You're Fired!



Andre Villas Boas feels the pressure prior to his sacking



Goodbye Andre Villas Boas. You shall not be missed. With all the hype surrounding his appointment back in the summer, with Chelsea supposedly going to win the Premier League under his guidance, it seems quite comical that he left only 8 months after being put in charge. It's fair to say he didn’t live up to expectations, but actually, I feel quite sorry for him. He's a young man, only 34, and arrived with a massive reputation after winning the quadruple with Porto and boasting an incredible 87% win percentage along with an unbeaten run as Porto manager. But as soon as he came to Chelsea, he just didn't look comfortable. This unease was quickly followed up by rapid media involvement and fans that were quickly losing patience, and soon as we knew it: he was gone. So where did it all go wrong for him?



Well right from the off he was in trouble. He inherited an ageing team, who had seen and done all before but seemed to have lost their touch. With senior players John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba all well into their 30's, it was always going to be tough inheriting these sort of players and keeping them happy; especially when all of which are fan favourites. He then also had Fernando Torres under his services, who seemed to be somewhat of a liability since his arrival from Liverpool for a massively inflated £50 million in January 2011. Lastly, he barely had time to create the team he wanted to build, and only a few signings meant he had to make do with the players already there.

AVB had a havily publicised bust-up with Ashley Cole

The players certainly didn't help what so ever. With reported bust ups ad frequent disagreements being made aware of for what it seemed like weeks on end, this must've had a negative on both the fans and the owner’s views. Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard are two who spring to mind, with both outlining their dismay of the leadership displayed by AVB during his reign at the club. With Roman Abramovich and particularly the fans both outlining their confusion of AVB's curious tactics and somewhat clueless line-ups, most evident with the choice of team against Napoli in a make or break game in Chelsea’s season, AVB seemed to always have everyone connected with the club on his back.

But I feel sorry for the man. He was a young, promising manager having arrived at the club, but the Chelsea managerial spot that had been labelled as a 'poison chalice' may prove to be his downfall. His infamous 8 month reign may just tarnish his once immaculate CV, and I hope he manages to find a new job swiftly. He showed great character at the club in his time as well, having to deal with some key injuries as well as making his own decisions throughout, even when under scrutiny from everyone involved with Chelsea. He also managed to over see the rise of Danny Sturridge, who had thrived under his guidance and has burst onto the international scene as a result.

Sturridge was one of few positives during AVB's reign

Although Chelsea sit 5th in the league and an uncomfortable 20 points behind the leaders, Manchester City, I believe the sacking was un deserved. He was a man at the wrong place at the wrong time, falling victim to Abramovich's no mercy style ownership. All he needed was time, but time was not what he was allowed, and as a result; he had to go. It seems that Roman Abramovich is a man who loves the taste of success, and when he goes a period without it, he changes both the structure and personnel of the club. Little does he know that doing such a thing can only unsettle players and have an overall negative impact on the club as a whole, and until he realises this - Chelsea won't taste any kind of success in the nearby future.