Six things Andre Villas-Boas must do at Chelsea – in roughly chronological order.

1. Break the association with Mourinho

Even The Special One, with all of his pomp and arrogance, was referred to as “The Translator” when things didn’t go to plan. Mourinho’s stint at Barcelona was variously described as anything from Bobby Robson’s translator, to assistant manager. The fact that Villas-Boas was Mourinho’s assistant at Porto, Chelsea and Inter. It will weigh heavy on people’s minds, and Villas-Boas will need to mark his boundaries quickly. Many of Mourinho’s signings remain at Stamford Bridge, and others that were favourites of his. Players such as Drogba, Terry, Lampard, and Kalou will remember him from Mourinho days, and he will either have to immediately command their respect, or else there will be a problem with player power. Mourinho combated player power by ensuring that no ego was bigger than his own. His “Special One” press conference is rightly legendary. Villas-Boas has already sought to distance himself and differentiate himself from Mourinho. He achieved this by opting for a far lower-key initial press statement of “don’t expect something from one man”. Unfortunately, that is exactly why Abramovich has paid £13.3 million to buy out his contract at Porto. Abramovic expects Villas-Boas to deliver. The national press is already full of comparison pieces about Villas-Boas and Mourinho. The comparisons even go down to the way that both managers foster close relationships with their players.

2. Find replacements for Terry, Lampard and Drogba

John Terry is only 30, but he is showing signs of creakiness already. He was never one to rely on pace, admittedly. But when the little pace he has goes, he needs to be moved on. Most central defenders would be hitting their peak at his age, but John Terry seems to be past his.

However, more to the point, he’s a disruptive influence in the dressing room. Having publically stated that he would welcome the appointment of Guus Hiddink, Terry has let it known that Villas-Boas was not his first choice.

Drogba is also one of the most outspoken players in the dressing room. His powers have waned over the last two seasons, he’s no longer the force he was on the pitch. At 33, he’s in the twilight of his career, and may want to return to the French League for a swansong of sorts. One player already linked with Chelsea is Columbian 25 year old Radamel Falcao, who has scored 73 goals in 85 appearances for Porto in the last two seasons – including a record 18 in 15 in the Europa League.

Lampard is another who’s powers are on the wane. Replacing Lampard is less of a political issue than it is in the case of Drogba and Terry. Frank Lampard undoubtedly has a huge influence on the dressing room, but is also known to be a highly intelligent professional. Lampard in his prime never missed a game, and could guarantee 20 goals a season. His replacement is more of a tactical renewal, with another of Villas-Boas’ Porto stars Moutinho touted as his successor. The Portuguese midfielder is more versatile than Lampard. He also shares with Frank Lampard an apparent imperviousness to injury.

Villas-Boas will no doubt wish to bring players in, and will be backed in the transfer market by Roman Abramovich. My guess is that he’ll look to replace the aging spine of the team, and with that he’ll ensure that the biggest voices in the dressing room are his men, not Mourinho’s. He needs to get his buys during the summer, so that they can gel with the existing players.

3. Hit the ground running

Managing a top side in the Premier League is not an easy thing to do. Managing Chelsea in particular is turning into somewhat of a poisoned chalice. Just ask World Cup winning manager Big Phil Scolari, he was ousted before completing a season. With a billionaire owner who appears to be becoming increasingly restless and ruthless, and has proven that he’s prepared to fork out the money required to get rid of people before their contract runs down.

4. Win over the media

Sorry to mention him again, but Mourinho is the man with whom the parallels are being drawn. The media’s obsession with Villas-Boas being a “Mini-Mourinho” will not satisfy itself until he proves otherwise, or implodes under pressure. Mourinho had the press pack hanging off his every word and Villas-Boas will do well to avoid trying to be him. And he seems to be doing this already. An interview with Chelsea TV quotes him as saying “Don’t expect something from one man”, and he comes across as very quietly self-confident. But, pressure in England is far higher than in Portugal. The scrutiny of the media has often proved too much for some managers of big clubs, some are merely perplexed by it all.

Villas- Boas is young, good looking, stylish and intelligent – I hope for his sake that he’s given some time to establish himself.

5. Entertain

Porto’s unbeaten league campaign of 2010/11 produced 73 goals from 30 games. They conceded only 16, giving them a goal difference 27 higher than second placed Benfica. This is where Villas-Boas can really show his form, and step out from Mourinho’s shadow. His favoured formation at Porto was an attacking 4-3-3, and the players are there at Chelsea to be able to play any formation the manager asks them to – they certainly get paid enough to anyway! Villas-Boas will want to play the game his way, and that should make for exciting times at Chelsea. Villas-boas is famed for his meticulous approach to the game. Nothing is left to chance, and he develops game plans to exploit the opposition’s weaknesses.

6. Win everything

That means everything.

With an aging squad, a club might be expected to go through a transitional period of a season and a half, before the manager brings in enough of his own players and staff to get things running the way he wants.

However, this is not the case with Chelsea.

Abramovich will want to see returns this season. Some of Villas-Boas predecessors have been fired for not winning silverware in a season. Avram Grant was sacked for almost delivering. A League Cup final defeat by Tottenham, a Champions League Final defeat in the most agonising of circumstances, and a second place in the league wasn’t good enough.

Abramovich has only given the Villas-Boas a three year contract, so I’d expect that he’d want to see the Premier League title back at Chelsea within the first two years, along with the Champions League that has so far evaded him.

There is absolutely no doubt, Roman Abramovich cares about reputations. He’s brought the most hotly tipped managerial talent to Chelsea. But as he’s proven time and time again, he’s got no qualms about destroying reputations if he doesn’t get what he wants – and that’s a success in Europe.

This piece was written by Thomas Nash, you can follow him on Twitter - @MrThomasNash

Things you may like to read

The Eternal Struggle - http://tiny.cc/1hl0v

The Quest for the Holy Grail taken to a new level - http://tiny.cc/0cxnu

Andre Villas - Boas Scouting report v Newcastle 2005 - http://tiny.cc/yktki

David Luiz provides the most Hilarious post match interview in a long time!

David Luiz has proven so far to be a great signing for Chelsea. His great defending along with this attacking instincts have made him a hit in England so far.

But his behaviour in this interview is hilarious! He simply cant stop moving his head with agreement!



David Luiz has funny hair. But he also seems to be a very very funny guy!

England's new 4-3-3 system, the platform for English success? Part One - The positives

The last two games have seen England being far more dynamic and more exciting to watch. Perhaps this was something the team lacked in South Africa. But there are potential reasons for England fans to get excited. However, they must take everything with a pinch of salt. The new system is only two games old and there clearly isn’t the cohesion and understanding like the world champions Spain. The new system has given everyone some food for thought.

I am going to post a three part series which takes a little tour on the positives and the negatives of England’s new system. And I will show who I think England should field in their new 4-3-3 system.

Part One - The Positives

The high pressing system England used against Ghana and Wales was impressive. It made England dictate the tempo and become far more assertive on the game. In the Wales game Jack Wilshere and Frank Lampard, the two central midfielders, were far more progressive. This therefore resulted in England penning Wales back into their own half. As the two central midfielders were looking to find space to thread balls through and get into offensive positions.

The progressive nature of Wilshere and Lampard was partly due to the great holding midfield performance of Scott Parker. Parker used the ball well and won a number of crucial challenges to stop Wales’ attacks at the root. In the Ghana game it was the same with Gareth Barry. Barry, protected the defensive line effectively and played simple but important passes. Both players stretched the play as well. This enabled England to attack via the flanks. The two games showed how crucial the holding midfield role is for England. Arguably, in the World Cup when Gareth Barry was overrun by Germany’s Thomas Muller, it meant England could not be as offensive as a team. As Barry needed support to contain Muller and co. But that’s not to say the result was Gareth Barry’s fault. No way, it’s simply a resulting factor which occurs if the other team sets the tempo and imposes themselves on the game, which Germany did fantastically.

It was clear that Wales weren’t expecting England to play with a high pressing system. The Welsh played two holding midfielders, perhaps they did this to stop Lampard, Wilshere and Ronney from supporting Bent. But another reason to play two holding midfielders was that it would give Wales a better chance of keeping the ball and trying to control the tempo. However, the two holding Welsh players gave England more confidence in their pressing game. As Wales’s defensive midfield duo, Andrew Crofts and Joe Ledley were so deep in their own half. This meant Wilshere and Lampard could close the pair down in offensive positions. This resulted in Wales playing even more deeper and England being far more imposing the Welsh half.

The 4-3-3 system allows England to be far more dynamic. The team can mix their strategy styles effectively whilst using the formation. A criticism before and during the World Cup was that England were far too rigid. This meant there was little creativity and the team was too predictable. However, what surprised me in the last two England games was how quickly England could change from playing the ball through the middle and playing with width. The team showed they could easily variate between the two. Against Ghana, especially in the first half, England kept the ball nicely in the middle. But one quick pass out wide and then England were asking serious questions of Ghana. The dynamic strategy used by England shows for the first time in a long time, that England are trying to utilise their pace. For me, England aren’t the most technically gifted team in the world. They can’t pass the ball as fluently as some other international teams. But England have a variety of different players who are fast and can instantly put the opposition on the back foot because of their sheer pace.

This adds another weapon to England’s armour. If England want to predominantly through the middle which they did against Wales. It allows England to have the option to quickly pass the ball out wide to a galloping Glen Johnson or Ashley Cole. Or of course, the wingers. This instantly would give England another offensive strategy to stretch the play. And because of England’s fantastic pace on the wings it makes England far more threatening and dangerous, to cut open the defence.

In both the Ghana and Wales game it was clear England wanted the ball to go through the midfield. This was evident as both holding midfielders, Barry and Parker (in the two separate games) had a lot of the ball. Furthermore, Lampard and Wilshere against Wales were continoulsy on the ball, passing and probing. This meant that England were more progressive on the ball. As it lead to England being able to impose a highline and push Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole higher up the pitch. Furthermore, the fact England were in control of poession it resulted in England passing the ball around warreing Wales down.

However, England’s system used a mixture of passing. Against Wales, England played predominantly short passes, but the team were willing to go long if the option was open. When Wales pushed their defensive line higher and tried to venture in the England half, the likes of Rooney, Wilshere and Lampard attempted long balls to get Bent quickly behind the Welsh line. In fact, the second England goal was a result of a brilliant mixture of passing. Glen Johnson’s great ball over the top to Ashley Young, resulted in an simple tap in for Darren Bent.

In the Ghana game, England started Andy Carroll as the central striker. To England’s praise they didn’t continuously play the ball long to Carroll’s head. This was rather refereshing. As it made England more unpredictable. The team looked to play the ball through the midfield and have Carroll hold the ball up, while the team progresses forward. But when England did play it long, they did it at crucial times. They did it when England had men in and around Carroll thus meaning he could effectively flick the ball to his team mates.

The new system England have adopted has the potential to make England a nightmare to mark and track. The fact England could interchange the striker roles and the midfield roles meant that England have the element of surprise in their game. Upfront England could have every now and then swapped Rooney for Bent in the central striking role, with Bent coming out wide. Or even swapped Young for Rooney, resulting in the two players switching flanks. This has the impact to cause confusion amongst the opposition defence. It also has the consequence to make England more effective in cutting in from the wings as there potentially could be more space for exposure.

Part Two will be released on Wednesday 13th April.