Chelsea's £70 million clear-out: The stars most at risk

• zocoss

  23 Jun 11, 10:13

   

  Chelsea's £70million clear-out: the stars most at risk from the Villas-Boas axe revealed

  

   

  The stars most at risk from the Villas-Boas axe

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  He arrived as Mini ­Mourinho, aware the comparisons are ­inevitable and unavoidable. Yet Andre Villas-Boas knows already that unless he is Mourinho-plus he will not be able to fulfil his Chelsea ambitions.

   Just like the Special One, Villas-Boas proved he can talk for Portugal as he gave a wide-ranging analysis of his hopes and dreams for his second coming to Stamford Bridge.

  But where Jose Mourinho was able to impose his will on a dressing room desperate for a charismatic leader who would sate their hunger for silverware, the new Chelsea manager inherits a very different squad.

  A squad that has won three league titles in the past seven years, even if ­European glory has eluded them.

  A squad which has aged, no longer young and desperate, but street-wise and perhaps street-weary, with a cast of heavyweights who have become used to their own importance and who could see a host of changes.

  A squad at whose heart are the players who will remember him only as a peripheral part of the Mourinho era, whose image of Villas-Boas was shaped by the dossiers he brought with him to Cobham on Thursday mornings.

  That is why he represents Roman Abramovich’s biggest gamble, why he must demonstrate from minute one of day one that he has what it takes to inspire, cajole, calculate and conduct. Matching Mourinho’s character will not be enough. He must surpass his former mentor, win the internal battles all over again, prove, without a scintilla of doubt, that he is a big fish and not managerial small fry.

  “There is no way I can avoid comparison with Jose,” said Villas-Boas. “But I didn’t take the Porto job nor the Chelsea job because Jose made the same steps. They’re two of the most sought-after clubs in the world and in the end I had the ­opportunity and was able to make them find something in me that they thought would continue their route to success.

  “Chelsea appointed me basically for my human qualities and that is what I want to bring into this club again.

  “The most important thing is to motivate the players to get their ambitions right, to reflect again on what the club has achieved in the last six years and we need to keep this route to success.”

  Mourinho’s route was to create a squad that proved too powerful for his successors. Avram Grant, Luis Felipe Scolari and even Carlo Ancelotti fell prey to the deadly double of dressing room gripes and an owner who does not accept failure.

  Villas-Boas, part of the coterie around Mourinho that bridled against the boardroom barbs, knows he will have no more leeway than his predecessors.

  “There isn’t going to be more or less tolerance for me if I’m not successful so this is the challenge I face,” he told Chelsea TV. “I feel confident we can motivate everybody, not only the players but also the structure. I feel confident I can respond to the ambitions of the fans and the ambitions of the owner and the administration.

  “As a technical staff we focus a lot on unlocking potential. Everyone has a little bit more to give and in day-to-day life that’s how everyone progresses in their careers.

  “We feel the players are the same. You have to stimulate them and motivate them to look for the things they didn’t try before, to give them freedom of choice as in the end when the players are on the pitch, they face different ­situations they must solve without the help of their manager.

  “That is the kind of stimulus we want the players to have, responsibility and making decisions, because in the end the game is decided by those on the pitch.

  “It’s a clashing together of two good organisations and in the end it’s the relationship between all of our players that can lead us to success, and that’s what I want to work on.”

  The reality, as Villas-Boas does not need telling, is there is one constant bottom line at Stamford Bridge, and that winning alone is only enough in the short-term.

  He added: “This is a club that has been used to being successful and we have to keep it that way and challenge ourselves to keep the habit to win and then win again the year after.

  “I’ve spoken to a couple of players and it’s good to feel their expectations.

  “It helps to face this new ­challenge in a more concentrated and focused way. We need to get the group back together and then go on from there and face every single game as a game we have to win and fight for it with our utmost desire.”

  Villas-Boas was hailed by the club as “outstanding” but Scolari was also dubbed “the outstanding choice” in 2008 and Ancelotti “the outstanding candidate”.

  The new man does not need to be told how swiftly things can change.

  Welcome to Chelsea.

   

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  The Blues most at risk from the new regime - and what they could fetch on the open market

  Frank Lampard (£5m)
  Stalwart and dressing room linchpin but now 33 and cannot be confident of remaining an automatic starter. Needs to come back firing after last season's injury problems.

  Didier Drogba (£10m)
  Wants to stay but will look vulnerable if Villas-Boas brings Falcao with him from Porto, especially after Roman Abramovich spent £50million on Fernando Torres.

  Nicolas Anelka (£5m)
  Goals dried up last season with none in his last 11 appearances and at 32 he looks increasingly vulnerable. Problem in shifting him will be his salary demands.

  Florent Malouda (£10m)
  Claims that he has been told he is wanted but upper echelons at the Bridge felt he let them down big-time last term after a great start. Went missing at Old Trafford in Champions League defeat as well.

  Michael Essien (£10m)
  One of the pillars of Mourinho's side but never close to his best last term and appears more expendable than at any time since arrival from Lyons. Coveted by others but powers may be on the wane.

  Salomon Kalou (£15m)
  Never popular with the Stamford Bridge fans despite decent goal return rate and likely to drop further down the pecking order in the new regime.

  John Obi Mikel (£15m)
  Struggled to justify the £16m in "hush money" Chelsea paid Manchester United to secure his services. Hard to see him getting a game if Villas-Boas can sign Joao Moutinho.

  
  
• Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1)

  23 Jun 11, 10:17

  if they really sell tis

  i confirm wan essien

• F.raon.I.R

  23 Jun 11, 10:29

  manuted should bloody get Essien.THis guy's initial intention in england was to join Manutd however the club did not have enough $$$ compared to chelsea..

• zocoss

  23 Jun 11, 10:34

  If you ask me, he should get rid of Lampard while he is still the "new blue eye boy of Roman" otherwise, once he loses that, and they the players are not happy with him down the road... He is going to get it... 

  Player power (Lampard, Terry, Drogba, Cech, Cole, Anelka) could push him over in a year or 2 time... At Chelsea, players like Lampard and Terry have too much power over the coach...

  Mourinho was done by Terry, Ballack, Joe Cole and Shevchenko... Scolari was done by Cech, Drogba, Terry and Lampard to a point where they even questioned his coaching style...

  So if this guy is smart, swing the axe first to cut down on their power before those hatchet men come after him with theirs...

• zocoss

  23 Jun 11, 10:41

  But we have to realise the Essien of last season was a pale comparison to the Essien of 3, 4 seasons ago leh... Unless he manage to get his old self back... The only way left is down. And for a defensive midfielder who has to cover a lot of ground on the pitch, he isn't getting any younger either...

• Loor

  23 Jun 11, 11:37

  Get another good defender and get rid of Terry because he is a d#%head.

• sg_forum

  23 Jun 11, 14:19

  My favourite guy for Liverpool last year after RH. Think he will do well in chelsea providing he can manage the players, most are older than him....

• dragg

  23 Jun 11, 14:25

  lampard may be worth 5m to small clubs but the rest are overpriced. especially kalou.

   

   

• Y_Shun

  26 Jun 11, 12:38

  From the list of players, I think only Kalou, Anelka and maybe Malouda will leave.

  Mikel and Essien are to stay la...

• zocoss

  27 Jun 11, 10:46

  Chelsea offered Galatasaray's Arda Turan in exchange for Drogba plus £7m in cash

   

  

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  Swap shop: Arda Turan is set to leave Galatasaray this summer with his club hoping to get Didier Drogba as part of a deal

   

   

   

   

  Galatasaray will allow Arda Turan to join Chelsea for £7million plus Didier Drogba.

  With Stamford Bridge target Turan rated at around £18m, the deal values Drogba at just £11m - a meagre offer likely to be rebuffed by Chelsea.

  Left winger Turan, 24, is a Liverpool fan and has been linked with the Merseyside club and Tottenham in the past but Chelsea are very keen following the recommendation of his international coach, Turkey boss Guus Hiddink.
  

  New Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas could be persuaded to let Drogba, 33, leave for the right price, and the Ivory Coast international will wait to see if Chelsea splash out on another forward before making a decision on his future.

  With Villas-Boas intent on bringing Colombia striker Falcao with him from Porto and Chelsea also showing interest in Udinese’s Alexis Sanchez, Drogba’s competition will not just be limited to £50m striker Fernando Torres and Nicolas Anelka.

  It had been widely assumed Drogba would leave Stamford Bridge this summer with Real Madrid initially very keen, but Villas-Boas will not make any hasty decisions on the playing squad he has inherited.

  However, assistant first-team coach Paul Clement, club doctor Bryan English and fitness coach Glen Driscoll were given notice on Saturday and are on gardening leave.

   

   

  

  I want that one: Chelsea's new boss Andre Villas-Boas is keen to start shaping his squad

   

   

  Clement joined Chelsea in 1994 as a part-time coach of the Under 15s. He had a six-year spell at Fulham but returned to Stamford Bridge in 2005 and rose up the ranks to work with the first-team under Guus Hiddink and then Ancelotti. He has served under all the managers of the Roman Abramovich era.

  Chelsea’s other assistant first-team coach, Michael Emenalo, a favourite of the Russian, will stay at the club under Villas-Boas, who will bring in fitness coach Jose Mario Rocha and scout Daniel Sousa from Porto.

  The new Chelsea manager will also look to appoint a direct replacement for Clement. Vitor Pereira, his successor at Porto, has already turned down the role.

  Two others who could leave are Jose Boswinga, who is being tracked by Turkish side Besiktas, and Daniel Sturridge. The £16m-rated Under 21 international is wanted on loan by West Brom, Stoke and Bolton.

   

• dragg

  28 Jun 11, 14:12

  drogba still worth more than 10 million?

   

• zocoss

  29 Jun 11, 11:08

  Rom blocks Mour move for Essien

   

  

  REAL THING ... Michael Essien .

   

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  ROMAN ABRAMOVICH will block Jose Mourinho's £18million move for Michael Essien.

   

  But one change at Chelsea set to go ahead is ex-midfielder Roberto Di Matteo's return to the club as new coach and No 2 to boss Andrea Villas-Boas. 

  Former Blues chief Mourinho is keen to capture Ghanaian midfielder Essien, 28, to add power and strength to the heart of his Real Madrid side. 

  But billionaire owner Abramovich insists Essien goes nowhere - certainly not to join Mourinho. 

  Mourinho signed Essien for Chelsea in a £24.4m deal in August 2005. 

  The player has four years left on his current £110,000-a-week contract and is happy to stay at Stamford Bridge. 

  A top Chelsea source said: "Abramovich is not going to sell." 

  Di Matteo has been looking for a new challenge since being sacked by West Bromwich Albion. 

  He will replace Paul Clement, coach for two years with Carlo Ancelotti, who has been put on gardening leave. 

  Gianfranco Zola could also be joining the Bridge coaching staff.