Chelsea’s impressive 3-0 Champions League win over Valencia on Tuesday has eased the pressure on their young coach, Andre Villas-Boas, but the Portuguese still has plenty of work to do to convince he is the right man to bring silverware back to Stamford Bridge (Chelsea 14/1 – Premier League Outright).
AVB survived in the Chelsea hot-seat last month, despite a run of just one win in five games and a home Carling Cup defeat to Liverpool at the quarter-final stage. The critics were circling during that period as the pressure intensified on him, but owner Roman Abramovich, notoriously impatient with his managers in recent years, decided to stick with the former Porto boss.
However, doubts remain that the 32-year-old has the experience, man-management skills and sheer nous to be a hit in the cut-throat world of the Premier League as he comes up against seasoned campaigners like Sir Alex Ferguson, Harry Redknapp and Arsene Wenger – men who know what it takes to succeed in England.
A good start to the season and the recent back-to-back 3-0 victories – against Wolves, Newcastle and Valencia – prove Villas-Boas is a top-class coach to be feared when he gets it right and it is fair to say he has rallied his troops well to ensure they have come through a difficult period.
Tuesday’s victory was certainly impressive as AVB appeared to get his tactics and selection spot on for a game where his reputation was on the line. A defeat and an early Champions League exit would have cast further doubt on his suitability to lead Chelsea back to glory and would surely have left a big question mark hovering over him in the mind of Abramovich, who craves European glory more than anything else (Chelsea 12/1 – Champions League Outright).
His reaction to the press following the Valencia victory may have been the result of a few weeks of pent-up frustration as he hit out at what he felt was the “persecution” of his side by the media over the past month or so. But a few more defeats over a testing couple of weeks could yet see his words return to haunt him.
Chelsea take on league leaders Manchester City next (Chelsea 11/8, City 13/8, draw 11/5 – Match Prices) before tough London derbies against Spurs and Fulham follow over the busy Christmas period and should they lose, say, two of those games, more criticism, whether he likes it or not, will be coming his way.
Some have questioned whether, at just 34 years of age, he is old enough to command authority in the dressing room and get the backing of the club’s experienced players.
Certainly, Frank Lampard has not been impressed at times as he has had to settle for a place on the bench in some big games and there have been mumurs that the England man remains unconvinced about the coach’s ability at this level.
The Valencia win has bought AVB time, no question about that, but the jury remains out on his long-term prospects with tougher tests to come for the Blues.
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