Roman Abramovich is unlikely to have been particularly bothered by Chelsea's exit from the Carling Cup at the hands of Liverpool. The competition remains fourth on the list of Stamford Bridge priorities, but elimination next week from the Champions League, the Russian's Holy Grail, could see the twitchiest sacking finger in the Premier League in action again.
Chelsea requires a victory or a goalless draw when Valencia comes to town on Tuesday to advance to the knockout stage. Abramovich, who has sacked five managers in eight years, is not a man to tolerate what he sees as failure — in the cases of Avram Grant and Carlo Ancelotti it was finishing runnerup — and the second coming of Guus Hiddink cannot be ruled out.
Andre Villas-Boas arrived from FC Porto last summer with a reputation as the best young coach in Europe. Four months into his Chelsea career, AVB has lost more friends than he has won, his tactics and team selection have been questioned, key personnel are struggling for form, he has failed to make Fernando Torres look like a ￡25 million striker let alone a ￡50 million player, and the man who could do no wrong in Oporto is, for the first time in his brief managerial career, facing repeated criticism.