da cassino：
da pinnacle： They currently lie in fifth place in the Premier League, they require a replay with Championship Birmingham City to progress in the FA Cup and they have a striker faltering on a scale of epic proportions. Indeed, Chelsea are struggling to navigate their ship through the choppy waters of this season’s Premier League and their manager is struggling to appease a growing sea of discontent. Is it time to wave goodbye to Andre Villas-Boas or is his slender managerial age the key component keeping him at Stamford Bridge both this season and beyond?
Still in contention to finish in a Champions League qualification spot, this would delight the likes of Newcastle United this season but for the Blues and their very high standards as set by the owner, creeping into Europe would represent only the minimum requirement.
Fresh faced, trendy and stylish. This was the man who hot-footed it into SW6 this summer, dubbed as the ‘next Mourinho’. Aside from his Portuguese roots likening him to the Special One, AVB was employed on the merits of his outstanding previous season of success at FC Porto, his fashionable age and his previous attachment to Chelsea in an assistant scout capacity. Fast forward to mid-February and AVB cuts a worried figure on the touchline, trading his early season goal jerks for nervous judders of frustration. Too much pressure for one 34-year-old to handle?
Villas-Boas’ age certainly separates him apart from his predecessors, all elder, wiser and with experienced legacies in the game. With Ancelotti’s double-winning side now a distant memory, the fashionable employment of AVB would prove a mockery if he were to be sacked so early into his tenure.
Back in June, a Chelsea official statement read of his appointment
‘Andre was the outstanding candidate for the job. He is one of the most talented young managers in football today and has already achieved much in a relatively short space of time. His ambition, drive and determination matches that of Chelsea and we are confident Andre’s leadership of the team will result in greater successes in major domestic and European competitions’.
Of course, nowadays, all contracts and club statements can be taken with a pinch of salt, but sacking AVB now would surely ridicule the vision and image of Chelsea in seasons going forward.
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Chelsea have earned a reputation as England’s hire and fire club, much like the regime at Real Madrid whereby messrs Queiroz, Luxemburgo, Schuster, Ramos and Pellegrini have all been swiftly shown the exit door.
This kind of short-term employment has been criticised in many quarters, tarnishing the names of established managers, chewing their reputations into shreds, reflecting badly upon the clubs ruthless owners. Of course, owners want success but patience is certainly a virtue. AVB’s 34 years mean by default that he is owed more time; more time to groom his squad into his own and more time to experience English football in his first-team capacity.
Supporters will point that he has statistically been the worst manager since Mourinho, but in a growing football world of immediacy, the strain is as great as ever to achieve silverware, success and deliver European qualification season upon season.
In a campaign of transition at the Bridge, AVB still employs many of the names that forged a healthy reputation under Mourinho, namely Mikel, Malouda, Drogba and Kalou, but their influence has waned and they haven’t seemed to fit in with AVB’s contemporary vision. Even Lampard has had to be content with a bench role for certain games this term; unheard of during previous seasons. With the additions of Mata, Meireles, Romeu, Lukaku and Cahill, Villas-Boas has done little but add a subtle variation to one of the Premier League’s most aged outfits.
This summer will really test AVB’s strength’s (if he lasts that long) and allow him to truly revolutionise the squad into his own; the quick passing and flair-laden outfit Abramovich and Chelsea fans so crave. With Juan Mata providing the shining light of the season so far, Chelsea are likely to add similar technical names to their ranks, and the futures of the old Mourinho school look likely to conclude this summer.
Time is certainly on AVB’s side and he deserves more of it. But he is bound by a highly ruthless and cynical football environment; he needs to learn fast and achieve results quick.
Does AVB deserve more time or should he be shown the exit door? Follow me @ http://twitter.com/Taylor_Will1989
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