the club needs to change at some point with Torres leading the line. For seven years the powerful Didier Drogba has been the fulcrum of the Chelsea attack. Playing to Drogba is such an engrained mentality within the side that this will need to be addressed as soon as possible. The problem is simply that while Drogba remains at the club, the move to another style of striker is almost impossible.

While Didier thrives on the physical contest, Torres prefers to make clever runs off the shoulder of centre-backs. Drogba is an easy out ball; any player under pressure can simply loft the ball in his direction with a more than likely chance of retaining possession. Torres is not going to crash about winning flick-ons and generally being a physical nuisance. The fact is that any person who has played football at any level can tell you: lofting the ball forward is far easier than picking a pass.

Torres will thrive in a side with a sense of guile and craft within its ranks, something Chelsea currently do not possess. Josh McEachran or Yossi Benayoun may eventually become that player, but the reality of the here and now means Chelsea are potentially more suited to Drogba playing as the lone striker than Torres. However, the reality is all too apparent: Chelsea possesses a £50m striker who will play regardless of this fact and given the fee many will say ‘rightly so’.

What does Ancelotti do? With the players at his disposal and the aforementioned Roman Lloyd Webber hovering over the button, can he afford to drop his £50m man? It’s an easy call to make sitting in the pub, one way or the other, but it’s a far different situation for Ancelotti. He has shown more of a willingness to drop underperforming players, alter shape and the results (if not 90 minute performances) have been positive.

The apparent targeting of players like Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez, Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso seemingly suggest a shift to players imbued with more creativity. Furthermore, the promotion and escalation of McEachran as a 1st Team squad member also seems to intimate that Chelsea are moving towards more technically-inclined players. Torres has been bought as the focal point of the next cycle of Chelsea. The issue of width needs addressing, creativity in the final third and most importantly balancing the existing power with a more precise style of player.

Short-term versus long-term? I still retain hope that Torres will start firing in goals this season, but I also expect his bedding in period to probably remain until the end of the season. The return of Benayoun may just about coincide in time with the business end of the football season. Given his relationship with Torres on the pitch, you cannot understate what his return to the squad could potentially bring. Arguably the only experienced player in the Chelsea ranks with the ability to pick out that pinpoint delivery that Torres thrives on, Benayoun should provide welcome creativity in what remains a very physically orientated midfield.

I do doubt the ability of Torres and Drogba to coexist as leading men in the Chelsea attack. It is almost as if their very presence on the pitch ignites ambivalence in everyone behind them. Do we play it long? Do we knock it short? Slide it down the sides? Cross it in? While the pattern of play should be dictated by the manager, I find it hard to believe that it is easy to simply stop the players from playing the Drogba way. Training sessions only achieve so much.

Monkey on your back – The sooner Torres scores, the sooner he can remove that £50m weight around his neck and focus on doing what he needs to develop at Chelsea. The delight in every goalless game from the media is palpable, the knives being sharpened and the vision of another Shevchenko providing wet dreams to those of a red disposition. The sooner Torres can find the back of the net, the better for everyone at Chelsea.

The move to a new shape, a flatter 442, has provided some joy in terms of results, but it has yet to spark either striker into any semblance of form. While Torres’ movement at times is superb and he clearly leaves plenty of space for others, he will be judged on his goal return and not his team contribution. You only need to read the ratings in the newspapers to see what they think of his performances.

I would suggest they actually watch him properly over a ninety-minute period, instead of assuming he was poor due to not scoring. Nevertheless, goals win games and goals will be the yardstick by which he is judged.

“I’d give anything for this to be another Double season – that’s the dream.”

Joe Steppel is a contributor to Just Football and writer for TheChels.net. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo via americanistadechiapas on Flickr)

Chelsea, English Premier League, Fernando Torres