Villas-Boas must step up to the plate to succeed at Chelsea

After Chelsea sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti for failing to bring the Champions League back to London, new gaffer Andre Villas-Boas has a huge task on his hands before he even starts his new job.

He needs to find a successful approach in Europe in order to satisfy Blues owner Roman Abramovich, who craves European domination. If Villas-Boas fails to perform, he could be on the scrapheap like the rest.

However, after the Russian offered the former Porto boss a long-term contract at such a young age, it looks like he is ready to give Villas-Boas time to succeed and bring stability back to the club following the long list of managers that have left Stamford Bridge in previous years. Villas Boas will have to contend with managing a free bet favourite for the Champions League in his first season with the club, and how he deals with that could go a long way to defining his time with Chelsea.

Avram Grant, Luis Felipe Scolari and Ancelotti have all tried and failed to secure the Champions League which has seen them lose their jobs as a result. Villas-Boas will need new tactics and fresh faces to be able to dominate Europe and take Barcelona’s crown.

Villas-Boas has the hunger and age on his side but he will need to inject that enthusiasm into his side to get the very best out of the ageing players at Stamford Bridge. The likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba are all running out of time to win Europe’s prized asset and Villas-Boas will need to work out a formula to get the best out of his most important players.

Chelsea need to be more ruthless on the road in the competition and have to show more determination, much like Manchester United, to get the right results. They need to get the best out of £50 million striker Fernando Torres and make sure he forms a formidable partnership with Drogba up front.

Playing away from home in Europe cries out for wingers to take the game to the opposition and attack on the break. Florent Malouda has shown signs of that in the past but what Chelsea need the most is pace. They need to raise the tempo rather than play more reserved. They need to be more adventurous rather than remaining patient.

The Blues need to take a leaf out of United’s book who know how to play in Europe and justify the free bets that have backed them to succeed on the continent. They seize the moment. They have pace on the wings and have the hunger to succeed. Villas-Boas is young and his enthusiasm and hunger needs to be injected into his side if they are to be successful

Experiencing European football, albeit managing Porto, will be a bonus and the fact he has already worked at Chelsea should see him take no time to settle in which will ease the pressure.

The pressure will be even greater on Villas-Boas considering his mentor Jose Mourinho tried and failed to secure European trimphs at Chelsea but, if he is anything like the special one, the talented Portuguese is likely to re-write the record books and become the youngest manger to ever win the Champions League, which will come as a huge relief to Abramovich.

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3. Is Andre Villas-Boas Set to Bring Porto Stars To Stanford Bridge With Him?
4. Back Chelsea For Champions League Glory
5. Lampard Back as Chelsea Look Strong