Villas-Boas, Chelsea, and Falcao

Chelsea and Andre Villas-Boas, it was a partnership which could have ended in happy marriage, but turned out to be a brief but messy fling.

Now he has shacked up with a new partner, and Chelsea have found the man of their dreams in Roberto di Matteo, even if doubts last as to whether they will one day boot him out too.

So the Portuguese manager's time at the Bridge was a failure, but perhaps it didn't have to be?

What if he had signed the striker who fired him to success at Porto, both domestically and in the Europa League?

Falcao scored 18 goals to lead Porto to European success, and 38 in total. He is viewed as the complete centre forward, he can score headers, tap-ins, and spectacular volleys, equally adept with both feet.

What's more, is that he was available last summer too. When Atletico Madrid sold Sergio Aguero to Manchester City, they didn't sit on the cash, they went out and splashed out on the Colombian for a fee of 40 million Euros.

Over at Chelsea, they did spend big on a striker, but it was one Andre Villas-Boas didn't want. Romelu Lukaku signed for £13 million, which could rise to £18 million, but he barely featured under AVB, a contentious point for the Belgian.

Why didn't the Blues go in for Falcao? AVB knew exactly what qualities he could bring to the team, and how to get the best out of him. It would have been an expensive purchase, but there would have been little risk, the South American is viewed as the best out and out striker in the world, and proved his value by leading Atletico to the Europa League last season, his second in succession.

There are two possible reasons why the manager did not go in for him. Firstly a gentleman's agreement between Chelsea and Porto, or himself and Porto that he would not raid his former club for their top players. If this is the case then it was noble but pointless, as there was surely no difference to the Portuguese club where they sold Falcao once it became evident he was on the market.

The second is that Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich did not want to sanction the bid. In January he had just spent £50 million on Fernando Torres. AVB's mission was to get the Spaniard firing, to work with the riches available, not to buy a new star to compete with him. That's why Lukaku was bought, as one for the future, rather than to compete with Torres right away.

As tough as it would have been, what AVB should have done was to move Didier Drogba aside right away and brought in Falcao. It was clear even under Ancelotti that Drogba and Torres didn't gel, and AVB spent his seven months at the club finding out more of the same.

Drogba was into his last year, or potentially two, as it was, and AVB should have lobbied Abramovich to sanction a bid for Falcao, then 25, to create his dream partnership with Torres.

As it was, the rest was history. Chelsea may have ended up European Champions, but it was little to do with AVB. Now Drogba is gone, and Chelsea are still on the hunt for a striker.

The latest reports have it that Chelsea are going to bid for Falcao in January. To partner him with Torres. It will cost more than it would have done a year and a half earlier, and some of the best football of the striker's career has passed the club by when he could have been doing it for them.

As for AVB, he might find himself at the brunt of Falcao's talents, when Chelsea face Tottenham. That's if he remains in a job by then.

Should Chelsea have signed Falcao last summer? Why didn't they? 

image: © Vladimir Maiorov