Villas-Boas must help Chelsea evolve

Andre Villas-Boas has certainly got off to a decent start as Chelsea manager. While the two Manchester clubs have been grabbing all the headlines with various demolition jobs, the Blues have snuck quietly under the radar.  

While they have not matched United and City in terms of thrills, they are still for the most part getting the results. Indeed, they were the only British side to win in Europe this week, and would be level on points at the top of the Premier League were it not for that opening-day draw at Stoke.
But the trip to Old Trafford will undoubtedly be the biggest test of his career in England so far, and Villas-Boas has to be decisive. Will he put a great show of faith in Daniel Sturridge and start him or stick with Fernando Torres? Does he have the courage in his convictions to drop Frank Lampard for the second game in a row?
Although Torres is not the same player who once terrorised United, he should still have enough experience to keep his place ahead of the younger, quicker Sturridge. But Chelsea do need some degree of pace in their team if they are going to try and get something away to the champions, and that could mean Lampard making way for Raul Meireles. The new signing from Liverpool is not exactly the quickest himself, but to play with Lampard at this stage of his career is to accept that your midfield will lack energy and pace.
Villas-Boas has already shown he can make big decisions as and when he sees fit, such as when he substituted Salomon Kalou against West Brom after just 35 minutes, or when he has benched Torres and Lampard.
Omitting those two stars was down to resting them for the subsequent games, but he needs to start reshaping this Chelsea team sooner or later.
The Porto team he guided to such great success last season was a joy to behold, full of speed and attacking intent. It will not be possible for him to make that happen overnight at Stamford Bridge, but it is surely why Roman Abramovich pushed so hard to get him. It would be odd for the Russian to pay such a huge amount of money in compensation for a manager if he is not going to let him do things his way. What is the point in spending £13.5 million if he just wants a puppet in the dugout for him to manipulate?
No Chelsea manager has deviated too far away from the template laid down by Jose Mourinho, and for good reason. It has brought in a certain amount of success since his departure, just not as much as Abramovich would have liked given the resources he has pumped into the club.
That is why Villas-Boas is here, to bring the trophies to the club but also to win them in the right way. There must only be so long the club's benefactor can keep patience with watching his obscenely expensive team grind out efficient victories, especially when he looks at the amazing transformation in Manchester City since the start of the season.
As I said earlier in the week, it is far too early to write the title race off as an all-Manchester affair. Chelsea will still have a big say in the destination of the trophy this season. But it looks like they will gradually get left behind if they fail to evolve.