AVB: Sack or Back Him?

Feeling the pressure?

Andres Villas Boas has been the centre of headlines all over the world. AVB- who was once labelled the 'Jr. Mourninho' joined Chelsea Fc after winning the domestic double and Europa League with Porto Fc. His appointment was met with mixed emotions by the public; some questioned his ability to control the dressing room given his age (i.e 33 years) whilst some believed he could bring back the memories and achievements  of Jose Mourinho.
The season is coming to an end; and Chelsea seem no where closer to being title contenders, in fact, they are 4th place contenders. So what has gone wrong for AVB? Is it his tactics? Players backing? Coaching staff? Ageing Squad? Pressure? Experience?
Well; let's analyse his situation.
Age:
Many say Age is not a matter; however- it seems to be the matter here. AVB finds himself with the same age as some of his players; in fact he is younger than Scholesy and Giggsy even though they don't matter to him. Just imagine a dressing room with a coach almost your age! Put yourself in the shoes of Drogba and Lampard; the coach comes in and you would be like: "Hey there young man" That automatically has an impact on the team. Compare that to dressing rooms with the likes of Mourinho, Fergie, Wenger, Kenny, Moyes, O'Neill. Therefore; given the environment of the dressing room; AVB seems quite young in there!
Experience: 
Pundits say the EPL is the most competitive league in the world; despite the fact that there are more foreign players who make the headlines than English players. Comparing the Portugese League to the EPL; there seems to be a vast difference. May be AVB is finding the going tough because of the competition between the teams. One thing is for certain that AVB does not possess a strong background of experience having  managed Academica and Porto only.
Squad:
Chelsea's starting XI has an average age of 27.6 years, (Cech, Bosingwa, Terry, Ivanovic, Cole, Mata, Sturridge, Ramires, Meireless, Drogba and Torress) whilst Man United XI has an average age of 24.6 years (De Gea, Rafael, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra, Valencia, Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Rooney and Welbeck). The main reason I've compared Chelsea to United is because they have been the closest title contenders for the past few years. The ageing squad is giving AVB problems; they don't seem to be able to adapt to his tactics and style of play. Mind you- this is an inherited squad; he is yet to make a complete overhaul like Mourinho and Ancelloti did. AVB has made three signings; two of them have been classic i.e Mata and Cahill whilst Lukaku is yet to establish himself in the team. He has the likes of misfiring Torress upfront and fallen out Lampard in the midfield and an attacking minded defender Luiz to deal with; well I don't think they can win you a competition!
Tactics:
AVB and his coaching staff have been criticised for their "high line defence technique." Chelsea have been average in defence; they stand 7th in the best defence table with a goal conceding average of 1.24 per game (home+away). Man City meanwhile top the table with an average of 0.76 followed by Liverpool at 0.92 and Man United and Spurs at 1.00. In the 2010/2011 season- Chelsea were the best team in defence with a goal conceding average of 0.87 per game having conceded just 33 goals throughout the season; whilst as of now they have conceded 31 goals already. As the statistics stand- AVB has failed in his defensive tactics. The high line tactic seems to be difficult to adapt to in the EPL and at the same time David Luiz has failed to make an impact as a quality centre back. The absence of Terry through injury and racism scandal has also been a contribution to the poor defensive record.
In attack- Chelsea stand 5th with a goal scoring average of 1.76 per game having scored  44 goals. Man City meanwhile top the table with an average of 2.56 followed by Man United at 2.44, Spurs at 1.96 and Arsenal at 1.94. In the 2010/2011 season- Chelsea boasted an average of 1.82 goals per game having scored 69 goals throughout the season. The main reason to their decline in goals is probably due to the misfiring Toress upfront, absence of Drogba due to injury and AFCON. The top goalscorer at Chelsea is D. Sturridge who plays most of the games as a Right Winger. 
"Mata has scored 4 goals and provided 7 assists while Sturridge has provided 9 goals and 2 assists, so together they have been involved in 22 of Chelsea’s 39 goals scored this season, over half of the goals. Compare this to Chelsea’s central strikers; Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba. Drogba has scored 3 goals and has 1 assist while Torres has scored 2 goals and has achieved 2 assists." 
http://www.eplindex.com/8031/chelsea-20112012-mid-season-report.html
Player Support:
Player support is very vital towards the success of a team. Unfortunately; AVB has not enjoyed the backing and support from his players. Chelsea Fc's dressing room has often been criticised of "player superiority" whereby a couple of players have extra powers in the dressing room. They are in direct contact with the owner and this is doing no good for AVB. Ex Managers such as Scholari and Ancelloti have claimed to be a victim of this. The likes of Drogba, Lampard and Terry have enjoyed a lot of power from the owner and usually speak to him regarding any thing they seem to be offensive to them. It's no healthy sign for a club; no one is greater than the club and every player should report to the manager and no body else. That is one reason why clubs such as Liverpool, Man United and Spurs have enjoyed calm dressing rooms unlike Man City who have had various issues. If AVB can get rid of this players; he will in no time have control over the dressing room.
Coaching Staff:
Since the departure of Ray Wilkins; Chelsea have seemed to have struggled a lot in their performances. The secret to a successful Manager is his Assistant Manager. SAF had the likes of Carlos Queiroz and now Mike Phelan, Liverpool had the likes of Sammy Lee and now Steve Clark under Kenny whilst Arsenal have stuck to Pat Rice; all of them possess wide knowledge and experience of the EPL. Chelsea meanwhile have stuck to Vialli who doesn't seem to have an impact to the performances. The players lack motivation and Vialli and Co. are busy seated with their papers writing essays on performances and would only jump when Chelsea score. This needs to be corrected; in fact AVB needs to change his coaching staff. There is no way he can win anything with the current coaching staff.


Having said all that; it should also be noted that AVB has been the only manager who is yet to be influenced by Roman in his decision making. Mourinho left Chelsea because of Roman's constant influence in deciding line ups and transfers. Ancelloti and Scolari were both victims to the Abramovic influential factor!


So; what's the verdict?
I personally feel AVB should stay, make a few amendments to his squad, get rid of the ageing players and bring in young players who will serve the club for years to come. Chelsea fans need to be patient and give him time to settle. Abramovic needs to learn that success can not be achieved imminently. It takes time and he should let AVB complete the "project". It took Ferguson 4 years to win something and after that he has been unstoppable in achievements.
Its high time AVB picks the broom and sweeps his dressing room; before they give him a bag to pack his items. 
Good luck AVB; I hope you don't fall a victim to the Abro-axe!
Cheerio!