Arsenal today, Chelsea tomorrow?

Here comes the next Special One… managerial prodigy… another Portuguese wonder, with all his notes stuffed in his jacket pocket… one who spoke of succeeding as a unit over the next few years. However, the next few years seem like a far-fetched dream now. If Chelsea suffer the same fate as Arsenal in the Champions League, we might as well talk about days, hours, minutes… seconds. Then we would probably say he was at the wrong club, under the wrong owner (who is almost a manager too), inheriting one of the most expensive failed transfers in English football and a team of old men. Andre Villas-Boas, you certainly have yourself in a soup. Redemption would mean little less that the Champions League trophy and when Roman Abramovich decides to attend training, not once, but twice in a week, things are getting jittery and the Blues haven’t done much to dispel the doubts over their or their gaffer’s future. [caption id=“attachment_214879” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Andre Villas-Boas has the worst record among managers signed under Abramovich. Reuters”]  [/caption] The loss against Everton was not a one-off. In their last ten matches, they have won two, lost two and drawn six games. That amounts to a total of 12 points from a possible 30 – a dismal blotch on the record of the so far successful AVB - the name the media uses for the manager so that he can fit into tabloids and their overzealous headlines. Lay down as many arguments as you want. Fact is, trouble is brewing at Chelsea and Villas-Boas’ comment: “Roman is always very interested in the running of events,” does not help matters. It just does not. In press conferences, he seems to be in a state of denial, but in English football or any other league, results matter. The real worry is not about missing out on the league. The real worry, and yes this is the real worry, is not making it to the Champions League next year and missing out on millions of pounds in revenue, hence risking not breaking even for the new UEFA Fairplay system. That is the reason why Roman’s at Cobham training ground. That is the reason why he is breathing down AVB’s neck and that is the exact reason why his face is rarely breaking into a smile like it used to when Didier Drogba ran past a bunch of defenders and thumped in a goal. It is not happening anymore, the football is boring and the defence looks like a bunch of children playing blind man’s bluff. Hard to digest? It is sad, but true. But if Villas-Boas stays, he is sure to build an incredible legacy. For that, he will need time, patience and respect from his players. Basically, one is tired of writing about what Villas-Boas should do and not do. He is a man of immaculate football knowledge, has studied the game from as close as one can get and has a close affiliation with Jose Mourinho, who still enjoys the pride of being Chelsea football club’s most loved heroes in modern history. It is not fair to write off a young manager who suddenly finds himself in the limelight due to the wrong reasons. Imagine for a moment if he was manager of Everton or Manchester United or even Arsenal- no worries about being sacked for 3-4 years in the least and the respect of clubs which are built not on the stardom of players who have been there for donkey years, but on the telling foundation and philosophy which has made its place in English football history. Even Chelsea fans will agree that their club is not so much about history compared to that of the demand for immediate success, fueled by Abramovich’s billions which were well spent for, erm, let’s say five years. That spending theory needs to be balanced with a stable manager. Even Sir Alex Ferguson has had his fair share of rubbish transfers which cost a fortune. Juan Sebastian Veron is a prime example (£29 million, who later ironically went to Chelsea!) and Dimitar Berbatov has never found a lack of critics (£30 million). All was rosy and bright last summer when Villas-Boas was brought to the club, after a payment to Porto of £13 million to release him from his contract and when the media went crazy over the ‘next Mourinho’. And everyone but the Chelsea players were excited. But what Villas-Boas has done is right. He has put Frank Lampard in his place, promoted youth and taken the pressure off Fernando Torres scoring goals, making him look more like a player who is known to assist people rather than pop the ball into the net himself. He inherited a bunch of players waiting for stability and it is nobody’s fault that they have not got that. Chelsea fans are fine if they don’t win a championship every year. No team does that! What is wrong with their current situation is the hype surrounding the performances they deliver… the constant chatter in circles of Stamford Bridge about ‘what next? Will AVB go?’ Wait, at least let him spend a year. Then talk about him going. But of course, Roman listens to no one but himself. Try telling him that.