Roman Abramovich has spat the dummy and once again thrown his latest play toy out of the pram. The departure of Andre Villas-Boas from the hottest managerial seat in football is the 6th since Jose Mourinho left in September 2007.
With all the money in the world, Abramovich cannot buy success at the moment, but I hardly think the latest dip in form it is entirely Villas-Boas' fault.
Roman Abramovich isn't one for treading water
AVB came into the job off the back of a flawless record season at Porto. Unbeaten in the league and winners of the national cup competition and the UEFA Europa League, Porto were unequivocal masters of Portuguese football. But that's Portuguese football. Chelsea are placed in the far more rarified atmosphere of 'the best league in the world' (not my words) where the expectation to deliver and win has proved unbearable for some of the top managers in Europe and the world. Just look at the list of those who have held the job since Mourinho:
- Avram Grant (9 months)
- Luiz Felipe Scolari (7 months)
- Ray Wilkins (1 game)
- Guus Hiddink (4 months)
- Carlo Ancelotti (12 months)
- Andre Villas-Boas (10 months)
With the timescales that these managers have had (with the exception of Wilkins and Hiddink who knew their tenure was temporary), none have been allowed the time to build a squad to compete at a level and with a style that the manager wanted.
With the arrival of AVB, we all thought that might have changed. He was talking about longterm goals with Chelsea, a determination to see out the contract that Abramovich had compensated Porto so much for to get. The Russian also looked to back up his new man with his seemingly bottomless pot of cash to make high profile signings like Juan Mata. Everything seemed to be looking a little different at Stamford Bridge. But then the results didn't start to go the way of Chelsea and the stern Siberian face was back in the stands. For a man who demands instant results, it wasn't good enough.
But again, there were signs that he might be growing up a bit, not making the impulsive sacking that many predicted. AVB was telling journalists in the endless stream of press conferences that confidence was high, and he had the full support of his boss.
Ultimately however, it wasn't to be and the results never did turn around. Much was made about the relationship of the manager with his players, particularly the senior players who played during the glory days of Mourinho like Lampard, Drogba and Cole. Is the fact the AVB is only about 5 minutes older than them got something to with it? I doubt it.
There's no smoke without fire and I'm sure there were some awkward and maybe unpleasant exchanges between some or all of the players and the manager. I suspect it was because he wanted to do things a little differently to what they were used to and it didn't suit them.
Whatever the resons, Villas-Boas didn't have the time to make it stick and his ejection from the club is just the latest unfortunate chapter at Stamford Bridge. He is a good manager, that seems clear. His peers have lauded him since his arrival and it seems hard to think he has made enemies at Chelsea with such an affable personality.
I believe he can walk away maybe not with his head held high, but certainly with the knowledge that he did the best he could under extreme circumstances, and of course a multi million pound payout.
Roberto Di Matteo, AVB's assistant, takes over until the end of the season with no real expectation that he is the answer to their problems. As Grant did after Mourinho, maybe the assistant can take the club on in Europe particularly, but even those odds are stacked against him after the first leg in Napoli.
With a likely longer term replacement coming in the summer, I find it hard to think of a top manager who would want the job. Even with the lure of huge transfer funds and a chance to manage one of England's biggest teams, there will always be a dark Russian cloud not far away.
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