Back To Square One

Just when Avram Grant thought he was winning over all the doubters as Chelsea manager following a great run of results, along came the Carling Cup final, where Chelsea were soundly beaten by fellow Londoners Tottenham Hotspur.As if the defeat was not bad enough, a lot of questions were raised regarding Grant’s squad selection and tactics, as Chelsea were totally outplayed throughout the whole match. Yet, there was more to come, as some of the people who raised those questions were the players themselves, who failed to understand Grant’s tactics.The combination of this practically destroyed everything that Grant has managed to build before, and sent everyone back to the very beginning of his time as Chelsea manager. All of a sudden Grant has to prove once again, to the fans, the media and the players, he is fit to do the job.This makes the upcoming week an extremely important one; with both the 2nd leg of the Champions League encounter with Olympiacos, as well as the tricky FA Cup tie with Barnsley taking place. As a matter of fact, Grant has everything to lose, because everyone expects Chelsea to win both of these matches, against inferior opposition.Failing in either of these two matches, not to mention the possibility of failing in them both, will mark a quick end to the Grant era. Not too many pundits or supporters will be sorry to see him go as he is seen as Abramovich’s puppet. Grant is a phenomenon that no one has actually managed to understand.