Chelsea's manager Andre Villas-Boas watches from the touchline during their English Premier League soccer match against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke, central England.(Photo by REUTERS)
In Villas-Boas's first competitive game in charge of the London club, Chelsea were left frustrated when referee Mark Halsey waved away appeals for a penalty after Frank Lampard went down under a Marc Wilson challenge early in the second-half.
The former Porto coach refused to comment on that specific incident after the game at the Britannia Stadium but he made it clear that the hosts' approach was not to his liking.
"The amount of pushing and grabbing in the box is out of this world," he said.
"I want to draw the referees' attention to these kind of details as they say they are going to be aware of them. Maybe they need extra help."
There are parallels between Villas-Boas's comments and those made by other English managers unhappy at the way in which Tony Pulis's Stoke have gone about establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger branded Stoke "cowards" for their physical approach in a meeting between the sides in 2008, and was left incensed the following season after midfielder Aaron Ramsey suffered a broken leg under a challenge from Ryan Shawcross.
Last year, he accused "rugby-style tactics."
"You cannot say it is football any more. It is more rugby on goalkeepers than football," he said after witnessing the Potters' defeat to Tottenham in August last year.
However, Sir Alex Ferguson, who was already working as a manager before 33-year-old Villas-Boas was even born, defended Pulis and Stoke last season.
"People have criticised their physical style of play but they stick to what they do best," the Scotsman said.
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