Chelsea vs. Manchester United: 5 Reasons the Draw Means the End for Villas-Boas

Sunday’s match at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Manchester United was hyped as the premier game of the weekend and it lived up to that billing. The hosts were on top 3-0 early into the second half, before a pair of costly penalties let United back into the game. The comeback would be completed as Javier Hernandez again victimized the Chelsea defense scoring the game tying goal with under 10 minutes to go.

On a competition level this effectively ends any feinting hopes Chelsea may have had a regaining the Premier League title. Now 14 points back of league leaders Manchester City, it is all but mathematically certain they are done.

But on a more personal level it marked the end of any optimism I have for this team and the prospects of Andre Villas-Boas.

I have been harsh on the new manager as I believe his tactics and decisions have just set up this team to fail. However, I have always expressed that dissatisfaction with a bit of hope realizing that I would indeed be a fan if the results begin to turn in his favor. After all, I am a fan of the club first and foremost.

But the result Sunday left too big of a dark cloud over Stamford Bridge for me to shine any kind of light on.

Here are five reasons why their latest results indicate the failed experiment of Andre Villas-Boas.

An Inexplicable Use (or Lack Thereof) of Youth

For his entire first season in charge a Chelsea, Villas-Boas has struggled to get the results expected of the club. He is well on his way to giving Chelsea their worst record in almost a decade in the league. We as fans have defended this poor form under the guise of some “revolutionary” sense he brings to the club, that youth will be played, experimented and ultimately given the chance to take over for the future.

It is obvious that this is the route he is going. His purchases this summer, all but one under the age of 24. This winter saw him buy three more players 18, 20 and 26 years old.

Chelsea is an aging team indeed. The core of those great squads from the mid-2000s are all into their early 30s and surely do not have more than a handful of years left in their legs. Change must occur in all sports and as hard as it may be to swallow, it requires the ousting of legends.

But if we look closely at what Villas-Boas is actually doing on the pitch we can begin to see that the veil of “revolution” is merely a thin lace one at best and the truth is that Villas-Boas is not utilizing youth he purchased at all.

Out of the top 15 players in appearances only Juan Mata and Oriol Romeu figure in that list and are Villas-Boas purchase for the future. Both have performed well and justified their price tags, but the others remain aloof at the club or abroad.

Take for example Romelu Lukaku. Now at 18 years old, there is little doubt that he is not yet quite ready for the Premier League. But at the same time, is Fernando Torres ready for the Premier League any more. The Spaniard went his 18^th straight game yesterday without a goal and other than an excellent cross to Mata was largely ineffective, again.

With Drogba gone on international duty, I do not understand why Lukaku is not given a chance. He does have nine largely inglorious appearances on the season, but most he was put on late and out of position (something I will get to later).

The Chelsea attack has been abysmal this season. Drogba, Sturridge and Frank Lampard lead the way in scoring, but it is only at a measly 0.4 goals per appearances for each. Lukaku may not have the ability and skill that the other forwards do, but right now none of them are finding the net.

 If Villas-Boas was really building for the future, why not have your goalless forward be someone with a bright future.

And that is only talking about players on the team right now. What about those who are out on loan, namely Josh McEachran and Kevin DeBrunye.

McEachran has an excellent preseason in most opinions and was expected to finally begin to take over for Lampard. Not that Lampard would be shunned away, but more that in lesser competitions and games, McEachran would get the call.

Instead, he was only able to gather two starts while wearing the blue this season, before being loaned out to Swansea in January.

De Brunye was purchased with the expectations that he would remain at Genk the rest of the season. However, he recently suggested that he was not sure about his future with Chelsea, whether or not he will be playing at Stamford Bridge next season or on loan again.

I am all for loaning youngsters out if they are not playing, but when your midfield is a hot mess as Chelsea’s, what is the point in letting your two midfielders of the future play for a different system. Like Lukaku, if you are going to fail, fail, but with the future in mind.

A Tactical Genius? Hardly

There is no shame in being bested by one of the all-time great managers. Many have fallen on the sword of Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatness. But when you somehow fall on that sword from a position where your own is on his throat ready to make the kill, then you should be shamed into exile.

I will admit, I had little confidence going into the match yesterday and why should I? Chelsea had been outplayed the first time around, were going into the contest in poor form and their best striker was not available to them.

However, my worries were eased by Sturridge’s move that led to the own goal off of Johnny Evans. They were then changed to a smile as Mata buried his volley. Finally they were whisked away as Luiz put in the third.

This just seemed like Chelsea’s day. All the things that had gone wrong for them both the mismanagement and poor play was finally going to leave them if not just for this one night to give them a solid victory they can begin to build off of for next season.

Then came the first penalty, fine, it happens. But then there was the second. This was the moment that I think fear reentered the hearts of every Chelsea fan. The knowledge that they had seen this before, United’s incredible ability to scrap something out of nothing. Only the most devout fan had the reassurance  that the three points still belong the Chelsea. But the reasonable one knew it was all, but lost.

So the question remains—how does a team give up a three goal lead at home with less than 40 minutes to go?

They don’t, the manager does.

I have been a harsh critic on Villas-Boas’ tactics since the first day he employed them. I don’t think they work with this team and will be incredibly difficult to pull off in this league.

Yes, Chelsea was up 3-0 just after half time, but they were by no means outplaying Manchester United. Fortunate deflections on two goals and a momentary breakdown by the United defense to start the second half gave them that score, not 60 percent of possession and constantly putting De Gea goal under pressure.

But what was truly the mindboggling part of managaing was what he did when Chelsea got a 3-0 lead—nothing. You are playing against one of the best counterattacking sides in the world and you have a three goal lead, 99 percent of the managers out there put nine men behind the ball and see out the win.

Not the brilliant Andre Villas-Boas. No no, he continues to push forward leaving his feeble and makeshift back line exposed to the superior pace of United super-sub Javier Hernandez who’s introduction changed the game.

Why was the immobile Florent Malouda left in the game out of position? Why is your most experienced defender left on the bench? What is your aversion to changing the formation EVER?!

Sir Alex Ferguson got the better of Villas-Boas for the second time in a row and deservedly so. United ended the game with superior or near identical stats to Chelsea, but the one that is most obscene to me is United’s 57 percent possession.

With a three goal lead and 40 minutes to go, there is no reason that Chelsea should have lost the possession game by any means. Get the ball, pass it around and make United chase.

Unfortunately Villas-Boas’ preferred formation does not allow this to happen. The space between the midfield and two lines is much too great. The team gets spread as half run down hill and the other are left with nowhere to go. Pack the midfield and hit it around like on the training ground!

And this is not the first time it has happened. Of the 34 goals Chelsea has given up all season and incredible 18 of those have been in the last 30 minutes of a match, six of which caused Chelsea to drop points.

Villas-Boas seems to have little clue on how to see out a win and that alone can be attributed to Chelsea’s poor league standing.

His Cowardice Knows No End

I wrote an article a few weeks ago breaking down some post game comments he made after their goalless draw to Norwich. I basically used his words as a means of depicting the character of Villas-Boas for what it really is—a shallow malcontent who’s own abrasive ego is fed by the ill-advised delusions of media hype.

Yesterday’s match provides further evidence of the above.

In the post game conference Sunday, Villas-Boas stated:

"

 “It's a big disappointment with how it happened. We expect in top games top refs and at the moment it hasn't been happening for us. At Old Trafford there were two goals offside and today a dubious decision that shifted the running of the game.

In both games against United, you expect this to be perfect in terms of refereeing and in these two they have had direct influence on the result. Today a dubious decision helped United to go to 3-3.”

"

Howard Webb is the best official England has to offer and none would debate it. Perhaps he did not have his best game in your eyes Mr. Villas-Boas, but he is infinitely more important to the sport than you could ever hope to be.

How you felt about the calls yesterday were solely based on what side of the ball you are on. Soft they may have been, but contact was made in each instance therefore giving Webb every right he has to blow the whistle.

Argue all you want that Welbeck stuck out his leg to catch Ivanovich, but if Torres had done the same you would have praised him for a brilliant and intuitive play.

Sports are about understanding what you can and cannot control. The weather, the other team, th refs are not your jurisdiction. Your own play and how you handle it is and that’s what should be focused on.

Villas-Boas expresses his desire for perfection in terms of officiating. What a lovely world he must live in, no? I’m sure the sky is blanketed with rainbows as unicorns fly overhead.

To his credit he did go on to add:

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“But no excuses, 3-0 up is an excellent result and it's a pity we couldn't hold on to the lead. There was a big chance to go 4-3 but David De Gea made a great save.”

"

However, this is as if he took a samurai sword to Webb’s neck and then gave him a band-aid for the cut.

I find nothing more repulsive than for a coach to blame an official. Of course they all do and to a certain point it is human nature to find the fault in others. But a true leader will place the blame squarely on his shoulders, something Villas-Boas has yet to do.

Depleted the Depth

This is something I first pondered over watching Chelsea play Swansea a week ago. With about ten minutes left in the game and Chelsea still down a goal, I went online to see who Villas-Boas would bring on to get that crucial goal. These are the names I saw: Ferreira, Turnbull, Cahill, Bertrand, Lukaku, Paizon.

In all the years I have been following this team I have never seen a bench that lacks any kind of pressure and this trend continued into Sunday’s game.

Chelsea’s bench Sunday looked like this: Ferreira, Turnbull, Bertrand, Hutchinson, Lukaku, Romeu and Piazon.

Let’s say for a moment that Chelsea does not get a 3-0 lead. Let’s say it is a tied score or they are down late. Who do would you put in for that decisive goal? One of your four defensive players, or one of the two teenage forwards?

If you had not realized it yet, Villas-Boas’ bench has a combined zero goals on the season. That’s right a place you are suppose to be able to go to to find that last bit of effort in able to secure a win or claim a draw has nothing in terms of tangible production.

Compare that to the United bench which has 23 goals combined in all competitions. You want to know how much better that is than the Chelsea’s depth? Well, Chelsea’s starting 11 yesterday only betters the seven on the United bench by six goals on the season (29 combined).

I know injuries were abounding yesterday and with Drogba and Kalou away at the African Cup of Nations this is a side that is not going to be complete. But there is still little excuse for why the depth is gone.

A match between Chelsea and Manchester City last season can say much more to the situation than I can make up.

Chelsea was tied against City deep into the game. Ancelotti was making a substitution with about 15 minutes left bringing on Drogba for Torres. The commentator made a very aware statement of the dread in Mancini’s eyes as he realized that one of the best strikers in the world was being replaced by one of the few that betters him.

This is far from the case today. Any manager, whether it be Ferguson or Martinez of Wigan know that if they can beat the 11 that start the game then they can win the game.

Refusing to Play the Veteran Way

We all got a very frightening look at the “new” Chelsea FC yesterday and for those who wanted to see a team with the veterans gone, I hope you were now persuaded to the value they can still bring.

Injuries, suspensions and international duty kept out the heart of Chelsea that had made this club a world power over the past decade. Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba and Ashley Cole were all absent and it showed throughout the game.

Without Lampard in the middle there was not control of the ball. Without, Drogba up top (or at the very least on the bench) there was no scoring threat. And without Terry and Cole anchoring the back line, there were three late goals.

I know fans want to realize a world where the transition from old to new is seamless, but please do not be as delusional as our manager who thinks that he can build Rome (aka Barcelona FC) in a day. It takes decades to develop a program that works to make the move from veterans to youngsters work in unison and Chelsea is not currently set up to do so.

I understand that I argued earlier to the effect that the youth need to be given their time to play, but it is only because Villas-Boas is attempting to misplay the veterans he has.

It is quite obvious that the formation and style of play he wants will never suit the likes the older players. So why not revert back to that which suits them?

It really comes down to an issues of Villas-Boas being static. He is not moving forward with the young crop, but is not getting the best out of his veterans – mismanagement on a massive scale.

The only thing that can come out of Sunday’s draw is for the fans to understand that Chelsea is not ready for the transition and Villas-Boas to understand he is miles away from where he should be.

Conclusion

I saw yesterday’s game as a must win for Villas-Boas. Not for any hopes of winning the league, not even for pride, but simply for the fans to have some kind of hope instilled in them for the future of the manager.

More and more supporters are leaving the side of the young Portuguese boss as he has failed to live up to any expectations that he set before the club.

His greatest triumph was the no brainer £20 plus million move for Juan Mata, something that has paid off in personal ability, but little in the way of actual results.

As far as I am concerned Villas-Boas’ future comes down now to what he can do in Champions League. The first match against Napoli on February 21^st and the second March 14^th. If he does not walk away from that second leg victorious he should not be surprised to find his ID card no longer working at Stamford Bridge the next day.

What do you think Sunday’s draw does for Villas-Boas’ future? Is he safe until the end of the season? Well into next? Or will he be gone before they even board the plane to Napoli?