Classy AVB needs time, not a spending spree

By Ian Holloway

Published 23:59 03/12/11

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Roman Abramovichis one of the richest men in football, but the one thing Andre Villas-Boas needs more than anything right now won’t cost Chelsea’s owner a single penny.

Of course, a £50million transfer kitty to spend in January wouldn’t do AVB any harm.

But what the young Blues boss must be ­afforded above all else is the time to mould a team he can call his own. Villas-Boas has been bequeathed some top-quality players. But this is basically the squad that was winning under Jose Mourinho six years ago and has only been tinkered with by Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe ­Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.

The clock is ticking down on those players, so Mr Abramovich needs to accept that there is going to be a transitional period as his young manager puts his own stamp on the team. In normal circumstances, a club that has paid more than £13m to buy a manager out of his contract would be unlikely to sack him after less than six months in the job. But Abramovich probably found the money to pay-off Porto in loose change down the back of his sofa.

I think AVB has handled himself with class in the short time he’s been here. If he is to succeed he will need the men above him to follow suit.

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