Yesterday Avram Grant suggested Chelsea would have been better off if he had been in charge from the start of the season and not Jose Mourinho with his flashy continental overcoats and his Wildean epigrams rattled off like a maniacal machine gunner.

Dour Avram has been teased by the Press from the off - the fact that the man with an undertaker's visage was brought in to sex up Chelsea's style of play was greeted with scoffs and chortles from all quarters.

Since then, accusations about his arcane cone-centred training methods and his apparent desire for Chelsea to play 4-5-1 have meant that the initial soupcon of doubt has turned into a gloopy vat of media disgust.

'Much has been made of Grant's supposed remit to bring beautiful football to Stamford Bridge, and the failure to realise this ambition is seen as somehow so bad that it dilutes any success'


Looking back over the season, the only consistent slump in form came during Mourinho's time in charge. But with the Portuguese manager's slick and flash image it seemed a natural assumption to believe that he was the one playing dynamic and aesthetically pleasing football.

My schooling from eight to 11 years of age was in Tokyo, and when I got back to London the teachers took my parents aside and asked them if I could read. The same overkill was present when Grant shuffled into the glare of the Premier League.

His battered reputation takes seismic and grievous hits whenever his team even thinks about stuttering. Much has been made of Grant's supposed remit to bring beautiful football to Stamford Bridge, and the failure to realise this ambition is seen as somehow so bad that it dilutes any success.

Even the fact that Chelsea are currently in strong positions to win both domestically and in Europe doesn’t stop the staccato salvo of criticisms.

The Press have it made. There are so many managers they can attack that they are practically guaranteed to be able to fill column inches every week.

Media gripes about several managers are left to simmer in the background, from Avram Grant and his lack of tactical nous, to Kevin Keegan and his failed return, and Rafa Benitez and his fabled rotation obsession. Any one of these targets can be shunted back into the foreground at a moment’s notice.

But they really should give Grant room to breathe. His side are still in the Champions League, where a 1-0 win against Fenerbahce will see them through to the semi-finals. Take a look closer to home and Chelsea are right in the thick of it in the title chase, lying just three points behind Manchester United.

Could this be Grant’s year after all?