Right man, right place, wrong time: AVB at Chelsea

This is the life, you have finally arrived in the big time. After years of plying your trade with small clubs the chance of a lifetime arrives. You are asked to revive the flagging fortunes of a sleeping giant. The flash bulbs go off as your press conference begins.

Scribes hang on your every word as a bright new dawn beckons. You stroll on to the pitch and hoist a scarf above your head, but as the hacks pack away their laptops, reality bites. You get hammered at home by a promoted club. The ever supportive chairman decides to sell your best players. Meanwhile star players revolt when you consign them to the subs bench and the fans take an instant dislike to you. The knives are out and your time is up.

Several Premier League mangers have lived through this nightmare. Today in the start of this week-long feature I'm going to take a look at Andre Villas-Boas' short and unsuccessful reign at Stamford Bridge.

 

ANDRE VILAS-BOAS  CHELSEA

JULY 2011 to FEBRUARY 2012

 

The CV:  Hailed as the new Jose Mourinho, AVB  arrived in a blaze of publicity.  You could understand why the young pretender was compared to the great man.  Villas-Boas was part of he Special One's coaching team at the Bridge. Like his fellow countryman, the Portuguese sprang to prominence at Porto. In his first season the rookie guided Porto to the domestic league title and the Europa League.

 

The Nightmare:  His West London reign began with a 0-0 draw at Stoke City and their Premier League form continued to be patchy. Liverpool won at the Bridge in November, while struggling Aston Villa also breached the Blues' fortress. The young gaffer fell out with Frank Lampard after he dropped the England midfielder.  Chelsea stumbled their way through the group stages of the Champions League.

 

Eyebrows were again raised when the Londoners faced Napoli in the last 16. Lampard and Ashley Cole were both omitted from the starting line-up. Despite taking an early lead the Premier League finally succumbed to a 3-1 defeat in the first leg. Everton piled on the misery when they beat Chelsea at Goodison Park. A week later championship side Birmingham City visited the Bridge. The FA Cup Fifth Round tie ended 1-1 as the home fans called for Mourinho's return. The final straw came when the Blues lost at West Bromwich Albion. The Hawthorns defeat ended his eight-month reign.

 

Iconic Moment: Didier Drogba giving a passionate half time team talk during the cup tie with Birmingham City.

 

What happened Next?  Roberto Di Matteo was appointed interim Chelsea manger. In his first game in charge the London club won the cup replay at St Andrews. The win over Birmingham helped Chelsea reach the FA Cup Final.  Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 to win the cup for the eighth time. Di Matteo also masterminded the amazing second leg victory over Napoli. With Frank Lampard restored to the side Chelsea went on win the Champions League for the first time in their history. The remarkable wins over Barcelona and Bayern Munich will live long in the memory. Di Matteo was appointed permanent Chelsea manager in the summer of 2012. 

 

Villas-Boas got his shot at redemption just as Di Matteo assumed control at the Bridge. The 34-year-old became Tottenham Hotspur manager in July.

 

Tomorrow we will take a look at Roy Hodgson's disastrous spell at Anfield.

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