Grant Equals Mourinho Record

[warnie_666 1,081]

His tactics are very defensive.

Eg: We needed to win the game yesterday and we played with a Holding Midfielder for the 90 mins. Instead of attacking more.

Against Manutd: we were 10 players. We dint even reach thier half as Sheva was alone upfront. Again we were densive. Mourinho would have swapped a RB for an attacking option.

I guesse we should accept the fact that we no more have a Maverick Manager who would win matches with his Dare Devil out of the box Tactics and not rely on just players playing the same formation for 90 mins and hoping that they would somehow score a goal.

After the Fulham Match, for which we played with 2 defenders for 10 mins inorder to break the deadlock, I havent seen him do that again in any matches.

Edited February 11, 2008 by warnie_666

[Cracker 0]

First of all its a fact that we are not in the position we all wanted to be in & that Arsenal have began to break away from the pack..& of course a win yesterday against the Liver's was very important to try & keep our campaign still live & kicking..

But! the simple fact is that Arsenal & also man-unt & even Liverpool yesterday have/had the last few weeks & months much better teams & squads than ours,

with all the injuries we've had + the African cup, we have had a team that cannot realistically fight for the title!, but still I think that Grant managed to squeeze as much out from the team almost as humanly possible, at these extremely difficult & challenging times.

Are any of you so sure that Mourinho would have got any better results if not worse in such circumstances that 2/3 of his first team are absent?

How many coaches around the world could not pride themselves with the fact of not losing a single game if they we're in a similar scenario as Grant has been in the last few weeks & months?

yes of course were all disappointed,.. but its also really not realistic nor fair to compare Chelsea's situation to any of the other top teams this season..

we can & should compare ourselves only to ourselves..& the only question I think we should be asking at this stage is.. are we so sure that any other coach in the world right now would have produced better results in this very irregular & difficult period the teams been through?

and lets also not forget that at the beginning of the season much before Grants era, when almost all our first team was intact, we still didn't look good if not worse than our last couple of games, & the results were average to poor then to.

Edited February 12, 2008 by Cracker

[Aesthetic Relic 301]

Right.......I'm no bloody Einstein, but I am seriously confused here

Is Cracker a Chelsea fan ?

[warnie_666 1,081]

Right.......I'm no bloody Einstein, but I am seriously confused here

Is Cracker a Chelsea fan ?

neither m i an Einstein...but from his posts looks like it. Cant jews be CFC fans? or does the brigade have probs with that too?

[.Cee 50]

First of all its a fact that we are not in the position we all wanted to be in & that Arsenal have began to break away from the pack..& of course a win yesterday against the Liver's was very important to try & keep our campaign still live & kicking..

But! the simple fact is that Arsenal & also man-unt & even Liverpool yesterday have/had the last few weeks & months much better teams & squads than ours,

with all the injuries we've had + the African cup, we have had a team that cannot realistically fight for the title!, but still I think that Grant managed to squeeze as much out from the team almost as humanly possible, at these extremely difficult & challenging times.

Are any of you so sure that Mourinho would have got any better results if not worse in such circumstances that 2/3 of his first team are absent?

How many coaches around the world could not pride themselves with the fact of not losing a single game if they we're in a similar scenario as Grant has been in the last few weeks & months?

yes of course were all disappointed,.. but its also really not realistic nor fair to compare Chelsea's situation to any of the other top teams this season..

we can & should compare ourselves only to ourselves..& the only question I think we should be asking at this stage is.. are we so sure that any other coach in the world right now would have produced better results in this very irregular & difficult period the teams been through?

and lets also not forget that at the beginning of the season much before Grants era, when almost all our first team was intact, we still didn't look good if not worse than our last couple of games, & the results were average to poor then to.

So you're a Chelsea fan?

[Fulham Broadway 16,393]

Sincrely doubt it, but he talks sense

''we can & should compare ourselves only to ourselves''

''Are any of you so sure that Mourinho would have got any better results''

and ''man-unt'' and ''the Liver's''

[Fulham Broadway 16,393]

I think you've hit the nail on the head with your comment "if it aint broke don't fix it".

Clearly Grant is smart enough to see that and for this season it appears he is going to change little and just carry on as is. The players have as good as confirmed this and that is no surprise you only need to look at the results and how the team play with your own eyes to see that.

Looks like he might get more adventurous next season! And he will have to in order to keep Roman happy.

Trouble is he lacks the tactical nous to make those changes that were so much a part of Mourinho's make up, you can copy the training, the team talks through say Cate or Clarke, the same system, style - you can copy all that but the one thing you cannot know how to replicate is how to change a game.

You either have it or you don't or you have to try and learn how to get better at it fast.

I think Grant is distinctly average in this area and that is where he falls on his face but lets just hope he learns shall we?

He's the manager and he needs support from the fans so whether we like him or respect him or not we have to support him and hope he can make this work.

Agree with most of that, but I dont see anything in him to support. Maybe he will pass the coaching exam. Brilliant.

I've tried to leave personal opinion out of it and just look at his ability as a manager. he may well prove me wrong and start making astute tactical changes that lead us to win the league..but I dont think he has the bottle to risk being ridiculed, nor the intelligence to have contingencies for events as the game progresses. I would worry if we were to play AC Milan or Barca in the next week or two.

Whether he is ousted in the Summer is up for debate, and will depend on what silverware is accrued., but I find it absolutely incredible he was given a four year contract.

I'd prefer Ian Porterfield at the moment.

[misschief 24]

neither m i an Einstein...but from his posts looks like it. Cant jews be CFC fans? or does the brigade have probs with that too?

He said he was a Yid in a previous post so its a bit confusing. Unless that was his attempt at wit, which obviously worked about as well as Avram's sex appeal.

I've tried to leave personal opinion out of it and just look at his ability as a manager. he may well prove me wrong and start making astute tactical changes that lead us to win the league..

Yeah right, and Ashley Cole'll start being faithful.

[warnie_666 1,081]

He said he was a Yid in a previous post so its a bit confusing. Unless that was his attempt at wit, which obviously worked about as well as Avram's sex appeal.

Thats what I am asking you. Cant Yids {jews} be fans of CFC?....Its not a world wide rule that all Yids on the face of earth have to be Tottenham fans..you see.

[pluto 0]

His tactics are very defensive.

Eg: We needed to win the game yesterday and we played with a Holding Midfielder for the 90 mins. Instead of attacking more.

I agree in that I think he is generally defensive and cautious too, despite the fact that Grant said especially early on in his tenure that there would be no more playing for a draw malarky and Chelsea were not going to be afraid to lose anymore and would go all out for a win (as if we've always been terrified of winning which is bull).

Well I'm sorry but it's pretty clear that this is all talk because his substitutions I would not suggest are overtly attacking and you can usually predict when they will be made and who will come off and who will come on.

Rarely have I been surprised by any move he's made but then against most of the opposition we have played that really has been enough to get the result but it's when that's not enough that you need him to have some nous.

Not all Mourinho's subs were perfect by any means, no manager can be 100% right. However, overall he got them pretty much spot on and they were often quite risky and never tardy.

Ironic that for a man accused of playing boring football he could never be accused of being dull and slowfooted when trying to change a game.

[misschief 24]

Thats what I am asking you. Cant Yids {jews} be fans of CFC?....Its not a world wide rule that all Yids on the face of earth have to be Tottenham fans..you see.

He made it sound like he was a Spurs fan, get me now or need a diagram to go with my posts?

[pluto 0]

Agree with most of that, but I dont see anything in him to support. Maybe he will pass the coaching exam. Brilliant.

I've tried to leave personal opinion out of it and just look at his ability as a manager. he may well prove me wrong and start making astute tactical changes that lead us to win the league..but I dont think he has the bottle to risk being ridiculed, nor the intelligence to have contingencies for events as the game progresses. I would worry if we were to play AC Milan or Barca in the next week or two.

Whether he is ousted in the Summer is up for debate, and will depend on what silverware is accrued., but I find it absolutely incredible he was given a four year contract.

I find it a little odd too that they were so eager to give him a four year contract but that's Roman world for you!

After watching Grant and how he operates on and off the pitch and from what I've read about his life in the Israeli league what we are seeing now is pretty much what you would expect. He was renowed for his dull, safety first, try to get a win and if not then don't lose no matter what style of football.

Hence many Israeli journalists stunned surprise when he was put forward as the attacking balm to Mourinho's pragmatist age.

Grant is no risk taker that much is certain, he is no risk taker because (a) it is not in his nature and never has been no matter what he might spout forth to you, me and Roman (b)because he is simply scared of losing, losing the fans respect (which he has never really had yet if full measure), losing any support he had from the press sick of the Mourinho ego trip as certain journos saw it and © worried about losing his job if the results get bad - the dream job he has assiduously worked his way towards getting by arse licking anyone who had power and influence to get him this far.

The one thing I do disagree with you on is the intelligence aspect. Grant is intelligent, he was intelligent enough to spot that Roman had a hankering for a change of coach and insert himself into his circle in time and convince him that he was the man - he was intelligent enough to not change anything at the club when he came on board - again smart and he was intelligent to not allow his ego to get in the way and agree to Ten Cate coming on board and Clarke staying (a Mourinho cohort lest we forget) because he probably knew deep down he needed the support.

Those are not actions of a stupid guy, but unfortunately there is that kind of intelligence and then there is the kind of intelligence which allows you to read a game in an instant, smell the mood of the crowd, sense the players mood at any one moment and the opposition's to boot and make your move at key moments with key players, willing to turn a formation around in a moment by not necessarily replacing like with like. It's this kind of intelligence that I don't think Grant has in any great abundance. I say "think" because I need to see him operate a few more times against a really big club not an Olympiakos or a Liverpool in bad form but a Man Utd, Arsenal, Barca, Milan - that kind of team.

He may surprise me and prove that he has climbed a steep learning curve and what Mourinho had - that tactical nous and intelligence - is something Grant can acquire but I have my doubts.

Beating Wigan, Derby, Sunderland, QPR and the like or crushing Man City or even beating a soon to implode Valencia have not convinced me that he's got what it takes there.

Hope he proves me wrong, despite the fact I can't say I've warmed to the guy one bit.

I think we will still be stuck with him into next season no matter what happens this - Roman has put his faith in this guy and there is no way he wants to look a mug for all to see. So Grant had better get things right at the sharp end of the season because the prospects for next season if he stays (but wins no silverware) seem very uncertain to me.

Edited February 12, 2008 by pluto

[Cracker 0]

Just a few things..

First of all I think that everyone-(pro-grant as a manager or not) would agree that it would have been much better & also would have gone down better with the fans if he had at least a bit more experience in managerial positions at a few other European clubs prior to becoming the Chelsea manager,

But saying that I want to make a few points..

1) first of all Israeli football has made quite a few noticeable steps forward in the last few years, as everyone have seen in the last EURO-2008 campaign & they got quite good results against very tough oppositions & situations (Just like in the game against Russia when the Russians thought they needed a win at all cost to qualify....great Shame it didn't prove to be true in the end ...).

& these last campaigns came after two relatively very successful campaigns that Grant was in charge of the national team..

& lets not forget that at the time he took over the job from the Danish manager Richard Møller Nielsen(winner of the EURO-1992) that didn't manage to succeed very well with the Israeli side at his time there & they looked most of the time quite poor on the pitch to..)

2) maybe many here understandably would much prefer to forget this fact but, it

was the Israeli side-Hapoel Tel-aviv that knocked Chelsea-fc out of the Uefa Cup only a few years ago, just to carry on to reach the 1/4 finals of the competition (if I remember right..), + a few other teams that have performed in at least quite a respectable way in the various European competitions, like for example(a win of Macabbi-Haifa on Manutd 3-0 at one stage in the Champions league after beating Olympiakos ,Parma & Milan once to (hopefully I remembered those ones to right sorry if not...),

3) Just another point.. Its true of course that Ten Cate Has had more experience in various European Clubs ext'.. But still many of those positions were as an assistant-(& probably a very successful one) & the biggest club he actually manged himself was Ajax, that is of course I nice respectable European club, but has not been able to perform very well (to say the least) together with other Dutch teams on the International stage now for years..

I'm not saying of course that the Israeli football is near the level of the Dutch Football

but on the other hand Dutch football aint at the same level as English/Spanish/Italian ext.. Football either..

Just posting here the table & results of the 2006 World cup qualifying results-group4

while Grant was the Israel manager, It doesn't seem to me like a record of someone that does not have any International football experience & that cant be at least considered with same (if not more) experience than many of the other(not Chelsea) premiership teams managers..

1) France-20

2) Switzerland-18

3) Israel-18

4) Republic of Ireland-17

5) Cyprus-4

6) Faroe Islands-1

France 0 – 0 Israel , Israel 2 – 1 Cyprus , Israel 2 – 2 Switzerland ,

Cyprus 1 – 2 Israel , Israel 1 – 1 Republic of Ireland , Israel 1 – 1 France ,

Republic of Ireland 2 – 2 Israel , Switzerland 1 – 1 Israel , Faroe Islands 0 – 2 Israel ,

Israel 2 – 1 Faroe Islands .

Edited February 13, 2008 by Cracker

[Aesthetic Relic 301]

Yeah, but Grunt managed in Israel about 400 BC.......long before Israel started making progress in world football......

Grunt is hardley the man who took Israel in the right direction with his tactical knowledge and management skills.

On a level playing field he would be as qualified as the Andorran national manager.

Then again, he probably is qualified already

[Elliott 7]

Heh Tri-Blue, you are talking out your backside in the face of Cracker's post there, sorry. 2006 not 400 BC Come on, that's really not long ago. Israel DID do well in that group, no doubt.

Doesn't change the fact Grant doesn't exactly fill you with confidence day to day, and we always deserved a better manager even if you think Grant's record is decent.

[Cracker 0]

Yeah, but Grunt managed in Israel about 400 BC.......long before Israel started making progress in world football......

Grunt is hardley the man who took Israel in the right direction with his tactical knowledge and management skills.

On a level playing field he would be as qualified as the Andorran national manager.

Then again, he probably is qualified already

Grant was the manager of Israel in the 2006 Israel campaign (see results above..)

hmmmm...well yes it wasn't yesterday... but still I think that going back to 400bc is maybe just a little bit over stretched..

[Aesthetic Relic 301]

Heh Tri-Blue, you are talking out your backside in the face of Cracker's post there, sorry. 2006 not 400 BC Come on, that's really not long ago. Israel DID do well in that group, no doubt.

Doesn't change the fact Grant doesn't exactly fill you with confidence day to day, and we always deserved a better manager even if you think Grant's record is decent.

He's still shit

[warnie_666 1,081]

GRANT IS THE BEST MANAGER IN THE WORLD!!!!!