Newcastle v Chelsea - AVB on fixture congestion and losing to Liverpool | Premier League
- 10 years ago
The sight of a Chelsea fan marching into Stamford Bridge clutching a copy of "The Tibetan Art Of Positive Thinking" could be taken as a sign of these troubled times.
Not necessarily the normal pre-match reading at Chelsea - but these are not normal days at a club searching in vain for old powers and influence as Liverpool sent them emphatically out of the Carling Cup.
And whether it comes from Tibet or Tooting Bec, manager Andre Villas-Boas must find what he is looking for within the next seven days or risk further scrutiny from Chelsea's notoriously impatient owner Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich may not lose sleep over losing a Carling Cup quarter-final, but what will concern him is the obvious decline in Chelsea's performances in recent weeks and growing evidence of glaring weaknesses within their squad.
Winning the Champions League has been something beyond even the powers of Abramovich's mighty chequebook, turning it into the Holy Grail for the Russian. Whatever is missing, Villas-Boas needs to locate it before Valencia arrive at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday.
The Blues need a win or a goalless draw to progress to the familiar territory of the knockout phase. If they do not, both the club and their manager enter the realms of what it is safe to say would have been regarded as the unthinkable when he was appointed.
Villas-Boas was the fresh young face hand-picked by Abramovich to renew Chelsea and make the adjustments required to an ageing squad in need of reconstruction. To even suggest sacking him so soon - and without him having time to seriously address those changes - defies logic.
/football on Youtube brings you the latest football news, transfer rumours and footballing gossip from the English Premier League and European Champions League.
tags
0-2 2-0 chelsea liverpool newcastle avb "premier league news" Football "Premier League" Chelsea Liverpool Villas-Boas "Liverpool F.C." "Chelsea F.C." Andre Villas Boas Carling Cup
Not necessarily the normal pre-match reading at Chelsea - but these are not normal days at a club searching in vain for old powers and influence as Liverpool sent them emphatically out of the Carling Cup.
And whether it comes from Tibet or Tooting Bec, manager Andre Villas-Boas must find what he is looking for within the next seven days or risk further scrutiny from Chelsea's notoriously impatient owner Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich may not lose sleep over losing a Carling Cup quarter-final, but what will concern him is the obvious decline in Chelsea's performances in recent weeks and growing evidence of glaring weaknesses within their squad.
Winning the Champions League has been something beyond even the powers of Abramovich's mighty chequebook, turning it into the Holy Grail for the Russian. Whatever is missing, Villas-Boas needs to locate it before Valencia arrive at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday.
The Blues need a win or a goalless draw to progress to the familiar territory of the knockout phase. If they do not, both the club and their manager enter the realms of what it is safe to say would have been regarded as the unthinkable when he was appointed.
Villas-Boas was the fresh young face hand-picked by Abramovich to renew Chelsea and make the adjustments required to an ageing squad in need of reconstruction. To even suggest sacking him so soon - and without him having time to seriously address those changes - defies logic.
/football on Youtube brings you the latest football news, transfer rumours and footballing gossip from the English Premier League and European Champions League.
tags
0-2 2-0 chelsea liverpool newcastle avb "premier league news" Football "Premier League" Chelsea Liverpool Villas-Boas "Liverpool F.C." "Chelsea F.C." Andre Villas Boas Carling Cup