In any position in life, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, the former can have great benefits, helping separating the good from the great. However, any display of the latter is never a good thing, and can lead to alienating those around you and creating un-necessary problems.
As Andre Villas Boas leaves London tonight after being dismissed by Chelsea, he can only have himself to blame. The young Portuguese manager arrived with a reputation, and his arrogant persona prior to any success left the fans immediately disliking him, and clearly the players soon followed short.
Whilst fans of other clubs who haven’t followed Villas Boas too closely over the last few weeks may lament a talent coach not being given the time to implement his way or signings, there is no doubt for those who have listened and taken note of his tenure at the club that he was caused his own downfall. Right from the first press conference, he states that it would be considered a ‘failure’ if Chelsea did not win the domestic title.
Fast forward a mere nine months and he was saying how much superior Manchester City’s team is and that 4th place would be a good achievement for his Blues. Such contradiction, building up the expectations before woefully falling short, is not going to be tolerated by the board, the players, or the supporters. Furthermore, as he announced himself to the press, upon being asked if he too was the ‘Special One’ his curt reply was ‘when I am successfulyou can give me a title’.
With no disrespect to the Portuguese league, the Barclays Premier League is another level all together, and it appears Villas Boas thought he could waltz straight in and achieve superstardom. As the season pressed on, he repeatedly changed his ambitions, the actions of an arrogant man desperately clinging to job he is out of depth to command.
Perhaps the final straw was the 2 goal defeat suffered recently in Napoli, leaving Chelsea all but out of the Champions League. With a wry smile, the man now known as AVB stated in his pre-match press conference that Ashley Cole wasn’t fit to start and that Jose Bosingwa would fill in for him at left back. Less than ten minutes into the game, Bosingwa pulled a hamstring and Cole replaced him.
It is bizarre that England’s highest capped left back can’t start, but can appear in under ten minutes. It was moments such as these which left Chelsea fans fuming at such disrespect, with the manager clearly thinking he could do as he pleased, say what he wanted without being accountable to anybody.
Had results been going well then he could have been vindicated and forgiven, but quite frankly Chelsea have been abysmal this year. A slow tempo, or a high defensive line, and a lack of width have led to a series of embarrasing defeats. These are tactical issues, not solely down to the players, and therefore the buck stops with the manager.
The first thing a manager must to do be successful is to earn success through winning games, and secondly get the fans onside and supporting. Villas Boas did neither, and he’s only got himself to blame as he he exits his first real managerial challenge as a failure.
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