Slapoli: AVB drops his rebels and gets thumped... surely he can't survive now
By MATT BARLOW
Last updated at 7:45 AM on 22nd February 2012
Ouch! Andre Villas-Boas can't disguise his feelings as Chelsea slump to defeat
Andre Villas-Boas is fighting for his Chelsea future after a selection gamble backfired and risked deepening the mutinous mood inside the dressing room.
Villas-Boas, already without injured captain John Terry, relegated Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole — two of the senior players understood to have criticised the manager last week — to the bench.
At a meeting on Sunday - according to The Sun - Cole told Villas-Boas: 'I came here to win medals and trophies, but I'm never going to do that with your tactics.'
Chelsea went on to lose 3-1 to Napoli in the first leg of this Champions League last 16 knock-out tie but Villas-Boas sought to defend his decision.
Villas-Boas described Lampard's omission from yet another big game as tactical and Cole's as the result of not being fully fit following a calf problem.
He said: 'Whatever explanation I give you, in the end it would be a fantastic explanation if we'd won the game.
Any explanation is now useless given the result of the game, so there's no point.
He added: ‘I had a conversation with Ashley and Frank. Of course they were disappointed but these are decisions they have to accept and move on.
‘Because of the players that they are and the experience they have, they felt they could have helped the team. My selection was based on what was the best team in my thoughts.
'Of course, they were disappointed but they were decisions they have to accept and move on."
Villas-Boas refused to concede the tie but former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is waiting in the wings if Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich loses patience with the manager he lured from Porto to replace Carlo Ancelotti.
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Abramovich has backed Villas-Boas, 34, so far but defeat in Europe has often proved the catalyst for managerial change during his reign.
Cole came on to replace Jose Bosingwa after 12 minutes and made a vital goal-line clearance near the end. Lampard and Essien were sent on when the score was already 3-1.
‘It is a negative result of course,’ said Villas-Boas. ‘But a result we can turn around at the Bridge. We are trying to stay in this competition.’
Lampard and Cole both refused to talk to the media after the match.
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With the second leg looming, Villas-Boas admits there is work to do on the training ground.
'We have to solve these mistakes at the back. We need this concentration right and this efficiency right, for sure.
Omitted: Ashley Cole was left out of the starting XI but appeared in the 12th minute for the injured Jose Bosingwa
'At the moment, without John, a very important player for the team, we have suffered a lot of goals recently.
'We had improved a lot at the beginning of January, so we have missed John. But we have full belief in these players and we have to continue to work with them to get it right.'
David Luiz's latest mistake was the most costly, gifting Napoli the third goal that made them firm favourites to win the tie. It's obvious that that player has become a target,' said the Portuguese.
Target: David Luiz causes havoc in the Napoli box, but the Chelsea defender was at fault for the third goal
'He's a fantastic young player with a big future ahead of him, and he has to work to try and be a bit better.
'We suffered three goals. If he's linked to one, he might not be linked to the other two.'
Informed a two-goal first-leg deficit had been overturned only three times in Champions League history, Villas-Boas was defiant.
'I want us to be the fourth team,' he said.
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Goalkeeper Petr Cech said: 'It will be tough but we will fight till we die.'
He added of Villas-Boas: 'We know he keeps working hard for us.
'He prepares every game with 100% commitment and we appreciate it as players.
'But if you have players on the pitch making mistakes, he can't help it.'
Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri was delighted with his side's performance but was left to rue missed chances.
The Italian, who watched the match in a room on his own after being banned from both legs, said: 'Obviously, I was suffering from not being with my players. We saw two top teams playing against each other. Chelsea proved to be a very, very strong team.
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'We did amazingly after conceding the goal. We had 10 or 15 minutes when we struggled a little bit after that goal but then we've been lucky in finding the equaliser.
'It was just a shame that we didn't get the fourth goal. That could have helped us massively in the return leg.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2104581/Andre-Villas-Boas-drops-chelsea-rebels-Frank-Lampard-Ashley-Cole-gets-thumped-Napoli.html#ixzz1n61aF0c2
