Torres - Can He Return to Scoring Form Next Season?

At the age of 28 Torres will be among Chelsea's veteran players next season. A wealth of experience, and ideally reaching the prime of his career.

But last season, many people were rightly disappointed with the minimal impact he had at the club. In all competitions he appeared 49 times, and scored 11 goals. Not a great return on the most expensive player in Premier League history.

Their have been claims that the always looming presence of star striker Didier Drogba put too much pressure on the £50 Million signing. Yet, when the Ivorian was away in January for the African Cup of Nations, Fernando's performances didn't really improve.

However, looking at the Chelsea line-up for most of the season, it really can't be much of a surprise that Torres wasn't delivering in terms of goals. During the first half of the season, the man that can compliment Torres (Juan Mata) was pushed out to the left by AVB and so often Torres was starved of service. Even in the later stages of the season, the direct play that suits Torres was often substituted for a more gritty style of football. Also, the lack of width often lead to Torres going wide or dropping deep to make things happen, which meant when they did happen, he was standing in the wrong parts of the pitch.

Torres looks more confident heading into next season

In the Spain friendly against Korea Republic on 30th May, Torres played up front, and scored from a terrific header in the 12th minute(ironically very much a 'Drogba goal'). Throughout the game(until his 57th minute subsititution) Torres seemed to try and remain at the top end of the pitch, waiting for scoring opportunites to come his way. This is the kind of Torres that will be needed at Stamford Bridge next season.

With players that are both creative and able to play in wide positions such as Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Marko Marin and Hulk, Torres should get more of the delivery that he craves in order to score goals.  Eden Hazard provided 16 assists in the Ligue 1 2011/12 season, whilst Mata provided 13. Also Mark Marin can join that list of 'Assist Kings'. Since breaking into the first team of Borussia Monchengladbach at the age of 18, he has never ended a Bundesliga season with less than 10 assists (until this season when moved out of his natural winger position, think of it as a reverse Juan Mata). Marin also recorded 18 assists in all competitions during the 2009/10 season.

So with so much creativity around him, and players that know how to set up goal scoring opportunities, surely the 2012/13 season is the one where Fernando Torres will rediscover his scoring boots?

Let me know your thoughts on twitter @worldofchelsea or in the comment section below!

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Is Di Matteo the Right Man for the 'New Chelsea'?

The decision of who will be Chelsea's next permanent manager trails on, writes Daniel Mackrell.

Roberto Di Matteo has shot back to being favourite to take over the role, as Abramovich continues to struggle in his attempts to lure Pep Guardiola out of temporary retirement.

It's hard to not see Di Matteo as the right man for the job. He's shown that he has a solid tactical mind, and is good at juggling the ego's that are inevitably in the blues squad.Most of all he is a true blue, and his passion for the club runs through his veins.

My one issue is their hesitation to give him the permanent job. The fact that he is not seen as the first choice will inevitably put pressure onto Roberto in the sense that he knows Chelsea will still have their eye on Guardiola by the end of the next season. Any kind of slip up will lead to the papers pouncing on him, and suggesting that Pep is preparing a 2013/14 takeover of the club.

Di Matteo masterminded a historic Champions League Victory

Along with this, many have claimed that he carried a lot of luck during his time as Caretaker Manager for the club.

Also, is his 'Italian tactics' what Abramovich really wants from his clubs manager? Buying players such Hazard and Marin, to play alongside Mata and Torres (and maybe Hulk), surely Abramovich hopes for flowing attacking football that someone like Guardiola can bring.
It's no secret that Chelsea won the Champions League with grit and determination alongside spectacular defensive displays. However, this isn't the expectations going forward. It's no secret that the Chelsea owner wants the club to be the new Barcelona. Can Di Matteo adapt to more flowing football, and get the best out of our top attacking talents?

What are your thoughts? Is Di Matteo the right man to take over the job? Should Chelsea try and convince him to accept a one year contract? Let me know on twitter @worldofchelsea or in the comment section below!

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Brazilian Backbone?

With Ramires and Luiz starting to light up the Chelsea team, and being quite young players, it makes you wonder if they are indeed the future of Chelsea.
I'd like to think they are.

It's no secret that we have an ageing squad, and over the next few years we will need to see a transition, with a number of new players being introduced to the team. Hopefully, this will mean a few youth players climbing through the ranks and into the first eleven.

The books need to be balanced in time for the 'fair play' rules that will be in place in the not too distant future. However, that didn't stop Abramovich splashing the cash on Luiz and Torres. Both of which i'm sure will be worth the money.

But it surely limits the spending in this summers transfer window, and also means that some players will be leaving in order to make up a bit of money. Atleast, thats my guess.

So with players like Mceachran, Cork, Kakuta, Sturridge and even more slowly approaching a solid level, i expect a gradual  transofmration to take place, and i believe these will be based around the likes of Luiz and Ramires.

The two of them are clearly find adapting to english football not as difficult as other Brazilians before them. Whether that will keep it up is yet to be seen, but i have full confidence in thier abilities. Perhaps they're pace and flair can set up a smoother, and quick chelsea, compared with the powerful non nonsence chelsea that we've become used to.

Imagine if the expected abilities of our young stars shine through, we would have a quick flowing team with a lot of ability, certainly an exciting thought.

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