Don’t Cry For Avram
(This article appeared in The Irish Examiner, on January 17, 2011)
David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady have been tactless, classless and heartless in their treatment of Avram Grant. They have undermined and betrayed their manager, leaking snippets of information to the press, forcing the former Portsmouth boss into the indignity of appearing at Upton Park on Saturday having essentially already been sacked. And yet I still don’t feel sorry for him. And neither should you. Grant knows better than anyone that if you live by the sword, you die by the sword.
The funereal Israeli has long been the Kate Adie of English football. When he rides into town, the locals flee. For death rides with him. Grant is a bad football manager, but he’s an even worse Director of Football. The traditional role of the DoF, on the continent at least, is to oversee long-term policy. Grant does that for a few weeks and then somehow ends up with the manager’s job. A genuine silent assassin, you can be sure that neither Jose Mourinho or Paul Hart will feel sorry for him this morning.
His continued survival in the industry has long been a mystery. Grant had a decent career in Israeli football but, after a brief spell of not taking Harry Redknapp’s job at Portsmouth, it was a personal friendship with Roman Abramovich that brought him to Chelsea. Unqualified and unready, there has never been a greater disparity between the statistics and the reality. On paper, Grant was a penalty kick away from winning the Champions League. On the pitch, it was inertia in action, Mourinho’s team gliding home in spite of their new manager. Grant’s panic at White Hart Lane, when a 3-1 lead became a 4-4 draw, told the real story. An FA Cup run flattered him at Portsmouth, earning him the West Ham gig despite the fact that his win percentage was less than Hart’s
Now, having been finally found out at Upton Park, he will leave with three and a half years of his contract paid off. Oh, for a job where a failure to meet basic performance expectations would result in a seven figure pay-off. Yes, the West Ham hierarchy have acted appallingly in dragging this out, but don’t be fooled into feeling sorry for Grant. He has been as ruthless as the rest of them and I assure you, he’ll be absolutely fine.
If he looked fine when met by the sun undies outside a brothel then why bother now with seven figure payoff at stake.
I agree that Grant on paper appears entirely more competant than I think he is. The “post’s width away from winning the Champions League” is one that gets pulled out all too often when in fact a look at tactics, formations and substitutions (and indeed number of victories) reveal that there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of managerial know-how.
http://www.feeling-football.blogspot.com
Don’t agree it was Mourinho’s team. Everyone always says that but when Grant took over Chelsea were languishing in the bottom half, and Grant transformed them that season and took them 3 points from winning the league…
I’m afraid that’s not true. Mourinho’s last league game, a 0-0 draw with Blackburn, left Chelsea in 5th after six games.
As for transforming them, I was in the press box for the majority of their games that season and they were just like Mourinho’s team, but not as good. Two big wins, against Arsenal and United, came as a massive, massive surprise for all concerned, especially the Arsenal game when the home fans had turned on Grant midway through the second half.
He got bloody lucky that year.
Very unfair on Grant, as the Russian also was. He took them to within two points and a penalty kick of the double. Surely some credit has to be given??
He also helped the team amass more points than they had the previous season under Mourinho. Surely without the mercurial “Special One” it would have been expected that the team would have fallen apart rather than improve in every way?
Better points finish than the previous season. Recovered from indifferent start under Mourinho. Got to the Champions League Final, which Mourinho had failed to achieve.
What is the reason for this irrational dislike of Grant? One can only wonder.
It’s not irrational and I don’t dislike him. On a personal level, he seems fine. More often than not, when I’ve asked him a question he’s given me a half decent answer. I just don’t think, for the reasons explained above, that he’s a very good football manager.
Fair enough, it’s not irrational, but results don’t seem to come into it. Based on results he did better than Mourinho did the previous season, and managed to get past Liverpool – something Jose couldn’t do – and into a Champions League Final. Looking at individual matches to form an opinion seems harsh given the end results, which were good.
Respect your opinion but, as stated, think it’s harsh.