View Blog

As a Chelsea fan, I remember the day that Mourinho left, and the sinking feeling when Avram Grant was appointed, quite vividly.  I will admit that Grant did win me over from my initial feeling of dissapointment, but I can't shake the feeling that a lot of his success was down to the players he had at his disposal.  He did do extremely well to come within a penalty kick of winning the Champions League (a lot closer than Mourinho) ever came, and within a result or two of winning the Premiership.  However, the Carling Cup final defeat and getting knocked out by Barnsley in the FA Cup were fatal errors.  Under Mourinho we had become used to winning one or two trophies a season, and I have to say that Grant really should have been able to win both, especially the FA Cup.   A season of two trophies would have looked much better than a season of no trophies.

When it came to sacking Grant, I was in two minds.  Whatever you think about his record, Grant was never the most inspiring manager to have, particularly after Mourinho's over-the-top personality.   However, to fire the manager that pushed Manchester United to the last day of the Premiership and the penalty shootout of the Champions League seems ridiculous on paper.  Whilst I think I will feel more secure about Chelsea's future in the hands of a more established manager (from what the papers are saying, that would seem to be Phil Scolari), I have a lot of sympathy for Avram Grant.  I really hope that our next manager, whoever that may be, is given more time and patience by Abramovich, who could do with looking at Manchester United and the positive effects of having the same manager for a long time.

 I was initially preturbed by the news that Drogba could be on his way to Milan, but on second thought I'm not sure it's necessarily as terrible as I thought.  Whilst he is our best striker,  I feel that if he moves on then our tactics will not be so focused around one individual.  Of course, there's also his dubious record of on the pitch action, which culminated in his sending off in Moscow.  It's a shame that such a talented player has that kind of attitude, but maybe it's for the best that he moves on.   The fact that AC Milan want Shevchenko back is quite amazing; the fact that he's not for sale borders on the ridiculous.