Fernando Torres: 6 Things the Chelsea Striker Can Improve Next Season

Chelsea's £50 million signing of Fernando Torres on the final day of the 2011 January transfer window led to great excitement at Stamford Bridge.

A World Cup and European Championship winner with Spain, Torres had scored 81 goals in 142 games for former club Liverpool and he moved to West London for a British transfer record fee as well as becoming the most expensive Spanish player ever.

The huge expectations dictated by Torres' undoubted ability as a striker have not been lived up to so far, however, as Torres has scored just one goal in eighteen appearances for Chelsea.

There is a famous saying in football that "form is temporary, class is permanent," something that Torres and Chelsea must hope is proven to be true in his case. 

Here are six things that I think we need to see an improvement in from Torres in the 2011-12 season, otherwise he may well go down the same route as former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko in being another expensive flop at Stamford Bridge.

1) Finishing

Quite clearly, one goal in eighteen games is not the record of the clinical striker Torres once was.

Although his lack of goals was not solely down to his finishing, clear goalscoring opportunities were missed by the Spaniard against the likes of Wigan Athletic and Manchester United that Torres would almost certainly have put away 15 months ago.

2) Confidence

His finishing may have been poor last season, but that isn't because he is lacking in ability. Torres was scoring goals for fun a couple of years ago, and was renowned as one of the most clinical strikers in world football.

903 minutes of football without a goal would have certainly been playing on his mind and, despite breaking that record against West Ham in April, his only goal since has come with the national side so Torres will still be feeling the pressure at the start of the next campaign.

It may well be that the first few games could make or break his whole season. If he gets himself on the score sheet a few times in August then expect him to return to his best form for the duration of the campaign. If he fails to find the back of the net, however, this will harm his confidence further and may mean that he never does become the player for Chelsea that he once was for Liverpool.

3) Relationship with Strike Partner

Whether it be Drogba, Anelka, Sturridge, Falcao or another striker that Villas-Boas brings in to partner Torres, he will need to develop a good relationship on and off the field with them if they are to be successful.

The Spaniard's relationship with Drogba has been the subject of much speculation since his arrival as the pair scored just four goals between them in all competitions.

To develop the crucial understanding that Torres has with his international teammate David Villa, and one that he shared with Steven Gerrard at Liverpool when the Englishman played just behind him, he is going to need to have a good relationship with whichever player he is paired with.

It may well be the case that Villas-Boas' team line-up in a 4-3-3 formation with Torres as the main striker, but the relationship with the attacking players that support him will be just as important. If Luka Modric gets his wish and joins the club as the midfield playmaker, this is another player that Torres will need to develop a fantastic understanding with so that Modric can know where and when he will make runs.

4) Fitness

A knee operation in April last year left Torres' World Cup in doubt; despite playing in the tournament in South Africa, he was unable to score and was only used as a late substitute in the final due to his lack of fitness.

The World Cup didn't seem to do his fitness any good as he missed Liverpool's entire pre-season with a thigh injury. Since then he has not demonstrated the acceleration and pace that had previously made him one of the most feared strikers for Premier League defenders.

Assuming he avoids any injuries, Torres should have a full preseason under his belt by the time Chelsea play Stoke in their Premier League opener on August 13th. Hopefully this will help him to regain the speed so crucial to his game, as well as the stamina to ensure he lasts the full ninety minutes, something that he has rarely done in his first eighteen Chelsea appearances.

5) First Touch

The first touch is one of the most important skills in football—without mastering it you will get nowhere.

We have seen Torres' control let him down too often in his first few months as a Chelsea player; one particular example of this was in the away game against Fulham, Torres' second appearance for the club, when he failed to bring down David Luiz's superb long ball that would have surely seen him score his first Chelsea goal had he managed it.

As difficult a skill as it was, a world-class striker like Torres once was would have almost certainly taken the opportunity.

A goal then may well have been the catalyst for Torres to rediscover his form as his confidence would have been sky-high just two games into his Chelsea career. Confidence may well be a factor as to why Torres' first touch has been average ever since his move from Liverpool, but it is something he really needs to work on over the summer.

6) Work Rate

The Stamford Bridge crowd have been fully behind Torres ever since his £50 million move, despite his lack of goals. As much as I have also praised him when he has shown signs of promise and tried not to criticise him for his poor displays, I do feel that his work rate for the team could have been better.

I am not saying that he should be charging around the pitch for ninety minutes like Carlos Tevez as he is simply not that type of player; he relies on saving his energy to accelerate quickly when given a chance.

I do, however, believe his movement up front needs to improve as too often I have seen him standing still next to the opposing centre backs, not even testing their ability to mark him.

This lack of running off the ball is obviously also linked to fitness, which will hopefully improve over the preseason. If we see an improvement in all these factors during the next campaign, I am confident that Torres will have a season to remember rather than one to forget.