A striker, a Striker, My Kingdom for a Striker‏

Article by John Hannam

Having the right tools at your disposal or weapons in your armoury is pretty critical when going into battle. Richard the 3rd allegedly shouted at the Battle of Bosworth "a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse" after being unseated during the battle. He didn't get one and was promptly finished off losing his crown, honour and reputation in the process.

For many people Chelsea lack the one critical weapon in their armoury that would surely make them the dominant force in this seasons Premier League....a top class striker. Torres, Eto'o, Ba....not really a strike force to make the oppositions knee's tremble, and not a strike force that has mustered a single league goal between them so far this season.

There is no denying that all three of them have at some stage in their career been a fearsome force with great goal scoring records behind them. That's the problem though, their habit of making the net ripple with frightening regularity seems to have been left some way in the distant past. Torres has been at Chelsea for almost three years and not once looked the player of his earlier Liverpool incarnation, despite briefly flirting with some form before his current injury. Ba has found stepping up a level from Newcastle a problem and despite some good early flourishes now finds it hard to secure a place in the side, let alone hit the net. As for Eto'o, a player who once relied on lightening pace and reflexes, he now looks a dull shadow of himself after a couple of cold winters on the Russian front.

Serious questions have to be asked of Chelsea as a club. Their record of buying strikers is abysmal. For a variety of reason (lack of quality, injury, age, drugs scandals) they have only really had two consistently deadly target men in the last 15 years, Drogba and Hasseilbank. Players like Torres, Shevchenko, Mutu, Crespo and many others have come and gone with very little to secure a place in the Chelsea history books. Who should take the blame for the consistent failure to find good goalscorers. Is it the multitude of managers Chelsea have had in the last decade, or is it, as many believe the owners fault. Rumour has it that with the two biggest underachievers, Torres and Shevchenko, the initial capture of the players was not the choice of the manager but rather of Roman himself.

If that is the case, and his insistence on putting the failing players in the side against the managers wishes damaged the side, then surely the message should have sunk in by now.

This Chelsea side are lurking ominously in third place without yet having put together a single convincing 90 minutes. They have a squad brimming with talent in midfield and out wide, and luckily for them a hatful of regular goalscorers who can keep the net ticking over. Yet imagine what they could do with a really world class number 9. Jose Mourinho had the "minerals" to send the new young sensation out on loan to hone his skills when all around were clamouring for him to start as the main man. That may well have been to give the new Drogba more time to learn the business, but it may also have been a clever way of forcing his bosses hand. If, as seems likely Chelsea get to Christmas with their three front men having scored only a tiny percentage of the teams goals then even Roman may have to bow to his managers wishes and splash some more cash on a top class striker, and this time one that the manager chooses. The only issue will be, who do you buy in January and who will be available.

It's a very high risk strategy and let's hope it's not one that costs Jose his crown or even his head.

Comment on this article below!

© e-Football 2013 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football