In case anyone might have left the planet for the weekend and missed it – Fernando Torres finally opened his scoring account for Chelsea. Naturally, that had a mixed response – from the sort of euphoria we haven’t had at Stamford Bridge since we were hammering in goals to lift the title last season, to the opposition bemoaning his luck at the downpour.
Of course, there’d have been a collective groan from the press, wondering what they could write about now they won’t be able to count down his goalless minutes on a pitch but I’m sure like the rest of us, they’ll already be second guessing whether the floodgates will open as easily as the heavens did at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The player himself, is obviously bloody relieved to have broken his Chelsea duck and with the weight off his shoulders, is hopeful there’ll be more to come, saying “There’s less pressure for me now, and now I can enjoy it and we can see if we can finish the season right. It has not been difficult. The fans have been very patient with me, showing their support every game when they follow the team away and at Stamford Bridge. I had more anxiety for them than for me because I wanted to score to show them I could and hopefully this is the first of many.”
It’s certainly the sort of Sports News that has everyone queuing to have their say though and after the game, team-mate Frank Lampard insisted “A world-class striker comes with a massive price tag. Everyone is looking at him and he hasn’t scored yet but today he broke that. You can’t change quality and you can’t change a world-class player. We’ve seen it with him in his career and nothing changes. He’s a quiet lad, he’s not opened his mouth. If he’s been on the bench he’s come on and not said anything. It was always going to be a matter of time and I think now you’re going to see him fly whether it be the last few games of this season or next season.”
Former Chelsea man, Eddie Newton doesn’t think we’ll see the best of Torres in the last few games of this season though, suggesting “He’s such a talented player and everybody was wondering where the spark had gone. Now everyone hopes this (goal) will spark the player we all know and love. Everyone at Stamford Bridge will be backing him. But I don’t think we’ll see the best of him until next season.” Whilst reflecting on Chelsea’s chances now, Newton says “At the start of the season they looked so strong and it looked as though they were just going to roll over the league, but then they let themselves down in a few areas. But it now seems they’re back on the rails and steaming ahead. It’s there for Man United to lose and, if Chelsea keep picking up results, you never know.”
Strange, considering The Guardian only recently wrote off any hope of us winning the title this season simply because we’d signed Fernando Torres although clearly hadn’t paid any attention to the sort of form we were in before January. For me though, lack of goals aside, one of the key things to come from Nando’s arrival has been the kick up the arse it’s given Drogba.
Yet despite Transfer Rumours suggesting his own position at the club is under threat from Torres come May, fellow frontman Didier Drogba’s response to the Spaniard’s first goal was to say “I was in the changing rooms but just wanted to run and jump as well. We know we have a great player here. It is very difficult to come in in February and get used to the team. It is important for him and for the club that he is here since January and I think it will all be fantastic for him.”
Will we get more of the same now he’s opened his account though? Well for what’s left of the season, I reckon we should have less of Drogba’s ‘run and jump’ idea and opt for a rain dance.
Blue is the colour
