Any Chelsea fan thinking of putting off shaving until Fernando Torres ends his goal drought may wish to reconsider unless they find the thought of looking like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings appealing.
Torres was subbed off after 45 minutes in Chelsea’s FA Cup game against Birmingham last Saturday, which marked 20 games and 1,298 minutes since he last scored a goal.
Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he and the entire Chelsea squad are desperate for Nando to find his shooting boots and suggested that having to fight for a place in the first team could be key to finally getting some goals out of the Spaniard.
‘I think everybody is desperate for Torres to score, said AVB. ‘Everybody pushes him, praises him in training and it will come with him getting opportunities. His confidence is low but we will have to continue to persist with our belief in his talent.’
‘The belief is the same. The only thing that changes is the level of competition for him and maybe that will be the key. More competition will see him push himself that little bit harder and maybe he will eventually reach his goal and targets.’
It is expected that Villas-Boas will drop Torres for the Blues’ last-16 Champions League game against Napoli after his poor display against Birmingham and the Chelsea boss admitted that Didier Drogba’s return from the African Cup of Nations increases competition for places.
‘First, Torres, Drogba and Lukaku will compete in training to be in the team. There’s competition in the striker positions and it will be a battle between the three of them. Drogba increases the level of competition. They are all top, top talents.’
