Avram Grant's dilemma or the Avram Grant dilemma?

When Jose Mourinho parted ways with Chelsea and Avram Grant was appointed as the new manager i couldnt believe it. completely wrong decision in my eyes. nothing has changed since. the way i saw it was would Roman Abramovich hire a 16 year old kid who just got his license to drive him around in his Bentley? would you hire a high school kid who made a 5 minute "movie" and put it on his myspace to direct a film with a Oceans 11 type cast? of course not. so the decision to place Grant in charge of one of the greatest collections of footballing talent in the world is deplorable.

Heading into today's Carling Cup final Grant has said that with players returning from injury and the ACN that he was facing one of the toughest decisions of his life in regards to lineup selections. i dont want to hear that from my manager. a manager at a top club must be ballsy and confident. they cant complain about the difficulty of having too many good players. make the starting XI selection with confidence and conviction. dont give in to pressure from players declaring that they have to start. you are in charge. make that known. but i guess he knows he's not in charge. that much is clear.

Since Grant took over the club the results have been pretty good with many people saying he is doing a good job. but results like the 6-0 win against Manchester City mean nothing. matches like that are a anomaly. overall Grant has not brought the promised attacking football. he has brought no results against the top clubs. defeats to Man United and Arsenal and a draw against Liverpool in league play. and today a loss in the Carling Cup final against Tottenham. Jose Mourinho had that ability to pull out results against the top clubs. something Grant clearly does not have. he has neither the top level experience or the tactically ability to lead this club. Mourinho would constantly make quick decisions to affect matches. changes in formation, early subs, etc. whatever it took. with Grant we have hardly seen a sub enter the match before the 70th minute, regardless of whats happening on the pitch. today's final was a perfect example of his tactically inability.

Having both Drogba and Anelka available is a major problem for Grant. he seems completely unsure of how to use them both. today he sent Chelsea out in the usual 433 with both of them in the lineup. horrible decision. neither Drogba or Anelka are wide players. so the choice is either to start both of them in a 442 or leave out Anelka and play the 433. as the match unfolded it was cleart that his approach was not working. a change had to be made but predictably it didnt come. the first change finally came in the 72nd minute. but it was a straight swap of Kalou on for SWP. still no change in tactics. 88th minute we saw Ballack on for Essien. still more of the same. finally in the 98th minute we saw Joe Cole come on for Mikel, bringing upon a switch to a 442. with the offense providing nothing Cole was the player that had to come on atleast 30-40 minutes earlier. he has his downside but also is one of the few players in the Chelsea squad that has an attacking flair that can change a match. it's as though Grants footballing brain moves in slow motion, if at all. any attempts at affecting the match always come far to late while Mourinho was always very proactive and aggressive in his changes. i guess Grant's tactics, and the speed at which he uses them, reflects his personality, as did Mourinho's.

At this point in the season i wouldnt be suprised at all if Chelsea ended up with no silverware at all. of course this would be a complete and utter failure. even if we do manage a trophy or two i hope Grant finds himself where he belongs, in an office as a technical director or advisor. if he continues to lead this club as the manager Chelsea will be unable to take that next step in their evolution as a club. there should be no doubt that Grant should not manage this club next season. If Abramovich doesnt make that decision for next season i think i'll end up completely losing it. there is no dilemma here. the choice is simple. send Grant packing. end of story.

-jim (tender branson)