A number of people have came up with the idea that the great Fernando Torres is now no longer great, I would entirely disagree. Funnily enough I’m going to tell you why as well.
To begin with we all know the reputation he developed at him time at Liverpool, scoring on a regular basis with an almost surreal variety of goals, signs of the rare “complete forward” Rafa, manager at the time, had build a team guilty of being somewhat one dimensional, the key product being the lethal combination of Gerrard and Torres, but when either was injured Liverpool rapidly ran out of ideas.
Switching to present day Chelsea have made the mistake of channeling the 90% of the responsibility to Torres whilst setting out the team in a way that does not suit the player. The added problem is the involvement of the charming Ambramovich which has clearly proven to be a counterproductive element to the current scenario Chelsea and Torres find themselves in.
Now to a potential solution?
Take the idea of the great Italian Gilardino, his time playing for AC Milan wasn’t the most productive, mainly as he was given the goal scoring responsibility, he was put under a great deal of pressure to deal with that responsibility, the weight of the world on his shoulders so to speak. As a result it had the similar counter productive effect on the player. He was subsequently sold to Fiorentina, where he appeared more relaxed and focused, mainly because there was no focal point in the team at the time.
Personally I am a great fan of Fernando, and I am hating how he appears to be the shadow of the great player he used to be. The great ability demonstrated at Liverpool lost in a sea of politics, billions of pounds and a fan base suffering from a case of self entitlement. Its clear appointing Rafa is the chairmans clear mission to attempt to justify the price paid for the Spaniard. Wether this will work out is a different story.
So a potential solution would be a short term loan deal, allow him time out of the limelight, to focus on what he does best.