The knives appear to be out for Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas after a poor run of form which has resulted in three defeats in their last four Premier League matches now. Chelsea lost their second consecutive home match on the weekend, as Liverpool snatched a late winner at Stamford Bridge and now the pressure is mounting on the young Portuguese star, which should give us a good opportunity to look at Next Chelsea manager betting. Is it premature? You just never know with owner Roman Abramovich. Will everything come to a premature end? Apparently Villas Boas believes that the Russian owner is fully behind the revolution that he is trying to build as manager at the club. Villas Boas has injected some of that attacking mindset into the club, something that Abramovich is reported to be very keen on. He was football with style at Chelsea, but naturally he wants to put more trophies in the cabinet, in particular the elusive Champions League crown. However, for all the attacking ethos that Chelsea have adopted this season, there are clearly still problems there. Only young striker Daniel Sturridge is making any impact up front, and at the back, there are holes all over the place. There have even been calls to move John Terry on, because his pace and lack of understanding of Villas Boas’ new tactics are not benefiting Chelsea in any way. The Blues have conceded in all but one two of their matches so far, a remarkable stat as their success under Jose Mourinho, and Carlo Ancelotti were based on defence. As of new, Chelsea look very open at the back. Wrong tactics, or wrong players?
So is Abramovich totally committed to AVB’s new designs? The young manager purchased young players in the summer, but still has quite a bit of the old guard on the books who aren’t performing. There are a couple of things to consider in Next Chelsea Manager betting, and that is time. Villas Boas may get further backing to overhaul his squad at the end of the season, where the likes of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, the labouring Mikel, Frank Lampard and even John Terry could be moved on to pastures new. The sale of Fernando Torres would probably also be a massive breath of fresh air for the club as well. The Blues need an overhaul at centre half, of that there is no doubt, and they are missing Michael Essien in midfield, who immediately improves the side when pulling on the shirt. One of the Andre Villas Boas betting markets at online bookmaker Paddy Power, is AVB in charge on last day of the season? A No here fetches 2/1 and a yes at 1/3 with the bookie. You will remember that even though Chelsea fell away in the Champions League and blew it big time against Manchester United in the Premier League race last season, Ancelotti was allowed to run all season before getting the boot. Chelsea made a big statement in putting such a young manager in charge, and with all his credentials from his work with Porto, he has to be given time. Just how much time though? So, there other consideration for your betting on who will be the next Chelsea manager?
This is a good market to explore because of value. The speculation over AVB’s tenure in the Chelsea hot seat, has come about because Guus Hiddink has become available after leaving his post in charge of the Turkish national side. So now he becomes available, and because he did some a wonderful job with the club in a temporary role there after Jose Mourinho had left, winning the FA Cup against Everton, he is favourite to return. He has apparently always kept in touch with the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge, and is a very popular and respected figure. There hasn’t been any word from his camp though, whether he would be ready to come back to the Bridge. But he is the front runner in Chelsea Next Permanent Manager betting. Behind him is Marco Van Basten who was a contender before Andre Villas Boas got the job in the summer. Other names on the list include Jose Mourinho, which just seems totally unlikely, and Barcelona boss Pep Guardiolo, which is very interesting. There have been reports of him moving away from the Nou Camp soon. But even he seems like a stretch and the list of names appear to get just a bit more unlikely as we go down. Former Villa boss Marin O’Neill is on the list, as always, as well as Germany coach Joachim Low and Carlo Ancelotti to come back again. Truthfully if Abramovich is read to build a new generation at Stamford Bridge, he should be sticking with what he has now, Andre Villas Boas.
The betting markets don’t seem to be quite as active as the rumour mill is with regards to Andre Villas Boas. So he looks a safe bet to be staying until the end of the season. How ironic it would be that, although they are sitting twelve points back in the Premier League race at the moment, if Chelsea went on to lift the Champions League at the first attempt. The pressure is on Andre Villas Boas no doubt, with a Carling Cup quarter final coming up against Liverpool, and after failures in the league against Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool. Will the Blues lift a trophy to ease the pressure? You can take Yes for 15/8 at Stan James and a No at 4/11.
Next Chelsea Manager Betting
Guus Hiddink: 5/4 at William Hill
Marco Van Basten: 6/1 at William Hill
Jose Mourinho: 7/1 at Stan James
Pep Guardiola: 8/1 at William Hill
Marin O’Neill: 10/1 at Stan James
Joachim Low: 14/1 at Stan James
Brendan Rogers, Carlo Ancelotti, Cesare Prandelli, Frank Rijkaard, Laurent Blanc, Mark Hughes all 16/1 at Stan James
