Chelsea News: Tim Howard 1, Fernando Torres 0 in 2012

It has been exactly a year since Fernando Torres was signed for a record transfer fee of £50 million from Liverpool.

And on a day while the equally ridiculously expensive Andy Caroll scored for Liverpool off a fantastic Charlie Adam cross, I wish I could say the same about Torres. 

I have always been a great fan of El Nino, but it's sad to see that he has been deemed an utter flop, as even Tim Howard, the Everton goalkeeper, has a better goal scoring record than him. 

Don't get me wrong. Torres still is a phenomenal player.

If you've followed Torres this season, he has been nothing but sensational. Not only does he lead the attack but also comes back and defends as if his life was at stake. He has pulled out several man-of-the-match performances for Chelsea, yet finds it extremely difficult to get on the scoresheet. 

You can understand the sentiment: he wants to prove to the Chelsea faithful that he is still world-class. And world-class he certainly is. 

Recently against Sunderland, Torres executed a perfectly timed volley only to see it rattle off the crossbar and fall at Frank Lampard's feet to go in. Against Norwich, his sensational toe poke was saved perfectly by John Ruddy.

It's how his entire stay at Chelsea has panned out to be. 

However, I also place a lion's share of the blame on Chelsea's manager Andre Villas-Boas. 

Against Manchester United, apart from that glaring miss, Torres was sensational. Against Swansea, he scored again. But, he was sent off and received a three-game domestic suspension. Yet, it looked as if fortunes were finally starting to change for Nando.

Torres scored twice in a victory over Genk in the Champions League, and you also have to remember that he has three assists in four Champions League appearances.

Here was a man starting to gain his form back again, proving to the world that he is still of world-class mould.

But what does Villas-Boas do? It seems that Villas-Boas has done everything to rob Torres of his last ounce of confidence. 

He benches him time and again. Players who are on the verge of regaining their form and confidence need playing time—every manager knows that. It's pathetic that Villas-Boas doesn't.

He is benched in favor of Didier Drogba. Didier Drogba? The same player Villas-Boas refused to give a two-year contract to. The same Drogba who is about to leave Stamford Bridge. 

Between his sending-off at Swansea and the commencement of the start of the African Cup of Nations, Fernando Torres has never played a full game besides a few lone starts. Against Blackburn, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa, he played 45, 6, 12, 11 and 12 minutes respectively.

Drogba, on the other hand, except for an 11-minute spell against Swansea in September, has played almost each match in its entirety. What footballing philosophy is Villas-Boas espousing? 

And then, there's Daniel Sturridge.

Daniel Sturridge is a great player, but I feel that, not only he is being played out of position, but he does not communicate well with Torres.

As observed in the last game against Swansea, he decided, on numerous occasions I might add, to take a shot himself from the tightest of angles rather than laying it for Torres.

Why doesn't Villas-Boas tell players to feed the ball to Torres? 

I have been a strong critic of Roman Abrahomivic's constant sacking of coaches, but I think it's time for Villas-Boas to leave.

His handling of Fernando Torres and Frank Lampard, his failed defensive high-line policy, his preference of playing key players such as Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge out of position and most importantly Chelsea's struggle mean he needs to go and be replaced by someone of the caliber of Guus Hiddink. 

What do you think of Andre Villas-Boas? Should he be sacked in favor for a more experienced manager?