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In the month of January, on the 31st, an amazing deadline day transfer took place. It was one of the most shocking transfers of the Premier League. Star striker and Liverpool fan-favorite Fernando Torres decided to move to the London giants Chelsea Fc . It was a big shock to all the Liverpool lovers to see their idol move to one of their rivals. The outcome was very similar to what was predicted. Liverpool fans started tearing and ripping apart their Torres jerseys, set it on fire. There were tweets all around the world from the majority of Liverpool fans criticizing Torres’s decision to join Chelsea. Being a neutral, one could see it as a pretty fair deal on Torres’s behalf. A 50 million transfer fee and a 180k euros per week is something someone in his normal senses would never reject. And so it happened. Torres moved to Chelsea, leaving the Liverpool fans in dismay and gutted.
If you were in the place of Torres, it would be hard to reject Chelsea’s offer (unless of course you have the loyalty like Gerrard, which of course Torres did not). Chelsea were the dominant force in England for the past few years, winning back to back Premier League titles, and with the likes of Lampard, Drogba and Terry, it would be a dream to play for Chelsea. Given the fact that Liverpool were in poor form, and had not won any major titles and weren’t going to in the near future was the driving force behind Torres’s transfer to Chelsea.
What happened in the next 2 years is a different story all together. No one in his wildest imagination would have predicted such a horrific display from the 50 million man . He started his playing time for Chelsea against his former club. The debut match ended in a defeat for El Nino’s new club. From then on, you could always predict that something was just not right. There were boo’s on every touch Torres took in the match against Liverpool. From then on, it was all downhill for the Spaniard. From an open-goal miss against Manchester United, to going about 6 hours of playing time (around 24 matches) without scoring a goal, this was definitely not Abramovich’s intention when he spent 50 million on him.
He finally went on to end his goal-drought and poor form towards the end of 2011-2012. One could say that for all the poor form, there has been a major influence of his lack of first team starts, with Chelsea legend Didier Drogba being present every time and being chosen over Torres most of the times. Torres was gutted after the final even after the victory as he had “expected” to start the final. The argument could go on and on. But after Drogba’s departure to Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenua, Torres has been handed the role of playing as the lone striker up front. And his complaints of not having a good midfield last season has been trashed apart, with Abramovich’s big spending resulting in Chelsea having one of the best midfield trio in the world. The likes of the young Oscar, the Belgian wonder-kid Hazard and the Spanish magician Mata has given Torres the necessary back-up he requires. But even after that, even though there has been quite an improvement in Torres’s form, there still isn’t the hint of the old form he used to carry with him in his Liverpool days. He still lacks the confidence to shoot, fumbles many a times while dribbling, has various passes misplaced and is a bit lazy at the front. Yes, he has improved, but he is still far away from proving his worth of 50 million. That money has perhaps gone down the drain, however one can say he is getting better with time.
Now, let us shift our focus to the summer transfer window 2012. Arsenal finish the season in 3rd place. A disappointing season for the Gunners but they might have been very happy to finish 3rd, with a guaranteed Champions League spot. The focus shifts to the talisman of Arsenal, the Dutch striker, Robin Van Persie. The Arsenal fans went every match with banners of “We don’t need batman, we have Robin” and “He scores when he wants” . Who would’ve imagined the captain was to snub them for their arch-rivals. Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie moved to Old Trafford, triggering infinite rage among the Arsenal fans. They had backed him and relied on him for the season. Had he stayed, with the likes of Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla, Arsenal would surely be in title contention. But he chose to move to the club’s arch-rivals instead, claiming he wanted more “trophies” and that Manchester United were a more “successful club” . Arsenal continued their tradition to sell their best players and van Persie followed the exit door just as Fabregas, Adebayor, Toure, Song and many others did. But what happened in the next 2 months was pretty unbelievable. From netting a hat-trick to scoring against his former club inside 3 minutes, RVP’s life at Manchester United has started with a bang. The Dutchman has netted 11 goals in 14 appearances for the Red Devils since a controversial £24 million move from Arsenal over the summer and has been described as Manchester United’s “talisman” by team-mate Rooney. “Last season at Arsenal was his best season in the Premier League goalscoring-wise. He changed his game to playing on the shoulder more and getting in better goalscoring positions.” an overjoyed Rooney stated in a recent interview.
Analyzing both Torres and RVP, we notice that there were similar situation, a controversial move on both the occasions. Both moved to their rival clubs, but RVP has proved he is value for money within just 3 months, and Torres even after 2 years, is finding life at Chelsea real hard. With recent rumors about Falcao’s link up with Chelsea, it would mean that time is up for the Spaniard at Chelsea. He might have to move to a smaller club which is not in the limelight, or may stay at Chelsea and be assigned to the bench more often than not. There seems to be no chance for progression for Torres, unless of course talks with Falcao break down, which every Chelsea fan, including me, prays doesn’t happen.
So what has caused the downfall of Torres, and not RVP? Even with similar situations, there have been very dissimilar outcomes. Feel free to comment your views about the reasons for the dissimilar outcome. I would love to hear from you :)
#CAREFREE#KTBFFH
