Chelsea FC: Analysis of Fernando Torres' Failures

Three days ago, Spain thrashed hapless Lichtenstein 6-0, with Fernando Torres nowhere to be seen—not even on the bench. 

Spanish manager Vicente del Bosque decided to give Álvaro Negredo, who had an excellent game for Sevilla against Málaga, a start. 

Unsurprisingly Negredo repaid del Bosque with two goals and an assist and earned a standing ovation from the small Estadio Las Gaunas faithful.    

Del Bosque explained his decision to drop Torres from the bench, 

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"He (Torres) is an important player, but the people selected for the national team are those who do well for their clubs, not the other way round."

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A day later, Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas tip-toed around dropping Torres, 

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"The moment when it compromises the running of the team I think it has to come to an end (...) I have no problem dropping players."

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Let's look at an analysis of Torres' time at Chelsea. 

General Statistical Overview

To suggest then manager Carlo Ancelotti wanted Fernando Torres would be like saying José Mourinho wanted Andriy Shevchenko. 

Forget about all the compliments Ancelotti paid to Torres when he was at Liverpool because the Italian didn't show the Torres he wanted him. 

What happened on Torres' debut? Substituted against Liverpool without the full 90 minutes to back up the chit-chat he had thrown up. Seven games in a row when Torres either started on the bench or ended up on the bench under Ancelotti.

Under manager André Villas-Boas, Torres has ended on the bench in three successive games. 

Torres scored and provided against West Ham United, who finished bottom of the table. His other assist came against Newcastle United who finished 12th.  

Games	21
Goals	1
Assists	2
Yellow cards	4
Subbed in	7
Subbed out	9
MOTM*	0

* Man Of The Match

Fernando Torres vs. Andriy Shevchenko

In their first 21 games, Andriy Shevchenko was far more successful than Fernando Torres.

Though at the end of the day, Shevchenko was not justifying his then English record transfer fee of £30.8 million.    

There's no doubt in my mind, then-manager José Mourinho mismanaged Andriy Shevchenko. 

Shevchenko was caught in the crossfires of the cold war between Mourinho and owner Roman Abramovich.

In 21 games, there were only four games where Shevchenko didn't end up on the bench.      

Games	21
Goals	6
Assists	0
Yellow cards	1
Subbed in	2
Subbed out	15
MOTM*	0

* Man Of The Match

The Formations Fernando Torres Has Played in

Carlo Ancelotti's bread and butter was the Christmas Tree formation and he rarely ever ventured outside of it. 

He only utilised a 4-4-2 diamond in 7 percent of his Serie A games at AC Milan.

Yet at Chelsea, he modified his formation to a 4-4-2 diamond to suit Fernando Torres, who in eight games, failed to score or provide an assist. 

Ironically the game he does score, he comes off the bench against West Ham United in a 4-3-2-1 formation.

Keep in mind, West Ham United were destined for relegation and were without their inspirational captain Scott Parker, and Avram Grant had played a 4-3-3 formation in which Thomas Hitzlsperger, the anchor of midfield, was a bad tackle away from being sent off.   

Manager	Carlo Ancelotti
4-3-1-2	2
4-3-2-1	8
4-4-2	8

Under André Villas-Boas, a same trend has happened, where like Ancelotti, the Portuguese manager has moved away from what got him the job at Stamford Bridge.

Coming into Chelsea, Villas-Boas has used a 4-3-3 in 93 percent of his games, yet so far he's used  a 4-1-2-3 against Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion, and a 4-4-2 diamond against Norwich City.

Torres' best game has come against Stoke City, yet after a lackluster game against West Brom, Villas-Boas changed the formation to a 4-4-2 diamond, which he had only used on two occasions at Porto.

The 4-4-2 diamond is not the answer.

Formations are not the problem. Torres is the problem.    

Fernando Torres vs Stoke City

This was a very good game from Fernando Torres against Stoke City where he looked energetic, where he contested the ball (he made more tackles than Ashley Cole) and most importantly he looked a threat.

If not for former Chelsea player Robert Huth's block, perhaps Torres would have scored a goal. 

Another thing to like was Torres' passing, which was generally incisive—for example a beautiful diagonal pass to Ramires. 

Shots	3
On target	1
Off target	2
Passes	39
Good passes	28
Bad passes	11

Fernando Torres vs West Bromwich Albion

Well, I'm grasping at straws; at least Fernando Torres looked like he cared as he chased down defenders and tried to get himself into the game.

Unlike against Stoke City where he made eight successful diagonal passes, he only made two against West Bromwich Albion, but that's more indicative of the less amount of possession he had.

The concerning factor was he didn't get a single shot on or off target.    

Shots	0
On target	0
Off target	0
Passes	16
Good passes	14
Bad passes	2

Fernando Torres vs Norwich City

Fernando Torres took 77 minutes to register his first attempt on goal, and even after great service from Juan Mata, he still didn't score.

If we're to talk about luck, then Torres had no luck when Leon Barnett's brave block denied the Spaniard a certain goal. 

As soon as Romelu Lukaku came on, Chelsea looked more dangerous and the prodigious Belgian had more shots in 18 minutes than Torres did in 83 minutes.

Shots	1
On target	1
Off target	0
Passes	31
Good passes	22
Bad passes	9

Fernando Torres vs Other Chelsea Forwards

As Fernando Torres has struggled in the past 21 games, it's not like Chelsea's other forwards have been freely scoring. 

What you can deduct is Chelsea's midfield isn't providing enough incisive passes or Chelsea's forwards are not good enough. 

So with this in mind, it makes manager André Villas-Boas' decision to cut Romelu Lukaku from the UEFA Champions League squad a big mistake.  

Fernando Torres	1
Didier Drogba	3
Nicolas Anelka	4
Salomon Kalou	4

Fernando Torres' Form for the Spanish National Team

One excuse some Chelsea fans have been making for Fernando Torres is that the midfield lacks creativity. 

Well what about the Spanish midfield comprising of either Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, David Silva, Xabi Alonso or Cesc Fàbregas off the bench? 

Since 2010, Torres has spent every single game he has played for Spain at one point on the bench.

Of his four goals, two came against Liechtenstein, who have conceded 254 goals in competitive games since 1992. One came against USA in a friendly and another came against Poland in a 6-0 thrashing. 

Games	16
Goals	4
Assists	1
Yellow cards	0
Subbed in	11
Subbed out	5
MOTM*	1

* Man Of The Match

Also what about his Stéphane Guivarc'h-esq FIFA World Cup? Spain essentially played with 10 men every time Torres played. No wonder they had trouble scoring goals. 

With David Villa, Álvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente all ahead of Torres, the Chelsea forward will be spending more time in London come the international break.   

Concluding Thoughts

When Franco Di Santo, a player who couldn't buy a goal (two goals in 70 games), has a better scoring rate this season than Fernando Torres—surely alarm bells must be ringing. 

Torres has is leading in one statistics. He has lost the most amount of possession from attempted dribbles this season—13.

Also Torres has more yellow cards than goals.  

Roman Abramovich has been swindled out of £80.8 million by John W. Henry and Thomas C. Werner at Fenway Sports Group and Silvio Berlusconi. 

The litmus test for Torres will be against Manchester United. If he fails, Chelsea must hope Anzhi Makhachkala make a bid for the Spaniard in January. 

Romelu Lukaku is a future FIFA Ballon d'Or winner, yet why was he cut from the UEFA Champions League squad? 

He's the future of Chelsea, yet he's been treated with disregard. If he scores goals in the limited minutes he has to shine, then he must be given a starting 11 position over Torres.

Will Torres eventually come good for Chelsea? Please comment below. 

Please also read How Chelsea Signing Raul Meireles Changes Andre Villas-Boas' Starting 11 and Cutting Romelu Lukaku from Champions League Squad Is a Big Mistake 

* Statistics compiled from http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/ and http://www.football-lineups.com