Source: Daily_Mail
Marcel Desailly warning to new Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas
Marcel Desailly understands the landscape of an A-list dressing room and knows the biggest egos inside Chelsea's are looking for clues about Andre Villas-Boas.[LNB] Is the young manager on their elite level? Does he have the bottle to make big decisions? Will he train them properly? Can he win them games? [LNB] Watching brief: Marcel Desailly knows the pitfalls facing new Chelsea boss[LNB] The former Chelsea defender believes the biggest challenge for Villas-Boas is to revive the career of Fernando Torres but his first is to prove his methods work and that, at 33, he is not too raw.[LNB] 'All the pressure is all on the shoulders of the coach,' said the ex-Chelsea and France captain, speaking at the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong.[LNB] 'If I was in the squad like this, with a young coach like this, with not too much experience, who has had one win with Porto, it could be a little problem.[LNB] 'The Chelsea players are really established players. If I was there, a World Cup winner, I would be expecting the coach to show me during the training session, and in his substitutions and tactics, how clear he is in his vision.[LNB] 'If he makes any mistake then they will not follow him. Subconsciously they will be thinking that the guy who is supposed to be managing is not on their level. He has to be clever on how he manages his team.[LNB] 'His first few weeks could be vital. If they don't perform, the players and their consideration will change.'[LNB] Same side: The players must buy into vision of Villas-Boas[LNB] Villas-Boas had an amazing record in his year at Porto, which started with the sale of Bruno Alves and Raul Meireles and ended with three trophies. At Chelsea, he has made a positive start with well-organised pre-season training and lots of work on the ball, but will this be enough to survive a poor run of results in an ego-filled dressing room? [LNB] 'Chelsea will face problems if the players don't follow his vision and become less confident,' said Desailly. 'I've seen him in the press conference and I could feel he was already annoyed. He is the guy with the vision and ambition. Come on, you are the man, show us. He should be talking up the players.' [LNB] On Carlo Ancelotti [LNB] Ancelotti did well and has a good c.v. but Chelsea wanted someone a little bit sharper, with the capacity to get more out of the players. This is why Roman Abramovich decided to change. Villas-Boas is much sharper.[LNB] On Fernando Torres[LNB] The main challenge for Villas-Boas is Torres. How to get Torres back to his best physically, also finding the players around him who allow him to express himself.[LNB] They really need a playmaker. If Yossi Benayoun had been fit last season Chelsea would have won the league. He would have been the link between the defensive and offensive parts of midfield.[LNB] Without a playmaker, Torres will have difficulty expressing himself and people will talk again about the money he cost. He's not getting the ball soon enough. [LNB] Tough challenge: Chelsea need to get Torres back to his best[LNB] On Frank Lampard[LNB] Lampard is a great player and a friend, but he does not give you the ball straight away. He keeps the ball, then gives it to someone else to get it back and score. He's not somebody who gets the team to play. Torres needs the ball early, which is why it's not working.[LNB] On Luka Modric[LNB] Modric is a great player, but he's too small; too lightweight. I'm not sure he's right for Chelsea and the number of games they play. For what Chelsea need he's good, but not great. Now, Wesley Sneijder is a great player. We're talking about Chelsea, who have to be on the same level as Barcelona, Manchester United and AC Milan, not Tottenham. [LNB] . . . and Torres again[LNB] It's a real physical problem. You could see it during the World Cup. You have to be confident when you play for Spain: the movement; the passes. Spain are the perfect team for a striker. Physically he was not at the level. [LNB] He moved to Chelsea but mentally he was not confident. It started as a physical problem but ended up being a confidence problem. You realise you're not capable of the same sort of effort you were before.[LNB]At Atletico Madrid he looked like a killer, and even three years ago at Liverpool he reminded me of Marco van Basten. He had the biggest potential of anyone in Europe.[LNB] He was the complete player. He could head the ball, left foot, right foot, speed, great first touch. He was like Van Basten. That's why he's the key. Chelsea's offensive focus has to switch completely to Torres.[LNB] It will come. The guy is 27, the talent is still there and he's not scared about the Premier League, he doesn't need to adapt to the speed or skill of the Premier League. He still has the pace. [LNB] Top man: Striker Didier Drogba[LNB] On Didier Drogba[LNB] He's not the future, he knows that. He's the present and he's in hot form at present. But they want to win everything and he played 40 games at 32 years old and it's no problem for him. [LNB] On Roman Abramovich[LNB] Abramovich is being clever. They had an amazing coach in Ancelotti, but didn't have that pragmatic attitude and speed to adapt. So they've brought in a man to make the difference.[LNB] If Chelsea didn't have one single owner then it would have been different and Ancelotti would have stayed but Abramovich has so much passion he decided to change.[LNB] He wants someone who can make fast changes. Chelsea are a young club. What they're doing is awful, and at the same time it's magnificent.[LNB] Chelsea make official complaint to Malaysia FA over anti-Semitic abuse directed at BenayounChelsea wait on bid for Dann as work permit application for Rajkovic is heardCLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE FANTASY FOOTBALL GAME[LNB] [LNB]
