Villas-Boas can lay his Chelsea demons to rest by leading Spurs to victory on Saturday



When Chelsea lifted the Champions League title in May, few people outside those with affiliations to Tottenham and beaten finalists Bayern Munich would have been smarting more from the west London side’s historic achievement.

For Andre Villas-Boas in particular though the events inside Munich’s Allianz Arena on May 19 arguably hit him hardest, having been sacked by Chelsea two months earlier following a string of poor results and dressing room alienation.

If his Stamford Bridge dismissal after just eight months was the sorrow-driven final chapter of his time in west London – then the Champions League success that followed without him was the damning epilogue against him.

Living nightmare: Andre Villas-Boas lasted 27 matches at Chelsea, during which they struggled to make an impression in any competitions

Insult to injury: Chelsea's season ended with Champions League success, after Villas-Boas had left them on the brink of being knocked out

Villas-Boas has fallen so far that just over a year after being one of the most courted managers in Europe, his unveiling as Tottenham’s choice to replace the sacked Harry Redknapp was seen as a massive gamble by the north London club.

As he stood proud alongside the club cockerel at his Spurs Lodge unveiling, his managerial reputation was far from the one that was impressively admired when he made a £13.3million switch from Porto to Chelsea in June 2011.

Another chance: Villas-Boas was given another shot at management in the Premier League with Tottenham during the summer

Off the back of a Treble-winning season that included success in the Europa League and an unbeaten season where he drew just three games in the Portuguese top flight, there were only ever going to be comparisons with Jose Mourinho and questions over whether he could become the Special One mk II at Stamford Bridge.

He was evidently not according to the playing staff, whom Roman Abramovich blamed solely when he wielded the axe on Villas-Boas’ time as manager just 27 league games into his tenure.

Chelsea’s Russian owner criticised the players for not adopting the tactics and techniques that worked to huge success for Villas-Boas at Porto - but that underlines the current Tottenham boss’s main strengths and weaknesses.

Relentless: Roman Abramovich's pursuit of silverware, especially the Champions League, meant Villas-Boas was always under pressure

Tactical observation, a keen eye for minor details and a huge work ethic were traits that not only the great Sir Bobby Robson recognised, but Mourinho too. The Special One even had Villas-Boas on his coaching staff at Chelsea as the man who gave out DVDs for players to analyse before games.

It worked for the Blues at the time as they won successive Premier League titles between 2004 and 2006, but Villas-Boas’ role was likely to prove a hindrance once he attempted to gain authority as the club’s new manager five years later.

Villas-Boas left Chelsea along with Mourinho in 2007 so you can only imagine John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba’s reaction when the man with the DVDs was announced as their new boss after Carlo Ancelotti’s sacking – and that was before Villas-Boas started trying to shift them out of the first team.

The DVD Man: Villas Boas (third left) was a scout during the Jose Mourinho (second left) era at Chelsea

Experienced players Nicolas Anelka and Alex were quickly banished – even losing their car parking spots – as the 34-year-old tried to build a new squad that bought into his methods.

At any other club it may have worked, but the transition needed time and it was something Villas-Boas wasn’t going to have at Chelsea.

As soon as results dipped, Abramovich started watching like a vulture during training to see the carnage unfolding first hand. Even Villas-Boas would have known by then he was losing the war against player power.

A poor performance in a 1-0 defeat to West Brom sealed his fate as he was sacked a day later. Despite the almost inevitable outcome, Villas-Boas was fighting until the end.

Final straw: Villas-Boas was sacked after Chelsea lost at West Brom. Roberto Di Matteo (right), a former Baggies boss, replaced him

So determined was the Portuguese to turn around the club’s ailing fortunes, he was sleeping overnight at the club’s training ground desperately trying to find ways he could save Chelsea’s season (and his job) only to find it all in vain.

With Chelsea outside the top four in the Premier League, held to a replay by Birmingham in the FA Cup and trailing Napoli in the Champions League last 16, his number two and ‘temporary’ replacement Roberto Di Matteo wasn’t dealt a good hand.

But the Italian, who was sacked by West Brom only the season before, soon picked up the pieces and stunned everyone by winning the FA Cup and Champions League to secure the job full time.

Suddenly all the players who had been subject of negative comments regarding Villas-Boas’ sacking had become overnight legends. Maybe the players were right after all? Either way, Chelsea’s European success was a huge mark against Villas-Boas and his managerial methods.

Turnaround: Chelsea also won the FA Cup under Di Matteo's temporary charge

In truth, he still hasn’t recovered. Spurs fans remain divided on his appointment but strong results in the last month have seen Villas-Boas win over sections of supporters who were unhappy with the sacking of Redknapp and the appointment of his successor.

He will have many more this weekend if he can lead Spurs to three points over London rivals Chelsea at White Hart Lane.

It’s been a mixed start for Villas-Boas in north London and the jury remains out over whether the once highly rated coach can maintain Tottenham’s consistent challenge for a top four spot seen in the last three years.

Poor draws at home to West Brom and Norwich have been followed by four wins on the spin - including the stunning 3-2 victory at Manchester United – the potential is there at least.

Sitting pretty: Villas-Boas has seen an upsurge in Tottenham's form and they've now won five in a row

Daniel Levy is hardly renowned for his patience with managers, but providing Villas-Boas doesn’t send Spurs into freefall like Juande Ramos, he will be keen to give his latest ‘head coach’ the time he needs to learn his trade and gain a strong standing at the club.

Of course it’s a gamble. Spurs collapsed in the second half of last season and often choked on a grand scale when semi-finals or finals came around under Redknapp.



But the club were very unfortunate to narrowly miss out on playing Champions League football for the second time in three seasons before deciding to part company with Redknapp.

Unlucky: Harry Redknapp was removed as manager despite a fourth place Premier League finish last season

Villas-Boas, who will be 35 by this weekend’s derby, is still very young as a manager and will make mistakes like we all do in the infancy of our careers.

But if Levy wants the very best out of the Portuguese he will need to give Villas-Boas space to work to develop his style before reaping any long term rewards. It’s logically ridiculous to think his first season at the club should be his best.

A strong backing from the chairman can only enhance a manager’s authority on his players and after the slow start it appears the Spurs squad is starting to adapt to his methods a little easier than the Chelsea team did.

Villas-Boas, still being an inexperienced manager, would be willing to admit he made mistakes handing affairs at Stamford Bridge – something he would have typically analysed before taking on the Tottenham job.

Saturday’s London derby is just as big for him as it is the fans. Chelsea look unstoppable in the Premier League right now having won six of their opening seven games.

Top form: Chelsea have won six out of seven Premier League matches this season, including a 4-1 win over Norwich last time out

They clearly do not miss him but he has to prove to some degree that Chelsea’s loss will be Tottenham’s gain by inflicting their first defeat.

For Spurs fans it would prove the United win was not just a fluke, partly avenge their 5-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat from last season and help them buy into his philosophy on management.

Thrashing: This Saturday's game gives Spurs a chance to gain a measure of revenge for their FA cup semi-final thrashing by Chelsea last season

For Villas-Boas it’s not just about making it five wins in-a-row for Tottenham. His pride was severely damaged by the ill-fated Chelsea spell and he will be extremely grateful to Spurs for giving him a second chance at the business end of the Premier League.