Filed under: Chelsea, Premier League, Football
When Fernando Torres arrived at Chelsea in the January transfer window for an astonishing fee of £50 million, there was the widely-held opinion that he would single-handedly resurrect the club's flagging title hopes.After all, Torres had been a regular goal-getter for Liverpool, his previous club, and Chelsea needed goals more than ever to make up ground on Manchester United.
Just how much impact Chelsea's previous manager, Carlo Ancelotti had on Torres's transfer is likely to remain unknown, for there is the suggestion the order to purchase the Spain international came straight from the club's owner Roman Abramovich.
Yet whoever was responsible would have been recoiling as Torres went game after game without scoring a goal for his new club. He finally broke his duck after 903 minutes of football with a goal against West Ham but that single effort proved to be his only contribution in 18 appearances.
It is fair to assume that Torres was glad to see the end of the season with his reputation hitting rock-bottom.
But will this campaign be any better for him? Chelsea's managerial reshuffle with the appointment of Andre Villas-Boas is another bold move by Abramovich as he tries to revive Chelsea's ageing squad of players by bringing in a manager who is as young as them.
Presumably, Abramovich is hoping for the same positive impact that Jose Mourinho made when he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Porto in 2004. Yet there is a key difference.
When the self-proclaimed "Special One" came to Chelsea, he was handed a substantial transfer kitty by a flush and enthusiastic Abramovich and he set about building a squad capable of winning silverware.
Will Abramovich extend the same generosity to Villas-Boas? Unlikely, given the Russian's dismay at Chelsea's failure to win the Champions League and that there has been an evident tightening of the purse-strings, with the exception of the arrival of Torres and David Luiz.
Essentially, Villas-Boas will be required to work with the players already at his disposal and that means placing his faith in Torres.
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Florent Malouda Francesco Totti Frank Lampard Frank Ribery Frederic Kanoute
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