Chelsea FC: Ruining the Careers of the World's Best Strikers Since 2006

Okay, 11 appearances are now over, and it's officially time for the Chelsea FC management to be worried about Fernando Torres.

In these past two months, ever since joining Chelsea, Torres has looked out of depth, out of pace, out of ideas, and sadly, out of confidence. This is very important for a player who has jinxed the world's best defenders, notably Nemanja Vidic, time and time again.

Carlo Ancelotti had backed Torres time and time again, claiming that he will score important goals for the club. When it came to the Champions League quarterfinal, the only tournament they had a chance of winning, Torres did not step up. It was then or never.

He had it all going for him to break his duck in one of the two matches against Manchester United. For seasons, he's had the better of the world's best defender. Instead, Torres produced two performances that even a 250,000-pound signing would be frowned upon for, let alone a player who has broken the British transfer fee record.

It's not even been the case where Torres has missed sitters. In fact, he looks just as close to scoring as John Obi Mikel, and John Obi Mikel has not scored for a while. But now that we look at this situation compared to other similar situations in the Abramovich era, we see a glaring similarity. Two words: Andriy Shevchenko.

Andriy Shevchenko joined Chelsea in 2006 with the billing of being the best striker in the world at that moment in time, quite similar to Torres. He joined for a mammoth fee, as did Torres as well. And he was a sensational flop at his time at Stamford Bridge, scoring just four goals in his first Premier League season, quite poor for a player who was a guarantee for 25+ goals per season at his time in Milan.

Torres, if he stayed fit, was a guarantee for 25+ goals per season for Liverpool as well.

Most importantly, both these players' shocking lack of form baffled everyone. Shevchenko came to Chelsea following a groundbreaking season at Milan, where he scored an impressive nine out of 12 goals in the Champions League to be the top goal-scorer, despite Milan not making it to the semifinals.

Torres had been struggling for fitness for most of the season with Liverpool, but the way he was playing once Kenny Dalglish took the helm definitely added a few more millions to that transfer fee.

What could be the reasons that these two players failed/are failing to do well at Chelsea? It could be that Chelsea extensively plays through the middle. Long gone are the days when Arjen Robben used to bomb the flanks and produce cross after cross. Florent Malouda showed some verve on the wings last season but has lost that this season.

Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres are excellent headers of the ball despite their average frames, and thrive from crosses or long balls. The Chelsea of this season do not look capable of doing this.

Another appalling fact we have seen is that both players seemed to lose a yard of pace once they joined Chelsea. Associating words like "slow"' and "lacking pace" to someone like Fernando Torres a few years ago would result in a few sneers. But now, it is looking more and more realistic to say Fernando Torres has become slower.

Even with Andriy Shevchenko, that yard of pace lost was there for everyone to see. He wasn't sharp anymore, and as a result of low self-confidence, did not show enough hunger. And the rest, they say, is history.

Shevchenko spent two toothless seasons at Chelsea and was then loaned to Milan, where he scored only two goals from 26 appearances. What a drastic change from when he last played in Serie A three years ago at that time.

Right now, he is spending his twilight years at Dynamo Kiev, and we only wonder to ourselves "what if?"

Torres must look at Shevchenko's example and ensure this does not happen to him. If he wants to be a success at Chelsea, he has to perform immediately, and if he cannot, he has to change to another club rather than be blown to oblivion.

Strikers like Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka have done well for Chelsea because they possess power and drive to put the defenders under pressure. They are big powerhouses who have skill. Does this mean that any nimble-footed, lean striker has no capability of being a success at Chelsea?

In the midst of all this comes Chelsea's supposed future striker, Daniel Sturridge. A player very similar to Torres and Shevchenko in terms of pace, eye for goal and technique, Daniel Sturridge needs to realize whether he is going to make it big at Chelsea.

Going by his loan season at Bolton, he has the potential to be a matchwinner and a great striker for England. When he does finish his loan season and come back to Chelsea, he has to start scoring goals, and if he can't, he has to move from Chelsea immediately for his own sake.

Don't make the same mistake Shevchenko did and Torres is currently doing.