Under Fire Premier League Managers – who is next to be sacked?
After yesterday’s 3-0 win against Newcastle United at the newly renamed Sports Direct Arena that was, and still is to most people, St James Park, young Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas will be given a stay of execution. That is until Tuesday night when they need to avoid losing or a high scoring draw against Valencia in the Champions League to go through to the knockout stage and with it the money and prestige that Chelsea have come to expect since owner Roman Abramovich took over at Stamford Bridge.
The win against Newcastle came as pressure mounted on the young manager’s shoulders after being knocked out of the League Cup last Tuesday with an awful performance against Liverpool.
AVB continues his quest to play exciting attack-minded football with a high defensive line. But with a slow defence this appears to be causing Chelsea as many problems on the field as their over-inflated egos. I believe Villa-Boas needs to address the ‘clear as day’ fact that while John Terry continues to show his strength as a natural born leader, his pace is letting the side down, while central defensive partner David Luiz is a defensive liability.
The victory must have caused Andre Villas-Boas a sigh of relief even though he has continued to state to the media that he is still confident he has Roman Abramovich’s backing and fully expects to be at Chelsea for the next three years. Whether he honestly believes this or not, it will surely be a grave concern to know that Villas-Boas has the worst start of any manager at Chelsea since Abramovich took over; and he is not known for his patience!
It’s a job made even more difficult by the fact that Chelsea want instant success. I remember this time last year Carlo Ancelotti saying these very words as the pressure began to mount on his Stamford Bridge future. Success for Chelsea and Roman Abramovich is to win trophies, especially the quest to win the Champions League. Failure is to win nothing and not qualify for next season’s Champions League. But at the same time, Chelsea have not been able to replicate the level of success with gradual first team changes in the same way as Arsenal and Manchester United. But time has run out for Chelsea. Now is the time to go with the likes of Sturridge, Mata, Torres, Romeu, Meireles and buy one or two solid central defenders – Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka in January.
Steve Kean can also rest in peace today after Blackburn Rovers beat Swansea 4-2 with Yakubu scoring all four goals in a rare treat for home fans that lifts Blackburn off the bottom of the Premier League table.
So while Sunderland appointed Martin O’Neil as their new manager yesterday, after sacking Steve Bruce in the week, who will be the next Premier League manager to lose his job? If it was down to the voice of the fans then it would be between Aston Villa’s Alex McLeish and Wolves manager Mick McCarthy.
Wolves play Sunderland today; and while Martin O’Neil will be watching from the stands while assistant manager Eric Black takes charge today, Mick McCarty will be under the spotlight of owners and fans once again. If Wolves lose to fellow strugglers Sunderland today at Molineux you might not need to read the football betting tips on BettingExpert.