I never thought I would say it, especially given their fortunes over the last decade, but Chelsea are on the slide. Just as fast as they gobbled up trophies and talent at the beginning and middle of the last decade, it seems to be all slipping away with an equal decline. Just what is causing Chelsea to stutter as much as they have this season?
Knee-jerk reactions point the finger directly at the man in charge; André Villas-Boas. At thirty four, he’s only twelve months older than his most senior players, with egos as big as Didier Drogba , Frank Lampard , and John Terry (especially John Terry ), can the guy really command his dressing room with the intimidation of a Alex Ferguson , or a Kenny Dalglish ? Sure, supporters of Villas-Boas will argue that age is not an issue in the modern game; Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho are glistening beacons to the idea that you don’t have to be old enough to attain Lordship in order to be a successful manager.
He’s certainly learnt from the best, being a protegé of Bobby Robson and Mourhino, but the key ingredient in the successful managerial cake that Villas-Boas lacks is that he has the omnipotent, but mind-bogglingly fickle Roman Abramovich constantly watching over his every move. Guardiola and Mourhino have the full backing of their owners, even if results go a bit Fred West from time to time. Villas-Boas is constantly referred to as “the under pressure Chelsea manager”, a tautology; anyone who has been at the helm of the West London club over the past eight years will testify that every single one of them has been under pressure to perform well from their perma-stubbled Russian owner.
I’d be willing to bet that every single one of them too would admit that if the pressure was off, and they were allowed free rein of the club they were managing, the trophies would have fallen into place in time. Abramovich is too wrapped up in the idea that pumping money into something will grant him instant success, and the moment results start turning against him then the manager simply isn’t good enough. Surely a World cup winning coach, a treble winner, and a two time European cup winning manager have the capabilities, given the time, to bring success to the club. Evidentially not under their Russian rule.
On the subject of Russian rule, it probably hasn’t helped that Abramovich has intermittently stepped in and decided that he wants to direct where his money is going. Much like Man City now, when Chelsea first started buying up scores and scores of talent, I didn’t like it one bit. But whilst Man City are in the business of buying up talent to purposely push out their opponents, Chelsea were actually intent on setting up a team who would compete (key word; COMPETE) for their success, and that’s where my respect lies with Chelsea and not Man City in the sugar daddy stakes. That said, Abramovich has stepped in on occasion and just as easy as it is to do on the latest Fifa or Football Manager game, he has decided that he wants to buy a name; regardless of price.
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Alarm bells are ringing and the name that comes to mind in every Chelsea fan’s mind immediately is Fernando Torres. Fifty million pounds, for a player who hasn’t been remotely decent for around two and a half years; the guy could have bought fifty solid gold statues of the most desirable women in the world to get jiggy with for that kind of money. Abramovich doesn’t care, fifty million is pittance to him, but fifty million pounds that Chelsea fans, deep down in their hearts will know has been wasted (especially when they could have saved fifteen million for a nice swimming pool and bought Sergio Aguero instead).
Abramovich should have learned from the last time he stepped in and demanded to buy one Andriy Shevchenko that he doesn’t have the wisest footballing knowledge. It’s this that remains one of Chelsea’s biggest flaws; admittedly the guy is entitled to do whatever the hell he wants, Chelsea is his plaything and it’s his money that’s being spent, but for the most part if the guy does want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on players, then give the money to the guys that know what to do best with it; the managers.
One thing that seems to be somewhat of a positive from Villas-Boas’ reign at Chelsea , however long it may be, is that he’s giving the youngsters a chance to shine through. For too long now, Chelsea have been reliant on the same system involving what is now referred to as their “old guard”; the three lynchpins of their team in Drogba, Lampard and Terry. Whilst these three have been reliable in their positions for the last eight or so years, and undoubtedly been key to bringing success to the club, efforts must be done to find suitable replacements. Terry is going to prove to be the one most difficult to replace; whilst the guy lives and breathes Chelsea , he’s fallen into the Rio Ferdinand situation of being more of a liability than he’s worth. David Luiz, for all his qualities is not the man to replace him; his heavy footedness and ability to put himself hilariously out of position have been a contributing factor in Chelsea ’s hiccups this season.
Don’t worry Chelsea fans, I can sympathise being a fan of Leeds United and watching Patrick Kisnorbo week after week heading into tackles with all the grace and guile of Jade Goody when she run that marathon that one time. Josh McEachran will prove in time that he is Lampard’s replacement; the flashes that I’ve seen from him show a great deal of promise, and he’s still only seventeen years old. Strikers come and go, and I’m sure it won’t take long for Chelsea to find a decent replacement for Drogba.
Hell, someone might coax Torres out of his self imposed exile and inspire him to score again; Abramovich could hold his family hostage and threaten to send bits of them in the mail unless he starts scoring, although that might be a touch in the extreme region. Whatever they do, they need to get doing it fast; the old guard isn’t getting younger, and young sprites like City and Spurs will quickly overtake if Chelsea don’t do anything.
Overall, it’s a nervy time for Blues fans; it’s getting to that time of year again when the manager is more than likely going to be given a pledge of support in December then heavy heartedly parting company come January. There’s no reason why Chelsea can’t refresh what they have in their reserves and continue with their success of the past few years. What it does take however, is less input from Russia, more freedom with the manager and a serious sort out of the playing staff. In the meantime though, I’m quite fancying my two pound bet at the bookies for Villas-Boas to finally go in January.
Article courtesy of Arron Fellows from This is Futbol
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