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By Martin Samuel
Last updated at 11:48 PM on 21st February 2011

It has to be his decision. Fernando Torres starts for Chelsea in Copenhagen tonight and, whether right or wrong, we must hope Carlo Ancelotti has chosen the striker he wants, not the man he thinks the owner would pick.

This is the only way forward for Ancelotti now. If this is to be his final season at the club, as seems likely, he must go out picking his team, not trying to second guess Roman Abramovich. That way, if he wins, he makes a succinct point; if he fails, he does so his way and at least he was his own man, not an executive puppet.

That is the hit that Ancelotti’s reputation has taken since the departure of Ray Wilkins. That he could have been stronger; that he allowed Abramovich to meddle in his work and failed to protect the team and backroom staff from interference.

My way: Team selection must be the preserve of Carlo Ancelotti

This is possibly unfair. Ancelotti is said to have spoken strongly in favour of retaining Wilkins, and the former coach bears no grudge with the Italian over his departure.

Standing up to Abramovich is like fighting city hall. Sometimes the little man simply cannot win and there is no littler man than a Chelsea manager when Abramovich gets an idea in his head.

Yet, the players will not necessarily understand that. They will have expected a stronger stance on Wilkins from Ancelotti. Certainly, Chelsea’s results since Wilkins’ departure suggest a deeper malaise. Either Wilkins was a coaching genius and Chelsea’s success was largely down to him or the manner of his departure alienated the team and undermined Ancelotti in a way that has harmed morale, by making him seem a rube, a ‘yes’ man.

Chelsea managers that do not win the League are never given a second chance under Abramovich, so Ancelotti will be gone this summer unless he delivers the Champions League.

Tough act to follow: Chelsea's form has nosedived since Wilkins' (above second left) departure, while Roman Abramovich (right) is not an easy man to please

With such extreme demands, he really has nothing to lose any more. Whatever team he sends out against FC Copenhagen this evening, and from here on, should be picked without consideration of outside pressure.

If this means leaving a ?50million signing on the bench, so be it. If he must confront an angry owner after a game that is the way it must be. Tommy Docherty, Chelsea manager from 1961 to 1967, might be ancient history at Stamford Bridge, but he had the right approach to dealing with boardroom demands.

Docherty’s attitude, in the days when managers had autonomy over transfer expenditure, was that there was no point being a good boy and saving money.

‘If the team doesn’t win you are going to get the sack anyway,’ he would advise. ‘At least if you do what you want you can say you had a go and gave it every chance to succeed.’

It is the owners who trade players these days — certainly at Chelsea — but the basic principle remains the same. If their fortunes rest on Torres in this tie, he has to be selected because Ancelotti believes he is the right man for the job, not because there is ?50m of Russian energy loot tied up in the transfer and the owner looks a fool if his star turn does not play.

It helps the selection process that none of Chelsea’s strikers — none of their main forward players, in fact — is firing at the moment.

Didier Drogba has been left debilitated by malaria and may have lost the yard of pace that separates the greatest goalscorers, perhaps forever.

Jimmy Greaves said he did not recover from contracting hepatitis in 1965 at the age of 25 and Drogba, 33 next month, has considerably less time left for rehabilitation.

Faded force: The battering ram previously known as Didier Drogba has lost his mojo since a bout of malaria

The form of Florent Malouda has collapsed after an excellent start, while Nicolas Anelka has scored one goal in his past five games and did not score at all between November 3 and January 9. His penalty against Everton at the weekend was woeful.

Torres has hardly been more impressive since arriving from Liverpool, but at least his run of ordinary form for Chelsea is in its infancy.

Ancelotti has put up with months of inconsistency from Drogba — he has scored six goals and received four bookings since August — and it is understandable if his patience is wearing thin.

Even without consideration of outside influence it is likely a manager of Chelsea would reach the conclusion that fresh impetus is needed in the forward line.

False start: Fernando Torres is yet to shine in a Chelsea shirt

Yet, Ancelotti cannot continue with a failing Torres indefinitely. It could be that the answer is not two, or three, strikers but an entirely different approach with Anelka alone and wide attackers, such as Salomon Kalou and Malouda, in the shape that Jose Mourinho used to play.

It could even be that the best option was to dump the lot of them and play Daniel Sturridge, but he is now on loan to Bolton Wanderers, and in fine form.

Whatever the resolution for Ancelotti, he must be the author of the plan. He has been amenable, some might even say malleable, and where has it got him?

If he is to leave Stamford Bridge without regret, his team, not a rich man’s trifle, must take the field in Copenhagen tonight

Agences de presses

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