UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Bayer Leverkusen v Chelsea:ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS spoke of "medium" and "high blocks" as he contemplated how to transform a team toiling in the Premier League into a side capable of securing passage into the knockout phase of the Champions League, though the mention that best summed up his current predicament centred more upon a block of the chopping variety.
“When results like this happen, the head of the manager is called for execution,” he said. “But I’m not worried. I understand that.”
There have been no concerted calls for Chelsea to dismiss a fifth manager in four years, though the Portuguese’s gallows humour revealed the paranoia that invariably grips this club and the fragility within his own set-up as it endures early teething troubles. This team feels set-upon, almost beleaguered, at present.
It was with apt if grim timing that the English FA duly confirmed Villas-Boas had been warned as to his future conduct and fined €13,900 for comments made about the referee Chris Foy after last month’s defeat to QPR, just as he was preparing to take training at the BayArena last night. The Portuguese intends to wait on written reasoning before deciding whether or not to appeal against that sanction, but the fighter in him is unlikely to back down.
This campaign is becoming something of a slog. Throw in the continuing police and FA investigations into John Terry’s conduct and recent domestic toils, with three defeats in four league games leaving Manchester City a dot on the horizon in the title race, and the underlying sense of anxiety feels understandable.
Life has at least proved more comfortable in Group E of the Champions League and victory at Bayer Leverkusen could secure a place in the knockout phase, though there is an acceptance that, for that to happen, improvement is urgently needed.
The players appear to have recognised as much, with Florent Malouda seeking to shift the emphasis away from the management staff and on to an underachieving squad.
“Given how things have gone with different managers, I don’t think the solution is about looking at the manager,” he said. “We are the ones going out on the pitch and performing, in a good or a bad way. We have all the ingredients at the club right now – the board, the technical staff, the manager and the players – to perform.
“We’ve done it in the past. It’s difficult to explain why it’s gone wrong recently, but we were able to compete with the top teams at the start of the season. So there’s no reason to panic. Speaking personally, I need to step up my game more. It’s not been enough, obviously. I need to do more and improve and I’m fully aware of that. . . . I just want to win.”
Villas-Boas appears likely to juggle his options towards achieving that much tonight, though his staunch defence of David Luiz suggested he could yet be tempted to retain the Brazilian in his back-line.
The 24-year-old has featured in all the group games to date but has appeared error-prone too often for comfort.
“He’ll evolve into one of the best central defenders in the world,” said Villas-Boas, who likened David Luiz’s development to that of Gerard Pique since he swapped Manchester United for Barcelona.
His justification for omitting Alex so often this term was more baffling. “We have chosen him in a couple of games, specific games or matches that have a different nature, but we have full trust in his abilities,” said the manager.
Another who has been underused, Nicolas Anelka, was left at home and is set to leave the club in January as he enters the final six months of his contract. Shanghai Shenhua are the latest team to have declared an interest, joining clubs in Major League Soccer as suitors, though others, such as Milan, could tempt him to remain in Europe.
An awkward evening awaits. Leverkusen were no pushovers at Stamford Bridge in September and have improved since. The locals are spying their own route into the knockout stage.
“But the finances in England are completely different to over here,” said the coach, Robin Dutt. “We have to beat the money.”
Guardian Service
