Since that astonishing day in September when Chelsea ruthlessly showed Jose Mourinho the door at Stamford Bridge, Avram Grant has performed a pretty good impersonation of the special one, at least with results on the pitch.
Until Sunday’s 2-1 League Cup final defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, the Blues were going for silverware on four fronts and even the most pro-Mourinho fans were willing to concede that Grant was doing a decent job.
Now, however, Chelsea supporters may just be starting to question whether they got the wrong man. Round about the same time Mourinho was rewarded for two league titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups with the sack, Tottenham finally landed Sevilla coach Juande Ramos after shamefully undermining former boss Martin Jol.
Ramos, like Mourinho it seems, is a serial winner. He arrived at Spurs having won consecutive UEFA Cups with Sevilla, the European Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. He also took Sevilla to third in the Primera Liga and into the Champions League.
Grant’s time in Israeli football, though impressive, featured four defeats in showpiece cup finals. Now Ramos has given Spurs their first silverware since 1999 and their league form has improved beyond recognition.
Head to head with Grant at Wembley on Sunday, the Spaniard won hands down in all departments.
Grant’s 4-3-3 formation misfired so spectacularly that Chelsea’s only shot on target in the 90 minutes before extra time was the free kick scored by Didier Drogba. Nicolas Anelka was invisible, as was Shaun Wright Phillips, while Joe Cole, Chelsea’s most creative player, sat on the bench until deep into extra time.
Grant’s weekly mantra has been that Chelsea are much better to watch under his leadership. The evidence does not really stack up, however, and it is hard to imagine Chelsea playing such passive football under Mourinho as they did on Sunday. As Blue Champions note, they were lacklustre until a late bout of frenzied pressure.
As for Grant’s motivational qualities, before the start of extra time he stood around like a spare part while John Terry rallied his team mates.
Grant may yet mark his first season with an FA Cup triumph and maybe even land the Champions League. But should they end the season empty-handed, Chelsea fans’ pent-up anger at the treatment of Mourinho could come boiling to the surface, especially if Ramos goes on to clinch a hat-trick of UEFA Cup titles with Tottenham.
Martyn Herman, London
PHOTO: Tottenham’s Juande Ramos celebrates during the semi-final win over Arsenal, Jan. 22 REUTERS/Toby Melville
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7 comments so far
The current Chelsea coach Mr.Avram Grant is not at all capable of handling the players. I feel, the basic necessity to be a successful manager is that the players should have confidence in him, and looking at Avram’s achievements I can guess to some extent what the likes of Lampard, Terry, Ballack and Drogba will be thinking about him.
Looking at the results which Chelsea team has produced under him, I feel sorry to say that Chelsea have not managed to defeat any top level clubs like Man Utd, Arsenal or Liverpool. Which for that matter they were consistently doing under Jose. The list of players which Avram had for the final was literally the full strength of Chelsea side and he made a mess of it. And for that matter this is not the first time, he has been consistently doing this all through teh season.
The game which was played yesterday was the Final against a team and a manager who were defenitely under more pressure than Chelsea and Avram Grant. Full points to Ramos to instill the confidence in the Spurs side which was lost all these days. Turning the team this way to defeat Arsenal with a huge margin and then Chelsea in a final is simply great.
I strongly feel and would like to suggest Mr. Abramovich to re-consider his decision and have a better coach for chelsea. I think it won’t be possible this season but the if Avram continues next season, we may see chelsea around 10th position in the table.
As for his desire to win the ultimate Champions Trophy, does he really think that if Jose couldn’t do that with this team then Avram can do it….. please Mr. Abramovich….. think realistic.
- Posted by KhalidThanks for your comments….You are dead right, the top coaches get results whe it really matters and I have grave doubts about Grant’s ability to this…..with the players at his disposal i thought Chelsea were very poor on Sunday….and why was Joe Cole left kicking his heels?
- Posted by martyn hermanThere were a lot of blunders… SWP was not supposed to be preferred over Joe Cole.. esp since it was a final and Joe Cole is defenitely more reliable.
Anelka and Drogba have almost similar playing styles and I feel they should never be on the field at the same time. Since they both started the game, they were left creating spaces for eachother rather than going for the kill.
The way Avram is using Essien is aweful, I remember his efficiency during Jose’s time, he was excellent. He was even awarded the Chelsea player of the year. Since Avram took over I have never seen Essien playing a major role in the team setup. His positioning in this match was horrible.
Lot many to discuss…….. god help Mr. Avram Grant.
- Posted by KhalidDid Chelsea get the wrong man? - Reuters Soccer Blog
Blog on Avram Grant - is he good enough?
- Posted by footballfilter.com…yes!
- Posted by phatsamDear Martyn
Thanks for linking my article. You know, now there is this online petition to sack avram grant!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/repla cegrant/
90 signatures so far and growing.
- Posted by BlueChampionI agree Grant is a poor impersonation of Mourinho, unless he wins something. But petitioning to replace him is a bit too early.
- Posted by JohnST