Benefit Of Doubt To Avram Grant! | Blue Champions

Benefit Of Doubt To Avram Grant! - [BlueChampion]

Tue, Apr 29, 2008

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I did not think Chelsea would be in with a chance for the title with just two matches to go. I thought Man Utd would win it in April. I never thought Avram Grant would manage to pull Chelsea this far. I never thought Grant himself would survive this far. Whether it is because of the players or the squad or bucket loads of good fortune or Grant’s genius or whatever, the team managed by Avram Grant is on level points with the leader with two matches to go.

That’s not an achievement given the squad strength but certainly Grant has exceeded expectations. How much of a role he played in managing the team or how much of his role had to be played by Steve Clarke, Ten Cate or even John Terry, I don’t know. Where would he be without his famed luck? I don’t know. Where would he be without the grudging support by the top class professionals we have, who want good things for the club? I don’t know. Anyway, unless, it is proved otherwise later on, I’m willing to give Grant the benefit of doubt.

My humble opinion is that, still he has a long way to go, I mean many many miles, before he could be compared to TSO in footballing terms. I would even say that this could be his best season in his entire footballing career, even including the seasons to come. Despite the fact that Chelsea is sitting pretty on top of the table, sending shivers in the Man Utd spine, I’m not convinced that he is the right man for the job. I still believe he got the job not because of what he knew but because of who he knew (thanks Telegraph). How many of us would keep him in the job until his contract runs out? As far I’m concerned I cannot even think of giving him another season. I haven’t seen one reason why he would help Chelsea in achieving their ambition of global domination.

Let me also make it clear that I’m not buying his story of Chelsea playing better football under him. No way. I know how well we played when we won the titles. We’re no way near that class. He can lie to the Press but not to us Chelsea fans. No twisted facts or claims please. Chelsea are on joint top and I’m happy about that. There is no other value addition from Avram Grant. He has not brought as anything new. In fact, he has been helped by what he inherited which is quite normal for any new manager. Same with Ramos. But Spurs under Jol and Spurs under Ramos are different. They are lot more meaner and hungrier. In that way, I do not see anything new in this Chelsea team. Instead of Grant, if Ramos were to manage this group of Chelsea players, where would we be? Just a food for thought. Also if Grant is to set up a team of his own, how well would he be able to motivate them to success? With the existing players, he was relieved of this part because they already had the desire, hunger, spirit and determination, they were a team of champions already.

More often than not, I’ve seen Grant getting things wrong, making incorrect decisions, looking clueless and uninspiring and being unable to turn around a match. Whether he is doing things correctly or not, we are joint top in the table. This is a results business. I respect him for keeping us on top of the table with two games to go. The problem with the ‘results business’ logic is that we might be making compromises on our future because our results are all right.

Anyway, even if we don’t win this title, I can’t take this away from him. Winning or not winning the title is not going to change my giving credit to him for putting Chelsea on par with Man Utd in the last few metres of the final lap. Well done Avram, but please make way for someone else at summer!

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Written By BlueChampion

62 Responses For This Post. Add Your Comments Here!

Would I give Grant another chance next season?

A resounding yes.

Until the Manchester United game I did not have this opinion about our manager. In fact, I was at utter contempt with him for ruining our title chances. This however, could be no further from the truth. The United game showed me that Chelsea can play if the players want to. Why do we come back from games like Wigan or Everton to play a brilliant match like Manchester United? Because the players truly wanted to. Avram Grant isn’t a motivator and that’s quite clear. It’s also quite clear that this isn’t entirely his team. When the team wins, they’re praised as ‘Jose’s Team’. Only when we lose does Avram Grant’s work come into question.

The facts are simple: since Avram Grant has been manager, we are tied on points in the League table and in a position to go to the club’s first ever European Final. I would argue that Avram Grant deserves a chance to make his own squad and work with it. Joe Cole has voiced his support for Avram Grant primarily because he is now a regular in the squad. Grant gave Joe Cole a chance to shine and he’s been our player of the season. Michael Ballack has come back with a vengeance after being left out of the group stage roster for Champions League by Jose Mourinho(injury or no injury, he wasn’t given consideration or hope to recover).

So I would say to the Chelsea supporters, give Grant a chance to go get a Villa or a Huntelaar or a Van Der Vaart and mold this team how he wants to. The times of Jose Mourinho are gone and we must give our manager time to gain the confidence. The best way to gain the confidence of your players is to buy them yourself. Since Avram Grant took over, starting the Manchester United game at Old Trafford, Chelsea have the best record in the Premier League. I don’t think this is a result of a bad manager. When Chelsea’s players were called into question, they responded for themselves(Valenca at the Mestalla, Manchester City, West Ham, Arsenal, United).

This is a results orientated business. Nobody can argue that Grant’s results have been subpar because they’ve been better than anybody else’s in the league. We should play out the Avram Grant card until he has full control of the team. Some of the men who were most loyal to Mourinho have underperformed and I don’t believe this is coincidence. His strong personality had an effect that might never be reversed. An exodus of players might truly be the case next season and therefore they’ll have to be replaced. Players wold be strongly enticed to join the club if we won either trophy this season. Avram’s team has not been seen quite yet, only fragments that have done great things. One more season for a true evaluation.

Viva La Grant!

Do I want Avram Grant as the manager next season? A resounding NO. NEVER. Does he deserve credit for where we are? Yes, but only some. His most sensible decision is his realisation that this group of players and the way they football need not be changed. He simply followed the foot steps of JM. That was the best decision by AG.

AG only ensured that things don’t fall apart after JM’s exit. Of course, he was helped and supported by Roman, Kenyon, Buck etc. Some more signings of players and even psychologists, public relations experts etc.

Because he happens to be manager when Chelsea is on par with Man Utd, I’d give him some credit. If JM were to be here, he would be leading the table by 6 points atleast. Enough said.

Why did Luka Modric choose Spurs over Chelsea? He said that he admires Ramos and wants to work under him! Adam, do you think any player would think/say so about Grant? Will we get any hot prospect that is less than 25 years of age?

All - ‘my comment is fair comment’. I want to see the fairness in the counter arguments too. Let’s stay sensible.

The opinion poll shows my feelings. Most seem to think that AG can be given some credit but do not want him to be manager next season. Yes, he get some credit for not breaking down to pieces (i thought he did, when he gave that mindless monosyllabic interview). but no way in hell i would want him to continue. we need a proper manager. even bilic is 100 times better.

Adam -> Did you forget about our dull game with Liverpool last week? It was really pathetic. I know we are all in some euphoria after last match but we should be objective and look the whole season through. Grant is extremely lucky to be where he is and our team in my opinion shouldn’t base only on luck. I think that supporters have got really short memory, too short imho.

Cheers mates!

Short memory? It seems that it’s you who is forgetting the pathetic display we put on last season in the semi at Anfield.

The performance last week was miles better than the one last year. That’s not even remotely debatable.

If we pull off the double it will have been the greatest season in our club’s history, in my opinion. I don’t know how you can NOT bring the manager back after that. Why tinker with a winning formula? I don’t care if Clarke or Ten Cate are doing a lot behind the scenes. That’s what assistants are for, is it not? People who are so quick to turn total control over to Clarke should really take a moment to consider the facts. Since Grant’s appointment, we’ve been the best team in England. We’ve advanced through the Champion’s League and have the advantage heading into the second half of the semifinal. For every Drogba that’s played worse under Grant, there’s a Joe Cole who’s played some of the best football of his career under him. What makes you all so sure that Clarke would be able to replicate these results? Sure, we can all say that it’d be trivial with the players in the squad, but it obviously isn’t because not everyone can just walk onto a pitch and be an effective manager.

Again, why fix what isn’t broken? We’ve clearly got a winning combination at the moment, and for people to want to get rid of that just because Grant isn’t as charismatic as they’d like (because that really seems to be the crux of the argument against them) is really stupid.

I wanna watch AG for a whole new season…. for my own secrets reason

Some scattered thoughts :

AG’s gotta lose some weight/lose that paunch if not polish up his diction cos he won’t get to the end of the next season … cos of a heart attack….

Anyways he is just RA’s pawn and will stay as long as the boss don’t wanna sexier version of him.

But then again RA’got AG in there cos :

(1) AG’s uglier than him
(2) less popular than him,AG’s less loved by everyone ‘cept his wife
(3) can’t string together decent sentences in English like him
(4) AG knows just about a bit more abt football than him
(5) AG’s got heaps of luck concerning football but not with chicks
(6) AG’s a YES man, an acquiscent front-man, ready to Kow tow any sec
and sooth the mega-million buck ego
(7) AG’s pay is dirt cheap compared to anyone else at the club

So why get another coach next season ?

I want a proper manager by the start of next season. If it was another new respectable manager took over from JM last September. I would have love to give him another season. It is clear that most of the players are not loyal to AG and they always play better when they want to or get motivated by themselves or someone else apart from AG.

Most matches we lost points this season were due to the bad substitution and clueless tactics deployed by AG. The only credit he deserves is by not tampering so much on JM’s men and style. We are not blind to see that the style of Chelsea is not different to what AG proclaimed to the media. Though the players tend to player most of the match play on the ground but we can count just few many matches we played a different style.

We need a proper manager, a manager, fan and players will all respect and ready to play their hearts for. We need to stop deceiving ourselves that we do not expect to be where we are today on the table and in champions league, we ought to know the depth of the squad and compare to all other teams in Europe. We have one of the best and strong squad and without a coach or John Terry is a player/manager we will surely be among the first four on the league table and go this far in the champions league because all of the players will player with their hearts.

Retaining Avram next season will surely mean exodus of players and replacing them with new players which it will take time for them to adapt to premier league and even play at the level we want at the start of the season. This will surely affect us on pitch and off it. The earlier the better we accept AG has no influence at all in what Chelsea has done so far this season. He is a figurehead manager. We are going to have a disastrous next season if we retain him.

This is just my personal opinion and lets see what the management do at the end of the season if AG-Chelsea wins double.

This blog will become a peaceful arena now BC. Good work
Up Blues

Whether U like it or dont, Grant is the future manager of CFC. Havent you understood RA still? Huh

Eduardo Alcides Come to Chelsea..!! *-)

Okay, The world did not end when JM was sacked. But, with the exception of Anelka, this is still HIS TEAM! I’ve seen the same thing happen in American football with Tampa Bay. Tony Dungy built a fine squad that won play-off apperances only to be fired by an arrogant owner (who by the way owns Manchester United). His replacement takes the team to the championship the following season. After that, the team is nowhere near the same as many top players leave due to dissatisfaction with the coach.
Grant may win something this season. I hope he does. But, bringing him back next season could be terrible. In fact, there are a few of our guys preparing to go elswhere very soon after the season ends. If Roman wants to save money and the team, he should either get a real manager or name Clarke to the post and let him get his credentials straight during the off-season.

Lord, at least let him beat Fathead today!

Would I give Grant another chance next season?

A resounding NO

why?
1. I am not able to enjoy clubs win under him. The position we are in i would have been damn happy had it been with any manager except AG. I want my happiness back. I am just not able to forget when news of his appointment came in 2006-2007 season and jose declined to accept that and AG had to go to pompey another russian owner. Again he came back as director this season. Sat behind jose undermined him and eventually successful in getting the job and resulting in sacking of one of the best managers if not the best manager we had in such a bad manner. thats not the way you treat a champion coach. He is a politician not a football manager. Why didnt we hired ramos at that point is still a question mark. He was available and is a damn good coach and plays attacking football. can anyone answer that why AG was choosen and not ramos? anyone?

2. The way he takes digs at previous manager is not what a good person does. He wants everyone to believe we were piss poor before he came and he is changing things around. His comments of beautiful passing football drive me crazy. Either i am blind that i cant see good things or he is seeing something else.

3. Coming to football now. I have seen him making more errors than right things. In so many games he has changed the game with his substitutions and not making them alas all against us. Why are we not able to hold on to lead any more? Many of his mistakes havnt cost us points but sooner or later they will.

4. Chelsea has reached CL semis but has grant been tested in champions league till now? NO. liverpool is the first test which isnt over by any means now.

5. I do not want sky to call our manager a puppet master and chelsea becoming a laughing stock. Cmon not even having licence.

6. Is romans hunger for flair footy satisfied by him. NO , not untill now but i understand it wont be an overnight change. Can grant do it . NO

So inspite of all these negetive things how have we managed to reach a position where we are now. In Champions League i think everyone knows that. In premiership i think its because we have won 2 very important games against arsenal and man utd at home. arsenal and man utd have just blown up themselves and given us opputunity to chase and we have taken it with both hands.thankyou very much. arsenal dropped 11 pts in 5 matches and man utd has dropped 7 points in last 4 matches and now we are level.

Last season after 36 matches man utd had 88 points compared to 81 this season. Last season chelsea after 36 matches had 81 points same as this year. So only change is our opponents have faded out and we have been consistent and not improved.

hope the lucky season continues
KTBFFH

There were several stories where Managers have turned a dull player to a super star

Now vice versa.

We the Chelsea players, fans, supporters will now have to turn a dull manager in to a super star(super star?)

AG is learning at his own pace. By the time he learns football, we will see FA thinking about having matches in Mars(Real red devils?).

Let him learn football. What i mean is RA should LOAN AG as manager to some other club where he can lean from his mistakes and without any support from other team members

By the time let him also get coaching license.

Then comeback to Chelsea and prove what he is worth of.

Bango => Last year at Anfield we had dull game too, but it was one from very few dull games under Jose. Now we have one good game from very few under Grant. See the difference?

@Adam
not listing ballack was a good decision as he was not deemed to be fit untill the qualifiers. Chelsea could only put 23 names for CL team with various restrictions. What would you have done to choose 18 players( 11 + 7) of 23 players or 22 players for most of the qualifiers given our luck with injuries.

if ballck was named in the list and if we had 5 players injured (not uncommon in chelsea) we could not even complete the team sheet. And in fact ballack was only available for the last game we played even if he had been named.
think about it.

About ballacks coming back with vengeance because of this decision ill just say ..LOL

One more Managerial Battle going on in Mancity. May be avram/RA can help. They know about this very well.

Takshin, walkin to RA office any time and get a solution free of cost.

Oh, i hate this type of sackings. Not good for football.

@2 Steve Clarke

What everyone need to understand is - we do not need any midfielders. Its already jam packed and any new inclusion would mean the player won’t play regularly. We have got attacking midfielders in the likes of lampard, ballack and sometimes essien, and these 3 players have to start in almost all games, other than them we have sidwell, mikel and maka; so inclusion of modric in this squad means he will start less often when compared to dinamo or even spurs and we don’t need him, ofcourse that also means we have lost a talented player.
If chelsea wants to attract any players, we first need to utilize our squad to the fullest by giving chance to all players. I also feel we need to utilize sheva and pizzaro quite often, and drogba was a disaster this season. We do not need any new strikers because we have plenty - sheva, drogba, pizzaro, anelka, di santo, sinclair, sahar. Even if drogba leaves we have enough experience and cover.

I feel Grant needs to prove himself against Liverpool and show the fans that he is tactically sound(if he wants to stay next season). It would be better if he quits next season, otherwise there is a possibility of losing many of our star players.
In CL, except liverpool all our opponents were weak.

should we keep Grant - Absolutely!

1. Results speak for themselves. Yes we have 81 pts exactly like last season but remember that Grant was not in charge when we started with 3 wins 2 draws and a loss (+ a draw with Rosenborg). Results wise he has done everything possible and what would be laughable would be winning the double and sacking the coach

2. I dont believe Grant is learning football, prior to Chelsea he coached Israel’s national team in the 2006 World Cup qualifying and missed out on qualification in the last round because Israel finished 2 pts behind France but ahead of Rep of Ireland. Think about the players who play for France, Ireland & Israel and you can see what a tremendous achievement that is. My point is one Riise own goal yes that is lucky but a whole season + a WC qualifying campaign - Grant achieves results

3. Before coaching Chelsea he was not well known but ok who had heard of Wenger. I certainly dont want Keegan or Maradona as coach. To me it seems obvious because you can play does not mean you can coach

4. Most of the reasons to sack him come because he’s fat, doesnt speak English well, praises himself (this realy annoys me), looks sleepy etc. etc. These are true but they are not football reasons

Finally I admit he is a defensive coach but so Mourinho, Benitez, Capello & Ferguson lately. I dont believe that alone is a reason to sack him, especially as others have right said Anelka aside he inherited this team.

Oh c’mon guys lets keep the old geezer just for the fun of it .

It could be like jumping from the pan into the fire if we let him go.

You know, RA might bring in someone fatter, much more dour and even more clueless and even cheaper than AG. At least we know the devil we got.

Don’t think that RA might do the professional thing and get a proper manager, no siree, he’s gonna keep AG on until we Chelsea get blasted 3-0 and the embarassment will lead to hasty, illogical , spiteful choices .

@ 13 Nihongo Blue

1. So you want Chelsea to get rid of a very successful manager simply because you don’t like him? That’s the most pathetic justification I’ve ever seen. That you can’t be happy for the club when we’re doing so well speaks volumes about your dedication as a supporter. Honestly. Furthermore, what proof do you have that he undermined Jose? There is none, you’re just futilely trying to justify an unreasonable dislike of someone.

2. We are playing better football. With the exception of the Liverpool match, we’ve done a much better job of getting our wingers involved this season. Why do you think Joe Cole is so happy?

3. You think he’s made more errors merely because you notice the errors, while your dislike of the man blinds you to all the good he’s done. If the “mistakes” haven’t cost us points yet, what makes you think they will eventually?

4. You’re going to hold the draw against him? Honestly. Last year we had a fortuitous draw too. Were you complaining then?

5. Ferguson didn’t have a license either when he started. Who cares?

6. What proof do you have of that? We’ve played far more entertaining football this year and have results to back that up.

And your last point, about us not improving, is actually incorrect. Had Grant been manager from the outset of the season, and assuming he obtained the same points per match, we’d have 84 points. So you’re wrong again.

@15

Are you kidding? Last year we played some of the dullest football I’ve ever seen. Again, your memory seems to be poor.

If you have got so good memory you should remember outstanding seasons 2004/05 and 2005/06 - compare them to this season and answer my question: which of them was better? I’m waiting…

Bango,

last season was the most difficult year under Jose for very obvious reasons- obvious to most except few of you of course.

Jose had to play virtually whole season without wingers cos robben and Joey were off through injury. The previous two seasons under Jose saw great pulverising attacking thrust cos of his usage of duff and robben (two left wingers, who few knew could play together till TSO made that a reality.)

last season also saw serious disruption in our team- the fault of Roman of course- sheva and ballack were purchased by roman and must be played somehow- the compromised Diamond formation (facilitated by the departure of Duff- not thro Jose’s fault and the injuries to Robben and Joey) nade things difficult- do not forget as well that Sheva and ballack were just playing in the EPL for the first time so were struggling to adjust.

As if these were not bad enough, Essien our best midfielder had to spend so much time covering either for terry or Riccy (while injured) or Paulo and Boulharouz (who were having a torrid time on the right flank).

Despite all this, we hang in there in all four competitions till virtually May. Manure pipped us only because of those factors. We paid them back in the FA final.

Our squad this season was overall, a better side cos Jose despite Roman’s refusal to commit cash brought along, belleti to help at the right back, alex for back cover so that essien can fully help in the middle. Robben’s departure was a minus but there again given the amount of time he had been injured this season, maybe we did not miss much after all.

last season was proof that we had a great manager- how many managers could have kept hope alive in all four competitions the way we did. manure without Roo and Ron would have long collapsed.

This year, we coped better largely cos of belleti, alex, Swp’s resurgent form around the CAN tourney time and the arrival of ballack back from injury just at the time we needed him.

Overall, we have achieved virtually all we have this season cos, Jose had already inculcated in the boyz a never say die spirit.

Cannot wait for the season to end for Grant to be granted an indefinite leave of absence.

If Avram Grant is able to win EPL or Champion’s league then we should give him a chance to build his team next year. here i am listing some negative and positive of Avram grant Era in chelsea.

Negative Effect of Avram Era

1)I never think Avram has done a great job as chelsea manager,because this season we had a great chance to win all four competition,also if avram did good substitution and read the game well then chelsea may be won EPL, CARLING CUP and be in FA cup final by this time.

2) After 7 month’s in charge avram was not able to show his effect in chelsea team,still chelsea is old JOSE’s Team.After just three month’s kevin keagan converted Newcastle to his team, in same way Ramos and sven errickson did in there respective club’s.

3) When avram took over as manager ,he promised sexy football( wining in style), LOL….after 7months we still playing boring football,during jose’s time even though we played boring football ,it was interesting to watch , because he was a specialist in 1-0 win, opponent’s never scored more than 2 goal’s against us.

4)Avram was not able get respect from his Player’s,fan’s and media.

Positive’ s of Avram era

1) He followed same jose’s formation and tactic’s never changed structure of team

2) During January this year we had many player’s injured and went to African cup ,but with our second best player’s avram was able to deliver 9 consecutive wins.

3) During Arsenal, ManU game’s his substitution and game plan was good.

So we have to wait till final whistle of this season to judge the future of Avram,if avram can win EPL or champion’s league ,then he should continue next season, otherwise we should go for another manager.

I feel like this argument is very similar to having a heated debate as to whether we should change the color of the sky to green. Green looks prettier, isn’t as boring, etc.

But the fact remains that the color of the sky will not change. And neither will the manager. Arguing about it will not bring about any kind of change. Out of our hands.

So how about we accept the fact that AG is manager. If you do not like it, if it REALLY chaps your hide, if you just can’t handle it, then you may find a new team. Teams break our hearts and win them back again, that’s part of the fun of following sports. You don’t have to want AG as manager to be a Chelsea fan, but you do have to want Chelsea to do well no matter what they decide.

I feel like the constant bickering of whether or not to accept AG really halts any kind of enlightening conversation about Chelsea in this blog.

Why don’t we just talk about the Middle Eastern conflict if we want to talk in circles? This Grant debate is the same story over and over!

@25. Mourofessien Good Comments Man…..

Chelsea was great to watch during 04-05,05-06 season, only last season we lost our style of playing.we really missed arjen roobben, duff. For playing 4-3-3 formation we need good winger’s , now we only have joe cole.

I will attempt to answer every statement that was aimed at contradicting my opinion.

@Steve Clark #2

Has Avram Grant changed the shape of Chelsea significantly since the departure of Mourinho? No. Is it completely fair to a assume that he should change the entire structure of the team in the middle of the season and risk dropping countless points? I think not. Had Avram Grant changed the structure in the middle of the season I would wager we would be looking in on the top four. Why should he change the structure? Isn’t this the winning way of Jose Mourinho? Why the need for change? You also must remember that Grant was a employee under Mourinho, not some outside source. He kept the shape of the Chelsea he knew from his experience.

The statistics clearly show that we are second place BECAUSE of the seven games Jose Mourinho was the manager. I’m not taking a stab at Jose, he is the greatest manager in club history and I will rate every new manager against the likes of Jose but the facts don’t lie. Under Avram Grant Chelsea have the best record in the entire league! Since the Man-United loss, Grant’s first match, we have kept the most impressive record in the league. I think he deserve perks for that.

Do I believe that a young hot prospect could be lured to the camp by Avram Grant? I think winning is the most important factor in these decisions. Winning and money of course. Luka Modric picked Tottenham because he would be guaranteed a spot on the starting line-up. Chelsea and any other large club could not grant him such in his first year. That’s my take on it at least.

@Jasix #4

Have YOU forgotten about the 4 Liverpool Semi-Final games prior that resulted in THREE goals under Jose Mourinho? How about the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool last season? If anyone expected that Liverpool game to be exciting then shame on them. History teaches us that this is not humanly possible. Chelsea vs. Liverpool = Woeful. Jose Mourinho is notorious for never going for the jugular in matches, always staying content with 2-0 and playing the counter-attack. We witnessed some bad games under Jose and we continue to watch bad games. After all, this is Jose’s team, isn’t it? You can’t have it both ways, win as Jose Mourinho’s team and lose and Jose Mourinho’s team.

@Nihongo Blue #13

If you support the Chelsea Footbal CLUB, then support the club holistically. Chelsea FC is not a manager, a player, or even the entire squad. If you want your happiness back, support Inter Milan because Jose Mourinho will almost definitely be there next season. This is a results-oriented-business. Would you rather play like Arsenal and Barcelona and not win trophies? I certainly wouldn’t. You shouldn’t worry what the media says about the manager or Chelsea because the media has always and will always be against Chelsea. Have pride in what you believe in and don’t waver that because of outsider opinions. The points tally being lower from last season isn’t because of the lack of quality but rather the increase of competition in the league.

Actually the initial reports on Ballack said he would be read in October or November. There were question marks surrounding the operations and on Ballack in general. So in retrospect Jose could have seen Ballack playing up to four group stage games. Since you put so much of your confidence in the media and are so afraid of them, here’s what the media said about Ballack being left off the group stage roster. This is also what Michael Ballack said, so LOL to you my friend, your ignorance is bliss.

““I am disappointed. But I have to accept it and focus on getting healthy again. Then I can make up my mind about other things,”
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/09/sports/EU-SPT-SOC-Chelsea-Ballack.php?WT.mc_id=rssap_sports
http://eurosport.yahoo.com/04092007/58/champions-league-ballack-axed-chelsea-squad.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=txchelseaballack&prov=st&type=lgns

———————————————————————————-

Final judgment of the manager should be halted until the conclusion of the season. Who has the audacity and the arrogance to say Avram Grant should be sacked even if he wins the historic double? He deserves a chance to create his own squad and tactics in the offseason based on the performance of this season. I have no personal connection to this man and I will not mind if he does leave. However, I do believe in recognition of success regardless of who it would be.

Guys! I’m particularly impressed with the quality and maturity of the comments to this contentious article. You guys are doing a great job! Please keep it up!

switch on the tv guys… awesome match between man utd and barca underway.. united leads by scholes good goal … awesome football both teams attacking… and the best thing extra time not a possibility as united have scored….

lets see whom we are playing against in finals…

cheers

Interesting arguments from you Adam. Here are mine!

I agree that Avram need not have changed anything. But Avram himself admitted that he had a commitment to style. It was his own words. He had said that Chelsea would continue to win, but in the ‘right way’. These things of course meant that he wanted to change something. He himself claims that things have changed and we are playing differently. If you agree that he has not changed anything then consequently you might agree that he has not delivered his promise but claims to have delivered.

On the 7 games under Jose. Please remember that those 7 games was the period when things really went bad between JM and Roman. I don’t think JM could have concentrated enough during that period, which showed in our performances. When JM was sacked, Chelsea were on same points with Man Utd. Now these are the teams tied in points with one of them to win the title. That itself shows that the start to the season does not mean much. The fact that Fergie and Avram have recovered from that average start makes be believe that JM would have done better. Like someone said, JM could be leading the table by 6 points. I believe so.

As regards Luka Modric, Chelsea were surely after him, very badly. That means we are planning to offload one or more of our midfielders which would have given first team chances to Modric. If Grant were to make changes to the Chelsea system next season, I see only one of Essien, Mikel and Maka playing. I see Lampard going. Malouda should also be on his way out. With such possibility for a shake up in Chelsea, Luka Modric should easily get first team chances. It’s all about negotiation and persuasion. If Avram were to phone Modric and talk him to join Chelsea, you think Modric would heard anything impressive to convince himself?

And Ballack said he was disappointed because he had to have his surgery, not disappointed at anything else. History has seen many successful managers being sacked just after they win the league title or the champions league title. While you have to be grateful to the manager for the titles won that season, the club will also see if this man can take us forward, help them achieve their ambition?

I don’t think Avram Grant has adequate enough time to change an entire system that based on playing the same, gritty football for three years(Ranieri’s team wasn’t dazzling either). I don’t honestly believe our football has improved under Avram Grant but that’s not to say it hasn’t shown glimpses of hope. The Manchester City, Arsenal, United, Valencia, and West Ham games are evidence of possibilities and hope for the team. Jose Mourinho’s teams never scored 6 goals in a league game. The injuries are also the forgotten story for Avram Grant, the team he prefers now is a fairly new combination this season. Almost our entire roster spent significant time with injury, suspension, or international duty. You don’t get any points for playing stylishly, only wins and losses. Arsenal plays the best football in the English Premier League and perhaps the title but haven’t won anything for years.

The seven games by Mourinho were dark times for the manager. This is not necessarily a satisfactory reason for under-performing. Are the times really that great for Avram Grant? He doesn’t have the full confidence of his team, they clearly aren’t always on the ball, and he gets berated by everyone including the fans.

Luka Modric was a target by half the big clubs in the world. Chelsea have also had everyone from Pato to Kaka on their never ending want list. Chelsea have never been able to attract the young superstar, that is quite evident. I also don’t believe he would even have a chance of starting for Chelsea, there are only two midfield roles he could field and I don’t think anyone would argue he can’t be at the level of Ballack and Essien. The Avram Grant conversation is a total contradiction. Juande Ramos speaks literally no English or Croatian, I don’t see anything but stature playing into the transfer. Berbatov thought Tottenham was the right decision as well, but it’s almost a certainty he will be leaving this summer. Not all the biggest stars want to start on the biggest team. The club in the world terms is certainly not a big name in prestige and this is also the reason for us not attracting the big names throughout the years. If Kaka and Messi don’t want to come to Chelsea, it won’t be because of Grant’s managerial status, it will be because of the Chelsea orga

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Benefit Of Doubt To Avram Grant! - [BlueChampion]

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