London, Feb 25: Yossi Benayoun blamed Chelsea for the downfall of £50million man Fernando Torres, but the Israeli must look into stats before blaming his employers.

The huge price tag played its part as Torres became the most expensive player in British transfer history, but even before his deadline move to Chelsea, Torres wasn't at his best in a Liverpool shirt.

In his first season with Chelsea Torres started 11 games and made seven substitute appearances. Benayoun blamed Chelsea for not 'handling' Torres at the start but the Spaniard started five of the first six games after his switch and he certainly had time to establish himself in front of goal.

In his first season at the Bridge Torres managed to score only one goal in 18 appearances in all competitions. Despite the presence of Didier Drogba, Torres made 49 appearances the following season scoring only 11 goals, six in 32 appearances in the Premier League.

Andre Villas-Boas may have kept Torres on the bench at his time as manager but his successor Roberto Di Matteo was forced to play Torres in every game until the end of the season.

It has almost been two full seasons with Chelsea now and Torres is still struggling despite showing flashes of brilliance after Rafa Bentiez took over as interim manager.

Roman Abramovich got rid off Drogba and brought in the manager who got the most out of Torres. But the Spaniard is far away from his Liverpool days. Though he has netted his highest tally for a season in a Chelsea shirt, it is way below the numbers when he played for Liverpool.

Abramovich even splashed £100million bringing the likes of Oscar, Eden Hazard, Victor Moses and Marko Marin to build a team around Torres but the plan backfired as Chelsea became the first Champions League holders to be eliminated in the group stages, they are out of the Premier League title race and were elminated from the Capital One Cup by champions Swansea City.

This season could be Torres' last as a Chelsea player after the club decided to spend in the summer. Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao has been a long-term target and Chelsea could use Torres as bait to sign the Colombian.

Either ways it is time for Chelsea to ditch their most expensive player and bring in another striker who can make a differnce upfront.

OneIndia News