Roman Abramovich is developing a trigger-happy reputation on a par with some of his Spanish and Italian counterparts, having shown a willingness to dispose of a manager as soon as they don't quite meet his exacting standards. Just look at his form: Claudio Ranieri was the boss Abramovich inherited, and despite steering Chelsea to second place he was sacked as though he were an afterthought; like him or loathe him, Jose Mourinho is a great manager, and would have brought continued success to the club; Avram Grant had cause to feel hard done by after leading Chelsea to their only Champions League final to date (a match they would have won but for John Terry's slip); and Carlo Ancelotti won the club its first league title in four years. In relative terms, these men were successful in their roles. In Abramovich's mind, they weren't quite up to the job.
Which is why Andres Villas-Boas's position looks dangerous. Mourinho, Grant, and Ancelotti were fired for flaws and failings much lesser than those that have afflicted Villas-Boas's first year in charge. The club currently reside in fifth, behind Arsenal on goal difference; given Tottenham's 10 point advantage in third, it looks likely that Chelsea will record their lowest ever finish under Abramovich. However, that only tells part of the story.
To trot out the old cliché about Villas-Boas having lost the dressing room would be a tad hyperbolic, but his man management skills have rightly been called into question on a number of occasions, with this week's report of a training ground row between him and his playing staff just the latest in a string of incidents that have marred his tenure. Although he has shown absolute loyalty to John Terry following Anton Ferdinand’s accusation, he has managed to upset a number of senior players whose importance to the club’s success and history far exceed his own. His attempts to phase out some of the older hands have at times been exceptionally clumsy, and his handling of the transfer requests handed in by Alex and Nicolas Anelka was the most damning of his failures, highlighting a vindictiveness and petulance that won him few admirers both within and outside of the club.
What’s worse is that these issues appear to have been reflected on the pitch, with Chelsea turning in a number of abject performances, the spineless defeat at the hands of Everton just the latest. A return of four wins in the last 10 league games suggests that the manager is struggling to impose his ideology. Teams no longer show quite the same fear when faced with Chelsea mainstays such as Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, and one wonders if Villas-Boas's attempts to downplay their importance has handed a psychological advantage to opponents. Meanwhile, David Luiz and Fernando Torres have continued to struggle, and Gary Cahill has made a grand total of one appearance since joining in the middle of January. There haven't been too many positives to take from the current campaign.
No-one would reasonably suggest that Villas-Boas deserves to lose his job. However, past form suggests that Abramovich is not always a reasonable man when it comes to such matters, and it seems unlikely that he'll keep the faith if his manager fails to deliver Champions League football for 2012-13.
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