Chelsea FC News: Andre Villas-Boas Fired by Blues

Chelsea FC has sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas in the midst of a terrible season that could result in the club not qualifying for the Champions League next year.

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BREAKING: Andre Villas-Boas has been sacked by Chelsea. es.pn/AgA9xJ

— ESPN Soccernet (@ESPNSoccernet) March 4, 2012"

After a 1-0 defeat to inferior side West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, it seemed as if the young Portuguese manager's time at Stamford Bridge was nearly up.

The club released a statement Sunday that read in part:

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Andre Villa-Boas has parted company with Chelsea Football Club today. The board would like to record our gratitude for his work and express our disappointment that the relationship has ended so early.

"Unfortunately the results and performances of the team have not been good enough and were showing no signs of improving at a key time in the season.

"With that in mind we felt our only option was to make a change at this time. With immediate effect Roberto Di Matteo has been appointed first team coach on an interim basis until the end of the season.

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What Does it Mean?

Chelsea have now had seven different managers since Jose Mourinho left the club in 2007. The lack of consistency at the managerial level is not good for the squad, and very few of the most successful clubs in Europe have had lots of success with the manager turnover Chelsea has had over the last several seasons.

Villas-Boas was under immense pressure all season as Chelsea have been quite inconsistent in Premier League play, which includes some poor results at Stamford Bridge, a place where they have rarely lost in previous seasons.

Chelsea is just 13-7-7 this year, fifth in the EPL behind Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal. The Blues have won just three of their last 12 contests. They trail fourth-place Arsenal by just three (49-46), but are 20 points behind leader Man City.

A lot of the criticism was unfair, however. AVB was a young, talented and charismatic manager who wasn't afraid to shake things up when the club wasn't getting results.

He smartly started to transition the club from the older stars such as Didier Drogba to young talents such as Daniel Sturridge.

Chelsea paid over £13 million to pry Villas-Boas from FC Porto over the summer to bring in a talented young leader who could be with the club for many seasons. It's safe to say that the club has overreacted by firing him. 

What's Next?

The club now must come together under Di Matteo, who will lead the squad on an interim basis. I must say it would be a bit surprising if owner Roman Abramovich did not hire a more popular manager to lead the club in the final months of the season.

The club has a massively important Round of 16 match this week with Serie A side Napoli in the Champions League, and are down 3-1 on aggregate after the first leg. If that doesn't go well, then Chelsea will once again have missed out on their most sought-after goal each season.

These next few months are an important time for the club, because if they don't finish in the top four and don't qualify for the Champions League next season, a lot of negativity will surround Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Abramovich should hire an experienced manager to help ensure his club don't finish outside the top four in the league table.

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