Chelsea backlash starting already?
ONE week in the job and Chelsea’s new, *ultra-confident boss Andre Villas-Boas is already facing his first major showdown.
Former player Gary *Chivers believes clear-the-air talks with skipper John *Terry are a must if he wants to earn dressing room *respect.
Chivers made 133 *appearances for the club in the same central defensive role as Terry and believes Chelsea’s long-term captain won’t be happy being told ‘Carry on – for the time being’ with the *armband.
He also claims Terry and *Ashley Cole will demand to know the meaning behind Villas-Boas’s stinging *remark about the need for the *Chelsea squad to be “social role models” while *outlining his dual aim of helping them to triumph as people as well as players.
Past controversies *surrounding the personal conduct of Cole and Terry make this a sensitive issue but Villas-Boas implied that on and off-field behaviour are intertwined.
Former Swansea and Brighton skipper Chivers, one of the founder members of the famous Chelsea Old Boys’ team and still close to the current crop, said: “It should very interesting when the squad report back and meet Villas-Boas for the first time.
“I saw his first press *conference on TV last week and wasn’t too impressed with one or two throw-away remarks. I am sure John and Ashley won’t, either.
“My advice to him is to meet up quickly with both players, certainly Terry. The man has been the beating heart of the club for years and to toss in a remark like that lacks respect.
“I have never liked new managers, particularly one who is younger than several of his players, who speaks out before meeting the *players first. I think that goes with most players. *Saying Terry will continue as captain for the time being to me is an insult. It’s *holding a shotgun to his head.
In a frank assessment, Chivers said: “It sounds like Villas-Boas already has made up his mind to clear the club of *certain players. I may be wrong but it sounded like it to me.
“If he wants to come in and start stamping his authority this is a strange way of doing it. You simply can’t walk into a dressing room, giving them both barrels.
“Perhaps I am being too harsh because he is still a very young man at 33. *Perhaps it is more a case of naivety on his part.
“I am still getting my head around his *appointment. It’s a funny one. He gets one of the *biggest jobs in world *football after managing for just 60 games, including at a club many have never heard of.
“Let me repeat that, 60 games. And then you become Chelsea manager. Amazing. When you go up against the likes of the 1,200-odd Sir Alex Ferguson has managed, or the 900 by Arsene Wenger, or the 700-plus by Harry *Redknapp you realise *Chelsea have taken a *massive gamble.”
Villas-Boas is already *Public Enemy No.1 in Porto for leaving the club and did not endear himself to Fleet Street journalists by *ignoring calls from both *daily and Sunday papers for talks, *preferring blanket *coverage.
He also banned his *technical staff from talking.
Chelsea’s players can also expect a much stricter *regime than under former boss Carlo Ancelotti, with Villas-Boas particularly strong on discipline.
But he denied he was a *dictator, insisting his was an “open-minded” approach.
“There are many ways to be successful in football, being a dictator or not, training this way or not – but this is the way we believe in,” said Villas-Boas.
“This is what we want to sell to our players and, for sure, they will buy it.”
But how will Chelsea’s star-studded squad handle taking orders from a man barely older than them?
“It’s normal for people to judge my age,” Villas-Boas said. “The players are *responsible and professional enough to respect the *position of the manager.
“I was 31 at Academica and it was never a problem, even with some of the players *older than me.
“And it won’t be this time either.”“Saying John Terry will be captain for the time *being is an insult”
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/...s-Villas-Boas/
