The backing of the club owners at Chelsea Football Club was the main news from the manager, Andre Villas Boas, this week as the London club prepare for The FA Cup visit of Birmingham City in the Fifth Round on Saturday. With the Stamford Bridge club having slipped to fifth in the Premier League and now out of the League Cup, The FA Cup and Champions League represent their best chance of winning a trophy this season for the young Portuguese manager. With the Londoners losing their sixth league game of the season away to Everton last weekend, Villas Boas will need more than the backing of the board over the coming weeks, with rumours rife of an unsettled squad not helping things.
The news on Friday that Villas Boas is now talking of a clear out, will not motivate many of those unhappy players - would be the best guess. It seems the Chelsea manager now feels that there some players that don’t fit with his 'project' and so will depart Stamford Bridge in the near future. Faced with an ageing squad, the Portuguese boss has already offloaded veteran Nicolas Anelka and defender Alex last month. It seems there are more players who know their heads are on the chopping block. Or if they didn't, they will now after their manager said: "Two players have already departed and further will depart in the future and won't make part of the project, which more or less they expect, but this is the reality of any football team."
Villas-Boas has previously admitted that, as a 34-year-old with less than three years' managerial experience, he chooses to include his players in any decision-making process. Despite some appearing to have taken advantage of that, he said: "It's part of my leadership style to evolve on a very, very frontal, honest relationship.
"I think it helps because the leader is showing that there is a two-way leadership process going on - the players and the leader. But there are different styles that have proven successful in the past on a more dictatorial style."
When Villas-Boas admitted on Thursday not all of his players support what he is trying to do at Chelsea he was asked how he dealt with being unpopular, "I don't know where you're getting the idea that I'm unpopular from."
Clearly he was certainly not flavour of the month among the travelling fans at Goodison Park on Saturday during a performance he branded the worst since he took charge. Some supporters were heard to chant "You don't know what you're doing" to which Villas-Boas said: "I don't think Chelsea this season can be represented by what happened against Everton"
He added: "I know I am under pressure for results, but ultimately it is the owner who has to take that decision. From me, there will be no decision to part company with my project for Chelsea."
He added: "I know I am under pressure for results, but ultimately it is the owner who has to take that decision. From me, there will be no decision to part company with my project for Chelsea."
The news that many of his players still text Jose Mourinho will not have helped the uncertainty either, given the Special One’s statement that he will leave Real Madrid to return to the Premier League next season. Or the speculation about Roman Abramovich favourite, Guus Hiddink, is possibly making a return to Chelsea. But the likelihood is that Mourinho will travel elsewhere, with Arsenal's name in the rumour mix – as well as Manchester United.
For the moment though it is a busy weekend in the FA Cup that garners the current focus and for the meeting with Sunderland Arsene Wenger will need all his managerial skills - following the 4-0 drubbing by AC Milan midweek in the Champions League. The meeting with Marin O’ Neill’s revived Sunderland maybe a defining moment for the Frenchman. As if f Mourinho loves London as much as he claims then a stint at The Emirates might make more sense.
Should he become available it might be what the Arsenal board want given that the beautiful football has failed to build on the silverware for a number of years in North London. In fact, it is as far back as the League win of 2004 and 2005 FA Cup that they saw silver ware. In addition to the failure to reach another Champions League final since the 2006 loss to Barcelona.
With the club also talking about a squad clear out, the issue may be whether Wenger himself is now tired of the stick he is receiving, and may lack the appetite to see through the next crop of players. A scenario that would set tongues wagging about Mourinho no doubt.
A few miles across the city, rivals Tottenham Hotspur, face a different type of challenge as they are trying to hold on to their manager in face of England’s call as it seems that Harry Redknapp is the only name in the frame for the England job.
For Euro 2012 it is suggested it could be done as a job share due to the summer break. But should Harry be anyway successful then a full time position will beckon and then create another job opening in London - at White Hart Lane. The names for this job would be interesting and should Chris Hughton continue to do well at Birmingham City, he could find himself back at his old club and in the top job – having been coach for many years.
But for the moment it is all if’s and buts.
One thing Redknapp will know up close and personal, having lived and worked in England for all of his career, and that is the national job is a career ending job for the most part. It is also one that causes reputational damage, be it home spun names or outsiders. As not since the departure of Bobby Robson - after the successful run in the 1990 World Cup - has any Englishman get out of the job intact.
The names of Graham Taylor, Terry Venables, Glen Hoddle, Kevin Keegan and Steve McAllen all conjuring up bad memories for each and all of us. The foreign managers faced little better with Sven Goran Eriksson suffering in the end, as has the dogmatic Fabio Capello more recently.
Fifth Round Proper
12:30 Chelsea VS Birmingham City
15:00 Everton VS Blackpool
15:00 Norwich City VS Leicester City
15:00 Millwall VS Bolton Wanderers
17:15 Sunderland AFC VS Arsenal
Sunday 19 February 2012
12:00 Crawley Town VS Stoke City
14:00 Stevenage VS Tottenham Hotspur
16:30 Liverpool VS Brighton & Hove Albion
