Change; the only constant at Chelsea

A sense of deja vu accompanies the arrival of Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea, and it is not because of a certain ex-Porto and Chelsea manager.

Dominic Neo
Comparisons between Andre Villas-Boas and Jose Mourinho are inevitable; confident, intelligent and precocious Portuguese managers who achieved much in the initial stages of their respective careers-Mourinho winning the UEFA Champions League title and the Primeira Liga in his second year at Porto and Villas-Boas leading Porto to the Europa League title, Primeira Liga and the Portugese Cup in his maiden season.
A club statement that Chelsea made last Wednesday following Vilas-Boas' appointment could have very well been recycled from Mourinho's introduction seven years ago.
"Andre was the outstanding candidate for the job. He is one of the most talented young managers in football today and has already achieved much in a relatively short space of time," the statement read.
"His ambition, drive and determination match that of Chelsea and we are confident Andre's leadership of the team will result in greater successes in major domestic and European competitions."
However, such comparisons are tedious. Even Villas- Boas thinks so.
"I think there is no way you can avoid comparison, it is something that is the interest of the media. I didn't take the Porto job nor the Chelsea job because Jose made the same steps."
Rather, it is safe to say that both of them took up the Chelsea job during a transitional period that is characterized by a perceived lack of success.
Carlo Ancelotti was ruthlessly sacked after a trophy-less season despite leading the Blues to a FA cup and Barclays Premier League double in the 2009-2010 campaign.
Likewise, his Italian compatriot Claudio Ranieri was dismissed in 2004 following a season shorn of silverware, with Chelsea losing out on the league title to an invincible Arsenal side and narrowly missing out on a place in the UEFA Champions League final to Monaco, losing 5-3 on aggregate.
Expectations are pretty hard to live up to when it comes to Roman Abramovich.
Just like in 2004, a renewal and revamp of the current first team squad is badly needed.
Ranieri's star summer signing, Hernan Crespo, failed to perform in his debut season, netting only 12 goals in 30 appearances following a £16.8 million move from Inter Milan. Other summer signings such as Juan Sebastián Verón, Adrian Mutu, Alexey Smertin( remember him?), Scott Parker, Wayne Bridge and Glen Johnson flattered to deceive as well.
Fast forward to 2011. Chelsea are showing the same symptoms. Michael Essien, Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry all had lackluster campaigns by their high standards, with Anelka and Drogba notching an underwhelming 18 league goals between them. Ancelotti signings, Ramires and Yuri Zhirkov, have not settled well.
Do I need to mention Fernando Torres?
But just like the summer of 2004, the immediate future looks exciting for Chelsea. Ricardo Carvalho, Didier Drogba, Tiago, Paulo Ferreira and Arjen Robben were signed then and went on to form the spine of Chelsea's first title winning side.
However, the two Premier League titles, two league cups and one FA cup delivered during Mourinho's three year stint were not enough. The Special One's ruthlessly efficient and powerful side was never the prettiest side to watch, at least to Abramovich.
More importantly, the Holy Grail- the UEFA Champions League title, remains missing from Chelsea's trophy cabinet.
Five managers and four seasons later, Villas-Boas has been brought in to win and win in the same manner as Barcelona. Beautifully.
If Villa-Boas is allowed to bring in his preferred personnel and stamp his brand of free flowing, attacking football that enabled a stylish Porto side to clinch the treble with aplomb- plundering an incredible 137 goals in 52 games and losing only four games in the process, Chelsea fans have much to look forward to.
Villa-Boas' Porto were no slouches at the back as well, conceding a measly 13 goals in 30 games in the Primeira Liga. The 33-year-old seemed to have struck the perfect balance between attack and defence.
Not that Villa-Boas needs to shop on a budget at Stamford Bridge, but his net spend of negative eight million pounds is worth mentioning.
He notably brought in Nicolas Otamendi for £4 million to replace Bruno Alves in central defence and Joao Moutinho for £10 million to assume Raul Meireles's role as Porto's playmaker, as they left for Zenit St Petersburg and Liverpool for £22 million and £14 million respectively.
Porto went on to attain the widest margin of victory in the Portugese League's history-leaving Benfica trailing by a whopping 21 points. Success was worked towards, not purchased.
Nevertheless, the papers are rife with transfer rumors following Villas-Boas' appointment. One of Europe's most in-form strikers, Falcao, who netted a stunning 38 goals in 42 games for Porto last season, and Portugese playmaker Joao Moutinho, are said to be following their former boss to London.
Change is coming and coming quick.
While it remains to be seen whether one of Europe's most promising young managerial talents will find the leap from the Primeira Liga to the Barclays Premier League and the gulf between the Europa League and the UEFA Champions League too difficult to overcome, Villas-Boas' biggest obstacle could be the man who spent a fortune to prise him away from Porto.
Instant success is what Roman Abramovich craves, but the Russian billionaire's impatience may be the Portuguese's undoing if Villas-Boas does not deliver.
So will it really be a new dawn at Chelsea or will it be just rinse, wash and repeat? Time will tell. Till then, welcome to the big time Andre Villas-Boas.