Time has run out for Fernando.

This was Fernando's last chance to prove why Didier Drogba should not walk back into the Chelsea team when he returns from the African Cup of Nations next week, there had been an improvement in his game and had some assists to his name, but no goals. A big performance against Everton, along with a goal or two and Fernando would have made his mark as Chelsea's number one striker.

As you already know this didn't happen, Chelsea lost 2-0 and now sit in 5th place, AVB is under immense pressure and it doesn't look good for his future, but the media has destined him to fail from the moment he was announced as Carlo Ancelotti's replacement.

It was on this ground last season where Ancelotti was axed, the double followed by a baron season not good enough for Roman. The circumstances are different now, so it wouldn't be as simple as sacking AVB for a more experienced manager, and as I have mentioned before on this blog, I don't think this situation is all AVB's doing.

As for the team's performances, they haven't been great, but when Chelsea have lost this season, only once have had less possession than the opposition (With 9 men against QPR), even though Chelsea lost 3-1 at home to Aston Villa they still had 61% possession over 90 minutes, quite remarkable really.

The problem has been putting the ball into the back of the net, certainly for Fernando, this season Chelsea have scored just 44 goals, Arsenal have 48, Tottenham have 49, while the two Manchester clubs are miles ahead with 61 for United and 63 for City.

It may seem that I am blaming our performance this season on Fernando, but I'm not, equal share must be handed out to the players and management, but £50 million is a lot of money and for it has proved a lot of money wasted. I really wanted Fernando to come good, wanted it more than I wanted Chelsea to win a trophy, but football won't wait for you and we are being left behind by the big three of City, United and Spurs. This will be Fernando's last season as a Chelsea player and hopefully one day he will be back to his best, sadly it won't be with Chelsea.

I for one, can't wait to see Drogba back in blue.

Chelsea Webchat

Forget The Special One

It's a strange feeling being a Chelsea fan at the moment, well for me it is anyway. On the one hand, I'm sure Manchester United will take three points away from us on Sunday which will kill our title hopes once and for all, but on the other hand, I've never been so excited about a manager since the days of The Special One.

That sounds odd I know, but as mentioned in this piece, AVB needs signings that suit his style of play for it to work, I know Roman doesn't want to spend big money anymore but wasting it on players that won't play for the first team for some time is hardly a better policy.

Under Jose, it was 'boring boring Chelsea' and it times some of it really was boring, but we won six trophies in three years so we could hardly complain. Several fans would take Jose back in a heartbeat but I would never like to see the Special One back, his time with Chelsea is in the past and as a club, we have spent far to long in the past, almost turning into Liverpool!

With AVB there is a freshness, a want to make changes, some, like leaving out Lampard will hurt but in time they will be proved correct and Chelsea fans will be wondering what the fuss was all about. At times he has had mistakes and team selection has been baffling, but from my view the changes are a call to the board that new signings need to be made.

Manchester United will almost certainly win on Sunday despite our best efforts, but without John Terry and Ashley Cole in defence they will be far too strong and our focus will be on our battle for fourth place with Arsenal and Liverpool. And of course the Champions League.

What Chelsea needs right now is the fans to be fully behind the captain and the manager, forget your day dreams about Jose returning because its not going to happen. We are on the verge of something very special, so just believe and have faith.

Keep The Blue Flag Flying High

Chelsea's poor showing isn't all AVB's doing

A few months ago, I wrote this blog on why AVB's football philosophy wasn't working, at the time, I blamed the squad he had inhertided. But know, looking back on the January transfer window and comments made by AVB on the signing of Kevin De Bruyne, I know that it is the board that is stopping AVB taking the club forward his way and not the tactical failings of AVB himself.

When I wrote that blog I included a number of targets I thought AVB would be after in January to help Chelsea play his way, Modric and Moutinho were the two players highlighted most. Now as we sit fourth in the table, slipping further and further away from the top three and only a player on loan in Belgium to show for our transfer dealings, you have to start thinking to yourself why?

When AVB joined Chelsea he said:

"I don't see why any manager shouldn't be in control of transfers, as would happen in any other club.
"The reality is that we are able to go for the best when we want so this is an advantage we have and we just need to make wise decisions when we move.
"This is a club that everybody wants to play for. But I need to judge what we have first and then make the decision. The market is open until August 31 and we need to bring in the best players if we need to. We are restructuring the club. There are, of course, still things we are going to outline and from this week or next week we will give those kind of responses.
"I have no problem working with a director of football or a technical director. The main thing is not to put someone there to disrupt the manager. The main thing is for us to build for the future.
"There are no players imposed on me - with the top quality you are able to get in the squad there are expectations on the manager and what he can do."

When Ancelotti was in charge he had always stated he was just the coach and he had the team given to him by the club, hence Fernando Torres. But the signing of AVB had seemed to signal a change in the clubs mentatlity and perhaps Roman didn't know as much about strikers as he first thought. Then after it was announced Chelsea had signed De Bruyne, AVB said this:

"It's a target that's decided by the club, that I knew about for quite some time.
"In the sense that it's the club policy for the future, it's the right thing [to buy him] and I'll do everything in my power for him to reach maximum potential.
"But it's down to the club in decision-making. I'm a manager who respects club policy.
"A club has to look to the future, whether it's with this manager or another. He's a good bet for the future."

The board still decide who they want to sign and seemingly, AVB has no input into who he can bring in to help the club today, not in a few years time. Infact under AVB, four signings have been made, two are on loan, one has made a few subsitute appearances and the other hasn't had a sniff of a game. Do you think AVB would have left Moutinho on the bench against Swansea?

AVB's philosphy thrives on a high defensive line and a quick tempo midfield that closes down quickly when they don't have pocession, at the moment he has Malouda in midfield and with McEachran on loan and Lampard and Ramires both injuried, results won't be improving for some time.

I suppose this is where there is criticism on AVB does come in, his arrogrance to move away from 4-4-3, when Torres would clearly benefit from having Mata behind him and Sturridge alongside him, is causing problems scoring goals, and the lack of pace in midfield without Ramires means an extra body in the shape of Mata helping to close down and start attacks would be much needed.

Perhaps AVB's arrogrance is a call to the board to let him bring the players in he wants, clearly his philsophy can work and has worked with Porto. So why doesn't Abramovich at least let him try? Perhaps the Uefa Financial Fair Play rules means Roman doesn't want to splash any more cash, and it was reported today he has spent a £1 billion pounds on Chelsea since the takeover.

There have been lots of "fans" especially on TalkSPORT insisting Chelsea will be lucky to finish 6th and AVB has to go, but before all the blame is laid at AVB's door, you should perhaps look deeper into why the way he wants his team to play isn't working.