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Comments (51)
Terry Guile (Chelsea fan) says...
I have been a Chelsea fan since 1992 (thanks Dad!) and there have been good times and bad during this period. The last 4 or 5 years since Abramovich took over has certainly been like a rollercoaster ride, but these last few months have felt somewhat strange. Since Mourinho left, the team seems to have got their heads down and battked away, not getting too bad results but hardly really been playing the exciting attacking football that Grant promised when he took over. We look suspect at the back, very average in midfield and we are not exactly hammering in the goals up front. At least under Mourinho we were solid at the back and scored some goals! The players do not seem very motivated to work under Grant and rumours of bust ups and unhappy players only emphasise this more. If results don't improve, he must go. At this point, i can see us throwing everything away this season and everyone laughing at us.
Posted 12:41 28th February 2008
Keith Charrington (Chelsea fan) says...
The chickens are finally coming home to roost. The loss of perhaps the finest young manager of his generation and his replacement with someone who clearly in every respect is incapable of doing the job is without doubt a great disaster for Chelsea and one they will find extraordinarily difficult to recover from. I will be truly amazed if they win anthing this season and if they do it will have nothing to do with the 'Stunned One'.
Posted 12:04 28th February 2008
Otobo Edirin (Chelsea fan) says...
Grant should be sent back to his former position.We need a coach not a spectator. each time the players come back from the dressing room,their spirits are always lower unlike in the days of Jose when our 2nd half displays were always fiery.I need not say more...Grant is not the man for the job. He is more of an administrator than a tactician...
Posted 11:46 28th February 2008
Gregoire Gordonovic (Chelsea fan) says...
I agree with many of the comments that suggest Avram Grant will not be at the helm next season. His formation against Tottenham was inexplicable, Joe Cole has been without doubt, one of Chelsea's best performing players of late, as has Michael Ballack. What Grant has been frightened of doing is making the big decisions. What he fails to realise is that with some risk brings success, and by making these harsh decisions like dispensing Frank lampard for a player of better quality will have numerous positive outcomes, namely a better perfomring side which wins trophies. Avram does not have his uefa coaching qualifications and i fail to comprehend how he could be in charge of such a big club. Football is at the stage where it is a global business, and i feel avram's appointment is like sticking a 6 year old in the London Stock Exchange. I can only plee to RA and PK to get a grip, stop interfering and choose a manager of suitable quality, and let him do the job he is playing paid for.
Posted 11:18 28th February 2008
Ian James says...
Many Chelsea fans are disappointed over the result and rightly so but my points are (1) that if you have to fire players up of the quality Chelsea have in a cup final there's something fundamentaly wrong at the club as most are big game players. (2) Jose was in a different league to most managers and a phycologist as well and yes he could get more out of players than most with his tactics and the way he treated players but if you are a good professional you should be able to adapt. (3) 4-4-2 would have probably worked better, the manager makes that choice and if he gets it wrong its highlighted in the game. But at the end of the day its who wants it more, why he left certain people on the bench still puzzels me as they were impact players that do make a difference. (4) Avram Grant it probably not or never was going to be the long term manager but he's no mug otherwise Chelsea wouldn't be where they are now in the league. (5) Its about expectation after years of under achieving in the league, then along comes Jose and Chelsea are in the driving seat. (6) RA and PK have to take some responsibiltiy its not just a matter of throwing money at things, but its about managers managing without interference and did RA or has RA had an input, they brought avram into the club so they can hardly say its nothing to do with us. (7) I think the fans should wait while the dust settles and see where the club is at the end of the season and then see if avram grant is still there after the summer and i dont think he will be even if he won the champions league.
Posted 10:09 28th February 2008
Louis De freyne (Chelsea fan) says...
I dont think Avram will be in charge next season at Chelsea. He is only in charge on a tempory basis. He has done better than expected in my opion. He joined Chelsea as director of football! This position has not yet been filled, I think he will move back upstairs next season and we will have a new manager in place. See you later Drogba your stupid antics and comments do you no favours. We will be a massive force next season fighting on all fronts again. Think we need to sign a player that can do something different with the ball as we only have Cole that can pull off a trick and carry the ball. Come on Chelsea
Posted 10:08 28th February 2008
John Peterson (Manchester United fan) says...
Just because Grant lost the Carling Cup final there is no reason to be doubting him, let alone be calling for his head! As far as I can remember he has the best record per games played, even better than the Jose Mourinho. Give the chap a chance, it was his first final, and thankfully it was just the Carling Cup.
Posted 17:34 27th February 2008
John Loynton says...
He's not been in charge long enough to make any comment. Chelsea need to have a youth team policy like two of the main competition or to buy players at a young age. The problem with them is the owner pouring in vast sums of money on players past their best. Drogba, Lampard and Cole are the best players they have bought. Too much money in the short term. Look at Arsenal who have rebuilt over the last three years and Sir Alex Ferguson who is alway's rebuilding with players young enough to last for years. Give him another two years before you can judge if he is good enough.
Posted 16:53 27th February 2008
Steven Jiggins (Chelsea fan) says...
Grant is stastisticly a better manager than Jose and he hasn't got any of his own players at Chelsea... all the players in that squad were chosen by Mourinho not by Grant and he has still managed to do a better job. Give the guy a break, we all know Spurs are big club under-achieving and they won the Carling Cup because they wanted it more and needed it more. We are Chelsea... do we need it? We're still in the title race, Champions League and FA cup lets just get behind him and see what this season brings us!
Posted 16:07 27th February 2008
Carl Stringer (West Ham United fan) says...
Avram Grant was never the right choice for Chelsea. Tactically he is an absolute novice and its starting to effect the teams morale and performance.Chelsea need a manager they can respect,I would put forward someone like Martin O'Neill. A manager with his tactical awareness would move Chelsea to another level.
Posted 13:51 27th February 2008
Bob Bou-simon (Chelsea fan) says...
As a recent Chelsea fan, I have to say that the Carling Cup loss was bittersweet. I was very dissappointed with Mourinho's departure and by the manner it was metted. In Mourinho, we had someone who would have made Chelsea as great as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenel & both Milans. In the short time he was there, he was wonderful. Abramovitchs meddling put paid to that. My fellow Chelsea fans, were more sanguine and wanted to give Avram the benefit of doubt. The team coach, is instrumental in the success of the club, and as such, Chelsea will not be the same. Mourinho is the man responsible for putting a united team together, albeit with Romans money. Therefore, it is hardly a surprise to see whats happening now. What took 3 seasns to build, was detroyed by Abramovitch undermining Mourinho, and people like Terry & Cole & the idiot Kalou, will reap the rewards of turning their back on the coach. It will be very hard to replace Mourinho, but even harder to find someone willing to work for Abramovitch, Kenyon et al. All great teams are led by great leaders. Roman would have you believe that money could lead. The Carling Cup result answered that question beyond doubt. Bittersweet....
Posted 12:10 27th February 2008
Tony Mcgirr says...
Grant needs to be replaced. The fact is, he dose't know what to do when we go a goal behind, like on Sunday for example. Everybody but Grant could see that we were missing Joe Cole, but instead he sticks with Anelka who was playing out of position. When Chelsea are winning, he's the best manager in the world because he sits there and takes all the plaudits. But in the last couple of weeks, against Portsmouth, Liverpool and now Tottenham, we've struggled and Grant isn't capable of changing tactics or the right personnel. If Mourinho was manager on Sunday, he would have had Joe Cole and Ballack on at Half Time, as soon as he could see it wasn't working. Grant seems to be afraid to make these decisions, and its going to cost us big time.
Posted 12:04 27th February 2008
Colin Morgan says...
So Chelsea have had a training ground bust-up. It's not surprising given the prima donna players. John Terry has been out injured for weeks but expects to return for a cup final despite the fact the man in possession had done nothing to be dropped. Terry is a great player but for me he does not come across as a team man. The management team need to exert their authority because if players continue to influence team selection I fear Chelsea will win nothing.
Posted 11:42 27th February 2008
Joe Bash (Chelsea fan) says...
Grant is not the man and never will be the man to manage a top flight team. With the players he has they have carried him and made his record look good but when challanged tactically he hasn't a clue! The games against Arsenal and Man U - when we came unstuck with not an idea how to get back into - just highlight the point.
Posted 11:10 27th February 2008
James Hallsworth (Manchester City fan) says...
It's far too early to judge Grant! So far this season I believe he's only achieved as much as Jose would have. I believe that even if Joe Cole was the wide left player on Sunday Spurs would've still come out on top as they clearly wanted it a lot more. It would be a huge mistake to get rid of Grant this early. Look at Newcastle with Allardyce. Everton and, although I hate to say it, Man United, kept their managers when they seemed to be failing and now look at them!
Posted 10:18 27th February 2008
Bleddyn Evans (chelsea fan) (Chelsea fan) says...
I have never liked Grant from the beginning. I mean, I am sure hes a nice guy and everything but hes defo no Jose Mourinho by miles. He just doesnt look like the same kind of character Jose was. In fact he seems the opposite. Hes boring and dull in interviews and doesnt do anything on the touchline so I am only guessing what his team talks are like!! Tactically he's also not so good and with the world class players we have you need to be tactically right to get the best out of Chelsea. I am not saying hes a bad coach but its just the experience and respect that he lacks and that eventually leads to the players. Chelsea are a world class football team and that means we should have a world class manager. I just look at Grant and I dont see him representing Chelsea.
Posted 09:32 27th February 2008
James Heal (Chelsea fan) says...
What an absolute joke - I thought this debate was being started by Spurs fans, but to see so many Chelsea fans turn so quickly on a man who's lost three games in 30 odd matches! It's still early days. Yes Joe Cole should have started instead of Anelka but it is a learning curve that Grant won't repeat. Remember we're still in two cup competitions where he can get it right. We've been spoiled over the last three seasons, and its time the players showed what they can do in these important matches. But that's by-the-by, Grant has done much better than anyone would've imagined and the fact we got to the final, and are still in three other competitions speaks volumes. PLUS, Spurs have been a revelation since Woodgate joined and Ramos is one of the best managers out there - apart from when he subbed Robbie Keane off. It could easily have gone sour for them but he got away with it.
Posted 21:40 26th February 2008
Debbie Power (Chelsea fan) says...
Since Jose has left the sparkle has gone out of Chelsea. Leaving Joe Cole out of Sunday's game was a big mistake. Playing Drogba and Anelka for the first time in a cup game was ridiculous. John Terry is doing Grant's job, trying to keep the team spirit going. Good work John, you are a great leader.
Posted 17:10 26th February 2008
Ahmad Khaliq (Chelsea fan) says...
I don't know, will Chelsea spend again this summer?? It is a HUGE mistake from the beginning, just face it Roman, Even Drogba also wants to leave now.
Posted 16:41 26th February 2008
Graham M says...
If Drogba & Anelka are to be used together it has to be 4-4-2. Joe Cole on one wing with Malouda or Kalou (who does seem to be able to play wide unlike Anelka) on the other. Lampard or Ballack to support the attack and Makalele, Essien or Mikel as holding midfielder. AND tell them it's okay to attack even when 1-0 up!! Avram Grant doesn't seem to be up to the job so a quick change before the wheels come off completely might not be a bad idea.
Posted 16:38 26th February 2008