The Fernando Torres horror show

The fans can hardly bear to watch either as pressure grows on Roman Abramovich to bring in a new leading man
28 November 2012

Spain is associated with some of the most evocative horror films but Guillermo del Toro would struggle to replicate the psychological torture suffered by Fernando Torres at Chelsea.

Del Toro is Mexican by birth but often uses Spain as his muse. Pan’s Labyrinth, Julia’s Eyes and (my favourite) The Orphanage all feature tormented characters, hollowed out and replaced by little else aside from fear.

One of the subplots as The Orphanage progresses is central character Laura’s attempts to seek closure. “Seeing is not believing,” she is told. “It is the other way around.” Her ensuing pursuit of the truth threatens her livelihood and sanity, eventually leading to a heartrending denouement.

There is plenty in Torres’s search for closure on a chapter of his career that has long threatened to define him that Del Toro could work with.

Instead, Rafael Benitez is the latest man directing the task of restoring him to former glories but should he fail, the Blues surely have no option but to sell their £50million striker for a huge loss in the summer.

In fairness to Chelsea, they could hardly have done more to help. Managers have been fired for failing to

integrate him, transfer policy has been tailored with Torres in mind and the fans have stayed largely loyal and patient. Those closely associated with events at the club’s Cobham base speak of a variety of training regimes designed to reignite that spark within him. Until this season, the excuse was that he failed to find his rhythm while being rotated with Didier Drogba and the team were not tailored to his strengths.

Heavy summer investment and a change in tactics followed yet Torres has scored just seven goals in 21 appearances this season and looked uncertain on his feet. Most of the time, he seems afraid to shoot. The rest of the time, he barely has the ball under control.

He is woefully out of form, unhappy, nullifying Chelsea’s effectiveness and with each week looking less like the player Liverpool and Spain were proud to call one of the finest strikers in the world. ‘El Nino’ has blown itself out, aged 28. Torres cannot be happy entering what should be the peak years of his career resembling an extra rather than the leading man his price tag demands.

Benitez’s initial attempts to rouse him centred on different starting positions for his runs into the box and instruction from David Luiz and keeper Petr Cech to look for Torres with long, high balls.

Benitez also speaks of the need for Torres to train harder in the gym and as much as Roman Abramovich wants his prized investment to deliver, the player has to want it himself.

Torres captained Atletico Madrid at just 19 years old so pressure is nothing new but he exists in what is surely a unique position: so far off his game yet undroppable due to the unwavering support of the club’s owner.

With millions in the bank, a World Cup, two European Championships, a Champions League and an FA Cup to his name plus the knowledge that no matter what his form, he remains immovable, where is his motivation? After all, people stop going to the gym when they can no longer be bothered.

Time will tell if Benitez can reinvigorate Torres but should he fail, there is an acceptable solution for all parties which would not require an implausible plot twist.

Chelsea want Radamel Falcao, of Atletico. Torres, who turns 29 in March, may well be tempted to return to his former club. Atletico have a huge tax bill and Chelsea are mindful of complying with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play.

A swap deal involving some Chelsea cash would enable Stamford Bridge to once again house one of the most potent strikers in world football and end Torres’s west London nightmare.

Abramovich is clearly an astute businessman and he must be able to recognise not every punt would come off, even one as logical as signing a player with Torres’s pedigree.

Daniel Sturridge has grown disillusioned and could move on but Romelu Lukaku is impressing with his form for West Brom and at present is a much more effective Premier League striker than Torres. Lukaku deserves a chance next season in Chelsea blue.

Without ruining The Orphanage’s ending, Laura moves on to set herself free. Unless Benitez can revive his fellow Spaniard, Chelsea and Torres should do the same.

Zero tolerance the only way to treat yobs

Football authorities often take too long to hand out punishments but the alarming increase in vile abuse from supporters must be admonished quickly and thoroughly.

We live in angry times. Socio-economic pressures have made things difficult and heightened tensions but there is simply no excuse for the bile emanating from a small minority of supporters at matches.

Whether it is West Ham fans making hissing noises to taunt Tottenham’s Jewish fanbase, monkey chants at black players or the racist abuse allegedly suffered by on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, zero tolerance is the appropriate response.

This is not an affliction confined to one or a few clubs. For their part, the Premier League are pressuring the Crown Prosecution Service to act with greater intensity. There is a momentum to clean up the game and this must be seized upon — the nature of sport is that another issue will come to the fore and the drive to push through reform in one area stagnates.

If there is indeed a causal link between frustrations with the Government and supporter behaviour at matches, then it is inactivity that is the common denominator. Fans become angry at their team stagnating just as an electorate grow disillusioned with paralysis in Westminster.

Due process must, of course, be observed but fast and firm punishment must follow obvious indiscretion such as those committed by the idiots at White Hart Lane. Justice must be done and be seen to be done. Swift action can and must speak louder than those disgusting words.

Great hopes for Speed Jr

Nothing can replace the loss felt by Gary Speed’s family and the football community a year on from his death but there was a life-affirming symmetry in his 14-year-old son’s first appearance in the Wales Under-16 squad.

Falling almost exactly on yesterday’s anniversary of Speed’s passing, midfielder Ed was an unused substitute in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland. Coach Osian Roberts has “great hopes” for Speed Jr, whose style is said to emulate his father’s. These are, of course, early days in Ed’s career but his involvement with Wales is a timely reminder that hope can always survive tragedy.

Twitter @JamesOlley

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