Chelsea FC: 5 Things We Can Expect to Be Different Under Andre Villas-Boas

The appointment of Andre Villas-Boas as the new Chelsea manager has sparked a renewed sense of optimism at Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese tactician, still only 33 years old, has already experienced great success in his coaching career so far, most notably winning a treble with FC Porto last season.

A young, ambitious coach who has enjoyed a short but extremely successful managerial career has inevitably drawn comparisons with former Blues' boss and fellow countryman Jose Mourinho. Villas-Boas has been keen to play this down, despite working under "the Special One" as a head scout during his time at Stamford Bridge, wisely insisting that he is his own man with his own ideas.

But what changes should we expect to see from his Chelsea side ahead of the new season? Here are five things that I expect will be different at the club in terms of tactics and style under Villas-Boas' reign compared to what we have been used to from the team managed by his predecessor, Carlo Ancelotti.

Inside Forwards

Villas-Boas used a 4-3-3 system at Porto to great effect. Although this was also the preferred formation under Ancelotti, we can expect some tactical tweaks from the roles of each player, most notably from the two wider players of the three forwards.

Last season these players were effectively advanced wingers at Stamford Bridge; it was usually Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka who were forced to hug the touchline for much of the game. Villas-Boas instead encouraged his 'wide men' to cut inside more often at Porto, so players like Hulk and Varela were allowed more freedom to support the main forward Falcao.

Fernando Torres' awful start to his Chelsea career shadowed much of the Blues' second half of the season after his £50 million move from Liverpool. Scoring only one goal in eighteen appearances, the Spaniard was a lonely, isolated figure when he played as the main striker and so Villas-Boas may well implement his old system as a method of relieving the pressure from him.

Anelka and Malouda may be well-suited to the inside forward roles as they will relish the freedom of being able to support the front man in more central areas as well as out wide. Salomon Kalou and Daniel Sturridge are two other candidates if this system is used, although Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres are much more experienced and comfortable at playing as the main forward.

With Falcao rumoured to be close to a deal at Stamford Bridge to join his old boss, Drogba may seek a future away from the club as owner Roman Abramovich will not want to give up hope on his big-money signing Torres just yet, whilst Drogba is unlikely to be satisfied with a place on the Chelsea bench.

More Freedom

In his first press conference, Villas-Boas jokingly labelled himself as "the Group One" after being asked whether he was a "Special One" like Jose Mourinho. He stated that one man would not be responsible for the club's success and promised that the players would be given the freedom to come up with their own ideas and express themselves on the football pitch.

This is in contrast to Mourinho, who likes to dictate the exact role of each player.

How this freedom will change the way Chelsea play is unknown, but I would expect the forwards to be able to roam where they like in the last third of the pitch.

It may also mean that midfielders such as Ramires who have the energy required to make forward runs into the box during the game are allowed to do so more frequently, whereas last season he retained his position more to allow Lampard to attack without leaving too much of a risk at the back.

Countering Opposition Threats

Despite the attacking freedom that he has promised, I would not be surprised if Chelsea's defensive play was very much dictated by Villas-Boas and his coaching staff.

Anybody that hasn't read the remarkable scouting report that Villas-Boas produced for Mourinho's team during his time at Stamford Bridge as the head opposition scout should do so if they want an insight into the man's dedication and attention to detail.

He is said to have produced a similar report to the one leaked on the Internet for every match, which was distributed to every player and quite literally tells them everything they need to know about their next opponents.

From set pieces to open play transitions, if the report is anything to go by then we should expect a huge emphasis on countering opposition threats—each player will know exactly what to expect from their opposite number.

Attacking Football

Villas-Boas has pledged to "win with flair" at Stamford Bridge, something that Abramovich has craved since he bought the club in 2003.

Mourinho's success cannot be questioned, however he perhaps didn't win in the style the owner wanted with his two league titles, as Chelsea were often accused of playing "boring football."

When Ancelotti's side scored a record 103 league goals on the way to winning the league in his first season, it looked as though the Italian was to be Abramovich's man, but that dropped to just 69 last campaign and, despite coming a respectable second given the terrible period the club had over the winter period, this was not enough for the Russian.

The total of 69 goals was four less than the 73 in the league scored by Villas-Boas' Porto, despite the unbeaten champions playing eight less games than Chelsea.

His appointment of former Blues' midfielder Roberto Di Matteo suggests that attacking football will be the priority next season as this was a must for the ex-West Brom manager when he was in charge at the Hawthorns. Rumoured targets such as Falcao and Neymar also indicate that goals could soon be an even more frequent sight at Stamford Bridge, as they scored 81 in total last year.

Ball-Playing Centre Backs

A key player in Porto's side last season was Portuguese centre back Rolando. Although he is a solid defender, he is also capable of bringing the ball out of defence and starting attacking moves when he has the opportunity.

Rolando is another rumoured target for Villas-Boas at Stamford Bridge. Whether the club buy him or not remains to be seen, but I think that Chelsea already have centre backs able to fit into this style perfectly.

Captain John Terry is comfortable on either foot and can pass the ball as well as many Premier League midfielders, however David Luiz is possibly even more suitable for the ball-playing centre back role. As we have seen since his January move from Benfica, he loves to be in possession and isn't afraid of carrying the ball out of defence even when under pressure.

Under Villas-Boas' guidance, I expect Luiz to mature into an even better player next season. We have seen that he is confident in this type of role already, and if his manager encourages him to play in the way suited to his style, he will soon improve his decision-making that was at times poor last season.