Villas-Boas: Torres is not above being dropped

CHELSEA manager Andre Villas-Boas has made it clear that if beleaguered striker Fernando Torres continues to misfire, he faces being dropped.
 
The arrival of a new manager and a new season was meant to trigger a renaissance for Torres, who scored just one goal last season after joining Chelsea for a record-breaking £50m in January.

But despite a wealth of new supporting talent arriving, including fellow Spaniard's Juan Mata and Oriol Romeu, Torres is still yet to hit the back of the net again for the Blues this season.
 
"I have no problem dropping players," Villas-Boas said. "You have to persist, but it can never compromise the objectives of your team and the things you want to achieve. At the moment, when it compromises the running of the team, it has to come to an end."
 
The Portuguese added: "I don't have a first-choice striker. We have to make choices regarding what we see in training."
 
With fellow forward Didier Drogba's concussion meaning he is unavailable for the next two matches, Torres has a chance to stake his claim on a starting place. Should he fail to score against Sunderland and Bayer Leverkusen, however, the bench may beckon.
 
"Fernando is here to be successful domestically and internationally," Villas-Boas said. The manager said he is focused on "getting the best out of the players", but admitted he hasn't yet done this with Torres. "The talent is there, it's a question of regaining confidence from training and time and finding the back of the net."
 
The argument often made in support of Chelsea's Spanish flop is that true quality will out eventually. Just a few years ago Torres was the most sought after striker in the world – surely it's only a matter of time before that form returns?

But the spectre of Andriy Shevchenko – the Ukranian goal machine who never recovered after leaving AC Milan for Chelsea in 2006 – looms large. ·