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Two strikers, having played much of their career as lone strikers, will be now paired up together. Sounds like a bad idea right? Torres though has shined with David Villa for the national side and Drogba too has tasted some success with Anelka. Their best days though revolve around them when deployed as target men and ahead of everyone else. This combo, though claim to be intelligent enough to play together, are like a pair trying to move a car by pushing it on opposite ends. Both are prone to sulking on off days and together on the park means reduced work rates up front and will eventually affect the team work rate and team balance.
Then again, towards the end of his magnificent career, Drogba might want to try another side of the game and play as second striker but doing this means under utilizing his full potential as the lethal hit man. The second half of last season saw Drogba play occasionally in that deeper role with decent effect, but still deploying him there will only be a step down. If Villas Boas is to pair these two up front, then some serious re inventing of their positions is required. Their success depends on how much Drogba is willing to reinvent himself while Torres has to hit form first.
Anelka, Kalou, Sturridge or Lukaku
Anelka’s industrious style of play and guile builds a strong case for predicting a hit of this combo. Anelka though looks highly unsettled at Chelsea and has a lot of factors against him to make him a regular partner. Kalou, who by now has mastered the art of warming the bench and coming on as a sub is yet to prove that he can start regularly and perform for a span longer than a match a month. Sturridge and Torres appears to be the surprise package, but the probability of the starting soon appears highly unlikely.
Being left footed and with good second strikers attributes, this combo should have something to show when deployed together. Torres-Lukaku combo appears oddly placed as Lukaku is like the younger version of Drogba. Lukaku will be down others in the pecking order in the initial stages. His premier league inexperience and lack of game time with Chelsea and training sessions might not help his case in the starting birth as of now. But given all this, his signing will mean something for the future and this combo will also be given their chance to blossom.
