You are not "Special" enough. Avram Grant is SACKED

[Froggy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ea/7418774.stm

Chelsea have sacked manager Avram Grant after just eight months in charge.
The decision followed two days of talks between Grant, 53, and the club's chief executive Peter Kenyon.
The Israeli coach's position had been subject to intense speculation after Chelsea finished runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League.
Russia coach Guus Hiddink, fellow Dutchman Frank Rijkaard and Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson are among the early favourites to replace Grant.
Chelsea said in a statement on their website that the search for a new coach would now begin and that the club will make no further comment.
The statement said: "Chelsea Football Club can confirm that Avram Grant has had his contract as manager terminated today. This follows meetings over the last two days.



"Everybody at Chelsea FC would like to thank Avram for his contribution since taking over as manager last September.
"We will now be concentrating all our efforts on identifying a new manager for Chelsea and there will be no further comment until that appointment is made."
BBC Radio 5 Live football correspondent Jonathan Legard said Grant had faced a nigh impossible task in taking over from Jose Mourinho.
"He was little more than a stop gap," Legard told BBC Radio 5 Live. "He never really had the CV, never really had the experience, never really had the clout to fill the boots of Jose Mourinho.
"Have Chelsea got someone lined up? I don't think they have. They may have a few ideas but whether they will be able to pursue them is another matter.
The futures of Chelsea assistants Steve Clarke and Henk Ten Cate are unclear and no official word has yet been given on their positions.
Grant, a close friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, took over on 20 September 2007 after Mourinho was sacked.

606: DEBATE
Who should succeed Avram Grant?

Rijkaard, Eriksson and, most recently, Brian Laudrup and Roberto Mancini have all been linked with a possible move to Chelsea with the likes of Luiz Felipe Scolari and Mark Hughes in the running.
Despite losing just two Premier League games while in charge, Grant attracted criticism from fans who claimed his team lacked style.
He was also criticised for losing February's League Cup final against Tottenham.
Grant joined Chelsea last summer from Portsmouth as director of football, a decision which apparently did not please Mourinho.
Mourinho was later dismissed after their 1-1 draw with Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge in their opening Champions League game.

Grant and Mourinho did not always see eye-to-eye


Grant, who had never managed a club in England, was asked to take over and on 13 December 2007 signed a four-year contract.
Both Kenyon and chairman Bruce Buck paved the way for change by insisting that Chelsea's performance this season was simply "not good enough".
Buck said: "We have very high expectations at Chelsea and a couple of second place finishes is just not good enough for us.
"So although we never would have thought in September when Jose Mourinho left that we would be able to make it into a Champions League final as we did - and that is fantastic - Chelsea are here to win trophies.
"So although it was an excellent season, we are still disappointed."
A series of discussions finally resolved Grant's future and it is understood the Israeli said his farewells to the players on Friday - telling them it had been a 'privilege' to manage the team.
Ironically, Mourinho has yet to take up a new job since his dismissal by Chelsea but he said only this week that he expects to be back in football in June.
His odds for a dramatic and unexpected return to Chelsea were cut from 20/1 down to 8/1 by English bookmakers late on Saturday.

[Sapphire]

Re: You are not "Special" enough. Avram Grant is SACKED

Not a surprise really, although I am sure he is a really nice person, he lacked the style, charisma and in my humble opinion the ability of Jose. He also somehow didn't seem to have the ooomph and get up and go that Jose had and I'm pretty sure that if Jose had still been at Chelsea, this season would have been a much different story, and we would have won most of the silverware.

I would dealy love to see Jose back in charge, and hope and pray that Roman see's the error of his ways and makes him an offer he can't refuse, but in reality its probably going to be someone like Rijkaard, and I've even seen on Sky Sports News that Mark Hughes is in the running. God forbid Erikkson being appointed, now that would make we want to change teams and support West Ham ffs.

But hey we have to wait and see don't we.

[Froggy]

Re: You are not "Special" enough. Avram Grant is SACKED

He took over with Chelsea no where in all honesty. He got Chelsea to their first Champions League final in their history(he beat Liverpool which Mourinho failed to do twice). He was runners up in the League, He was runners up in the Carling Cup and that was with just 8 months at the helm. If I can have no charisma and that much success then I want to be dull and boring.

[LuggerBugs]

Re: You are not "Special" enough. Avram Grant is SACKED

Let's face it... British footbal isn't British any longer. I have long since given up caring about the internal politics of these foreign corporations.

[Guest]

Re: You are not "Special" enough. Avram Grant is SACKED

I really don't see how style, charisma or ability as a manager could possibly have helped here. John Terry made a complete pigs ear of taking a fixed penalty kick. That has nothing whatsoever to do with the manager.

Here is a quote from Chelsea assistant coach Henk ten Cate.

"It is unbelievable this should happen to him. We practiced penalties so much last week and he was very confident. We were all very confident."

What leaps out here is this bit "we practiced penalties so much last week..." Is that all, just last week?

It does not matter who they choose as a manager if their captain is not going to bother practising basic skills like kicking the ball. Maybe he thought he was so good he did not need to? Whatever it is, the manager is not at fault yet once again is expected to fall on his sword.

Footballers today have only themselves to blame yet they do not and neither do the supporters or those who have allowed this state of affairs to reach the point is has. They lack the commitment to practice enough and this shows when games reach the stage that this one did. It is not as if this is rare either yet so often is ends like this because they could not be bothered to hone their skills.

Jonny Wilkinson OBE practised for hours a day every day in order that his kicking was as perfect as it could be and when he needed to perform, he could do it. That is the Navratilova Principle: Martina explained that the difference between herself and lesser tennis players was that where they were involved, she was committed. “It’s like ham and eggs. The chicken’s involved. But the pig’s committed.”

Why do footballers think they do not need to do this?

Blame the manager if you must and change the manager as often as you like, it will not alter the fact that the players are at fault and have only themselves to blame when they get it wrong because they lack the basic skills to perform when they really need to.

[Amy]

Re: You are not "Special" enough. Avram Grant is SACKED

A footballers' discipline is absolutely appalling too.

Didier Drogba was supposed to take the fifth penalty, but he got sent off in extra time. He is only the 2nd person ever to be sent off in a Champions League final. He should be very proud.

In rugby, the fans don't have to be separated and they are allowed to drink in the stands. A rugby player would not ever speak to the referee the way that a footballer does.

I can remember watching a rugby match a few years ago and a huge, hulking Australian rugby player said something the referee did not like. The referee was not a big man, but he called the Australian Man Mountain over, when they were standing in front of one another the referee beckoned with his finger that the Man Mountain come closer - he bent down to the referee's face. As the referee's in rugby wear microphones, he could be heard to say very quietly to the Man Mountain "don't you ever, ever speak to me like that again. Do you hear me?"

To which the Man Mountain said "I am really sorry Sir." He walked away like a child that had just been chastised by a parent.

I even see the difference in the crowds between football and rugby matches at my children's level of play.

Some of the parents that go to the under 15s football matches are truly awful. They boo when the other team score, they are rude to the referees. Whereas at my son's under 10s rugby matches the atmosphere is very different. If the children score a good try they are applauded regardless of which team they play for.

Sometimes if there have been injuries, the teams don't have enough children for a full team to play the next game, if there is a surplus on an opposing team then some children get handed over to play for them. This is not such a good thing admittedly, when it is your son that scores a hat trick for the opposing team!

When would any of this sportsmanship ever happen in football?

[EXC]

Re: You are not "Special" enough. Avram Grant is SACKED

Lucky lucky