So what do you think of Avram Grant now?

Avram Grant has been attacked from all sides this season: by fans, by the media, by players.

The man with the impossible job of replacing Jose Mourinho as Chelsea manager has been dubbed a puppet of Roman Abramovich, the owner, only having got the job because he is a personal friend of the Russian billionaire.

Mourinho, though, never reached the final of European football’s showpiece event with Chelsea, though he will rightly point out that he did so previously with Porto.

So already, Avram, to some a figure of fun, has proved himself better than the Special One in the one area that truly matters – attaining results on the football field.

OK, so he cannot have the gentlemen of the world's media eating out of his hand at a Stamford Bridge press conference, but who cares – Chelsea will march on Moscow and meet Manchester United with the chance to make their own notable piece of club history.

And do not forget, Chelsea are level on points with Manchester United in the Premier League and could yet pip Sir Alex Ferguson’s outfit to the two major prizes available to English sides in club football.

So what do you think of Grant now? Is he a footballing genius or does he have good fortune on his side?

Please cast your vote and we would welcome you leaving us a comment at the bottom of this post.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Comments

[ASIA]

I am from China and being a Cheski ever since JM in charged. I think AG did a fantastic jobs indeed. Who could ever doubt him being an unknown person to football world (apart from tel aviv)up to now a CL finalist team? Just name me any seasoned EPL team manager who can manage to bring his team to this level in his first year tenancy? I will be very glad if he is our next China's national team coach!

[Chaz]

Can we just look at the teams chelsea have beaten in the knockouts of the Champions League? Olympiakos, Fenerbarce and Liverpool. While Liverpool are ok but nothing special at this level,the other two are hardly class teams. Liverpool have had to play Inter, Arsenal had to play AC Milan, and United have had to beat both Roma and Barcalona. Chelsea have just had the luck of having had a phenomenally easy run

[MG26]

I think he is just lucky, he didn't make any changes to the team he inherited, no change in style of play. The players took care of it for him......

[ORJI AGWU UKA]

its preposterous to link avram grant's name to the word genius.i m certain he is a very lucky individual.mouriho remains the special one little wonder his name is linked with the managerial positions in all vacant clubs.

grant inherited mourinho s insitutions and though in fairness to him, he has done a good job but he has failed to make chelsea play attractive football which was one reason he fell out with abramovitch.

if grant was a genius he wont have dropped points against wigan when all he needed to have was to make a substitution once he knew the time was up.

orji a. uka
abia state, nigeria

[hans maas]

All the talk about Avram Grant....next season Frank Rijkaard will be reunited with the man with whom he celebrated a glorious period at Barcelona, Henk ten Cate, who by the way is currently the 'Genius' Grants assistant.Nobody ever talks or even wonders about the contribution of that real genius.And although i'm personally not too happy about that i think Chelsea is going to enjoy real succes for a longer period of time. Grant, althogh i like the man as a human being, has nevertheless only been a front, the real geniusses are working behind the scene in the persons of , Ten Cate and Arnesen. And arse licker Steve Clarke with whom Drogpa is rightly still furious for betraying Mourinho, not that that particularly bothered me, is only still there because of the Terry influence, (who by the way was also blamed by Drogpa for stabbing Mourinho in the back. Something Terry keeps backing up by his latest kissing up to Avram.

[Micky]

He is very lucky that he inherited Mourinho's class team who is always capable but he still hasn't won anything yet. I think it would have been massive if he put a club like Villa or Portsmouth in to a position to win a double. He has worked hard, i will admit. But calling him a genius is going overboard. Its like if someone fell in to a stream filled with gold, you wouldn't call them talented for finding it. And you never call someone genius if they don't win a trophy in a year. Arsenal is the key example of that.

[oretan livingstone]

He his not a genuius yet. he will have the chance to prove it if he retains his job, by then so players would have left and then he will be force to bring in his own players. then we will know if he his a genius.
Nevertheless, the work of jos morihno cannot be over empahsied

[TIM]

Chelsea have had a good season even if they end without any trophies as seems quite possible and even likely unless Man U slip up. And Avram Grant has clearly been underrated and has answered his critics.I have to say that ,for a neutral ,true entertainment has tended to come from other top teams like Arsenal ( despite their limited , comparative financial strength ) but i imagine ...know... the Gooners would swap shirts ( so to speak) with Chelsea's success in a nano second and i fully accept that the litmus test is can you get a result and Chelsea can and have which is no formality even with the best squad money can buy ( look at the way Real Madrid have struggled to win even their domestic league until this year when they look set to retain their ttile much more easily).

However , looking beyond the emotive comment of at least some of those who either support or dislike Chelsea through thick and thin ( i do neither and have enjoyed their football since Osgood and Bonetti days ) i wonder why Avram has not got more blame for losing to both Barnsley ( knowing that a win would almost certainly get them the F A Cup as Man u were then outhaving surprisingly and unluckily lost to an impressive Portstmouth team) and Spurs to lose the old league cup. Both seemed to be lacklustre performances when it really counted with confusion over selection and , against Barnsley, complacence . I know Barnsley , to their eternal credit , also beat Liverpool but this seemed a fortunate win compared to that against Chelsea which i have to say seemed deserved however surprising.

And finally the criticism by some of Mourinho for not beating Liverpool in the Champions League ( flavoured with the obvious comparison of Avram's recent achievement )seems rather harsh when , as this year, the games were so close. Avram won through this time but all must accept the result could have gone either way . After all without a freak home goal or ( not "and" but 'or ") a totally unnecessary foul to give Chelsea a penalty at Stamford Bridge , Liverpool would have gone through on away goals. And this is ignoring the fact that Liverpool ( and no i do not suppot them either , my own team lie at the other end of the table sadly) won a superb Q Final to send the favourties out of the tournament or that Chelsea had the advantage of a home second leg when it came to extra time .

Maybe Avram desreved some luck after at least 2 and maybe 3 domestic trophies have slipped away but unless one accepts such good fortune is part of genious i would say ..credit to Avram for this season's performance but he is no genius. Let's get it into perspective and hope the Man v Chelsea European Final is better tha last year's FA Cup Final as an advert for English league Football!

[Marc]

add Claudio's firm spine to Jose's expensive dressing ... take away the manager's full length mirror in the dressing room and you finally have a team ... whether because of or in spite of Grant , Chelsea stepped up a level

[amri denton]

Dear all. Please try to remember what happened at Chelsea in the first two years when Jose was in charge, and with the support of the club's higher management. 2 Premier League titles, carling cup, comm shield, went out of the CL to Barca and Liverpool who eventually went on the win the CL (hardly useless opponents). The third season was characterised by injuries, press haggle, no support from above, no january reinforcements, and still was 2nd in PL to an excellent Man U, CL semi-final lost on penalties (hardly any manager's fault), and Carling and FA cup victories (over Arsenal and Man U respectively). Contrast this to Avram's time: full support of the club's management, fully fit squad most of the season with many options, furtunate to draw Pool in the CL semi with the last game at home, lost to Tottenham and Barnsley in the small cups, able to buy Anelka in january (but only got 1 goal despite scoring his socks off at Bolton). This shows an Avram who is not a genius in comparison with Jose but a man who deserves praise for not destroying and carefully maintaining what Jose has built over three trophy-filled seasons. Lets judge him when he spends his large tranfer fees and create a NEW squad that may lose Drogs, Lamps, Carvalho, SWP, Sheva, Malouda..etc. and dont forget that he has at his disposal a fit and PL-experienced Ballack, one of the most clever mid-fielders in football (see how he made that pen in the semi and not even have to dive?)

[Andrew]

Grant is a Genius for the pure reason that he realised that this squad of players dont need to be restricted in their play. They are class players and if you just let them play their way they can do the job. I didnt get the feeling that Jose was doing that.
Leaders lead! no need to stop them from doing what they are born to do! I can see that and im not even a Chelsea supporter!

[Jason Waters]

This is a ridiculous debate. He is no genius.

If you look at all of Chelsea's results this season, most finish by the odd goal.

Let me point out to you the following.....

Liverpool (away) = Last min freak own goal

Man Utd (home) = Ronaldo wrongfully offside when 1 on 1 at 1-1, Ballack all over Ronaldo in the penalty box and then Chelsea are the ones who get a penalty. Ridiculous game

Liverpool (home) = Kalou offside for first goal of the night

This isn't genius. The goal difference in the Premiership at least shows something of a difference between the teams. Chelsea has had lucky own goals and decisions in their favour. Man Utd have outplayed and quite simply destroyed teams at times.

The fact that United are unbeaten in the Champions League also shows why they deserve the double this year, and hopefully Chelsea's luck will run out now to show what they really are, and that is ordinary.

[john]

Folks - I read what you say - the plank who said JM is an underachiever is bonkers! Before Jose came to Chelsea we had won a few cups here and there an no championship since 1950. He installed discipline, belief and proper tactics - the man is a genius - unlike Avram he could a change a game around by making astute, tactical changes something that completely passes Avram by. I hope we continue to win but when things go wrong I don't see any inspiration coming from the bench these days - just a lot of scratching of heads and hoping that things will go our way.

[J Roberts]

84.9%? You people are morons. Do you even understand the definition of genius?

Football Genius my 2 penny's worth: Busby, Shankley, Ferguson, Paisley, Ramsey, Best, Pele, Maradonna, Cantona, Cryuff, Ronaldo, Messi to name but a few.

Are the sheep who voted 'genius' really putting AG in that bracket?

[Michael]

When Italy won the 2006 World Cup much was made of galvanising affect the match fixing scandel of the preceeding doestic season had on the national team. Most football commentators agreed that adversity had given rise to success - can the same not be said of the Chelsea team? Vilified for a appointing a nobody to replace the Messiah, and with players promising to leave as soon as the season was over, Chelsea became something of a laughing stock. The criticism though has made Chelsea stronger and allowed their good form to go largely unnoticed until now.

So, is the Israeli nobody a genius? Unlikely. But the rest of Europe should feel a little foolish for underestimating the power of adversity. Oh, and the head of a ginger Norweigen.

[dave]

bluefmv

Oh, I get it. If Grant wins, then Jose gets the credit. And if Grant loses, then Grant gets the blame!

So, the conclusion is that Grant can never win....even if he wins!!

Some people might think this is called either bias towards Jose, or bias against Grant.

Look, if you take over a job, and you make a go of it, the boss isn't going to give your predecessor a bonus. Likewise, if you make a mess of it, don't tell me you're going to tell your boss: Don't blame me, it was Jose's fault!!

I somehow don't think Gordon Brown will be saying to the public that Labour's poor council election results are really Tony Blair's fault, do you?

Credit where credit is due. Similarly, blame where blame is due.

[dave]

Tim Hill,

You say that Rafa is a genius.

Yeah, it takes genius to have thought up the idea of incentivising Drogba by calling him a cheat a few days before the semi-final, and at the same time uniting the whole Chelsea team into one that was only mindful of one goal: to make Rafa eat his words.

Funny thing thought that it is is Stephen Gerard who has a well know reputation for falling to groung very easily, and yet it was Grant who Grant who refused - when asked to by he media - to criticize him or any other of the Liverpool side, and he had much reason to do such.

That's what makes Grant a good manager, and Rafa an own goal tactician. Rafa's days are numbered at Liverpool.

[bluefmv]

We are playing exactly the same tactics and football as JM minus all the camederie and elegance there was under him. Wasn't AGs job to start playing football Man Utd style? Then he has failed.Mourinhos legacy lives on, he did all the hard work.
Well done boys, I hope to god he doesnt mess it up but I just don't trust the man.

i dont kno how could anyone say him a true genious or good manager. i is jus damn lucky to have ballack, schevenchenko, drogba, lampard,terry as other football genious with him... in his first year.. no manager had that chance...even i can b the manager of the team..u can say to avramovic...of this..grant has just stood on the coach position jus like fans what happend is the result of players and education of mourihno..grow up

[m-fami]

Avram grant is a very great deal he is 2in1 genius and lucky ,because in this levels it's not enough to be lucky you must be talent like him and he has a great expert to produce the max from his player and we can see that in the last game when he change the gam attitude of assian from midfield to wright back and that decision had been looked very brilliant step .

[Christopher Williams]

To J. Roberts: (Avram Grant has won nothing)

* With Hapoel Petah Tikva:
o Toto Cup (2): 1989/90; 1990/91
* With Maccabi Tel Aviv:
o Ligat ha'Al (Premier League) Championship (2): 1991/92; 1994/95
o Israel State Cup: 1993/94
o Toto Cup (2): 1992/93; 1998/99
* With Maccabi Haifa:
o Ligat ha'Al (Premier League) Championship (2): 2000/01; 2001/02
o Toto Cup: 2001/02
He's also been a coach for over 35 years. So long as you don't claim to be a football fan, everything's sweet.

[ted]

I'm sure Avram is a decent manager, but don't forget a cerain Ten Cate and Steve CLarke sitting on the bench next to him. I don't think the set up at Chelsea is so simple that you can put it down just to one person anymore.

[richard boyce]

Avram is as good a manager as Joe Fagin was

[Gilbert Goetz]

Grant inherited a highly talented program in tenuous condition, withstood absences by key players, and nutured the squad throughout the season into an outcome no predecessor has achieved. We would be fortunate for his return.

[Tony the blue]

I dont know if my wors speak for many others, but, Avram we are SORRY.
You sure gave us a lesson in humility.
You have proven your self as a worthy man and manager.
Now we just wait to see if the journalists are made of the same earnest material...