By MATT BARLOW
Chelsea are still paying for the mistakes they made with Fernando Torres when he first arrived after his £50million transfer from Liverpool, according to Yossi Benayoun.
Torres followed Benayoun from Anfield to Stamford Bridge two years ago and has never managed to recapture the scintillating form he produced on Merseyside.
Britain’s most expensive footballer has 15 goals in all competitions this season, with a flurry after Rafa Benitez arrived as interim manager, but has drifted into another of his barren spells with one in 13 since Christmas.
‘For me he is still one of the best strikers in the world,’ said Benayoun. ‘I believe in him 100 per cent. You do not change so quick from being one of the best in the world to a player some people say is not good enough for Chelsea.
‘In my opinion, the situation from the beginning was managed badly with him.
‘When he came in, he was on the bench and then on the pitch, so he did not get the confidence when he came in and with £50m above his head, it is not easy for any player.’
Benayoun is referring to the struggle Torres had to dislodge Didier Drogba, first-choice centre-forward and darling of the fans until he left for China at the end of last season.
Torres started this season as the only experienced centre forward but when Chelsea realised they needed to back him with support they went back to Drogba, who rejected the offer to return and instead chose a move to Galatasaray when his Chinese adventure turned sour.
The Blues bought Demba Ba last month who made an instant impact with two goals on his debut at Southampton and supporters were soon making it clear they wanted the new signing to start up front.
‘You can understand it is not easy to come from being the top striker at Liverpool,’ said Benayoun.
‘He was unbelievable, you gave him the ball and you knew he would score, but he had a bad time in the beginning at Chelsea.
‘This season is the first time he has been given the chance to be No.1 because Drogba was here, so there was competition. This is the first year the club gave him the 100 per cent confidence he needs to be No.1.
‘He has had good spells and bad spells and has 15 goals already. That’s not bad but hopefully he will finish with 25. It would be good to get his confidence back and be his old self.’
The move to Stamford Bridge has not worked well for Benayoun either. The Israeli suffered a long-term achilles injury when he arrived in 2010 and, when Andre Villas-Boas made it clear he was not in his plans, he spent the second on loan at Arsenal where he failed to make an impact.
He started this campaign on loan at West Ham where he was injured again but he resisted offers to move last month in order to have another go at establishing himself at Chelsea with former Liverpool boss Benitez in charge.
‘He brought me to Liverpool and we know each other,’ said the 32-year-old midfielder. ‘But it doesn’t give me any points. It is a very good squad with a lot of quality players, especially in my position. It will not be easy.
‘Any opportunity I get, I will do my best. If he needs me for a few minutes or more, I will do what I can.
‘I had one or two options to go in January but I decided to stay. It is a great club, with a lot of quality players, and I know it will be more difficult to play, but it is a challenge for me, at my age. I am happy with my decision and I will do my best.
‘I have until the end of the season on my contract and an option for one more year. I will concentrate on these four months, finishing well. I am not worried about the future.’
It has been another turbulent year at Chelsea but their aims are clear: to finish in the top four, win their first Europa League and lift the FA Cup for the fifth time in seven years. The FA Cup defence continues with a fourth round replay against Brentford on Sunday.
Benayoun added: ‘This team can and must win titles this season, even though we have the disappointment of being out of the Champions League and too far from Manchester United in the Premier League.
‘We will try to finish well. We should finish in the first three, at least, and continue to do well in the Europa League and the FA Cup. We want to do well.’
