22 Feb 2012

LFC Legend: AVB is 'done' at Chelsea...

Chelsea Manager Andre Villas Boas is under even more pressure today after last night's Champions League defeat to Napoli. With a worse win percentage than both Avram Grant and Phil Scolari, it seems that the writing is on the wall for the Portuguese, and according to Liverpool legend Steve Nicol, the Chelsea players' lack of trust in their manager is the final nail in AVB's coffin.

Reputed Liverpool targets Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani put Chelsea to the sword last night, and left AVB's future seemingly hanging in the balance.

Speaking to ESPN, Nicol - who recently lost his job as manager of New England Revolution - argued:

"Every time I've watched him [Andre Villas Boas] standing on the touchline recently, he looks like he's alone; he looks like he's on the middle of an island.

"The bottom line when a manager loses the dressing room is that the players stop listening to what you're saying about football. If the players don't trust what you're saying to be correct, then they won't follow you, and they won't do it, and for me, that's what it looks like at Chelsea at the present time.

"If he has lost the dressing room, and the players don't trust him, there isn't any way back. Unless you get rid of the whole squad, and get another lot in, you're done".


I feel sorry for AVB; he's clearly a manager who wants to play football the right way, but as per usual, gigantic, overpaid egos get in the way.

Failing to reach the Champions League this season would be disastrous for Chelsea, but similarly, it would surely be bad for Liverpool too?

If Kenny Dalglish doesn't guide the team into the top four this season it will be Liverpool's third season in a row without Champions League football, which is unheard of.

If Liverpool don't make it this year, it will become even harder to make it next year. After the endless inconsistency this season, Arsenal and Chelsea will inevitably strengthen, and they'll have the money to do so if they finish in the top four.

Both teams will then become even more attractive destinations than Liverpool, purely due to Champions League status, and players that would've come to Anfield will go to Stamford Bridge and The Emirates instead.

I'll try and look on the bright side: Liverpool can do it...can't they?

Jaimie Kanwar


17 comments:

  1. Two words New Castle

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  2. March will tell the story. Hopefully after winning on Sunday we will gain some momentum going into March and if we go into April with a succession of victories we can march on through to the end of the season.
    Momentum is the key to confidence and success, so I rate Sunday's final as critical to our chances.

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  3. It will take a massive effort from all the lads, especially Downing and Carroll. It has to be remembered that Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle are vying for that fourth spot also. Both Chelsea and Arsenal would have to drop points and we would have to capitalise on that - something we have failed to do all season.
    Hopefully our trip to Wembley will be successful one. That will give us a lot of confidence going into the remainder of the season.

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  4. I think this time last year Arsenal weren't so concerned abut the league cup final as they had 3 bigger tournaments to go for. Maybe if they had won it it would have helped them win at least one other trophy, it couldnt have gone any worse than it did. Im hoping Liverpool can have the exact opposite end to the season as they had last time.

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  5. Why do we continue to ignore the lessons from history? SAF took over Man. Utd. in November 1986 and took them to the dizzy heights of 11th in the First Division in his first season . He did not win a trophy for more than three and a half seasons, the FA Cup in 1990. His first title did not arrive for six and a half seasons. It was rumoured in 1990 that he was close to the sack, something that has been 'rubbished' by Martin Edwards recently. The Man.Utd. board stayed patient with him and the rest is very painful history for LFC fans.
    Yes, a new manager can initially 'work wonders' ( Martin O'Neill ) but six months in a job proves absolutely nothing.

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  6. 3rd season in row of no Champions league football is unheard off? come on! 

    Liverpool are on an upward trajectory now over the worse of the H&G malaise. Arsenal and Chelsea are frankly heading the other way. 

    Cheer up. 

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  7. Problem is now a days the people running football clubs treat their managers like they are running a factory and clubs can be turned around in 6 months!

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  8. Of course we can do it

    Roman may yet back AVB, the players that have dictated things for years at Chelsea are pushing on a little now, so the threat of losing them has faded

    Apparently what happened this week is that Roman told AVB to have a team meeting, Cole and Lampard spoke out against the manager so were both dropped

    At least AVB has had the strength of character to drop the upstarts, fair play to him. He has shown real integrity. If he ends up being sacked he will be well compensated

    There's no room for democracy in football management, it's a dictatorship, players shouldn't be molly coddled in the manner Roman Abramovich does

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  9. Then there is the possibility ourselves and Newcastle finish 4th and 5th. If we finish 5th with Newcastle 4th and Chelsea either do not win CL or the FA Cup, there will be no Europe, not even Europa, for Chelsea and Arsenal.

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  10. 4th place is attainable and, as has already been stated, a cup win on Sunday could lift the club and the players could kick on from it. Success breeds success, once the players get a taste of lifting a trophy (and there a lot in the suqad who have never done so) it will give them a mental edge going into games in the future. Let's hope that we lift the cup on Sunday and the players find a new 'drug' they get addicted to.

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  11. SAF wasn't given a 100 mill (or its equivalent in 1986) to start with.

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  12. The reality is that most fans HOPE we can do it but the reality is that THE PREM TABLE DOESN'T LIE.

    On form we are not going to make 4th spot.

    The question is do the OWNERS accept a League CUP final as a return on there considerable investment last summer?

    The fans maybe Nostalgic about Kenny but the owners will not be .
    John Henry expects Champions League as a return and thus far we are not near that.

    Football has changed and the REALITY is that Premier League Titles and Champions League titles are the BENBCH MARK of a clubs success.
    The League Cup and FA CUP are secondary consolation prizes.

    I see the shift from fans trying to suggest that two cups and no champions league football for the 4th year in a row are acceptable.
    WHY ? Cus its KENNY.
    So I say again that many fans are BIAS & NOSTALGIC.

    As I have stated on here many times I think Kenny will buy himself some time through the summer and when it becomes clear we are not anywhere near the CL places come this XMAS he'll go.

    You wanted KENNY you got him ...now live with the results of that.
    Many of you will change your mind towards the end of this season and the beginning of next when you realise we are no where near the CL places.

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  13. Seems you are not learning anything from the chelsea disaster. Sack Kenny, bring someone else and if doesn't settle in straight away ? What to do ?

    I would rather give Kenny more time. Let one manager settle in and do steady progress. At the moment, Progress is slow for Liverpool but it is definitely there and should continue, unlike Chelsea and Arsenal.

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  14.  Who would you rather was our manager then, or would you rather we had stuck with Roy?
    Where would we be then if we had? I'll give you the answer to that one; calling for him to be sacked, that's where!

    The club IS moving forward, albeit slower than the majority of us would have liked to see. I agree with RedHeart, below, we're not wanting to fall into the same category as Chelsea and have a revolving door policy with managers.

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  15. Correct, it is wishful thinking to say that we will make 4th place. It can be done but there is no reason to suggest that we will do it when the teams above us, Arsenal and Chelsea, will be ahead of us even if we beat them when they come to Anfield.

    It's unacceptable that we are not ahead of the two London teams having a nightmare. We've had no Europe to consider, less injuries, arguably, and no players going to the african nations cup, yet we still trail them.

    AVB has been stabbed in the back by, possibly, the most egotistical set of players in the league.

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  16. I would rather our Manager didn't adopt a buy British Policy.

    I would rather our Manager had some European success as a Manager

    I would rather our Manager had not been out of the game for 10 years.

    The appointment of KD was wrong then and it's wrong now as said the results and table don't lie.
    I never wanted Roy and think it was a mistake to dismiss RAFA.
    When that was donde under the previous regime they opted for a manager who was not suited.

    I though KD was the RIGHT appointment on a TEMPORARY BASIS until the end of last season.

    I stand by that and thus far I see no reason to change that given the results and table.

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  17. We buy British in anticipation of stricter homegrown rules and because you are less likely to suffer problems like Carlos Tevez routinely has

    Thus far you see no reason to change your mind, so if we win 5 out of next 6 you will change your mind?

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