How to "Fix" Fernando Torres

The biggest question around Chelsea Football Club at the moment seems to be all about the form of Fernando Torres.  Some so called "fans" have even gone far enough to boo one of their own players.  He seems at the moment incapable of scoring or even being dangerous throughout a match.  The Spanish striker seems completely lost trying to implement his old highlights in a new kit, but one thing is for certain, form is temporary and class is permanent.

At the beginning of the season the question Di Matteo was asked was, would he get Torres back to his old Liverpool days? He didn't.  When Rafa Benitez was brought in, all the questions were the same, would he bring Torres back to his old form? He didn't.  One things seem strange when you look at what managers say about Torres.  All you ever here is either, he will get back to his old form, or he won't get back to his old form. Why do people not see that he is no longer the same age? Why does no one see that it's not 2008?  Fernando Torres will never be the same player, never anything close to it, he is never going to burst by back-lines for his goals.  It's entirely impossible.  This isn't to say that he can not be one of the best players in the world once again.  He can, that's entirely possible.

The day Fernando Torres will be back is the day a manager comes and tells him to forget the old Torres and invent a new one.  He needs to become a new player.  He needs to create a whole new style.  He needs to stay in the box and not try to play the wings like he used to in his pacier days.  His aerial game already looks like it has gotten better and he needs to capitalise on that.  Chelsea loves to cross the ball in, and the better he gets in the air the more he will score.  Chelsea loves to play one touch passes with their new plethora of midfielders and if he stays in the box instead of trying to make his "Liverpool" long ball runs, he will score.  If he takes more long shots, instead of trying to play give and go like he used to do with Steven Gerrard, he will score.  The more Torres plays to Chelsea's style instead of making them play to his, the more he will score and make an impact at the club.  He is certainly going to have to earn his time now that Demba Ba is there, but his time to shine is not over.

The question isn't which manager will bring back the old Torres, it's what Manager will create a new one.

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Player Ratings for Chelsea vs. Southampton

Chelsea were desperate to get on the pitch Saturday as they wanted to get over their dreadful loss to QPR in the middle of the week.  The main talking point of this match was clearly the debut of Chelsea's newest addition Demba Ba, and he didn't disappoint.  The Blues ended up with a 5-1 victory as they launched into the fourth round of the FA Cup.  Let's take a look at how each player did.

GK Ross Turnbull: 8.0

Ross Turnbull's antics are always fun to watch on the pitch and he's also a pretty good keeper.  He held his own in the absence of Petr Cech and even made a pretty spectacular save in the second half.  Hopefully he'll see a few clean sheets in Cech's recovery time.

D Cesar Azpilicueta: 8.0

Cesar is turning into a very good right back and he continued his success in this match.  His overlapping in attack is becoming a huge hassle for opposing defenders.  It will be a tough choice for Rafa Benitez when John Terry is fit on whether Ivanovic or Azpilicueta will reign on the position.

D Branislav Ivanovic: 8.5

Ivanovic may not smile a lot, but he sure does love to score a lot.  Not many times do you see a central defender in the oppositions penalty box in open play, but Ivanovic welcomed it with a header.  His defending was class as usual; him and Cahill are forming a good partnership at the back.

D Gary Cahill: 8.0

Gary Cahill was a classy defender as he most often is.  His name wasn't called to much but he put in a very good 90 minutes.

D Ashley Cole: 8.0

Ashley Cole was Ashley Cole, almost impossible to get by.  He continues to show why he deserves a new contract.

M/D David Luiz: 7.5

Maybe the loosest of all of David Luiz's midfield adventures.  His defending was very good in the middle of the park, but he had some loose touches and his passing was not up to his usual standards.  David is still learning the position and he will develop into a classy midfielder once he gets his feet wet.

M Ramires: 8.0

Ramires used his pace to blow by defenders, as usual, and he was dangerous, as usual.  But his defending coming back was what made this a classy performance.  He was always there to help Chelsea recover from Ashley Cole and Azpilicueta's overlapping to slow down the counter attack.  Great all around play from the Brazilian.

M Juan Mata: 9.0

Chelsea goes as Juan Mata goes.  He controls the match for the Blues, and when he's on the pitch Chelsea's goals usually come from his play.  Mata looks to already have a good feel of where Demba Ba wants the ball as they seemed to be on the same page instantly.  Having a consistent finisher in front of him will make his stats look even better than they already are.

M Eden Hazard: 8.5

Eden Hazard was using his silky touch to get Chelsea's attack going as he usually does.  It's completely impossible to keep him out of the box.  He topped off his great play with yet another assist, for Demba Ba's second goal.  Hopefully Eden will start to be a little more selfish so he can start tallying the goals.

F Victor Moses: 8.5

Victor Moses is one of Rafa's favored choices on the team sheet, and it's hard to disagree.  His pace is deadly and he has a great shot.  Moses grabbed a goal right before halftime with a lovely left footed finish to give Chelsea the lead.  The winger has been consistent the whole season and will only get better.

F Demba Ba: 9.0

Chelsea may have grabbed the biggest bargain in the Premier League in a long long time.  Demba Ba came into this game, never have playing with anyone on the pitch before and looked like a Chelsea veteran.  The Senegal man's movement was top class, he always found his way into dangerous positions and found the back of the net twice.  Chelsea fans wanted a striker and they may have gotten the Premier League's best one.  Don't be surprised if Demba competes with Van Persie and Suarez for the Golden Boot in England.

M Frank Lampard: 8.0

Sign him up, end of story.

M Oscar: 7.5

Oscar is one for the future but his play against English clubs is still very unproven.

M Marko Marin: 7.5

A very talented player and finally is getting to play, but he seems to force it a little to much.

Man of the Match: Demba Ba

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Demba Ba Transfer Stalls at the Moment

Chelsea are in desperate need for a striker or maybe even a few, as at the moment Fernando Torres has no real backup. With Daniel Sturridge going to Liverpool and Romelu Lukaku staying on loan there is no question that management will be busy in January. Sunday, Sky Sports reported that Newcastle Striker Demba Ba was meeting with Chelsea officials over a 7 million pound move. Talks were then reported as unsuccessful when Ba's wage demands were brought up. Whatever the wages may be Chelsea may want to pay his amount wanted as there is slim to no chance that they will find a bargain like this. Look for talks to resume in the coming days.

source: Skysports.com

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