It seems unfair to complain after a run of three wins and a draw, especially as in that period we beat a resurgent Newcastle and the previously unbeaten leaders, Man City - but the draw at the weekend showed that there are still frailties to this team.

The appointment of AVB was supposed to herald a new era, but unfortunately it seems that the squad is still over reliant on the ageing players who have held us back from moving with the times.

Out with the new, in with the old. ©Reuters

Whilst we have picked up 10 points from a possible 12, the draw at Wigan was as good as defeat as all those around us (bar Arsenal) picked up the full complement of points on offer to them.

The game against Man City was a gritty performance, probably our best of the season as a team - but don't get too carried away with this run as it has simply equalised out poor results from previous months.

Of all the games played this month Wigan would be expected to be a banker, so in this fickle world and game of football the win against City was short lived.

My main concern is that with Fernando Torres on the bench we really are not maximising the opportunities that we have in our squad.

Be it may that he has shown indifferent form since his signing, but the fact that he didn't even get a minute on the pitch against Wigan seems to be a baffling decision.

I am fully for the appointment of, and hopefully patience afforded to, AVB. But if he is stubbornly leaving out Torres I feel that his best interests aren't to utilise his best assets.

In the summer, and the months leading up to the end of last season, I was heavily for the departure of Didier Drogba. And whilst he is scoring he is still showing that there is a place for him in our squad, but I am still wholly of the opinion that unless we are without Didier Drogba we will not adapt into any new styles of play.

With Drogba on the pitch we are far more likely to play solely to his strengths, with balls splayed around the pitch from hither and tither because the players know that they can rely on Drogba to do something with it.

However, with age and fitness against him we are playing to his strengths and not causing the same damage that these tactics would have in the past.

The time is now to move on and adapt the team around a new forward, Torres has not just lost all his ability - it is in there somewhere, but if he is not given time to confront his confidence demons he will just end up on the slag heap.

In the games against Man City and Wigan where the input from Drogba was minimal, you cannot soundly argue that Torres wouldn't have performed an equally as effective role - if not better.

Part of me, the romantic part, is thinking that Torres is merely being rested so that when Drogba goes off to the ACN with Cote D'Ivoire he will rise like a phoenix from the flames - uninjured because of his preservation - and play a part in the continuing rise of Chelsea.

This is plausible, with the export of Anelka to China we really are short in that position unless Sturridge goes central which then leaves us short on the wing - Florent Malouda is yet another player of past glory that is haunting this "changed" team.

The sad truth of it is that AVB has taken a disliking to Torres for whatever reason and feels that it is better to leave him linger on the sidelines, and rather than potentially boost his confidence we are in a situation where he will have nothing but apathy against a club he has struggled to find his feet at on and off the pitch.

So I say that it is time to break free the shackles of the old glory days, give the different style forward a chance and adapt our ways to suit him. With Mata and Sturridge both on form, plus some fair playing time it won't be long before he starts to make some return on the huge outlay given for him.

If we cannot move on from Drogba and the ilk we are going to massively struggle without mass investment and wholesale changes, bleeding in the young and the new should happen whilst it is blatantly clear that we will not be challenging for the title.

It is time to realise that we are in stages of evolution, these are the times that should be utilised to take risks where they were not previously taken - without risks we will be stuck with the same squad and style of play that caused our downfall last season.

Let's start with the game against Spurs. They are on a great run of form, for me it will take that one defining moment for Torres to get back on his feet again, at least give him the chance to play his part.

Keep The Blue Flag Flying High