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Three out of four Goal.com readers say Chelsea must NOT sack Andre Villas-Boas even if they crash out of Champions League
The Blues' fate is hanging in the balance ahead of the clash, but even if they crash out of Europe's elite club competition, you believe the Portuguese boss should stay
6 Dec 2011 12:51:00
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POLL
By Chris Myson
Three out of four Goal.com readers believe Andre Villas-Boas should remain as Chelsea manager even if the Blues crash out of the Champions League to Valencia on Tuesday night.
Villas-Boas is under pressure as his side go into a potentially season-defining match against the Spaniards at Stamford Bridge, knowing only a victory or a goalless draw will be enough to avoid elimination.
As Chelsea started their current bad run of form, the Portuguese boss pointed to the fact they were still in the running to win all four major competitions. Since then, however, they have fallen further behind in the Premier League and exited the League Cup to Liverpool.
Despite the morale-boosting 3-0 win over Newcastle United at the weekend, they sit 10 points adrift of runaway leaders Manchester City at the top and it appears the feature of this campaign will be a battle to ensure automatic Champions League qualification rather than a serious league title challenge.
The FA Cup does not start until January, which means all attentions are on the Champions League – a tournament which remains the Holy Grail to the Blues and their owner, Roman Abramovich.
Defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in their previous group match means their meeting with Valencia could result in them being dumped out of Europe’s elite club competition and into the Europa League.
This would mean their season - at least in terms of winning the biggest trophies they are fighting for - was as good as over at the start of December. While a victory could turn everything around, ensuring Chelsea are in the last 16 and giving Villas-Boas valuable time to resurrect their league campaign and exert his influence over a longer period, it remains to be seen what failure to progress would mean.
As a result, we asked you whether Abramovich should pull the trigger and fire Villas-Boas if the unthinkable Champions League exit took place or if he should keep faith with the man he trusted this summer.
In an overwhelming response, 75.92 per cent of readers felt Villas-Boas had to stay at Stamford Bridge regardless of what happened against Valencia – a huge consensus in opinion.
Only 13.45% said the coach would have to go if Chelsea failed to reach the knockout stages, while the other 10.63% said they would have to wait until they saw how the performance was before making a final decision.
AVB should be given time whatever he says about challenging for trophies this season. There has been too much sack and change. Give him the season at least to show some progress. That being said, even if AVB was sacked that does not mean the change in personnel at Chelsea would stop. If Hiddink was brought in he would be familiar with CFC and many of the players owing to his previous experience and his friendship with Roman. Overall though AVB should stay - he has had too little time. – David, Edinburgh.
They brought in AVB to "change" Chelsea, Abramovich cannot expect him to work miracles. He couldn’t just let go of all the veterans in the team because he didn’t know what worked and what didn’t. He needs time – Barcelona wasn’t built in a day. – Jose, NY.
We should stick with AVB, everyone needs time, even Fergie - he was almost sacked before he won the cup in the early 90's. AVB is clearly an extremely talented manager tactically, and Chelsea will be so much better off by sticking with him. – James, London.
Sacking AVB for me would mean a lack of vision because they hired him to change the way Chelsea play their football and that cannot be done in under a season. So they should at least give him one more year, we are Chelsea for better or worse. – Metu, Lagos.
If Chelsea fail to beat Valencia then AVB should be made to face the music. We can’t continue like we are at the moment, something has to be done if they fail to qualify. - Sylva, Kaduna.
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By Chris Myson
Three out of four Goal.com readers believe Andre Villas-Boas should remain as Chelsea manager even if the Blues crash out of the Champions League to Valencia on Tuesday night.
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Villas-Boas is under pressure as his side go into a potentially season-defining match against the Spaniards at Stamford Bridge, knowing only a victory or a goalless draw will be enough to avoid elimination.
As Chelsea started their current bad run of form, the Portuguese boss pointed to the fact they were still in the running to win all four major competitions. Since then, however, they have fallen further behind in the Premier League and exited the League Cup to Liverpool.
Despite the morale-boosting 3-0 win over Newcastle United at the weekend, they sit 10 points adrift of runaway leaders Manchester City at the top and it appears the feature of this campaign will be a battle to ensure automatic Champions League qualification rather than a serious league title challenge.
The FA Cup does not start until January, which means all attentions are on the Champions League – a tournament which remains the Holy Grail to the Blues and their owner, Roman Abramovich.
Defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in their previous group match means their meeting with Valencia could result in them being dumped out of Europe’s elite club competition and into the Europa League.
This would mean their season - at least in terms of winning the biggest trophies they are fighting for - was as good as over at the start of December. While a victory could turn everything around, ensuring Chelsea are in the last 16 and giving Villas-Boas valuable time to resurrect their league campaign and exert his influence over a longer period, it remains to be seen what failure to progress would mean.
As a result, we asked you whether Abramovich should pull the trigger and fire Villas-Boas if the unthinkable Champions League exit took place or if he should keep faith with the man he trusted this summer.
In an overwhelming response, 75.92 per cent of readers felt Villas-Boas had to stay at Stamford Bridge regardless of what happened against Valencia – a huge consensus in opinion.
Only 13.45% said the coach would have to go if Chelsea failed to reach the knockout stages, while the other 10.63% said they would have to wait until they saw how the performance was before making a final decision.
HAVE YOUR SAY
AVB should be given time whatever he says about challenging for trophies this season. There has been too much sack and change. Give him the season at least to show some progress. That being said, even if AVB was sacked that does not mean the change in personnel at Chelsea would stop. If Hiddink was brought in he would be familiar with CFC and many of the players owing to his previous experience and his friendship with Roman. Overall though AVB should stay - he has had too little time. – David, Edinburgh.
They brought in AVB to "change" Chelsea, Abramovich cannot expect him to work miracles. He couldn’t just let go of all the veterans in the team because he didn’t know what worked and what didn’t. He needs time – Barcelona wasn’t built in a day. – Jose, NY.
We should stick with AVB, everyone needs time, even Fergie - he was almost sacked before he won the cup in the early 90's. AVB is clearly an extremely talented manager tactically, and Chelsea will be so much better off by sticking with him. – James, London.
Sacking AVB for me would mean a lack of vision because they hired him to change the way Chelsea play their football and that cannot be done in under a season. So they should at least give him one more year, we are Chelsea for better or worse. – Metu, Lagos.
If Chelsea fail to beat Valencia then AVB should be made to face the music. We can’t continue like we are at the moment, something has to be done if they fail to qualify. - Sylva, Kaduna.
Follow Chris Myson on
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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Goal.com Poll
Poll runs from 5 Dec 2011 to 6 Dec 2011
Poll runs from 5 Dec 2011 to 6 Dec 2011
Should Chelsea sack AVB if they crash out of the Champions League?
No - he would deserve time to turn things around
75.88%
Yes - it would mean our season was as good as over
13.5%
Not sure - it would depend on how bad the Valencia match was
10.62%
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