Growing Pains

A lot of the media are reacting to AvB’s rant by saying that they ‘were swift to point out the folly of not letting this clearly very able and emerging young coach last beyond the first few months of his tenure’ (taken from Phil McNulty's piece after Tuesday night's win over Valencia). But it was the media themselves who were questioning whether or not Abramovich was going to retain the coach!

AvB has already revealed himself to be more human than previous coaches at Stamford Bridge. Sure there’s arrogance, and a degree of ‘nerdiness’ (sic) but there has also been worry and passion on display. With Mourinho, it was mostly arrogance – save for medals thrown into the crowd – Ancelloti seemed mostly cold/detached to me – and it was hard to get much of a read from Scolari, Hiddink or Grant due to their short tenure at Stamford Bridge.

AvB has had to endure more than any of these managers and in a much shorter space of time. He has taken over a successful team from a famous and popular manager (who many in the media and in the crowd had huge sympathy with when he was turfed out at the end of last season). His buyout price was high and is well known. He has many well loved and experienced players in his team, who have been 1st choice since they joined the club and are close in age to the manager himself. He has been saddled with an expensive ‘flop’ (no names necessary). He has not faced media scrutiny and the pressure of a competitive league like this before. So it is not entirely surprising to see the mask slip a little.

He was humble/honest enough to admit after Tuesday night’s game to admit that Chelsea got the result they wanted but not by playing how he would like them to play. This suggests that he still believes that Chelsea need to change and will continue along the path we’ve seen over the past few months – where results have not matched expectations. Chelsea are in a position where there’s only a small amount of margin for error – Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs all look like they are credible challengers for 3rd and 4th place (I’ll assume for now that both Manchester teams will continue to occupy 1st and 2nd for now). Development is important, but results are vital.

I think it’s a good thing that the young man appears to be developing a chip in his shoulder. Maybe it’s earlier than normal, but look at the Fergusons and the Wengers – they have faced down perceived adversity in a similar fashion to the bristling AvB the other night. And, having watched clips from the press conference, I honestly didn’t think the behaviour was as sensational as that claimed by journalists on Twitter. But developing a siege mentality is only a good idea if you can lift that siege at some point.

The win over Valenica was vital, but AvB does not have a ‘signature win’ since he came to Stamford Bridge. The biggest opportunity was the away game against Man Utd back in October, but Chelsea fluffed their lines that day. Sure they have played (and lost to) Arsenal and Liverpool since – games they were expected to win. But Monday night represents another opportunity to make his mark. Man City has been the team to beat this season. And the 4th Estate will be watching closer than usual after Tuesday’s outburst. What better way to cause a real stir by taking out the champions elect?