Now is the time for Roman to back his man at the Bridge

It seems like a genuine crisis.



The team have slumped to four defeats in seven games, the defence is shipping goals and everyone questioning the credibility of the manager.



But then that was Arsene Wenger just two months ago. Coincidentally, Andre Villas-Boas’s Chelsea team had the same record before Saturday’s win against Wolves.



Say a little prayer for me: Chelsea's Andre Villas-Boas has been under pressure

And amid the frenzy about the Chelsea manager’s future, one or two people want to go back and review what they wrote about Wenger two months ago.



It was then that I said Wenger was still the man for the job and had to be given time to sort out a very difficult start to the season. And the same applies now to Villas-Boas.



When I look at his Chelsea team and the task he has, it strikes me that it’s not that different to that of Sir Alex Ferguson when he arrived at Old Trafford from Aberdeen back in 1986. There was then a group of senior players that the manager had to confront. It was a battle he had to win and he was given time by the board to do that.



Now, when you look at the Chelsea team, which has for so long relied on the backbone of Petr Cech, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, it’s obvious to anyone that things have to change.



Not much has in terms of the core of the team in six or seven years at that club and whoever had taken this job would have had to deal with that.



Villas-Boas wants to play in a different style, pressing the ball aggressively with a high defensive line. And he wants to pass the ball out and play in between the lines of midfield and attack more. He has to be given the opportunity to impose that style — even when some of the older players are clearly finding it difficult to adapt.



It is a battle Villas-Boas must be allowed to win, and if the players don’t change, then maybe it’s time to change the players.

Recovery: Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side have improved after a bad start

Against Wolves, there was a sign that the process is beginning. The Chelsea manager fielded a young team and, of his front six players, only Drogba was an established veteran of Chelsea’s battles over the past years.



In midfield, Ramires, Raul Meireles and Oriol Romeu have all arrived at the club in the last 18 months. Up front there was new signing Juan Mata, with Daniel Sturridge alongside Drogba, and though Sturridge arrived two years ago, it’s only this season he has been used on a regular basis. That has the look of an emerging young side.

We have heard a lot about the Chelsea academy in recent years and they won the FA Youth Cup in 2010. Maybe now is the time to see some more of those players coming through and to see just how good they are, especially Josh McEachran, who hasn’t really featured this season.



Don’t get me wrong. There will still be a role for some of those players over the next two years. But gradually, slowly, they will be phased out, just as Sir Alex manages to shed older players from a team and replaces them with younger ones.

Star: Juan Mata shone against Wolves

Because you cannot judge a manager on four months when he hasn’t even had the chance to impart his beliefs. Just a few weeks ago at Old Trafford, people were quite enthused by what they saw from Chelsea and the chances they created.



It’s clear Villas-Boas is trying to play a progressive style of football that is more entertaining. The problem is that matches against United, QPR, Arsenal and Liverpool have been brilliant to watch, but they have lost them all. Of course, that has to stop.



But a change of style of this magnitude is not going to happen without problems along the way. If Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has any sense, he will back his man. He brought him in to do a job and now he has to let him finish it. You need calm heads and sensible analysis.

December is going to be a massive month for them, starting with Liverpool in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, followed by Premier League games at Newcastle and Tottenham and at home to Manchester City, as well as that crucial Champions League tie against Valencia, which could see them go out of the tournament.



But whatever happens, there should be some patience shown. Now is the time for strength of mind on all sides. Villas-Boas should stick to his guns and not compromise his style.

He described the last few weeks as a ‘negative moment’, but as long as he

has the support of his board then he can get through it. Who is to say he

can’t do what Arsenal and Wenger have done over the last two months?

Getting there: Chelsea got back to winning ways against Wolves

He may only be 34 and it may be his first major job in football, but I’ve seen at close quarters what happens when you back a young manager with talent and let him follow through his vision for a club.



Twenty five years on, Sir Alex Ferguson’s battle to be established is a distant memory. I’m not sure Villas-Boas can hope to be at Chelsea in 2036 — but he should at least be given the chance to see out the next few years.

United’s task just got harder after letting City off the hook

Manchester City players will have gone to bed on Saturday night breathing a huge sigh of relief.



And they will go into the Liverpool game at Anfield that little bit more relaxed. Manchester United missed a big chance to apply a bit of pressure on Saturday.



Playing a day before your title rivals is always an opportunity. They could have hauled City’s lead at the top back to two points and given them

the feeling that United were breathing down their necks again, which would have sent them into Sunday’s game with a little bit of negative feeling about them.



Shock: Newcastle put a dent in Manchester United's title challenge

Instead, they will approach the game at Anfield in a positive mood. That was certainly the case for me as a player if our title rivals had slipped up or dropped points. Now City will know that even a draw maintains their five-point lead and a victory extends it to seven points — a significant gap.

Of course there’s plenty of time to haul back the deficit. But at the end of

season if you have failed you always look back at key moments and games you should have won.

They are the games that haunt you over the summer.Playing against 10 men for the last 10 minutes at home to Newcastle could become

one of those. You can survive one or two of those moments through a season. But if they start to add up; if you have five or six of those results, that’s what leaves you with regrets.

