LET us just remind ourselves of his bold mission statement which was so full of promise and ambition.<\/p>\n
The dizzying declaration of intent from Andre Villas-Boas when he was unveiled as Chelsea manager last summer.<\/p>\n
It was all pretty heady stuff. Back then AVB boasted: “We are proud defenders of the beauty of the game.<\/p>\n
“It makes no sense for us to get into a club like Chelsea and play dreadful football.<\/p>\n
“For us, it’s not just a question of winning but winning with a certain flair.<\/p>\n
“Everyone likes attacking football… and our philosophy is it should be entertaining for fans.”<\/p>\n
Clearly, AVB has now realised that is much easier said than done.<\/p>\n
Just compare those regal desires with his actions at lowly Wigan on Saturday.<\/p>\n
An hour gone and his team were a goal to the good, courtesy of an another immaculate finish from Daniel Sturridge, his ninth of the season and fourth in his last five Premier League games.<\/p>\n
Surely this was the hard-fought breakthrough they had been seeking and we would now see the Blues drive on for a fourth successive league victory?<\/p>\n
We would see them turn up the heat on all their title rivals who were not in action until Sunday.<\/p>\n
Especially against a side languishing in the bottom three with only one win at home this season.<\/p>\n
Especially against a leaky Latics team that had conceded 29 goals already this term, with just Blackburn and Bolton letting in more.<\/p>\n
Especially against a goal-shy outfit that had scored just eight league goals at the DW Stadium and 14 in all, the worst strike rate in the top flight.<\/p>\n
And especially considering Wigan had shipped 15 goals without reply in their last three top-flight meetings with the Blues.<\/p>\n
The perfect opportunity then for Chelsea to go on and strut their stuff, to swashbuckle and swagger to victory in the style their manager demands.<\/p>\n
Not just to win the game but win it with a “certain flair”.<\/p>\n
Erm… no! Not even close.<\/p>\n
What did the proud defender of the beautiful game do?<\/p>\n
He tried to win ugly.<\/p>\n
Just seven minutes after taking the lead, he hauled off the expansive Juan Mata and replaced him with the defensive John Obi Mikel.<\/p>\n
Then, with 10 minutes remaining, he replaced the in-form Sturridge, the most threatening player on the pitch.<\/p>\n
And he shamelessly (or should that be shamefully?) shut up shop.<\/p>\n
He parked the bus and hoped his expensively assembled, star-studded squad of millionaires could hold out against the “very, very lethal” threat \u2014 honestly, those are the words he used \u2014 of 18th-placed Wigan.<\/p>\n
And guess what? They failed.<\/p>\n
Jordi Gomez pounced on a cock-up by Petr Cech in the 88th minute to rescue a point.<\/p>\n
Which all left poor Villas-Boas paying the painful penalty for putting pragmatism before his<\/p>\n
supposed principles. But there was no apology. Just a lame effort to explain away his negative approach.<\/p>\n
And what a contrast to the eloquence of those balmy June days.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old shrugged: “We couldn’t hold on to the result that we wanted.”<\/p>\n
Can you believe that? “We couldn’t hold on… ” At Wigan???<\/p>\n
Wait. There is more.<\/p>\n
He said: “We have to take the criticism. It was a fair result to the game because we didn’t push really hard to get a result.”<\/p>\n
Read that last bit again. “We didn’t push really hard to get a result.”<\/p>\n
What an admission.<\/p>\n
And why the hell not?<\/p>\n
AVB explained: “It was a decision we took based on the fact Wigan had a lot of momentum in transition, so if we went in search of the second goal we may have found ourselves exposed. “Even though we scored early in the second half, the best for us was to try and get through the game with a 1-0 and keep our defensive shape.”<\/p>\n
So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth.<\/p>\n
He was scared of Wigan’s “momentum in transition” whatever that is.<\/p>\n
Now if that is AVB’s post-match analysis can you imagine a pre-match team talk? Yawn!<\/p>\n
Well, here is a quick preview.<\/p>\n
Asked about Thursday’s testing trip to Tottenham, the Blues boss said: “Tottenham have been objective about their title hopes for the season and deservingly so.<\/p>\n
“We know they will push hard to try to win the game and it’s going to be another exciting league game.<\/p>\n
“They are a very objective and vertical(?), aggressive, attack-minded team.<\/p>\n
“They play excellent football and the fact the Europa League won’t disturb them any more makes their title challenge even more important.<\/p>\n
“I think they will continue to push hard to be champions, so we have to be aware of their strengths.”<\/p>\n
We all know Spurs’ strength is in attack so if he runs scared of Wigan, what will he do at White Hart Lane?<\/p>\n
Something positive, hopefully, or Roman Abramovich will soon be asking Porto for his \u00a314million back!<\/p>\n
After all “Who expects to stay as Chelsea manager if they don’t win anything?”<\/p>\n
You said it, Andre!<\/p>\n
STAR MAN \u2014 DANIEL STURRIDGE (Chelsea)<\/p>\n
WIGAN: Al Habsi 6, Caldwell 6, Alcaraz 7, Figueroa 6, Stam 6, Jones 5 (Rodallega 4), Diame 7, McCarthy 6, Moses 7, Gomez 6, Sammon 4 (Di Santo 3). Subs not used: Pollitt, Gohouri, Crusat, Watson, McArthur.<\/p>\n
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Bosingwa 5, Ivanovic 6, Terry 7, Cole 6, Romeu 3 (Kalou 3), Lampard 6, Meireles 5, Sturridge 8 (Malouda 2), Drogba 6, Mata 5 (Mikel 2). Subs not used: Turnbull, Torres, Ferreira, McEachran.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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