Fan's take: Have Chelsea learned lessons from the past?

Posted Wednesday, June 29, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

After, several days of intense speculation Chelsea has confirmed the appointment of Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager. The most striking thing about Villas-Boas is the fact that at just 33 years old; he will be the youngest manager in the Premier League next season.

Chelsea clearly feel that they have identified a truly special manager given the statement they have released suggesting he is one of the best young managers around and the fact that they have spent 'Æ'" '" '" '''Æ'" ''''£13.3m in compensation to capture their man. Villas-Boas has worked closely with former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan; before he embarked on a career in management of his own at Academica and Porto. The comparisons with Mourinho are only natural given that he is Portuguese, spent time managing Porto with huge success and the fact that Villas-Boas has spent a significant part of his career working alongside and learning from the current Real Madrid coach. However, have Chelsea learned lessons from the past and will Villas-Boas really be given time?

Most Chelsea supporters would probably agree that Jose Mourinho was the most talented manager the club have had in recent times. Mourinho enjoyed significant level of success in his time with Chelsea, which included winning the Premier League title twice in consecutive seasons. However, the following season Mourinho failed to win the Premier League title; although he did win the League and FA Cups that season. Jose Mourinho left Chelsea by mutual consent after a slightly disappointing start to the following season and series of disagreements with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

The reality of managing Chelsea is time is not something any manager will be able to enjoy and to stay in the Chelsea job the manager simply has to be successful. Villas-Boas has a big opportunity to make a name for himself, but he will also be under significant pressure from the very first game. The new Chelsea manager can expect significant funds for both transfer fees and wages, but will know he has to get the signings right. Carlo Ancelotti may have thought he would get more time after winning the Premier League title the season before last; however, after Chelsea finished second this season Ancelotti found his time at Chelsea had come to an end.

Premier League football is coming into a new era and movements from UEFA appear to be steering football towards a more financial responsible time with a greater emphasis on home grown players. In theory the level of transfer spend from sides likes Chelsea and Manchester City in recent seasons could be coming towards an end. So could Chelsea perhaps move towards a new philosophy themselves?

In Andre Villas-Boas they clearly have one of the great up and coming managers in world football. Villas-Boas had a quite exceptional season with Porto in the last campaign and he broke all kinds of new records in his way to winning the league title and the Europa League. Critics will say that the Portuguese league isn't very competitive and Porto were perhaps expected to win the title and the Europa League isn't taking that seriously with the Champions League being the European prize everyone wants.

However, at least Villas-Boas comes with a record of success and winning can be a habit irrespective of who you are up against. Furthermore, the style he did it has to be taken into consideration; Porto didn't lose a game and set a new record points tally on their way to the league title. But no doubt Chelsea is taking a gamble.

If Villas-Boas wins the Premier League title next season should he expect to be Chelsea manager for a long time? Usually you would say yes, but at Chelsea one feels he has to win major trophies each season and in the eyes of Abramovich that probably means the Premier League title or the Champions League title. Managers that fail to win Premier League titles for Chelsea tend to get sacked.

However, does Abramovich realize that he made a mistake with Mourinho? If so he will be keen to avoid a repeat performance. If Villas-Boas proves to be the next special manager in the Premier League; Chelsea could do well by sticking by him. It would certainly be nice to think that Chelsea are now looking towards the future and buying into the thinking that a quality manager with good players and significant resources will deliver significant success. However, the feeling remains that Abramovich still expects the near impossible. Villas-Boas will be expected to win the Premier League title and do it in style by playing the brand of sexy football Abramovich desires. The Chelsea owner will believe that with the resources Villas-Boas will be given there is simply no excuse for failure.

Winning the Premier League title every season is a very tough task given the competition provided by Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham; but the success of Manchester United shows what can be accomplished by sticking with a manager. Successful teams tend to be developed over years through continuity and consistency and this is certainly something that cannot happen with constant changing of managers that goes on at Chelsea. Surely the time has come to give a man time to build something and if he can prove himself then why should that man not be Andre Villas-Boas. Sadly though it's unlikely he will be in a job ifChelsea finish next season without the Premier League or Champions League title.