With news that Chelsea are looking at a deal for a new right back and rumours that the Gary Cahill deal will be done and dusted by tomorrow, I am just wondering if AVB will revert back to his approach of playing with a high defensive line?.
We have seen that he tried to implement his "high", "medium" and "low" block approach during the beginning of the season and Chelsea suffered badly with heavy defeats away at United and then at home to Arsenal.

JT has spoken about about stories of a dressing room revolt, backing the manager, celebrating the goals yesterday and of the hard line that AVB has installed at the club today.
In a fantastic interview featured here he said:

"I want to make it clear I'm 100 per cent behind the manager.

It's headlines like this we wake up to this morning with The Sun claiming from their so called "Chelsea source" that there is player unrest and AVB has lost the dressing room.
The basis of this information has come about because apparently Nico Anelka was banned from the club's Xmas do by AVB so the players organised a separate one and didn't tell AVB for Anelka.

How many times this season have we looked like we can beat anyone and then in an instant struggle to win games?. It's so frustrating once again this season and Saturday against Fulham proved to me once again that when sides come to the Bridge and line up defensively, we struggle to break them down.

After Frank Lampard came on and scored the winner against Manchester City in the week, he was asked after the game about being on the bench the last couple of games. His response made headlines in the media and was spoken about on here. Lampard's response was of surprise as he said straight after the game:

"I want to play, simple as that, I'm as fit as I've ever been.

I said before the Valencia game that we needed our big players to put in big performances and to stand up and be counted and lead the rest of the team to victory. They did exactly what we asked for and we got a fantastic result.
I said the same again for yesterday against City and although understated, they still all played a part in getting the right result.

Tonight is huge and AVB has had his say ahead of the game. He has spoken of City's fantastic start to the Premier League campaign so far this season, what a win would mean to them tonight but to remember this is Chelsea they face tonight.
He said:

"City set an extreme standard of performance, They have made one of the best starts ever to the Premier League and the further they go in the league with the amount of wins they're having, the more they'll believe this is their year.

We have all got used to the negativity that surrounds Chelsea from most of the written press and the media. We accept that as soon as something doesn't go our way it will be jumped on and dragged through the papers for days. I have mentioned on here about old dried up ex-pro's who have nothing else better to do even getting involved.

AVB held his pre match press conference yesterday and was keen to point out that Chelsea will not be sitting back to try and keep a clean sheet to progress to the knockout stages tonight but will be going all out to win the game which is good to hear.
He said:

People have seen us play enough now to be sure we always take the initiative in games, We know that Valencia want to get something because a goal for them makes the game even more difficult for us, but we won't change our strategy just because it is an important game
We will take the initiative and we don't play counter attack or use the long balls.

That's the verdict of AVB has he took on his press conference with the media ahead of tomorrow's game against Newcastle.
As we all know the pressure on the manager here is immense according to the media because of the levels of expectation that is demanded by the owner. AVB was quick to defend his role here and said:

"I am 100 per cent certain I will be at Chelsea at the end of the season.

Source: ESPN Soccernet
I have to say that I am finding it increasingly difficult being a Chelsea fan at the moment. I have been and will be a Chelsea fan all my life and will support them through thick and thin. I have seen good times in recent seasons and plenty of bad times at this club. I stood on the old shed end and supported Chelsea week in, week out when we were in the old second division so I know just how bad it can be.

KTBFFH
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In arguably one of the most difficult press conferences he has ever had to face being a manager, let alone Chelsea manager, AVB admitted that our run has been unacceptable and continues to believe that he can turn things round.
Here are the key parts of the press conference yesterday:

"We have spoken about results – and results in football are key to a manager's sustainability.

AVB has taken his pre match press conference this afternoon ahead of the Wolves game and has revealed that Ashley Cole is fit to play, has revealed there will not be dramatic changes to the squad and has spoken of team meetings ahead of the game. He said:

'There will be no radical changes in terms of the 19 players in the squad, There shouldn't be any dramatic changes.

Never one to shirk away from this responsibility to speak to the media, Andre Villas-Boas was quick to speak honestly and openly about our recent form. He said:

It looks bad for us at the moment. It has not been the brightest of starts - the worst for quite some time - but we have to have belief and believe in the work to get back to winning ways.

Back on Friday, the FA confirmed that they have charged AVB for his comments made after our defeat at Loftus Road against QPR. The statement from the FA said:

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has been charged with improper conduct by The FA, following media comments he made about the match official after his side's match at Queens Park Rangers on 23 October 2011.

AVB is under pressure apparently and the media focus this week has been our recent run of poor form. We all know we should have defended better against the Arsenal and beaten Genk this week but is it just a case of being unlucky at not being able to put the ball in the net and it has cost us as Petr Cech has stated?

I have said time and time again on my blog that the more I hear from AVB, the more I like him. Take yesterday's developments in his pre match press conference ahead of the Everton game tonight, he was asked to comment on the fact that Chelsea have been charged with the standard "failure to control their players" charge after receiving seven yellow cards and two red cards in the game in addition to being asked himself, to explain comments he made after the QPR game about Referee Chris Foy.

Bruce Buck is given an interview quoted on the BBC Sport website and has spoken of AVB's impact at the club and the fact that he could be our manager for the next 10-15 years. He said:

"We do envy Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in terms of longevity, but it shouldn't be longevity for longevity's sake.

I noticed an interview published before the Bolton game and bookmarked it to refer back to today and especially now after yesterdays result, it is even more appropriate to discuss it now.
AVB was speaking of Danny Sturridge and what he offers Chelsea and his team and has compared him to "Hulk" of Porto.

John Terry is featured giving an in depth interview on all things Chelsea this coming Friday evening on Chelsea TV and in that interview he speaks of AVB giving his honest opinions. A part of that interview has been published in the Guardian this afternoon.
So, on AVB since he has come in and pre season, Terry said:

"He's come in and, really, from day one, he's been on the ball and on the button with us all.

Petr Cech has alot of attention today after his interview has been published in various media outlets today. The focus of attention is on his comment's on the situation with the manager at Chelsea. AVB is his seventh different manager at the club since he signed in the summer of 2004 and believes that the time Mourinho spent at the club remains the benchmark.

Early today an article stating ex-Chelsea legend Marcel Desailly caught my attention as he claimed that the reason Carlo Ancelotti was sacked was purely because he couldn't get the best out of Fernando Torres and nothing else.
Now straight away I thought to myself "Are you for real!

Andre Villas-Boas continues to be quoted from his interviews that took place at Stamford Bridge yesterday. First was his interview with the Official Website and last night in an interview with Chelsea TV, AVB is quoted once again. He said:

'We just want to introduce our philosophy and mould it into what is the culture of English football and English players.

Chelsea have officially confirmed Andre Villas Boas as our new manager a moment ago. The statement on Chelseafc.com reads:

Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce that Andre Villas-Boas will be the club's new manager.
He has signed a three-year contract and will start work immediately.

KTBFFH
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I think the question we are asking ourselves with the news today that it looks more or less certain that Andre Villas-Boas will be named the new Chelsea manager very soon is:

Can he handle the big ego's at Chelsea?

The general consensus of opinion outside of Stamford Bridge is that there are certain players who hold some clout within that dressing room and seeing someone come to "manage" them being the same age could cause problems.

Breaking news on Sky this morning. Andre Villas-Boas has offered his resignation to Porto this morning.
It's seems Roman Abramovich has got his man. What do you think about AVB now knowing it's more or less certain he is coming?.
The question remains, will he come here alone, with players and with Guus Hiddink eventually?

It's seems that it will only be a matter of days now until Chelsea reveal that Andre Villas Boas will be the new Chelsea manager after, according to reports, Guus Hiddink couldn't come to an agreement with Chelsea.
I posted yesterday about the Hiddink / Villas Boas possible link up as Director of Football and First Team Coach and it seems that this was partly right until Villas Boas "reportedly" threw a spanner in the works.

Bookies have slashed the odds on Andre Villas-Boas becoming the new Chelsea manager over the weekend and this morning from 8/1 - 11/10 and have reportedly suspended the betting!.
After weeks of speculation about who the main man was going to be at Chelsea, it seems there could be two arriving at Stamford Bridge with Guus Hiddink coming in as Director of Football and Andre Villas-Boas as the new First Team Coach.

Ron Gourlay is featured in today's press speaking of the search for a new manager at the club and also of the clubs transfer plans. When asked about the current speculation regarding the manager he said:

"It's a big season for us coming up. Things didn't go as well as we hoped last season and plans are very much in place for next season to be back winning trophies.

Now the Guus Hiddink to Chelsea soap opera that appears to be going on at the moment with the "will he, won't he?" questions constantly being raised on a daily basis took a turn over the weekend.
When Guus Hiddink returned from a trip to South Korea, he was asked once more about rumours of Chelsea and also of his "reported" recommendation to Roman Abramovich to sign Wesley Sneijder.

I was reading this article by Jason Burt in The Telegraph and it really got me thinking. The article talks about the deal for Romelu Lukaku and others but moves onto to discuss the situation regarding the new manager at the club.
It's believed that Guus Hiddink is he preferred choice to come back to the club, but Abramovich is keeping two other options open to him in Jose Mourinho and Mark Hughes BUT, with a different strategy altogether as far as a contract offer goes.

It looks increasingly like Guus Hiddink is poised to become the new Chelsea manager taking over from Carlo Ancelotti. In the last couple of days there has been plenty of rumour and speculation about Hiddink coming here.
Towards the end of last week it seemed it that the deal was more or less done and dusted after the round of Euro 2012 qualifying games had taken place this weekend.

After my last post on here and the fact that Guus Hiddink's agent has said he will still be in charge of Turkey for their two Euro 2012 qualifying games in September, I just wonder now if Roman Abramovich will turn to Mark Hughes or Rafa Benitez?.
I mentioned about Hughes on here the other day and being an ex-Chelsea player and fan favourite, I wonder if that will hold any sway with the board.

It appears that Guus Hiddink is now "on holiday" and according to his agent:

"I can say absolutely that he will still be in charge of Turkey in September for the next matches, against Kazakhstan and Austria. This is what we say, this is the position."

(Source)
I have to say if that is the case then I cannot see Hiddink coming here as Manager.

No matter where you are, or what you are doing tonight (dependant on where in the world you are reading this), just how many of you will take time to check on the final score between Turkey and Belgium?
The fact that it seems that our future depends on what happens afterwards, it will be interesting to see if Turkey win tonight.

John Terry is quoted today in The Telegraph speaking of speculation regarding our new manager. As you can imagine, he was asked on his opinions about all the names being linked with the club and in particular Guus Hiddink and Mark Hughes, especially as Hughes resigned from Fulham yesterday and is looking to manage a "bigger" club.

According to the News of the World yesterday, Roman Abramovich is willing to pay his new manager a massive £6m a year to come to Chelsea, revamp the squad and at the same time, deliver the League title and/or the Champions League in their first season!.
I think all of us were surprised at the manner of Carlo's sacking even if it was expected by Carlo himself.

So after speaking previously this week, Guus Hiddink has revealed slightly more than he has done and remarkably for someone who has said that he would never break a contract, has admitted that if Chelsea got in touch with him about becoming our manager, he would listen. The question remains just how serious will Chelsea's offer be.