AVB wants change of fortune

Last updated : 26 September 2011 By Team Talk

Torres' sending off in Saturday's 4-1 Premier League win over Swansea was the latest calamity to befall the striker since his ?50million move to Stamford Bridge.

It was also the latest to happen to Villas-Boas since he became Chelsea manager this summer.

And while Torres has also had to deal with a 13-match barren run, the controversy over an interview translated by his own website, and last weekend's open-goal gaffe at Manchester United, Villas-Boas has had to handle the fallout from that and then some.

Michael Essien suffered a serious injury in pre-season, Luka Modric ended up staying at Tottenham, United's opening two goals last Sunday should never have stood, and Alex was red-carded in Wednesday night's Carling Cup victory over Fulham.

Asked if he thought his striker was cursed, Villas-Boas joked: "No. I think I haven't found luck yet!

"I think maybe one or two more games and then things start happening for you."

Villas-Boas cannot afford one or two more games of ill-fortune, with Chelsea travelling to Valencia this week for what is arguably the toughest assignment of their Champions League Group E campaign.

Villas-Boas admitted that "could be" the case, although he pointed out a victory would put his side firmly on course for the knockout phase.

Insisting Chelsea would go to Spain looking to win and not draw, he added: "If you come back with a win, it puts us in a very good position to pass the group.

"It's going to be a very, very difficult game - because we saw recently what Valencia can do against Barcelona (a 2-2 draw).

"But if we get the win over there, it will be a major step towards our qualification."

Frank Lampard looks certain to start after playing no part on Saturday.

The midfielder's exclusion was further evidence that, at 33, he is being held back more and more for the big games.

Villas-Boas would not be drawn on whether Lampard would be recalled on Wednesday, although the alternative is unthinkable for a player whose powers some believe are on the wane.

"I cannot go on every week discussing the choices I take," said Villas-Boas, who made 10 changes yesterday, with Petr Cech retained and John Terry recalled after his cameo in Wednesday night's Carling Cup penalty shootout win over Fulham.

"Our main thought was to send the most amount of players fresh onto the pitch.

"In the end, we decided to stick with Pete and JT but we had almost 11 players fresh on the pitch.

"I think this is important when you play every three days."

Declaring Lampard was still a key player, Villas-Boas said: "He has been doing magnificently well for the team, as you know.

"He started in five games and played 90 minutes in four of them and there's nothing to say.

"He's a fantastic player and we count on him like we count on the other ones."

Saturday's game was the first time Chelsea have scored four times since Villas-Boas took charge.

"We have been looking to find the back of the net with more proficiency and we were more prolific in front of goal and that made a difference," he said.

"A couple of weeks ago, we spoke here about the fluency in the team and that the midweek game would help the fluency of the team.

"I think it's been helping to be fair because you try what you do in training more often.

"To be more consistent, you need the wins and we lost at Old Trafford, so it was important to come back from a defeat and show our resilience and to continue to challenge for the top positions."

Despite the worrying nature of Swansea's loss yesterday, manager Brendan Rodgers vowed to stick to his footballing principles.

"We are going to play one way, the way the players know," he said.

"Our home games will be criticial and, if we can build confidence by good performances at some of the big guns, that is a bonus."

Rodgers, who was treated to an ovation before kick-off in recognition of his four years as Chelsea reserve-team boss, was confident his former club would be up there challenging this season.

He said: "There was a tradition here of winning under (Jose) Mourinho.

"You'll have that as long as you have players like Lampard, Terry, (Didier) Drogba - they are champions."

Source: Team Talk

Source: Team Talk