Does Villas-Boas Need Help? Anyone Thinking Hiddink?

Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he does not need a helping hand, as he tries to steer Chelsea away from one of the worst possible season in recent years. I had initially thought that the failure in the Premier League would make us a force to reckon with in the Champions League, but that hope has clearly come crashing after the 2-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund.

 

 

The sudden availability of Guus Hiddink has presented Villas-Boas with a variety of questions to answer. Among them is the possibility of having Hiddink in a supporting role for Villas-Boas. The Portuguese, who has only three full years of managerial experience, has rejected such possibilities by saying that he believes in his players and himself.

 

Ahead of the match against Wolves, Villas-Boas said,

 

" I don't solve problems on my own, I solve problems with my group of people and my group of players. I just hold on to my self-belief and the belief of my players."

 

The defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund leaves us in a very difficult position. Chelsea are most likely to qualify in the second place, which would then pit us against the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona. Chelsea can bid goodbye to any chance of winning the Champions League with this kind of form against this class of opponents. We haven’t made it into December yet, but the situation already looks very bleak indeed.

 

A few seasons ago, a couple of Chelsea players (Lampard, Terry, Drogba, and Kalou) were caught up in a boxing fight in London. Perhaps, these Chelsea players are fond of boxing and like to watch live boxing. Maybe, they should use these techniques to bring us out of trouble.

 

In my opinion, the arrival of Guus Hiddink would only bring in more trouble to the situation if the Dutchman arrives as a sporting director. If he becomes the next manager, then well and good. However, as long as AVB is the manager, he should be allowed to make the decisions himself.

 

A win against Wolves alone will not solve Chelsea's problem. It demands a run of consecutive games so that the talk of Guus Hiddink returning to Stamford Bridge goes away once and for all. Only then will Villas-Boas get the necessary support from the media and, most crucially, Roman Abramovich. Villas-Boas may claim that he does not need help now, but he definitely does seem to need it. Ideally, that help should come from the players, starting this weekend against Wolves.

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Can Villas-Boas Survive The Sack?

After the defeat to Liverpool, the honeymoon period for Andre Villas-Boas seems to be well and truly over. For AVB, it is now the period where plenty of questions will be asked of his tactical and managerial ability.

 

 

Each manager has their positives and negatives. However, I am yet to fully see the best of Villas-Boas – except for in the QPR match when Chelsea dominated with 9 men. Apart from that, Chelsea haven’t been brilliant in any match so far. We have looked good only when the opponents have been catastrophically weak – take the case of Bolton and Genk.

 

One my biggest disappointment with him came this week when he appeared to suggest that Abramovich would not sack as he had paid £13 million to acquire AVB and it would cost another sack load for sacking him. I don’t know Abramovich personally, but even I can tell that this amount of money is insignificant for a man. It is ludicrous to suggest that Abramovich would be content without any improvement just for the sake of about £20 million.

 

It has become customary for Chelsea to struggle in the autumn just as Arsenal do near the end of the season. It has always been due to the occurrence of a scandal involving a high-profile player or an injury crisis. Even though there has been the Terry’s racism issue this time around, it seems to be of significance only for visiting fans.

 

 

People may argue that AVB should be given more time – I have been part of that bandwagon for managers myself in the past. However, this time, the situation is more critical. It would be harsh to suggest that AVB is totally out of his depth, but it has appeared that way many times this season. He has also been very arrogant with his attitude. It reminds me of Rafa Benitez sometimes. He and we all know that the defensive highline is not at all

working; what should he do? Change it. He hasn’t been doing that.

 

It was quite apparent in the first half of the Liverpool match that Mikel is NOT a first team player. Get him out of the team for God’s sake. I would be satisfied even with Raul Meireles, although Josh McEachran would be preferable.

 

Hiddink’s availability – is the script written by a God? – also makes it extremely unlikely that AVB will carry on beyond January if results don’t improve.

 

One of the best decisions AVB has made during his short Chelsea career is to give proper chance to Daniel Sturridge. I just hope that he is here for a long time to make more such impacts.

About the Author

Bharath Ram is a professional blogger and a freelance writer. An ardent Chelsea fan, Bharath Ram also writes for other sites like the Daily Sports Mag

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Chelsea Defensive Woes: How Can It Be That Bad?

A lot has been spoken about the bad defending in the Premier League, but I think Chelsea are in the league of their own. In the past 10 matches, Chelsea have kept a clean sheet on just two occasions – against minnows Genk and in the League Cup against Fulham.

 

 

Frankly, I cannot understand how a defence containing Petr Cech and John Terry can perform so badly for such a long time. Chelsea conceding against Genk yesterday is probably the final straw for me. I am extremely frustrated and lost for words in explaining the predicament.

 

Strangely, it is difficult to put a finger on a certain aspect. Sure, many people would point to the fact that we are fourth in the table and are on course for qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League. However, Chelsea have conceded a mammoth 15 goals in the Premier League so far, which is a staggering 1.5 goals per game. This is a statistic that alone will tell you that Chelsea are not good enough to win the League this season. It is proven by the nine-point advantage that Manchester City have over Chelsea.

 

Maybe the fault rests within Villas-Boas' 4-3-3 formation. Even though it has been in use during the majority of the last seven years, maybe Villas-Boas is using a slightly attacking version of it. Certainly, Ramires, who plays on the right side of the three in the midfield, attacks a lot more than others who used to play in that position did. In fact, I would say that he is on par with Lampard in terms of the preference given to attacking.

 

Maybe, it is with Mikel, who is simply not good enough to play in the 4-3-3 formation. As Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole are always on the attack, a lot depends on the defensive midfielder to shore up the defence. His pace and ability to read the game have always been the weak links for Mikel and he will never be able to replace Claude Makelele.

 

It is hard to pinpoint the cause for the recent defensive troubles to just one aspect. It has been a combination of various issues and Chelsea need to sort it out quickly before this League campaign vanishes into thin air.

About the Author

Bharath Ram is a professional blogger and a freelance writer. An ardent Chelsea fan, Bharath Ram also writes for other sites like the Daily Sports Mag

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