A brave selection gave him the chance to savour the win and ram words back down the throats of the media who have criticised his team so much.
Unfortunately for the Portuguese, he has managed to irk the media. Which is unfortunate for him, as he has been unfairly vilified by them so far, of that there is little doubt. Villas Boas has had to fight against the dominance of all things at the club by a cohort of players with constituencies soundly supported in the media.
So far, he is winning, which is rather remarkable all things considered. He also pointed to the media’s accusation that Manchester City were not treated with the same stick as he is, considering that they are almost certain not to qualify for the second stage. He has a point too – City have been excused their exit on the basis of their lack of experience. What experience indeed, do Napoli have in the competition? And how much experience do the pointless Villarreal have?
So for Villas Boas, he has made a significant move towards restoring Chelsea to their former glories. But with a more entertaining verve. Though pragmatism was the order of the day against Valencia, it would seem that this is a move made because he simply does not have the players to play the game he wants to. We should not be surprised if he changes and turns Chelsea into a proper Villas Boas team.
And probably the first name on that new team sheet will be Oriel Romeu. Romeu has been superb for Chelsea, solving the Portuguese manager’s biggest problem. Defensive midfield. John Obi Mikel has been rather useless so far, whilst there is no alternative to him apart from the inexperienced Spaniard. Yet the La Masia graduate was decisively used by Villas Boas in response to the continued failure of his troops.
Against Newcastle he defended well and tackled superbly, marshalling the area in front of the defence effectively, and did the same against Valencia. He doesn’t pass as fast or as accurately as fellow La Masia graduates, but that is hardly anything to be ashamed of, particularly in the technically lacking Premier League.
Romeu’s adaptation to life in England is quite remarkable, and he could form a superb midfield combination with Raul Mereiles and Ramires. Movement, passing and creativity, with Juan Mata ahead of them both, will give Chelsea their new personality under the new coach.
The only negative for Chelsea is that Barcelona have avoided the pitfall and trap that they fell into with Cesc Fabregas. Romeu was sold to Chelsea with a clause allowing Barcelona to buy him back for a fixed fee in the future. Unfortunately for Chelsea, they are relying on a player to dig them out of this crisis, whom, if he does so, will likely leave for Spain sooner rather than later.
