Villas-Boas own goal! Chelsea's fury at boss as Mourinho pays a flying visit
By MATT BARLOW
Last updated at 12:15 AM on 29th February 2012
Andre Villas-Boas's future at Chelsea looks bleaker than ever as Jose Mourinho flew into London for a brief visit.
The club's hierarchy were left distinctly unimpressed with Villas Boas' comments on Portuguese radio station TSF, particularly perceived criticism of Fernando Torres, who Villas-Boas likened to past expensive misfits Andriy Shevchenko and Mateja Kezman.
Man about town: Mourinho was snapped in London on Tuesday
Under pressure: AVB's tenure at Chelsea appears decidedly bleak
This development came on a day when Real Madrid manager Mourinho was in London and, according to reports in Spain, looking at houses.
Mourinho is expected to leave Madrid in the summer and would like to return to the Barclays Premier League, where he had three successful years at Chelsea, guiding them to their first title in half a century.
Chelsea won for the first time in six games on Saturday, helping to ease the pressure on Villas-Boas after a stormy week when he argued with senior players over team selection against Napoli.
Flop: Villas-Boas openly criticised Chelsea's £50m signing Fernando Torres
The Blues lost 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League first knockout stage, days after failing to beat Birmingham at home in the FA Cup.
Wielding the axe: Abramovich is losing patience with AVB
Through weeks of disappointing results and performances, Villas-Boas had confidently claimed to have the full backing of owner Roman Abramovich to complete his 'three-year project'.
Abramovich's faith may weaken further after the controversial interview which was aired in Villas-Boas' native Portugal on Monday and questioned £50million record signing Torres.
'We have been through the Torres situation before with Shevchenko and Kezman,' said Villas-Boas.
'We continue to work on his motivation, his specific movements on the field and his trust. There is only one atmosphere which will make him regain his trust, and that is a competitive atmosphere.
Reunion: Mourinho is keen for a return to the Barclays Premier League
'For me, there was a key moment for Torres: his sending-off against Swansea. He was playing well and he was motivated at the time, he had returned to the goals, also in that match.
'He scored in the 15th minute against Swansea and was sent off in the 35th minute and gets a three-match ban. There was also an international match in between, so he did not play for Chelsea for one month.
'I do not know how much that affected him but when he got back, we had two disappointments in terms of results and he returned to this disbelief in himself.'
Villas-Boas also said in the Portuguese interview that he was no longer sure if Abramovich would stand by him, something which may be truer now than it was before he spoke.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2107893/Andre-Villas-Boas-Chelsea-Fernando-Torres-comment.html#ixzz1nkjbAWUl
