AGONY GOES ON FOR FORGOTTEN FERNANDO TORRES

CHELSEA’s season went from bad to worse yesterday with another Premier League defeat at West Brom but still there was little opportunity for forgotten man Fernando Torres to revive his own or his club’s fortunes.

Once again the Spaniard was left kicking his heels on the sidelines, second choice to the ageing Didier Drogba, now 33 and with only seven goals to his name this term.

The call to action for Torres came with just 14 minutes left and he could only watch as West Brom’s Gareth McAuley sealed victory for the Baggies moments later.

It seems the Chelsea nightmare will never end for Torres, a man who, for the best part of a decade, was a force of nature, first for Atletico Madrid and then for Liverpool. Now, under Andre Villas-Boas, the striker known as El Nino has been blown so far off course that his last league goal came on September 24.

For a man who scored 91 times in just 214 matches for Atletico and 81 in only 142 appearances at Liverpool, that’s a drought of East African proportions.

So poor has Torres’ recent form been that he’s now unrecognisable from the player who first shot to prominence at the Vicente Calderon Stadium with the Atletico youth team.

Raddy Antic was manager of the Spanish club when Torres was re-writing the goalscoring record books for Atletico’s juniors and the former Barcelona and Real Madrid boss places the blame for the Spaniard’s demise firmly at the door of the beleaguered Chelsea coach.

“If you come from Liverpool to Chelsea and you hardly score in a year then something is wrong, not just with the player but also with the club,” he says.

“If you have a player of his quality you have to choose a different way to play the game.

“If you look at Chelsea, they’re not playing the combination that would suit Torres. For my opinion, of course Torres is not the same player that he was but the coach has to think about what he can do for him to score the goals.”

There is no question that Torres – recently dropped by Spain for the first time in five years – isn’t giving his all for Chelsea.

But Antic said: “Like most strikers he needs the ball – which isn’t happening at Chelsea. He has lost his confidence and that’s everything for a striker.”

BARREN YEAR TO FORGET FOR MISFIT TORRES

His chronic lack of form, confidence and, crucially, goals have led to him being dropped to the bench.

Torres has enough on his plate trying to regain his first-team place, but that has not stopped him from hitting out at former club Liverpool.

He claims he left last January because the club lied to him and made false promises about big-money signings who never arrived. He has insisted that he was let down by Liverpool’s owners, the Fenway Sports Group.

Torres, 27, recently linked with AC Milan and Malaga, said: “The Liverpool fans don’t know the truth about why I signed for Chelsea.

“They don’t even know half of what happened. They don’t know what the people in charge at Liverpool are like.

“They made promises that they didn’t keep and I left because I realised I didn’t have time to be part of a project that would take years.”

The former Kop idol, who netted 81 times in 142 Liverpool appearances, pleaded for understanding from the Liverpool fans who have castigated him since his departure.

He said: “I have nothing against the Liverpool fans. I didn’t want to leave Liverpool the way I did, but the club lied. I was let down and I don’t understand why the fans hate me.”

Torres has scored just five times in 35 Chelsea appearances in a dreadful run since his move and has been relegated to the bench by manager Andre Villas-Boas. But last night the World Cup winner backed himself to rediscover his goalscoring touch and demanded some respect.

Chelsea misfit Torres said: “My form has not been good but I am World and European champion and I deserve more respect.

Fernando Torres ‘going nowhere’ as Chelsea look for new striker

t is understood the club are looking to sell the striker for £20million during next month’s transfer window because he has struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge.

The 27-year-old has scored just five goals in 35 appearances for Chelsea since joining for a British-record £50m from Liverpool in January.

Torres has lost his place in the first team to Didier Drogba, with his last start in the League coming in the 5-3 defeat at home against Arsenal on October 29.

However, Chelsea are determined to keep faith with Torres and a club spokesman said today: “The story is total nonsense. Fernando is in the long-term plans at Chelsea.”

Manager Andre Villas-Boas is expected to give Torres his full backing when he holds a press conference tomorrow to preview the club’s next match, at Wigan.

Torres will be needed in the new year,with Drogba and Salomon Kalou set to be missing for up to six weeks while they play for the Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations. The club will also no longer have Nicolas Anelka as an option because he is joining Shanghai Shenhua.

That will mean Chelsea are left with just Torres, Daniel Sturridge and Romelu Lukaku to choose from up front, although the club are considering signing another forward in the transfer window.

They have been linked with Santos star Neymar and are also monitoring Universidad de Chile forward Eduardo Vargas.

Chelsea to Accept £20m for Flop Striker

Torres decided to leave Liverpool after three-and-a-half-years at Anfield but has struggled to recreate the superb form that saw him score 81 goals in just 142 appearances.

The 27-year-old has scored just three league goals for Chelsea and has struggled to force his way into the first team this season with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Nicolas Anelka, Romelu Lukaku and Didier Drogba all pushing for a starting berth.

According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea were originally prepared to let the striker leave on a loan deal to rebuild his confidence but now the club are prepared to sell for as little as £20million.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas had hoped that fellow Spaniard Juan Mata would bring the best out of Torres, but so far the former Atletico Madrid striker has showed no signs of rediscovering his best form.

The Portuguese manager wants to rebuild the Chelsea squad and is keen to make a number of transfers in the January window, with Anelka already agreeing to leave in the New Year.

Brazilian defender Alex is almost certain to follow Anelka out of the door at Stamford Bridge and Torres could also be another name that ends up being sold.

There is certain to be plenty of interest in the Spain international despite his lack of for, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Malaga already declaring their interest.