So Fernando Torres' big debut for Chelsea turned out to be just another uninspired performance by the Spanish forward. Only this time, he had a hefty GBP50 million price tag hovering over every move he made during the match.
At least when he was in Liverpool, the critics would sugar coat such performances as a consequence of a lack of form or confidence or an injury or just about everything rolled into one. The fact is, the pundits who've been sympathetic to Torres' shortcomings this season seemed to have turned their backs on El Nino now that the former Reds striker is the world's fourth most expensive player. And who knows, some of them may even be a little peeved at the manner in which he left Liverpool.
Still, Torres insipid performance against his old club should have been predicted the moment Kenny Dalglish decided to field five defenders and four midfielders to squeeze the pace and room out of a Chelsea team that's lacked inventiveness all season.
In fact, ironically, Torres' failure to have an impact on the match owed much to the fact that he received very little service from his teammates which is something he's been used to over the past one and half seasons at Liverpool. If he expected some revolutionary change by switching to Chelsea, he could have done himself a favour by actually checking out Blues' dismal run in recent months in the Premier League.
Nonetheless, Torres will eventually find his footing at his new club. The Spaniard will certainly need time to get used to his new striking partners (after having deployed as a lone striker for the last three seasons) and gel with his new teammates.
Speaking of which, with Drogba rumoured to among the ones on the chopping block in the summer to pay for Torres' transfer, one wonders if there will ever be some chemistry between the two. Drogba has always been reluctant to share the spot light with anyone and his current partnership with Nicolas Anelka has been uninspiring and a disappointment.
No comments:
Post a Comment