Friday, September 21, 2007

Avram The Man To Grant Chelsea European Success ?

21 Sept 2007

As shell shocked Chelsea fans all over the world continue to come to grips with the sudden sacking of Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho , they are hit with yet another shocker that the man to succeed the Portugese coach is an unheard person by the name of Avram Grant ... Avram who , u ask ?

In his desperate for success in the European front - the UEFA Champions League , the Roman billionnaire had decided that enough is enough and that Mourinho should part ways with him and that the Israeli is a better man for the job , a man he believes will win him the greatest prize in Club Football - the UEFA Champions League , the same throphy that eluded him time and again .

Just how good is the man tasked to bring European success to the club ? Avram may have been very successful in Israel for he guided Maccabi Haifa to two League titles before taking charge of Israel national team where he guided the side to an unbeaten qualifying campagin for the 2006 World Cup , winning four and drawing six of their 10 group games . Despite the good track record , Israel as we all know never make it to the big event in Germany . It remains to be seen whether he can be as successful in England , for as we all know EPL is another story altogether .

Instead , here we have a good experienced coach in Mourinho , no doubt , controlversal at times , but he has proved that he knows his football and has what it takes to guide football clubs to great success .

In 2002 , he joined Porto and the club managed to overcome their poor start to the League Season to finish third in the League . In his first full Season in charge , Porto won a Treble of domestic League & Cup as well as the UEFA Cup throphy . Then in his second Season with the club , Porto successfully defended their Portugese League title , and also won the Champions League title .

Then he repeated his magical feat once more in his first Season with Chelsea in 2004 , winning them their first EPL title in 50 long years . Like Porto , he successfully helped Chelsea to defend their EPL title . Not only that , under his leadership , Chelsea also won the FA Cup ( 2006 / 2007 ) , Community Shield ( 2005 ) as well as two back to back Carling Cup . Such is his proven track record , yet he is not saved from the axe as the prize that the Roman billionnaire is waiting for continues to elude him . Also , continuous spats between owner and Mourinho was another cause for the fall -out which led to his exit yesterday .

So , out goes Jose Mourinho and in comes an unknown Avram Grant , and he will be the man who will lead the side out of the Old Trafford tunnel to face the defending Champions on Sunday . And many more matches to come in the English Premier League as well Cup games in the future - European Champions League , FA Cup & Carling Cup matches . So , Roman feels that Grant is the man for the job .

What repercuissions this will have on the players of Chelsea big name players like John Terry and Frank Lampard as well as Drogba and Maluoda , remains to be seen . One thing is for sure , Grant is brought in to solve Chelsea current poor performance as well as bring the club European success and his first real test will be this Sunday against the Red Devils . All will be fine if Chelsea wins or avoids defeat , but should the team fails on Sunday , tongues will be waggling , headlines will be splashed all over the sports pages on Monday morning in the papers about just how good really is the man filling the big boots left behind by the man they call him as ' The Special One . '


Question : Is Roman making the right decision to appoint Avram Grant as Mourinho successor ? Were u surprised or shocked in any way by his decision ? If yes , who do u think should be the more ideal candidate ?

How or what effect will this have on the players ahead of their Showdown with Man United on Sunday ? Tell us what u think !

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