Filed under: Chelsea, Champions League, Premier League, Football
In football, there is pressure and there is real pressure. The former is the kind experienced by Arsene Wenger - one that is perceived to exist by the fact that he hasn't won anything for six years, but isn't really enough to put him out of a job.The latter is the kind that Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is already under. It comes from the knowledge that you are younger than some of the playing staff and you must quickly convince them you know what you are talking about, despite having had just one full season as a top-level manager.
And will be the nagging thought in the back of his mind that if he wants to satisfy Roman Abramovich, the man who ultimately gave him the job, he has to do three things: start well, keep going at the same intensity and finish with the Champions League.
And he also knows that if he fails in any of these, he will be out on your ear quicker than you can say Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The pressure Villas-Boas is under has been highlighted by Marcel Desailly, a former Chelsea captain, who spent six years at Stamford Bridge - the final one being the first under Ambramovich's ownership.
Desailly does not know Villas-Boas personally, but he has been in and around the game long enough for his claims to be listened to. Especially the ones regarding the work the Chelsea manager has to do to gain respect from his players.
And the World cup-winning Frenchman is unconvinced as to whether Villas-Boas has the credibility or experience to convince his star-studded squad that he is the answer to their Champions League problems.
Desailly said: "All the pressure is all on the shoulders of the coach. It's all up to him. The next step is to get the consideration of the players. If I was in the squad like this with a young coach like this with not too much experience, who has had one [successful season] with Porto, it could be a little problem.
"The Chelsea players are really established players. If I was there, a World Cup winner, I would be expecting the coach to show me during the training sessions, and in his substitutions and tactics during games, how clear he is in his vision.
"If he makes any mistake then you will see that they will not follow him. Subconsciously, not necessarily on purpose, they will be thinking that the guy who is supposed to be managing them is not on their level. He has to be clever on how he manages his team."
Desailly added Villas-Boas has little time to convince his players he is in charge, before they stage a mutiny of the sort seen at Liverpool under Roy Hodgson. In fact, according to the former defender, the game could be up by the time they face Manchester United on September 18.
He said: "His first few weeks could be vital. It's vital in that if they don't perform - like Liverpool last year early in the season - the players and their consideration will change. The manager needs the players to follow him, and to follow his vision."
At this juncture it would be customary to end with a glib, sarcastic statement like "no pressure then, Andre". But this time there is. There really is.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/07/29/marcel-desailly-andre-villas-boas-chelsea-pressure/
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