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Chelsea: Bad Tactics, Poor Substitutions, It's Time For AVB To Leave
Let's face it, the only good thing AVB has done is sign Juan Mata. It's time for Roman Abramovich to cut his losses and admit he got it wrong. Again...
Is it a matter of time before Roman calls time on the Chelsea manager?
I’ve been pondering this article- or at least one of a similar ilk- for some time now but have always managed to hold off, not wanting to jump on the ‘Andre Villas-Boas is useless’ bandwagon. But like the hoards of Chelsea fans at Goodison Park on Saturday who burst into a rousing chorus of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing.’ my patience has been worn a bit too thin.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not one for calling for managers’ heads every five minutes and demanding a plethora of shiny new trophies season after season. I am of the opinion that certain managers need to be given time…where would Manchester United be now had they not stuck out the difficult teething period when Alex Ferguson took the reins?
But that’s not to say clubs and fans should blindly support managers either, just for the sake of ‘giving them time’, when things clearly aren’t right in the camp.
Villas-Boas’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in the summer came as a surprise to many Blues fans, with strong rumours linking former interim boss Guus Hiddink with the job. And being a close friend of owner Roman Abramovich, popular with the Stamford Bridge faithful and players alike, it seemed the obvious move. But Abramovich instead pulled a move out of left-field, appointing FC Porto manager and former Chelsea employee, Villas-Boas.
Villas-Boas’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in the summer came as a surprise to many Blues fans
Despite the surprising appointment, Chelsea fans by and large seemed excited by the prospect of a young, up-and-coming manager who could potentially take the hot-seat for years to come – our very own Sir Alex. But despite Chelsea players crowing over how great and 21st Century pre-season training was (presumably with a gun to their heads…) and being the first side to knock Manchester ‘webuyanyplayer.com’ City off their perch this season, things have started to turn sour.
Draw has followed defeat has followed draw has followed defeat at regular intervals, across all competitions. Chelsea scraped through the Champions League knock-out stages, somehow topping the group, but look increasingly likely to accomplish the unacceptable at Stamford Bridge and miss out on qualification for Europe’s biggest club tournament next season.
One can only be left to wonder how the Great Rebuild of 2012 will go when the Blues fail to attract top youngsters or experienced heads with no offer of Champions League football.
And it’s not as if AVB has the right ideas but just doesn’t have the personnel to carry them out. His team selections are a mystery, his substitutions are nothing short of baffling and his infatuation with Jose Bosingwa…simply mind-boggling.
Take this week’s debacle against Everton for example. His back four were Bosingwa, Luiz, Ivanovic and Cole. Last weekend against Manchester United (the capitulation to end all capitulations), Branislav Ivanovic was a contender for Chelsea’s Man of the Match…at right back…the position he’s mostly occupied since his arrival in January 2008. He was nothing short of outstanding, dodgy penalty aside. Gary Cahill, who was finally awarded his Chelsea debut, was also on the better side of solid and was even unlucky not to clinch an undeserved three points right at the death, with a stinging shot tipped over by De Gea.
his substitutions are nothing short of baffling and his infatuation with Jose Bosingwa…simply mind-boggling.
So this week, naturally, it was all change. Cahill was back getting splinters and Ivanovic was babysitting David Luiz in the centre, to varying degrees of success. There’s a complete lack of consistency to enable the defence to gel and there’s even less appreciation for playing the best players in their best positions. That means Ivanovic at right back and Jose Bosingwa on the next plane back to Portugal, Andre.
Villas-Boas also seems to lack any tactical nous. He makes substitutions for the sake of it and the team often loses its shape and balance as a result. Up until Christmas, Chelsea were the only team in the Premier League to have used all three substitutions in every game. That doesn’t exactly point to level-headed tactical genius.
The game against Fulham at the Bridge on Boxing Day was a classic example. AVB hooks Frank Lampard, fairly enough as Lamps was having a nightmare, and replaces him with Florent Malouda. Now my feelings towards Mr Malouda are best saved for a future piece, but that aside, replacing a centre midfielder with a wide player meant the middle of the park lost all shape, with none of the players seeming to know where they were meant to be. This also happened against Manchester City, when for reasons only known to AVB, we found ourselves with both Mikel and Romeu on the pitch at the same time. Two holding midfielders, four defenders, complete chaos.
That’s not to say AVB has been all-bad. The signing of Juan Mata was inspired and he’s an incredibly exciting prospect for the future. That’s not to mention…no, actually, that’s the only good point I can muster.
It seems that after 25 league games, seven draws and six defeats, maybe it’s time Abramovich cuts his losses and admit he appointed the wrong man. And with his ever-increasing training ground visits, maybe it’s just a matter of time until Chelsea call a press conference.
This article originally featured in the excellent Sporting Behaviour blog that you can read HERE
If you liked this, then put off that spreadsheet for a bit longer and read these:
Chelsea’s Andre Villas-Boas Would Be Better Off At Arsenal
Josh McEachran: What Swansea City Can Expect From Chelsea’s New Frank Lampard
Chelsea: Is Misfiring Torres Simply Missing A Father Figure?
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COMMENTS
done a good job babysitting utter whoppers ha AVB
should never have been given the job in the 1st place. he has 2 games to save his chelsea job- lose against either b'ham or napoli and he is a goner...
Manchester "webuyanyplayer.com" City? I'm not aa City fan but it always irritates me when supporters of the 'top tier' teams criticise others for the same thing their own team have done - United are the worst for this, as if no other team is allowed to use money to build a club. And Chelsea fans trying to forget Torres and Shevchenko mistakes and conveniently forgetting Abramovich himself and his billions. A club, with the financial backing Chelsea has, should stick with a manager for a few seasons - you're lucky you can keep attracting these top managers. soon, though, no one will want that temp job and you'll have all that money and no one to manage the team. You'll never get a 100% season - Ferguson hasnt, Wenger did once and cant repeat - just learn to be a proper supporter and accept losses happen and your consistent top 4 finish. The rest of us fear relegation, so stop crying
Completely agree with this article. Quite simply, AVB looks totally out of his depth... but he still maintains an arrogance that I find sickening. Malouda should have been sold last year, and Bosingwa wouldnt get in any other team in the top half of the premier league. If we really are a team in "transition", then the aforementioned trio, plus the likes of mikel, kalou and meireles need to be replaced.
he is trying to build something for the future, but he has been horribly let down by "the old guard". however in recent weeks his paranoia has been evident and some of his team selections have been questionable. he appears to be a desperate man right now.
Isn't this a bit too early? You mentioned sir alex's case. If I remember correctly, he didn't win a trophy for 4 straight years, until that FA Cup in 91. If we'd turned our backs on him then -like Chelsea seem to do rather frequently - we'd have gotten nowhere. I agree when you say that avb looks tactically naive at times, and seems way out of both his depth and comfort zone. But you need to give him time. Your squad is to be honest, not very good. Most of the players are over the hill, show an absolute lack of desire or faith in avb. Give him a couple of years more and he'll be alright.
He has indeed been let down by the old guard, but that is hardly a surprise. Support from the likes of JT, Lamps et al would have been like turkeys voting for Christmas. That said, if these players loved the club as much as they'd have you believe, they would be digging deeper for the manager.
Well... his decisions have been baffling at times yes. The choice to take Lampard off in Valencia and replace him with Kalou who (though the exact incident wasn't entirely AVB's fault) immediately conceded a penalty, was the first real sign of inexperience. Central midfielder having a great game for a useless winger? while trying to hang on to a lead? Naive. Agree with the Bosingwa conundrum and the fact that Brana-robot is probably the best right-back in the league. However, the way he wants to play vs. the squad we have is the real problem. Mata is good, but what we desperately, desperately need is some pace. He doesn't have it. Cahill should be OK. Romeu was an excellent signing too, provided Barca can't buy him back for 35p once he's really proven himself. We don't have an automatic right to qualify for the Champs League places, and we've been spoiled since Roman came in. Now the money is drying up - though we've still spent plenty in the last 12 months, admittedly £50mil of it on Torres (who has actually been quietly getting better, with the exception of the weekend just gone - er, it'd be nice for a few goals though eh?) - we need to look to the future. Yes, he's made some knee-jerk decisions and iffy choices, yes he tends to blather on aimlessly in press conferences, but AVB is young and, for that reason I think, deserves more time to rebuild the squad and to settle in. Time he won't get, I fear. **VERY SERIOUS FOOTBALL COMMENT ENDS**
Substitutions are a huge part of the game, these days. You can save or win a game, if they're inspired. Our man at Norwich City is the best for this. Not telling you his name because we're keeping him, haha. I wish.
I agree with Red. More time is needed to make a final decision on AVB. Lets not forget how bad the old guard have played!
Its really a pity dat avb wont be given a chance more dan he got, dis is cos da money we stand 2 lose if we failed 2 qualify 4 CL is far greater dan wot we can settle him wen he‘s sack! Pple kept talkn abt how long it took fergi or any oda coach 2 achieve sucess but dnt also 4get dat such patience has no place in dis century cos teams wats sucess & dnt wat 2 kip losin. Admit, roman made many mistake in d past by sackn oda coaches bt avb jst hv 2 leave xcept chelsea is ready 2 continue missin out on CL!
^kuld yu pleahz tipe in engleez? Instead of saying "Pple kept talkn abt how long it took fergi"
Continuity.
Small team who cares?
obviously you angsta if your reading this you mug.
Ridiculous knee-jerk article. AVB's working with what he's got; a collection of egos and fading (or faded) stars, and younger players. He's bound to be able to make changes. Chelsea were shit right up until Abramovich took over and had a bit of short term success. A run of more unbeaten than losing games is a sign of success. Stop being so reactionary
people are saying he needs time. LOL. thats the one thing Roman wont give any of his employees. the longer times goes on arguably the worse chelsea play.the fact he still doesnt know his best 11 after 5 months in charge tells you a lot. his tactics are bizzare, his substitutions are strange, he pretty much always takes the best performing player off. why?? the fact that Roman has been at the training base all week and clearly doesnt like what he sees says the writing is on the wall. come back Hiddink i think...
I can't agree less. If you watcherd the Everton game, Chelsea didn't want to win even a quarter as much as Everton. I think they need to get rid of all their dead wood and build around Mata, Sturridge etc, with some good signings and some youth. Give AVB a couple of seasons. What's the alternative? Get another manager, let Fat Frank, Racist John and Fernando Tosser greet him and say "we're behind you 100% boss" before throwing in the towel in January when it's cold and Kevin Davies has just kicked you up the arse?
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