The Chelsea manager can make himself a hero to many managers by winning the battle of wills at Stamford Bridge.
Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, et al were all stars of the Jose Mourinho era.
But since Mourinho left they have won just one league title, under Carlo Ancelotti who was ousted last season.
The players were reported to be instrumental in getting Phil Scolari sacked, and seem to think they can do it again with Villas-Boas.
The Portuguese manager though is leading a fightback, and refuses to back down.
While there are likely many cliques in the Chelsea dressing room, Villas-Boas just needs to knit them together until the summer, and then the clear out can begin.
We hope he can win out in the battle of wills, as it would be hugely satisfactory to see arrogant stars such as Ashley Cole forced out of the club.
Cole is reported to have told Villas-Boas before the game with Napoli, ‘I came here to win medals, we’ll never do that with your tactics.’
There are times when words need to be said, and right before a Champions League game when the manager is facing the axe is not one of them.
Player power has for too long been a problem in football, and it is more difficult than ever for managers to please their stars when results aren’t going their way.
Look at Arsene Wenger’s desperation to keep Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas last season, which led to a complete unraveling of the club last summer which they are still recovering from.
Arsenal are at the mercy of Robin van Persie’s will this summer again as his contract has just one year left to run and will find it a struggle to keep him if he announces he wants to leave.
If Villas-Boas does leave Chelsea you have to wonder why Abramovich would want to bother appointing a manager at all.
It would become clear the dressing room is in a state of anarchy, and the players will only perform if they like their boss.
After the unwavering loyalty Andre Villas-Boas has shown John Terry in the midst of his troubles, the least Chelsea’s players could do is show some loyalty and support to their boss.
Petr Cech was spot on this morning when he said the players had to take a big share of the blame.
For Villas-Boas to survive he needs to finish in the top four in the Premier League.
We hope he does, just so we can see him ruthlessly dismantle the dressing room cliques and troublemakers from the squad over the summer.
He has already made a start with Alex and Nicolas Anelka, there will be several to follow their path, and Cole has put himself at the top of the list.
image: © Crystian Cruz
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