Route One: Torres Ends Season With Paltry Medal Haul

It’s a well-known fact; Fernando Torres has had an awful season.

Weighed down by a hefty £50m price tag, the Spaniard has achieved very little in his time at Stamford Bridge and the critics have been ready to pounce for a while – and why wouldn’t they?

The baby-faced striker limped towards a Champions League winner’s medal, with an unimportant goal at the Nou Camp against an average Barcelona his only credible contribution. Add to this a Euro 2012 winner’s medal and Golden Boot in arguably the greatest international side in history, who are still reluctant to select an out-and-out forward, and you’ll almost certainly arrive at the conclusion that Fernando Torres is way past his best, over the hill some would say.

With so little left to offer, it’s amazing that the reigning European Champions persevere with football’s biggest and most notable flop. His perfectly placed, curling finish in the final of Euro 2012 was a perfect example of Torres’ shattered and unrecoverable confidence and his delicate nudge to an onrushing Juan Mata gave the critics all the evidence they required to begin scribing his footballing obituary.

There are surely only so many chances one player can be given. The fact that Torres’ severe drop in form went hand in hand with Chelsea’s dark days is irrelevant, a striker should score goals whether his team is playing well or not and even if they aren’t creating chances, shouldn’t they?

So it’s the end of the line for Fernando Torres, a career that offered so much but delivered so little. The £50m flop with very little left to offer the game, yet with more medals in this season than Arsenal have won in seven.

Lost in the manic world of scrutiny, Torres has lost the ability to score goals at the highest level, as demonstrated at the European Championships.

It’s there for all to see, Fernando Torres has had an awful season; don’t let anybody tell you any different.