What on earth is going on at Chelsea? First they manage to alienate one of the finest managers in world football and virtually help him to pack his bags, then they appoint a successor who hasn’t got the qualifications to manage a Premier League club.

Over my many years in sports journalism I have attended press conferences at most of the current Premier League clubs and many others in different fields of sport.

But never have I squirmed or felt so embarrassed as much as I did on Friday as Chelsea’s beleaguered hierarchy tried to justify their actions over the previous 24 hours with, first of all, the departure of Jose Mourinho and then, with almost indecent haste, the appointment of Avram Grant to take his place.

'I can’t help feeling that this whole turbulent episode has the makings of another Jozef Venglos and Christian Gross'


Now one thing I have learned over the years is that you never call a press conference unless you have something really juicy and positive to tell the posse. Stray from that line and you’re in trouble.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, that didn’t happen. Chairman Bruce Buck tried (and failed miserably) to convince everyone that immediate recent events had changed nothing; they would take the departure of Mourinho in their stride, and they all (the new boss included) shared the same vision and determination to move forward.

The club’s worm of a chief executive, Peter Kenyon, huffed, puffed and tried to bluff his way through a minefield of questions without actually saying anything that might at least have allayed suspicions that the club is on the edge of a real crisis.

Cameras whirred and flashed, journalists hustled to get in the kind of questions intended to illicit the truth. The grenades came thick and fast and Buck and Kenyon had nothing with which to ward them off. Amazingly no attempt was made to try to resolve the obvious differences that have been allowed to fester between Mourinho and Roman Abramovich. No-one tried to persuade Jose to stay.

And all the time poor Avram Grant sat between Buck and Kenyon in what looked like a Playstation version of the Madhatter’s Tea Party. Not one question was directed at the new manager; not one opinion sought. He sat there like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.

And the general opinion among TV and press pundits is that this is a stop-gap appointment. The deal to get rid of Mourinho, according to Buck, had been done “amicably” in ten minutes, possibly less. Mind you, if I’d been offered £12m to clear my desk, they’d have had their answer in the time it would take to say “Cheers!”

And, surprise, surprise, the deal to appoint Grant had more or less been finalised a week earlier. Lawyer-speak Buck and smug Kenyon didn’t actually admit as much, but Grant let the cat out of the bag by admitting that  he telephoned the head of Israel’s Coaching Association a week earlier telling him  that he needed a pro coaching licence “in a hurry!”

It is believed he has a UEFA  Licence, and he has 12 weeks grace in which to get the proper coaching authorisation for the Premier League.

Does he have a contract? Well, actually, no. “But that’s something we’ll be working on over the next few days,” he admitted. Did he take the Chelsea training session 24 hours before probably the toughest match of his coaching career to date – Manchester United, away at Old Trafford? Well, actually, no. It’s Yom Kippur, the Jewish high-holy day, so preparations were left to the trusty Steve Clarke.

Avram Grant does have one thing going for him, however. He’s a big buddy of old moneybags himself, Roman Abramovich, so it’s not all bad news.

I can’t help feeling that this whole turbulent episode has the makings of another Jozef  Venglos (remember, one disastrous year at Aston Villa) and Christian Gross (an unimpressive nine months at Spurs). And how can we forget the disastrous Les Reed at Charlton last season. I’m sure that Chelsea are already working on Plan B.

I sincerely hope this is not the case as Avram Grant looks a capable and agreeable sort. Mourinho tried, and failed, to make it all work, but I doubt he ever got to sit at the same table as Buck, Kenyon and Abramovich. I wish Avram Grant better luck; much better luck.

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