New Chelsea Manager Must be Given Time to Build and Succeed

This summer Andres Villas-Boas has taken the most difficult job in football, becoming manager of Chelsea FC. The wealthy London club don’t have the best repertoire of hiring and firing managers due to their multi-millionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovic’s desire for glory. However, winning the Barclay's Premier League or the FA Cup will not satisfy Abramovic, as former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti cruelly discovered in May. Having proved his success at his former club AC Milan and winning two trophies in his first season as Chelsea Manager, Ancelotti was fired for coming second in the league in his second season but mainly for losing a quarter final in the Champions League to arch rivals Manchester United. This cruel act of power displayed by Roman Abramovic demonstrates that the Russian’s iron fist rules Stamford Bridge and no matter how close you are to fulfilling his wishes, if you fail to become the champions of Europe then you will discover the harsh consequences. But although Ancelotti was unsuccessful at bringing the Holy Grail to Stamford Bridge, he was still a successful and experienced manager prior to being appointed by The Blues. This was also the case for other previous Chelsea managers such as Phillip Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Jose Mourinho. That is why it is so interesting and intriguing as to why Mr Abramovic has placed his faith in unproven 33 year old Andres Villas-Boas. Although he had a great debut in management last year with top European club in FC Porto, he does not have the experience that is so crucial to becoming successful at the highest level. However, it does now finally appear that Roman Abramovic has invested in the future by hiring such a young coach. Furthermore, it also appears that AVB wants to add young blood to his aging squad. Chelsea have made 4 signings this summer and at 23, creative Spanish midfielder Juan Mata is the eldest of these. This clearly indicates Villas-Boas' desire to build for the future at Stamford Bridge. Mata's signing has been hailed as a great success for the London club, with the Spaniard showing promise to becoming one of the finest midfielders in European football. Mata left Valencia for a reported £23.5million which makes him Chelsea's most expensive signing of the summer so far. Having also recruited Romelu Lukaku from Belgian club Anderlecht and still hot on the pursuit of Tottenham's Luka Modric, Andres Villas-Boas clearly wishes to add more younger players with creativity to the club. If Abramovic gives his newest employee time to adjust as Chelsea manager and bond with his players like Mourinho was able to then Chelsea could become a more dominant force in England as well as Europe. Andres Villas-Boas needs this reassurance as much as the players in order to form a winning relationship both off and on the field.

Another Season to Remember

So week one of the Premier League is over and already a familiar pattern can be seen. Once again Manchester United seem like the team to beat although they will be closely followed by money spending rivals Chelsea and Manchester City. Whereas, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool will battle for that all important fourth spot. Mike Ashley appears likely to continue to struggle to bond with the Geordie faithful, no matter how often he wears his Newcastle top accompanied by his infamous plastic beer glass. And Blackburn's rapid decline will see them witness another agonizing May. Yet although there are these similarities between last season and this one, football fans can look forward to witnessing just why the English Barclay's Premier League is the best football league in the world for entertainment.

Although there were not as many goals in the first week compared to previous seasons, the games did not fail to disappoint. Alex Ferguson has once again proven 'you are never too old' by beginning the 2011/12 campaign in style. His summer signings, particularly Ashley Young, look to become important factors in retaining the coveted Premier League trophy. His shrewd activities in the transfer market have given his side a whole new style. Although this may also be due to Wayne Rooney's new hair implants. After cruising past West Brom at The Hawthorn's, Man Utd look to have hit the ground running and seem in good form for a tough August. Over at the Britannia Stadium where Stoke City hosted title challengers Chelsea a new player turned out for the blues wearing the number 9 shirt. Fernando Torres didn't get on the score sheet but it certainly wasn't from lack of trying. He seemed much like the old Torres, making intelligent runs, holding the ball up well for his team mates and shooting at goal whenever he got the chance. If his confidence continues improving then Roman Abramovic will have a genuine reason for displaying his smug Russian grin as his £50million investment will finally appear to be paying off.

With La Liga gaining one of the biggest stars of the Premier League in Cesc Fabregas, it looks like England may have gained another player of that calibre after he moved in the opposite direction. Sergio Aguero's mesmerising debut against Swansea will have the little Argentines name on every Manchester City's fans' lips and replacing Carlos Tevez on the back of their shirts. Being dubbed the 'next Maradona' earlier in his career propelled the forward into the spotlight. But after performances like this one, those similarities do not seem so far apart.

Down at the other end of the table there are six teams all with a high chance of facing the drop come May. Along with the newcomers Blackburn, Wolves and Wigan will once again face a nail biting end to the season. I personally don't believe either Norwich, Swansea or QPR have the strength in depth to be able to challenge in this league and all three could make an unwelcome return to The Championship next season.

With the pressure on each team higher than ever it would appear that this season will be the most unpredictable, controversial and excitable season of the Premier League era.

Change the Toon

In recent years it seems like any news coming out of St James’ Park is bad news. Since Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship in 2009 the northern club have continued to struggle in an unstable fashion. Although their promotion back into the Premier League made the Newcastle faithful believe that their luck had changed, things continue to spiral out of control at a club once contending for the title only a few years ago. Having already sold Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan, it appears that Newcastle are prepared to let another star name, Joey Barton, leave the club. Having criticised the clubs ambition on his twitter account for selling key players, it now looks as though Joey Barton will be following his former team mates out the exit door. Today the official club website issued a statement stating that “Joey Barton has been placed on the transfer list today (Monday). The player has been advised that he can leave the club on a free transfer”. Placing Joey Barton on the transfer list as a result of his recent controversial twitter posts is clearly debatable, but allowing him to leave on a free transfer is absurd. Last season Newcastle’s three best players were Carroll, Nolan and Barton and now the already troubled club will begin next season without any of these players. I find it hard to believe that the club owner can continue to anger the teams’ fans by making rash and questionable decisions. It is already common knowledge that Mike Ashley is not popular amongst the toon army, yet he has only himself to blame. Sure, what Barton publicly declared may have been unprofessional, but he was only saying what everyone else was thinking. It is also clear that Barton loves this club and is fearful of it being harmed by a board of spoilt businessmen. After receiving the news that he will be leaving the club in the coming weeks, Joey Barton responded in a noble fashion stating on his twitter account “I am on a free but the honour of wearing those B+W stripes, surpasses that. One day the board might realise, what the shirt signifies. HONOUR and PRIDE. Thanks for your continued support. #toonarmy." This act of loyalty to the club will surely only cause more protests by angry supporters for allowing one of their best players to leave.

 With the days of Keegan, Ginola and Shearer long gone, it appears that the patriotic fans of Newcastle United should be prepared for things to get worse before they get better. That is, of course, if Mike Ashley remains in charge.