Daniel Finkelstein
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I have a question. If Chelsea win the Champions League, do you think the crowd will start chanting, “There's only one super Avram”? I don't. I strongly suspect that such a song would not be heard even if Chelsea were to win the World Cup.
Chelsea fans miss José Mourinho. Such sentimental attachment is understandable, but this is the Fink Tank. Sentiment, schmentiment. It is time to take a cool, rational look at the man in black. Just how good is Avram Grant?
Dr Henry Stott and Dr Ian Graham started with the raw data. In Grant's past 29 league matches Chelsea have won 20, drawn seven and lost two, earning 67 points with a goal difference of 35. By contrast, in his last 29 league games, Mourinho won 16, drew 11 and lost two, earning 59 points with a goal difference of 24.
The Fink Tank model allows us to calculate how many points we expected Chelsea to gain over those 29 matches.We expected Chelsea under Mourinho to score 58.6 points, so his total was almost bang on. With Grant we expected 61 points, so he has overperformed by six points.
So Grant is doing better than Mourinho. But this, Chelsea fans argue, is irrelevant because Grant is hopeless when it comes to crunch games. True? False? Well, in Grant's four matches against the other three members of the big four clubs he scored two points fewer than expected. And in Mourinho's last four matches against those teams he scored 3.3 points fewer than expected. So, false.
None of this cuts much ice at Stamford Bridge. Standing in the gents after the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa, I was surrounded by fans who wanted Mourinho back. The last two Villa games under Mourinho ended in a draw and a defeat. But still the fans are having none of it.
What is the case for this feeling? First, one must not forget the trophies. Mourinho is loved for bringing home silverware. Secondly, Chelsea are now second to Manchester United in quality terms - only 91 per cent as good - whereas for much of the Mourinho years the club were ahead. The switch came early in the season, before Grant took over. Yet he has not been able to restore the team's superiority. That is probably the strongest thing that can be said against him and, frankly, it is not that strong. The main reason for the switch is United's improvement after their summer spending.
Thirdly, when Mourinho left in September last year, Chelsea's chance of lifting the title was 42 per cent; now it is 11 per cent. But most of that difference was lost in Grant's first two matches in charge, at the end of which Chelsea's title chances stood at 13.5 per cent.
And, obviously, Chelsea have a higher chance of reaching the Champions League final than they did when Mourinho was around. As Salomon Kalou crossed that ball in the 95th minute, Chelsea's chance of being in Moscow was 30 per cent. After John Arne Riise connected with it, it was 67 per cent.
I don't think the case against Grant adds up to much. So if Chelsea win the Champions League and no one chants for him, I'll tell you what, I will.
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To MK (Amersham): The answer is NO, but the top brass at Chelsea who brought him in for that reason are muppets. Grant is known not for playing great football....hes known for winning games. So I'm afraid you and your management have been misinformed.
David, London, England
Mourinho had no class, Chelsea fans like that in a member of their staff. thats why they miss him so much.
Nick, Canterbury,
In purely taking the 'last 29 games' are you not neglecting to take the strength of the opposition into account?
Jay, Cork,
Great article but forget winning percentages for a second. The club said that the main reason Grant was brought in was to try and make Chelsea play more attractive football. So tell me are Chelsea more attractive to watch then under Mourinho?
Michael King, Amersham, , England