Andre Villas-Boas will succeed at Chelsea if he is given time

Chelsea are through to the knockout stages of the Champions League after beating Valencia 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas will have breathed a huge sigh of relief at the final whistle.

The young Portuguese boss has came in for some heavy criticism in recent months.

Golden

Before the 34 year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge everything he touched seemed to turn to gold. He was the man with the golden touch, a man who couldn’t do wrong. Yet since he joined the Blues questions have been asked about his managerial ability.

Villas-Boas hasn’t became a bad manager overnight. He is still a very bright, up and coming boss. Villas-Boas has the potential and time to emulate his mentor Jose Mourinho. Mourinho is regarded as one of the best coaches of the modern generation and has always had faith in his protégé.

It says a lot of about Villas-Boas that he is so highly-rated by his compatriot. If Mourinho thinks he’s good you have to respect his opinion.

Big

The summer move to Chelsea was always going to be a big step up from Portuguese football. Chelsea is one of the biggest and hardest jobs in Europe because bosses don’t usually get much time to prove themselves.

However it seems that the Chelsea hierarchy, notably owner Roman Abramovich are set to allow him time to build a side of his own. The Oligarch is tied with legal matters of his own at the moment, so sacking Villas-Boas won’t be at the top of his priority list right now.

Aging

Andre Villas-Boas inherited an aging squad of players when he joined Chelsea. The likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and even John Terry have definitely seen better days. They are still decent players but it’s only natural that their abilities are going to wane slightly as they get older.

Process

Villas-Boas has already started the process of renewing the squad by bringing in the likes of Raul Meireles, Juan Mata and Oriol Romeu. The squad renewal will continue with Nicolas Anelka and Alex both handing in transfer requests recently.

Anelka looks set for a move to Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua, after it was revealed that the players agent is in talks with the Asian side. At 32 Anelka is one of the aging players that Villas-Boas needs to replace.

Until some of the old guard leave this team will never be Villas-Boas’. I think he should be given enough time to build a team of his own at Chelsea.

Admiration

I have written about my admiration for Andre Villas-Boas in the past. However I have always noted with a touch of caution how he will need time to achieve success. At the end of the day he is still only a rookie manager learning his trade.

Media

After the Blues victory over Valencia Villas-Boas had a go at the media for persecuting Chelsea and being unfair on his team. This is one of the factor he should have noted while at Chelsea under Mourinho. The fact that the British media know that negative stories cause more of a stir than positive ones.

At times the British media can be like a dog with a bone, they just can’t let a negative story go. If he sticks around at Chelsea I’m sure Villas-Boas will find a way to deal with the hacks though.

Positive

I’m not a Chelsea fan but for Villas-Boas’ sake I hope the club has turned a corner. I am sure he will turn it around at Chelsea. The last few results have been encouraging and maybe just maybe he will be given the time to succeed at Stamford Bridge.

Will Andre Villas-Boas succeed at Chelsea?