Manchester City News 24/7Writer: Johnny Baguette VMC Newsdesk 
Date:Tuesday February 28 2012
Time: 1:04PM
UK time is: 01:43:45
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Chelsea Touchline Jester Talks 94 Goal City
Weirdo Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas appears to be losing more than his dressing room. The cat on hot bricks impressionist 'doesn't like the standards of City's football...'
It's an odd claim from an increasingly oddball character who is right under the Roman Abramovich spotlight. He's in serious danger of becoming the club's 6th managerial casualty inside 8 years.
The 34 year old Chelsea boss has held some erratic press conferences of late and his latest interview for Portuguese radio continues the trend of threatening to talk himself into a corner.
Ahead of a difficult trip to Fortress Etihad next month, bouyed by a home win over Bolton Wanderers, he's chosen the moment to speak out about the 4 month league leaders. He rambled:
'I refuse to build a team like City. I don't like the standards of their football. City is a very organised, efficient, well balanced team. All they want right now is to be champions. There's an exact formula to be successful in the Premier League, and that's what City is doing right now: attacking efficiency above all. They are an Italian team, they follow the Italian standards. If I saw them playing in Italy, I would say that's where they actually belong.'
City have hit 67 league goals in 26 games to date and have the country's meanest defence whereas AC Milan, the top side in Serie A have hit 49 goals in 25 games. That's a couple more than Chelsea's 47. It's not easy to understand what he's on about and not for the first time this season.
In the same interview he openly considers signing the pisspoor Hulk from FC Porto who would rival Liverpool T-Shirt icon Luis Suarez for shrieking turf plummeting any day of the week. Somebody should show the oligarch the Hulk's powder puff no shows against City over the past fortnight.
4 games of destiny start for the man they call AVB at West Brom on Saturday. If he can cling to his job long enough to show up in his dodgy raincoat in Manchester at the end of those fixtures, few in town will complain.
UPCOMING FIXTURES:
all times East Manchester
Sa 03 Mar 15:00 Bolton, The Etihad, PL
Th 08 Mar 18:00 S Lisbon, Estádio José Alvalade, ELR16
Sa 11 Mar 14:00 Swansea, Liberty Stadium, PL
Th 15 Mar 20:05 S Lisbon, The Etihad, ELR16
Mo 19 Mar 20:00 Chelsea, The Etihad, PL
Sa 24 Mar 17:30 Stoke, Britannia Stadium, PL
Sa 31 Mar 15:00 Sunderland, The Etihad, PL
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Your Comments
They must do a different version of April fools day in Portugal, as that's the only explanation for these utterly ludicrous comments from the man. AVB has well and truly lost the plot, I'd be surprised to see him still in his job on march 15th.
fifthcolumnblue
So, we're incredibly efficient in front of goal and are scoring quite a bit...and he doesn't approve of that? Am I missing something?
PhillyBlueMoon
I'm at a loss Philly. Perhaps some of our Vital Chelsea friends could shed some light?
Bluedub
I'd be inclined to give him the benefit of a bad translation because if he truly said that, he's lost his marbles. The statement is just wrong on so many levels. I've actually liked him up til now but these ramblings are just insane!
rojo2010
Interesting quotes.... Where are they from? My only thoughts were whether he meant "I refuse to build a team like City" as he wouldn't buy the majority of his squad (not an insult!! We've been there and done that ourselves!). He then actually compliments you guys.... organised, efficient, balanced, using the exact formula. It sounds to me like a compliment but through strained teeth. Let's be fair, you guys have got arguably the best squad in the premiership and should be strong enough to win it. Man Utd have bought it in the past, so have we, so have Blackburn and now it's your turn. No shame in that. We're on the other end right now in trying to get some sort of balance between young and old players.... somewhere you guys might find yourselves in 4-5 years maybe?
Bizarre_Blue
Ah just saw the bit about Hulk.... That means it was the portuguese radio interview?? I think this could be a bad case of poor translation as half the quote comes over as an insult and the other half comes over as a compliment.
Bizarre_Blue
Not likely Bizarre, our average age is still only around 24 I believe and Mancini's policy appears to be to buy 'em young and develop them.
Bluedub
Not to mention the huge investment in the Etihad Campus project. I'm not saying we'll produce players at the same rate as la Masia, but you can pretty much see who we've modelled our youth policy on. Guidetti is already earning rave reviews, as is Razak - Still have the likes of Cole, Bunn, Suarez, Rekik and Helan to come through, so I don't think we'll ever get into the situation where all our players are reaching the end of their careers at once. TNH, I feel a bit sorry for AVB walking into a dressing room where half the established players are the same age as him, and having to try and juggle their egos whilst replacing their fading powers. But I really do think his comments were a dig at us - for all the wrong reasons. The stress is showing, and as I said, I don't expect him to be in his job if you don't get past Napoli.
fifthcolumnblue
Our average age was about the same when we won our first EPL. By the time you've added 4-6 years onto the clocks players start to get old, injured etc. Things become more difficult to manage. You either keep buying the best talent to replace your aging stars or you buy younger inexperienced talent to bring through your academy. The difficulty is that younger inexperienced players won't be as good as your older ones and you can fall into the trap of over-reliance and suddenly it becomes too late (trust me..... we're there now!).
Bizarre_Blue
The reason you're there in my opinion Bizarre is because of the revolving door with managers. Jose was given long enough to put his own stamp on the squad. No other manager since has been afforded that luxury, therefore there was no natural transition in the squad as the managers since Jose used the old reliables and weren't given the time to implement their own ideas with fresh faces.
Bluedub
I can't begin to make sense of the quotes. They're not even coherent, so I would first question the validity of the source and then the translation, assuming it did come from Portuguese radio. If someone can IM me the quotes in Portuguese, I can get my brother to translate it. As for the tail end of the article, I like your confidence. Why not? Top of the table and all that. Just don't forget your record against Chelsea. We may not even make the top four, but we can still beat you. What that says about both squads is troubling.
RadioactiveD
Of course you can beat us RD. On any given day and all that. Nothing troubling about it. I'm confident if we don't get denied a stonewall penalty shout and can keep ten men on the pitch we will beat you at the Etihad.
Bluedub
Oh, the scripted PK moan. Have at it. We've got cause to moan as well. I would say it ought to be troubling that you can kill Man United but you lose to a struggling Chelsea and then can't escape your CL group. Your mentality doesn't match the quality on the pitch, but I would say that simply takes time. You'll get there. As for the upcoming CFC match at Etihad, I would be ecstatic with a draw. This isn't a time for a CFC supporter to be grandstanding. The press will spin it that all the pressure is on AVB when the squads play each other; that's not true. You'll be expected to win, and it's not like you've got a good cushion over United.
RadioactiveD
RD, are you serious? We played you off the park and I mean off the ******** park for the first half hour of that game. Decisions, not just the definite penalty shout went against us all day. We were reduced to ten whilst some of tour players got away with far worse. I can't see how you can use that game as an example of our mentality. Our DEBUT CL outing we were pitted in a very tough group because we don't have the UEFA coefficient to get the strolls that yourselves, Arse and the Rags get. We came away with a very creditable ten points. We have since shown, by annihilating Porto that we have gained experience as a unit in this type of comp. Nothing troubling at this end, quite the opposite in fact as we are currently in the best season the vast majority of City fans have ever seen.
Bluedub
Subjectivity is a hell of thing. You accuse me of it and I'll do the same. Not really interested in a debate between two avid supporters who follow different clubs, especially in the context of when we played one another. It's a debate that will go nowhere; I know this from experience. As for annihilating Porto, I would argue that they're just not very good. It's still a win to be proud of, but let's not assign it meaning that it doesn't warrant. The loss of Falcao has left them impotent. Keep in mind, too, that you defeated a club that was in a very easy group that, in fact, finished third in that easy group. Again, Porto is no big deal this season. And sure, City is finally seeing the real benefit of spending so much. The FA Cup was a start; you'll likely win the league; but what I was getting at in reference to your CL-showing is that for all your talent, something isn't quite right mentally. CFC is suffering from this, too, only in our case it's much worse. You've got the goods to get past Napoli and even Bayern. You didn't. Why? Perhaps it really was nerves based on inexperience. I have a tough time accepting that, though. Yaya Toure, Aguero, Balotelli, Nasri, Silva, Clichy--they've played in the CL before City. City, as I see it, may have trouble winning the league--not because they don't have the best squad (you do, by far) but because your mentality isn't quite there. You can dismiss my opinion, which is fine, but you won't change it.
RadioactiveD
I don't get it though. Right fair enough we have players that have played in the comp before but it is their first time as a collective so teething problems will exist, this is natural. We still had a number of new signings settling in at that stage too. When we have suffered our few upsets this season we have bounced right back to show that we have a strong mentality, for example when we lost our first league of the season against yourselves we picked ourselves up and beat an Arsenal side who were top of the form table in our next game. Does that not show you that we have a good mentality? Or failing that, we have held off the challenge of U*d for the last 4 months and have more or less seen off the challenge of Spurs, does this not show we have a strong mentality.
Bluedub
For the record fellas, City did secure 10 points from the group of CL death which would have been good enough to qualify from the majority of groups.
Johnny Baguette
He didnt even make sense lol.
Sajit
I feel like I've touched on a sensitive issue. I'm not being rude about it; in fact, I'd say I've been respectful. But this sensitivity that I'm picking up on suggests that you guys aren't trying to convince me that City's mentality is sound; I'd suggest you're trying to convince yourselves. Talk all day long about the ten points in the CL group; you still didn't advance. What sort of experience does Napoli have in the CL? All this talk about mentality, maybe I'm just wrong. You know your club better than I do, to be fair. There are, what, 18 more EPL games to go? The pressure will mount and we'll see soon enough who's right. It's probably a blessing in disguise that you've failed to advance in the CL, though it could get tricky in the Europa League. Right w Utd, you'll be expected to win it--and let's be honest, there's some glory in that but for the most ambitious clubs it's a punchline to a condescending joke. How much energy/focus should be put into it? If experience and playing together is so valued, by your logic, United has an advantage in the title hunt.
RadioactiveD
No need for that, Sajit. What on earth do you have to contribute?
RadioactiveD
Of course they have an advantage in that sense RD. That's obvious and it's the reason they're still hanging onto our coat tails. There's 12 games left in the league mate. And finally, let them joke, I have seen City win one trophy in my lifetime, if we can add the Europa League to that I will be delighted, let the arrogant ones condescend as they see fit, no skin off my nose. The reason I'm arguing with you over the mentality issues isbecause there have been plenty of examples this season and in the run in last season where we have shown that we have a strong mentality, whether that will be enough to push us to the title this season only time will tell.
Bluedub
It took us one or two games too many of getting our European tactics right, otherwise we'd be in the knockout stages and not the impressive Napoli team (as Chelsea know full well about now). Since we tweaked our Euro system we've beaten Bayern 2-0, Porto 2-1, and Porto again 4-0. Two of the top 6 sides in Europe (using Euro Club Index as a source which is much more relevant than the UEFA coefficients).
StuMCFC
Ugh, of course it's 12. I may be able to communicate well enough but apparently I can't subtract!
RadioactiveD
Bluedub: that's a compromise over the issue of mentality. I can accept that. I would never argue over whether or not City's mentality is improving; I would (and still do) question whether or not it will be enough to secure the title. SAF is a clever ******** and knows how to man-manage (that's AVB's undoing, though his tactics haven't helped at times); he knows how to keep everyone motivated. It won't be easy, but I'd rather see City win it just because I believe it's inevitable anyway, whether it's this year or the next. Plus, I think we're all sick of United winning. I'm sure you are more than me. I don't care much for Mancini--seems like a smug**** if you ask me--but he's doing something right. If he can handle Balotelli and keep the guy out of a prison, an asylum, a whorehouse, I guess he's doing well. Mancini's record in the CL has been pretty poor, though. But then perhaps he's not led a squad so deeply talented. Hard to say, given what Mourinho did when Mancini left. Anyway, good luck lads--save for when we meet you in the league!
RadioactiveD
StuMCFC: Napoli's got a dangerous attack but they're very unbalanced. Sixth place in Serie A, I think. Mediocre defensively. City's balanced everywhere, so again I feel like City should have done much better. You can point to CFC's result against Napoli as some kind of validation for the quality at Napoli; I would say CFC's loss is more a reflection of its problems rather than an example of Napoli being a big obstacle. Clubs like RM and Barca will hammer Napoli. Bayern Munich, in the right mood at least, could do it too. That's actually one thing that disappointed me about your CL group: I would have enjoyed seeing how City could cope against a fully-operational Bayern side.
RadioactiveD
"I'd suggest you're trying to convince yourselves". Nah mate, we're all good here, we all know what our team has. We have more than enough mentality to get where we want to get to. You're the only one trying to convince, possibly yourself, that Man City and their players have mentality issues. Your argument about us beating Utd and then losing to Chelsea is utterly pathetic - that has nothing to do with mentality. Mentality is what happens after a defeat. We lose to Bayern, we win our next 9, we lose to Chelsea and win our next 2, we get lose to Liverpool and Utd in two Cup competitions within 5 days - what do we do? Win 7 of our next 8 EPL games. That is mental strength, that is a winning mentality and a desire to maintain a fierce battle to win our first title in 44 years.
rojo2010
That's a big unfair, rojo, to say that I'm trying to convince myself that City lacks the mentality. Read my posts more carefully, need be. I've given my reasons; I'd say they're reasonable. I'd also remind you that it's not like I'm biased in regards to the title. Chelsea won't win it and I fecking hate Man Utd. Your point about how City bounces back from a defeat is fine and good. But again, we'll see what you're made of in the last 12 league matches.
RadioactiveD
Napoli have just struggled to cope with playing on two fronts while not having a huge squad but are still 5th in Serie A and in good form having beaten Inter at weekend. The thing about Napoli is that they will ALWAYS turn up in big games, it is the small games against teams like Bologna where they have a tendency to slip up, they have suffered from Champions League hangover or they'd probably be near the top of an increasingly competitive Serie A. They are probably the best counterattacking side in Europe besides Real Madrid.
StuMCFC
Inter has a big reputation but they're ***** poor this season. Bad example of a big game because the context of Inter's form is relevant. And even if they were top of the league, I don't see how my argument that City should have gotten past them in the group is compromised. City is better than Napoli. Better squad; much deeper bench; experienced manager who knows Serie A players. Spin it however you like, I view City's inability to get out of the group as a failure; I also view it in light of my position that mentality is cause for concern at the club. Rojo made an excellent point that mentality can be gauged in all sorts of ways, including how a club bounces back from disappointment; but that doesn't negate the fact that the disappointment happened, perhaps, when there was no good excuse for it.
RadioactiveD
Anyway, I've got to run. Have a good one. I enjoyed getting away from the home page of Vital Chelsea, if only for a brief time. The home page is plagued by brainless trolls. The more success you have, the more you'll attract them!
RadioactiveD
I think Chelsea may bring Citys unbeaten home run to an end
and it may to be due to fact that they out score City on the day. But when it does happen please dont come up with the usual excuses of biased refs penalties given and not given down to 10 men on the day Balotelli has got PMT Mancinis scarf was to tight round his neck bla bla
nickster
If wishes were horses, nickster would ride.
fifthcolumnblue
The Chelsea hierarchy have been left unimpressed by comments made by the manager, André Villas-Boas, in an interview with a Portuguese radio station and his position has effectively been rendered even more vulnerable as a result....http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/28/andre-villas-boas-chelsea-unhappy
Johnny Baguette
Dead man walking.
fifthcolumnblue
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