Chelsea Sack Andre Villas-Boas

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

The poll in this topic has revived my faith in Chelsea fans. Am I the only one who feels this way?

If you're talking about the amount of votes in favour of AVB, then i agree. It's good to see sense has prevailed, especially after the amount of 'heat of the moment' posts in yesterday's match topic thread.

I like AVB, he's a good figurehead for the club's transition. More than this however, as I said yesterday, for the good of the club he needs to stay simply due to the fact that our squad needs major changes and this begins with consistency in the management setup. If anyone remembers/cares, I was an advocate of keeping Carlo for this exact reason.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

If you're talking about the amount of votes in favour of AVB, then i agree. It's good to see sense has prevailed, especially after the amount of 'heat of the moment' posts in yesterday's match topic thread.

I like AVB, he's a good figurehead for the club's transition. More than this however, as I said yesterday, for the good of the club he needs to stay simply due to the fact that our squad needs major changes and this begins with consistency in the management setup. If anyone remembers/cares, I was an advocate of keeping Carlo for this exact reason.

Absolutely. That's why I firmly believe AVB won't get the axe. In previous managerial changes, we were in the race tittle; we'd change the man at the helm, new-manager-syndrome kicks in and we get a few results that catapult us back on track for the title race.

This time it is different. The objective is a team overhaul. The process has already started and Andre is at the heart of it all. If a new manager comes in, he'd have practically no knowledge of the players and the team's issues and problems and we'd have thrown 6 months down the drain. I think/hope Roman realizes that, for the sake of our club.

[sainttourist 68]

You know he is not worth what we paid for him, but with this new fifa rule, I rather get new players then spend 50m on changing managers. He is not hopeless, it just to radical changers for Chelsea team. Playing barca style without any real playmakers except Mata, I didnt get it, how can it work. Cant understand why he didnt buy someone in winter. Ever De Brune can be useful, as Kakuta, but he stick to this box to box players.

Maybe we need some changes in club management, we chase many good players this window, AVB talk about 2nd but no one come. And in summer we didnt get Modric. This two tranfers can cost job for AVB, but did it his fault, i dont know.

[ulsterchelsea 3,221]

The poll in this topic has revived my faith in Chelsea fans. Am I the only one who feels this way?

I was pleasantly surprised

[BlueLion. 21,491]

We should open a thread for 'The Squad out?' because that is where the problem lies. We don't even have a squad. We rely on a handful of decent players who wouldn't get into the City, Madrid or Barcelona teams (Luiz, Ramires, Sturridge, Mata).

[BlueLion. 21,491]

This is the stage where we fans should support our manager.The man is under pressure and needs to prove his doubters wrong.Some of them are present in this forum and well my advice to you guys is just wait till the end of the season and then judge him.A change in manager at this stage will not fix anything and will only lead to more problems.Some may feel that its time for a change but I urge everyone to keep on supporting our talented manager.We want longevity but yet we still call for change halfway through the season,it just can't happen.Stick with AVB and keep the faith.

This.

[Fernando 6,500]

Oh Gosh! Another AVB thread ...

I know AVB has not able to live up to the expectations that everyone has but then how is sacking him a solution to everything. As fans we need to understand that we support the club on the whole and sacking him, getting another manager with his team of support staff will have nothing but financial implications for a club which has already made quite a loss. I know shedding out a few million pounds for Roman is not a big deal (I m sure he would keep letting out those pounds for Chelsea) but then it is high time that we dont keep depending on Roman for anything and everything. With the fair play coming, we need to get our finances right as well.

Secondly and importantly, sacking coaches/managers season after season means there is no stability at the club and among the players. The players would always be confident that we would have someone else coming the next season. Stability is the key for any top club and unfortunately that is something missing at ours.

I know that AVB has been adamant, one dimensional and at times i really wish that i could punch him on his face for his baffling decisions but as a fan i need to look at the bigger picture and support him as the manager of this club for stability. I hope and pray that whatever is the outcome of this season, AVB is there atleast till the end of his contract. It is not about believing in him at this point of time but believing in the club that we all love.

Can't put it any better.

Sometimes I feel like the posters that post some of these opinions are little kids.

Because how can you keep on with the same record, of firing managers after managers, when we been doing a lot of that since Roman came, and have not seen great long lasting result?

If you're talking about the amount of votes in favour of AVB, then i agree. It's good to see sense has prevailed, especially after the amount of 'heat of the moment' posts in yesterday's match topic thread.

I like AVB, he's a good figurehead for the club's transition. More than this however, as I said yesterday, for the good of the club he needs to stay simply due to the fact that our squad needs major changes and this begins with consistency in the management setup. If anyone remembers/cares, I was an advocate of keeping Carlo for this exact reason.

Mancini is a very mediocre coach, but because he has a good squad it makes a bit less competent.

9 times out of 10 it will be the same thing with AVB. Once he has a great team, he will be hail as the next big thing, the best manager ever and all this stuff, but fail to see that it was mainly because he had a great squad....

[Spike 12,049]

Well I remember a certain Mr. Mourinho that could not motivate and bring the best out of a super star like Sheva.....

I buy into the conspiracy that Mourinho sabotaged Sheva.

[eldo 868]

I'm reading posts here in which people say that Andre hasn't lived up to expectations?

What expectations? Those based on his previous season or those that we sacked Carlo and we were hoping for better season?

I know that these results are frustrating, but that is not the reason to post something fictional to support your opinion.

How can Sloth say that last season at Porto was one off? Have youn even seen 3 of their games?

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

This is the stage where we fans should support our manager.The man is under pressure and needs to prove his doubters wrong.Some of them are present in this forum and well my advice to you guys is just wait till the end of the season and then judge him.A change in manager at this stage will not fix anything and will only lead to more problems.Some may feel that its time for a change but I urge everyone to keep on supporting our talented manager.We want longevity but yet we still call for change halfway through the season,it just can't happen.Stick with AVB and keep the faith.

Well said mate. You can use any tactics and be whoever but if your players play like shite and aren't used to tactics, you can't expect to have instant impact. Things take time. For me, the problem is not Andre Villas-Boas but the players. I find it our absolute priority to get new blood in and just let old core go, players like Malouda, Drogba, Lampard etc.. time's up and we need to move on

[Fernando 6,500]

I buy into the conspiracy that Mourinho sabotaged Sheva.

I even remember when Mourinho did not wanted Alex, but some other defender and yet the club got him anyways.....

[Peace. 4,352]

To my mind, we have to give him his second season here, and unless this second season is catastrophic, we should give him a third season. It is only after this period we should decide to whether keep him or not.

Considering our current situation, to change our manager again is the last thing we should do. Indeed, our squad is old, average and past its sell by date, therefore we should focus to build a young and competitive squad. And if we change our manager this summer, we won't be able to do so, because firstly we would spend a lots of money on changing the manager, and secondly the new manager will stick with the 'old guard' since he won't know good enough the squad to make drastical changes.

While you can argue that André Villas-Boas has made a lots of mistake since taking the Chelsea manager job, you can't deny he has a very interesting philosophy about the game and "long term projects". Indeed, his game philosophy is to play a beautiful football - a Barça-esque football - and it is precisely what our owner is looking for. Plus, he wants to build here a project for the futur, a long term project, which is exactly what we are crying for some times now. Finally, the kind of players he is targetting in the mercato (Hazard, Lucas Moura, etc..) is the kind of players that our squad is lacking. So, even if he will keep making mistake tactically-wise, he seems to be the right man to build the new Chelsea (I am not speaking about results).

It is only at the end of his contract that we should decide to what to do with him. If he proves himself and show us he is really the big thing, then great ! If it happens that he doesn't live up to the expectations, then let him leave, and at least he would have created a sane squad and the next coach would be able to start on sane basis (with little to do). That's how I see it, at least.

Edited February 12, 2012 by Peace.

[zolayes 14,489]

We should open a thread for 'The Squad out?' because that is where the problem lies. We don't even have a squad. We rely on a handful of decent players who wouldn't get into the City, Madrid or Barcelona teams (Luiz, Ramires, Sturridge, Mata).

3 of the 4 you mentioned were the only ones I didn't fault for lack of effort yesterday . Ramires was missing and we missed his energy badly.

[Eric Stephan 5]

I'm behind AVB! Of course some substitutions and decisions of him are wrong! For example to replace Mata for Lukaku in 81th minute. We were 0-2 behind?! In my opinion he had to take off Meireles. He already got the yellow card and did some stupid fouls. Nevermind. We have to focus on the next matches and should trust AVB.

Our foward is not really creative. We hadnt many opportunities yesterday. It' really disappointing. I hope it will change in the next matches. Also we need Ramires and his energy back like zolayes wrote!

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

We have to afford AVB another season. He was never going to be an instant success with the squad we have. I mean the basis of our team is so weak and that apart from Mata, Luiz and Ivanovic & Essien IMO, we don't have the materials of a truly top side. AVB was for the long term, his whole play and philosophy is one which will come gradually. Our aging players still make the base of our squad i.e. Cech, Terry, Lampard and Drogba when he's available. This is clearly a transitional season. He isn't the type of manager like Hiddink or Mourinho that can come in and get our players playing in a fashion to challenge in the short term. With our base living on borrowed time, and our squad consisting of some very average players it is difficult to get them playing in a way proportional to our aspirations. I don't think AVB has that in his locker, he's still playing us in a fashion as if we have a top squad. He need's to try and incept a B plan for us to run on until the end of the season. Weather that means Kalou coming in and playing on the wing for Mata to play attacking mid, or get Torres on the bench to Drogba's benefit, then so be it! Champions League is so important that I'm not going to explain it. All I'm saying is as much lye's in our qualification as does AVB staying. To attract the players we want, UCL is pivotal. If we fail their then this transitional season could be completely redundant. AVB's plan requires UCL as we need it to attract quality players such as Eden Hazard or Lucas. He's clearly manifesting a squad with the future in mind. So let's not be too brash in calling for his head. We all have good reasons to be agrieved, nobody ca be happy with how we're playing atm. Yes we may find temporary salvation in a caretaker manager such as Hiddink, but where do we after that? If AVB get's us in the top 4 then he's done the minimum of what was required. After that he will have summer to replace the old guard and get us the players we need to challenge.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

I'm behind AVB! Of course some substitutions and decisions of him are wrong !

No offence to you, and I'm speaking generally here, but I really don't understand the questioning of the subs at times. AVB knows a damn lot more about tactics than any of us do. It's like when Wenger subbed Alex Chamberlain recently, he was playing well, but he was clearly fatigued and it was the right thing to do.

Regarding the Mata for Lukaku sub yesterday, we had been playing for the majority and only penetrated the Everton defence once or twice, simply because they were pressing well and sitting deep. We needed goals, maybe Andre thought that brute strength and aerial ability would work rather than the intricate final third passes, who knows. Either way, there's clearly a reason for the subs, if they work the mangers a hero, if nothing changes, the fans sing 'you don't know what you're doing'.

[Laylabelle 9,406]

Agree needs another season.Because you know whats gana happen..sack him..bring someone else in and no doubt have the same problem.People wanted Carlo out and now moaning about AVB and wish we hadnt sacked him..shame that support wasnt made clear at the time! Dont know what you got till its gone sorta thing...and it aint over yet. The Manager needs to sort himself out but most imporantly the players need to take a good look at themselves!

[manpe 10,861]

You know... Just imagine AVB managing a team full of top talent. I mean REAL talent, in 4-3-3 formation, having pacy wingers, a deadly striker, a witty playmaker. Out of our current players, ONLY Mata and Luiz fit that equation, nobody else (maybe also Romeu in a few years). Now imagine if he was given time to refresh the squad how he thinks is best, we could see an upgraded version of Porto with fluid football. This image alone deserves giving him time. And don't get me wrong, that time isn't only one season, you can't dump 90% of your team in one summer, it would be gradual. Hopefully in his 3rd season we'd see 180 degree improvement.