Chelsea Sack Andre Villas-Boas

[eldo 868]

I find this funny.

Last season over half this forum were slagging Carlo off saying he is past it and fluked the double and that AVB is the man we need to guide us into a new era.

Now under AVB things are not going entirely to plan Carlo is now the messiah.

The messiah is someone else now. When he fails to win every match with this squad he will need to get a sack.

[Hd123 5]

There is no messiah apart from Mourinho, who could take a chunk of shit and turn in into CL spot contenders.

I'd gladly have Hiddink or Carlo atm though, both would do better jobs than AVB but unfortunately we have shot ourselves in the foot and are now stuck with a mediocre scout and a fear of being the laughing stock of the media (again)

Sad that the compo is going to cost another 15m should the axe fall, Roman once again proving that he just cannot make the correct decisions.

[blue out west 27]

I think AVB is a good manager but he has too much pressure from the board and ownership...

Think about it, he was brought in to not just bring the biggest trophies but to also do it iwth the style that is fashionable right now, lots of flair and passing... but we don't have that kind of squad! We have a FANTASTIC squad of super athletes with tremendous mental assets and also strong technique... but they are not the best at playing 1 strict style perfectly whether it is negative or postiive possession style. Our players are all similar in the way that they are best playing direct and aggressive, and adapt to the style of the opponents.The players we have can win 1v1 battles when we can match the tactics, because the strength and speed we have can win most challenges in the first instances. Then once the first battle for the ball is won, we have a shot or pass.. but we arent pass-pass-pass players... its different.

I don't know if that makes any sense but what I'm trying to say is whats needed are practical tactics or our players can't perform, if we continue forcing this barcelona style possession style on the team then we will have to replace at least half of the squad to make it work.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

AVB definitely isn't helping himself. I do not want him sacked, because I feel if he is given time to stamp his own style on the team then we could have some long-term success as a result of our short-term mediocrity. However he needs to start mashing things up during games, because we are becoming a very one-dimensional team with a single style of play that is becoming easy to defend against.

[Henrique 9,133]

I wonder what would have happened had Hiddink came back and we were in the same position as we are now.

I could just imagine the responses

"Hiddink is the same as Carlo, too stubborn to change things"

"overrated by four good months in the job before, we should have got the young, hungry AVB while we had the chance"

and so on.

I dont think its fair to compare Hiddink with AVB. The later is only a small manager with a very small cv in Portugal and in Europa League.

First thing: Hiddink would have bought more players, would have took the best from players like Luiz. Luiz for example is the kind of guy that has a huge potential, but needs one good manager to teach him some things before turning into a world class manager, or a manager to discover a better position for him.

I really dont think any player will learn anything with AVB. Management is more than tactics, you also must improve the team spirit, the players must feel confortably with the coach. Villas Boas was unfair with Alex and Nico, and is too arrogant, which make him looks a schyzophrenic guy, with a big mouth and a poor form.

Besides games against Valência and City, our season is a disaster. I wonder until when this guy will survive.

You are comparing a huge manager with one that nobody really knows what is.

[The Big Drog 1,110]

He didn't just 'squeeze' one last title winning performance from that squad though.. he was getting us scoring more than 6 goals a home game for a majority of the end of that winning season... 7-1 against Villa, 7-2 against Sunderland, 7-0 against Stoke, 8-0 against Wigan.... suddenly at the beginning of next season we get back to back 6-0 wins against West Brom and Wigan.... the question is.. how do you go from that, to what we have now??

I like how you have managed to look only at the positives and have closed your eyes entirely to the negatives. Remember how comprehensively we were beaten by Inter Milan? How about the drubbing against Wigan at the DW? Then in his second season it all went downhill fast, remember that series of games against Man Utd? Horrific.

[The Big Drog 1,110]

AVB definitely isn't helping himself. I do not want him sacked, because I feel if he is given time to stamp his own style on the team then we could have some long-term success as a result of our short-term mediocrity. However he needs to start mashing things up during games, because we are becoming a very one-dimensional team with a single style of play that is becoming easy to defend against.

It's been that way for years, we haven't had variety in our play since Mourinho. The squad was only ever built to play one way, once that fails we crumble so easily. One of the reasons for the AVB appointment is that he is seen as a progressive, attacking coach, I genuinely believe, given the time and money, he can bring a fluid, attacking style to Chelsea, a change that is long overdue.

[ulsterchelsea 3,221]

It's been that way for years, we haven't had variety in our play since Mourinho.

Id argue that Carlos double winning team mixed things up and played better football than any of Joses sides, in the second half of the season anyway

[ack17 205]

January transfer is the final chance to save his career in Chelsea...

[The Big Drog 1,110]

Id argue that Carlos double winning team mixed things up and played better football than any of Joses sides, in the second half of the season anyway

Tbh I don't think Ancelotti's team did have much variety in it. Im not saying that the one style of play we utilised under Ancelotti wasn't more attractive on the eye than Mourinho's, Im simply saying that Mourinho's squad offered him a greater variety in the play, not a more attractive style.

[Peace. 4,352]

Well obviously André Villas-Boas has to take his share of criticism. He isn't innocent for the situation we're in.

The first thing we can criticize him for - which is clearly his biggest mistake - is his poor squad assessment and summer mercato. He was very naive to think the squad we had back then was good enough, to quote him, to compete for the four trophies. This mistake is clear as crystal, even him did recognize this by banning Alex and Anelka - two players who should have go in the summer - from the team, and by out-casting Kalou and Malouda. He didn't realize soon enough that some players were like cancer, and he failed to find a plan B to Modric. Here lies his first mistake.

His second one, is that he doesn't impose him-self well enough, to my taste. He should be rougher with under-performing players. He should put them in the stand and play youngsters instead of them, just to make 'em understand they aren't permit to make what they want.

And finally, I hope he stops with his "the team is good enough to play in four competitions", "our squad has immense talents", etc...

[Blue Armour 4,288]

I like how you have managed to look only at the positives and have closed your eyes entirely to the negatives. Remember how comprehensively we were beaten by Inter Milan? How about the drubbing against Wigan at the DW? Then in his second season it all went downhill fast, remember that series of games against Man Utd? Horrific.

I feel that was due to a lack of creativity at the time, and the absence of Cole+Essien, and the two apes Lucio and Samuels trying to latch onto Drogba....It was one of the few blemishes in his first season with us....but the second season was downright terrible during Nov-Jan months...

[The Big Drog 1,110]

I feel that was due to a lack of creativity at the time, and the absence of Cole+Essien, and the two apes Lucio and Samuels trying to latch onto Drogba....It was one of the few blemishes in his first season with us....but the second season was downright terrible during Nov-Jan months...

A lack of creativity did hinder us in that game, but Mourinho knew it would, Mourinho also knew that practically everything good we did went through Drogba so he had him man marked very well by a world class Lucio and a world class Samuel.

[St Abramovich 175]

Well obviously André Villas-Boas has to take his share of criticism. He isn't innocent for the situation we're in.

The first thing we can criticize him for - which is clearly his biggest mistake - is his poor squad assessment and summer mercato. He was very naive to think the squad we had back then was good enough, to quote him, to compete for the four trophies. This mistake is clear as crystal, even him did recognize this by banning Alex and Anelka - two players who should have go in the summer - from the team, and by out-casting Kalou and Malouda. He didn't realize soon enough that some players were like cancer, and he failed to find a plan B to Modric. Here lies his first mistake.

His second one, is that he doesn't impose him-self well enough, to my taste. He should be rougher with under-performing players. He should put them in the stand and play youngsters instead of them, just to make 'em understand they aren't permit to make what they want.

And finally, I hope he stops with his "the team is good enough to play in four competitions", "our squad has immense talents", etc...

He can't exactly say "This team is shit and we will accomplish nothing" can he?

I find it funny that we all think we can manage the team and recognize its flaws better than a European champion and a man who watches them train everyday. He sees the problems and will fix them given enough time.

[Peace. 4,352]

He can't exactly say "This team is shit and we will accomplish nothing" can he?

But there's a middle step between saying "we are good enough to win every thing" and "we are shit and we won't win anything", don't you think ?

[St Abramovich 175]

But there's a middle step between saying "we are good enough to win every thing" and "we are shit and we won't win anything", don't you think ?

We good enough to win everything when the team gives a shit but we need them to play to their ability.

[Kojo 4,676]

We've lost 5 games... halfway through the season also, shocking. the points we had now are only a little bit more of the points we had after 10 games 2 seasons ago.

[Peace. 4,352]

Pardon me for my french, and pardon me if I look condescending, but many of us here are too narrow minded and don't look at the big picture. A football club is a system where many things interact with each other. It isn't all due to the manager, or to the player. And there's an entity we are forgetting in this system, this is the board.

As things stand today, the biggest culprit - and by far - for our lamentable state of form is Gourlay and co, or whatever their names, the people who are running our transfers for the four previous years. This isn't André's fault, nor Ancelotti's, nor Lampard's if our midfield is one of the most negative of the Premier League. No, it is the fault of the yes-men in Armani suit who have only bought defensive midfielders and didn't think it was necessary to bring a playmaker. It is them who have though for many years that a striker can play just as well on the wings. It is them who have been pleased with those overpaid deadwoods who do not give a shit.

If we are in deep shit nowadays, this is because we are run by business-men more interested by organizing some tournament in Asia than buy the right players.