When the Pressure Is On, Chelsea Calls On Didier Drogba

When the chips are down, the man to call up is Didier Drogba. The Ivory Coast striker has removed an absolutely intense amount of pressure off the backs of Andre Villas-Boas and Chelsea Football Club by turning in two superb performances in a row. The first against Newcastle in front of the Geordie Roar. And the second, in front of a massive worldwide TV audience, where they proved that they can still be a deadly force.

Chelsea is still not the finished article. Not by any means. Villas-Boas still has a difficult task of morphing this squad into a Chelsea for the next three years. Players will leave. New ones will join. And the Portugese manager has the unenviable task of changing this team, gradually not too suddenly. The ghost of Jose Mourinho still haunts the corridors of Stamford Bridge. But slowly, but surely, there is sign of optimism.

That optimism is thanks to Didier Drogba. While Juan Mata had a brilliant game for Chelsea Tuesday night, Drogba was the one who showed what a brilliant striker he is. It’s not just the physicality of Drogba, who is able to bounce from player to player while maintaining his balance, he’s also a brilliant footballer. He showed Tuesday night his silky skills as well as that killer instinct in front of goal.

To even discuss Drogba possibly leaving Chelsea seems like a crime. There’s been transfer talk that he’ll be heading out of Stamford Bridge soon, but Drogba should continue on and spend the rest of his career at the Blues if both Chelsea and Drogba are pleased with where they’re at.

Where does this leave Fernando Torres? Just as Andy Carroll is a regular substitute for Liverpool, Torres needs to continue sitting on the bench. When Drogba’s form dips, or Chelsea is looking for a substitution if Drogba is tiring, then Torres is the perfect person to slide in.

With the 3-0 win tonight, Chelsea now has the massive confidence boost going into Monday’s home game against Manchester City. Didier Drogba couldn’t have picked a better time to shine.