What Happened to El Nino?

The signs have been appearing for a couple of months now which suggest that this close season will see Fernando Torres end his ill fated three-and-a-half year spell with Chelsea and leave for somewhere new - or perhaps old, as rumors seem to suggest he will be returning to his boyhood club Atletico Madrid.  Mourinho has made it clear in recent months he does not trust his centre forwards and it is very possible Torres could be used as a makeweight in any deal for Atletico striker Diego Costa. It has been well documented throughout his time at Stamford Bridge that he has never hit form, never went on a consistent scoring run and essentially never got close to showing why Roman Abramovich splashed out £50million for his services on deadline day back in January 2011.  But the question must be asked, could a player of his undoubted ability simply have lost his natural talent? Of course not.  I believe his problems stem from how the team around him is set up to play.

Throughout his time at the club, Torres has generally played in front of three attacking midfielders such as Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Malouda and Willian but to name a few.  One criticism which has been constantly thrown at Fernando is that with such strong attacking players in front of him providing him with service, he should be scoring many more goals than is the case.  However, this is a lazy view, simply looking at the names playing behind him and expecting it all to work when there is much more to it than that.

The fact is that yes, Chelsea have had great attacking midfielders and this year boasts the talents of an exciting Eden Hazard, Oscar, Willian and Andre Schurrle.  However, the style of play which these players have adapted in actual fact hinders rather than helps a player like Torres.  Fernando Torres has always built him game on making intelligent runs and getting the ball played into the space behind the defenders which he has so often punished to devastating effect.  His game is suited to running on to the ball in space, allowing him to then run at defenders and cause problems for opposition teams.  However when playing with whichever trio of attacking midfielders supporting him at Chelsea, this game plan simply is not possible.

For this to work midfielders must be willing to play a quick ball into the space, being direct with their passes to the striker and looking to get the forward away quickly on the attack - this is what Torres has built his career on.  But the highly talented midfielders which Chelsea can boast simply do not want to do this.  They are all very similar players, all of whom would ideally wish to play in the number 10 role behind the striker. The fact is that they all wish to play short sharp passes between each other hoping to unlock the defence. They want to probe and find a way through the back-line with an intelligent killer pass, but they are doing this on the edge of the opposition's penalty box and therefore leaving no space for a striker to run into behind the defense.  So many times in recent seasons Chelsea have had possession on the edge of the opposing penalty area and the attacking midfielders play it between themselves looking to find a way through.  It is by playing this way that Torres has suffered.

With the attacking midfielders camped in and around the edge of the penalty box, probing for a gap or a space to slide a pinpoint pass into, there is no room for a striker such as Torres to hang on the shoulder of the last defender and make a run into the space behind.  He simply has nowhere to go and this makes it so difficult for him then to receive the ball in an area where he can punish the opposition.

But lets not forget, he is not the only striker to suffer due to the slow build up play of the midfield.  It is no coincidence that all three strikers this season have looked so ordinary and have had so few chances to score. The simple fact is that unless Chelsea change their build up play, choose to attack at a much quicker pace and at a speed which prevents the opposition defence from getting set in their shape, strikers will always struggle to spearhead the attack.  Fernando Torres has showing glimpses of promise, shades of his former self without every really pushing on and regaining any sort of form.  But if he does move this summer, he will be given a new lease of life, refreshed and revitalised away from the constant pressure he felt under at Chelsea.  Fernando Torres will shine again...but it will not be at Chelsea Football Club.

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Farewell Arsene

As another season draws closer to an end, questions once again surface about the future of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.  For the past few seasons this has been standard procedure with Arsenal as fans and media both question whether the time has come for Wenger to leave.  Eight years without a trophy has placed great pressure on the manager and even if they manage to end that barren spell by winning the FA Cup against Hull - which they should, surely it is still now finally the time for Arsenal and Wenger to part ways once and for all.

This opinion isn't simply based on what has happened in the past few years.  Arsenal fans will never forget the huge success he has brought to their club - the trophies, the success, and the famous 'Invincibles' team of 03/04 which featured the likes of Thierry Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira and Robert Pires.  The silverware and memories which Arsene Wenger has given to Arsenal Football Club will always be remembered, but as in life and particularly football - all good things must come to an end.

As a club, Arsenal have stalled.  The past number of years have seen the club be positioned in England as a club which is not in a position to challenge for the title, but still good enough to secure Champions League football on a consistent basis.  I accept they have fared better this season up to a point, leading the premier league for some time, however they now find themselves back in their more familiar position of competing to keep hold of fourth spot.  This, along with the terrible performances and the drubbings handed out to them by the teams around them who have been challenging for the title, has led to many Arsenal fans finally saying enough is enough.

The case must surely be made to say that under Wenger, the club have regressed in the past few seasons. They were a team who comfortably managed to reach the top four consistently however last season they just pipped their North London rivals Tottenham by a point, and this season seem to be in serious trouble of losing out to an in-form Everton.  The clubs competing around Arsenal have improved vastly and Arsenal simply have stood still - the blame must sit with the manager.  This season has seen Martinez - a potential replacement for Wenger, showcase his managerial talent bringing Everton into a position to challenge, while Liverpool's unexpected rise to the top of the pile has also made it more difficult for Arsenal to finish in the top four.  

The commitment of Arsene Wenger must also be questioned.  His contract ends at the end of this season and although he has often stated he wishes to stay on as manager, the fact he has not yet signed a deal suggests other forces are at play.  Perhaps he has began to lose the will for the job, as fans and the media constantly slate his performances and heap more and more pressure on the man - a claim which I myself could be guilty of doing right here.  

The signing of Mesut Ozil in the summer for £40million was seen by many as the catalyst for change at the Emirates, a new dawn when Wenger would spend and aim to compete with the elite in the league such as Manchester City and Chelsea.  However this has not happened and the shambolic behaviour in the January transfer window has added to the grumbles of Arsenal fans, who were extremely disappointed with the lack of activity, and trying to understand the benefit of taking an injured Kim Kallstrom on loan for the remainder of the season.  Fans wanted the club to kick on from the Ozil signing, strengthening the team - particularly up front to take some of the pressure off Olivier Giroud, but they failed to do so.  Fans seen the clubs around them identifying their weaknesses and resolving them such as Mourinho's decision to bring Nemanja Matic back to the club in order to improve the questionable centre midfield position.  This lack of activity has cost Arsenal this season and Wenger must fully shoulder the blame. 

The fact remains that even if the club sneak into fourth position and win the FA Cup this season, the time has come for a fresh face with fresh ideas to come in and reinvigorate the club.  With new managers coming in this season at Man City, Chelsea and Man Utd, and the upheaval this brings with it, this season was seen as a genuine opportunity by Gunners fans, an opportunity which has been missed and which is primarily down to their manager Arsene Wenger.

So now is the time for change.  With his contract running out and the team showing no signs of progression the only thing which would hold Arsenal back from looking towards a new manager would be sentiment, not wanting to get rid of him because of all he has done for the club.  For football chairmen and boards there can be no room for sentiment, there must only be hard truths and ambition to look forward in order to restore the club back to where they belong - among the elite of English football.