There is nothing anti-semitic in the article. Is Martin Samuel - surely the finest opinion/football writer in Europe - not of the Jewish faith? Peace to all...

ptw, Edinburgh, Scotland

Andy..what are you talking about? Chelsea is about the biggest job in football and some no pedigree numpty gets the job and you are going on about anti-smetic content?

If this guy got the managers position at my club cletic the natives would be up in arms ..and we aspire to win the spl and last 16 CL not win epl and CL

maximus, Malabo, EG

It's not anti-semitic just because the root of the nepotism that Martin Samuel is hinting at here is jewish heritage.

They could all be Kurds, Sunnis or Hari Krishnas, it's the fact there is a cultural common denominator at all that is being commented on.

The point is that for some reason a man has been appointed to one of the top management jobs in football with no experience and no obvious talents beyond his predecessor. He does, however, have other links with Roman that Mourinho does not have. That is what Mr Samuel is commenting on. The bottom line is should a shared cultural identity between a manager and chairman be considered more important than the manager's skills in fooball management?

chris, worthing, england

I happen to be a Chelsea fan, but what interests me the most about this is in my professional capacity as a Coach helping organisations and individuals deal with Change. this has been coming for a long while, so it surely cannot be a complete surprise unless, of course, we were in denial. We all feel we know a part of Jose, rather like many people felt about Diana, and that he connected with us as people, not as customers or supporters. We felt as familiar with Jose as we did with our favourite pair of well-worn shoes, and the prospect of a new pair of stiff, uncomfortable, unknown shoes is frightening. We loved him, we hated him, he drove us crazy at times...but we knew him, and we cannot imagine knowing any future manager in the same way. The players , coaching staff, and even the guy that cleans the windows at Chelsea will feel the same.....but there is a game to play this weekend, and if we cant do it for ourselves we must do it for him. there would be no other way for Jose.

K.Parker, Bath, UK

Mr Silver,

To deem Mr. Samuel's article engaging is a matter of opinion, to accuse it of being antisemetic is not however. It does, unfortunately, seem as though you have missed the point. There has been numerous reporting in British media over the past few days that Mr. Abramovich was turning Stamford Bridge into a Russian playground, perhaps similar to the Lithuanian playground found at Hearts in Scotland. Mr Samuel was merely pointing out that it is not very russian at all, save for the fact the owner is passport holder of that country. Rather, since Mr. Abramovich feels more jewish than Russian (a completely fair and normal way for religious persons to feel) and has appointed and used numerous jewish friends in different roles at Chelsea, it is in fact more of a Jewish playgorund than a Russian playground.
You might note, that Mr. Samuel did not imply this was bad or improper. Just as no one implied it was bad or improper for most of Mourinho's staff to be Portugese. It just 'is'.

Glen Kristensen, london,

Dear Sir

How sad that Andy Silver regards Martin Samuel's piece as "overtly anti-semitic". We really do live in a society where prejudice is found where none exists except in the mind of the person complaining. I'm surprised he didn't say the article was "overtly racist" as it mentioned Africa!

John, Huddersfield, England

For the record I don't think it was anti-semitic - the author is just pointing out that Abramovich has engaged in a nepotistic appointment and that his inner circle is, contrary to public perception, Israeli and Jewish rather than Russian - thats patently true isn't it? Pointing out nepotism isn't anti-semitic unless you claim there are particularly 'Jewish' reasons for the nepotism - which the author hasn't.

And it's obviously a jobs for the boys appointment because Grant won't bring more exciting football to Chelsea - the man was responsible for the Israeli 10-man defence!

Nepotistic appointments are bad for any club, though for the record, Grant's very defensive style will mean the transition to him from Mourinho will actually be easier than for any outside manager and so there is at least some sense in that.

FA, London,

Why is it that just mentioning someone is jewish is anti-semitic? The fact that GW Bush and many of his inner circle are devout Christians is often mentioned (because, like here, it is relevant) but few accuse the writers of being anti-Christian.

Given the somewhat odd choice of new manager for Chelsea, it is relevant to comment that Abramovich's choice may have been more related to his shared heritage than the ability of the man.

As you say, you agree with many of the arguments put, and it's the tone and style you have an issue with. By tone and style, you presumably mean the mere mention of the word "jewish"?

A, Brighton,

Get a grip Andy, the Political Correctness Brigade (Jewish division) have become more sensitive than a bird on the blob.

Facts: Roman is Russian and a Jew
Facts: He surrounds himself with people of his backgrounds (as most people do)
Facts: Bosses sometimes employ mates to do jobs for them

ipso facto This Grant fella got the job partly because he's Jewish

Whats the problem in pointing out simple facts, he's not propagating any sort of worldwide jewish consiracy theory, just that by employing a close mate as the new manager he's probably made a very bad decision.

David Cobourne, Liverpool,

The only thing anti-semitic about this article is, as Jews and Israelis, we are not allowed to highlight the fact. We may offend someone, someone may hate us for it, anti-semitism may rise because of it ..

I am shocked at the exit of Mourinho, even more shocked at the emergence of Grant and will be most shocked if United dont win this weekend (as was expected anyway). I am not shocked at the highlight of the Israeli connection .. nor will I be to see some more Israeli players built into the side .. nor will I be to see some more exciting football .. as a person that travels a long way to see them play .. it really wasnt very entertaining last year or this .. I like Abramovich, I think football is supposted to be entertainment for my ticket, not winning because I have nothing else in my life.

SA, Cheshire,

Well said. And ignore the typical anti-semetic jibes. That assertion is cast far too easily. And i spoke to a few pwople on the train this morning and they all agree with me...

Its bleemin obvious' mate.

Tom Anderson, London,

I would like to congratulate the Martin Samual on an excellent article once again. Ever since the take over away fans have been singing Chelsea rent boys to any player that put the blue shirt on and finally it appears to be coming true. The links between Roman's faith and football were always going to come to the fore as they are the two things he appears to truly believe in. Avram Grant has done an amazing job in selling himself to get this role, so hopefully he will still be around and of some use when Roman finally wants to sell up and move on. It is going to be interesting watching for the next four weeks as I do not believe he will get much longer should he fail.

Andrew , London, UK

I completely disagree with Andy Silver, I read the article and didn't think there were any overtly anti-semetic tones about it. If there are negative inferences to be drawn from having a close bond with fellow Jews then I feel it is your own existing prejudice that is manifesting itself.

Amit, N London,

With respect Mr Silver, how can stating the truth be anti-semitic? Why was it OK to refer to it as the "Russian Mafia" when RA took over, or to the "American Invasion" etc (re MUFC and LFC) but not refer to Isreal? MS is saying what everyone has been thinking for the last 36 hours or so. I for one am glad that MS has had the courage to say what he did rather than allow sentitive souls like you to frustrate good journalists. Oh, in case you're wondering Im a Sikh with no axe to grind against the Jewish or any other folk.

Ash, M'cr,

Rubbish not all anti-semitic, simply a factual piece of writing pointing out abramovich's and grant's jewish heritage, and is clearly relevant to how both mens paths crossed!!! me thinks perhaps the tone and style are a fiction of ur mind mr silver!

Arsenal Fan, Bristol,

Oh dear, oh dear Mr Samuel. Do you have, dare I say it, a "solution" in mind?

Appalled, London,

I think you will find anti-semeticism is discrimination against Jews, not criticism of the qualification for a position of a man who happens to be Jewish. And incidentally, is never described as Jewish in the article (Israeli does not equal Jewish). The only section which could suggest anti-semeticism is the reference to Roman Abrahamovic's Jewish heritage - and this explains his links with Israel, and does not seem to be a criticism.

I suppose if you are so inclined you can find anti-semeticism in any piece which features links with Israelis. However, that just seems pointless in this case. At no point did any characterisation of Jews become involved, nor were any inferences drawn because of the Israeli connections. Feel this piece was prejudicided if you want, but please justify it before complaing about it.

Allan McKinley, Birmingham,

I do not think for one second that Martin Samuel is anti-semitic. However, the subject of jews conspiring amongst themselves (whether accurate in this specific case or not) is one which is always going to be highly sensitive. Perhaps it should be handled a little more carefully than it has been. Mr. Samuel's aggressively assertive style of journalism is always engaging, but it tends to make issues seem black and white when of course they are not.

Furthermore, I think given the political climate in Russia it is not surprising that Abramovich chooses to trust those who share his faith. This trust might well be misplaced.

I expect you will receive many letters and comments about the offensiveness of this piece. While many will see this as typically oversensitive behaviour, it should be understood that there are far too many people left who are keen to believe in great jewish conspiracies. Anything which seems to align itself with this school of thought is destined for controversy

Phil, Leeds, UK

But when Mourinho was brought in, not many people knew him, granted - he won the Champions League, but he wasn't the most recognisable person. Who knew Arsene Wenger when he came in from managing teams in the J-League in '97? I don't think Grant will flop, but he won't "succeed" either. Everyone is forgetting the team that Chelsea have. It's not like they are robots and they are programmed by one manager and then reset when someone new comes in. They are humans, and Terry, Lampard etc, will know what and how should be performing.

Give Grant some time before making a judgement!
(I support Man U, by the way.)

Jimi, London, UK

Much Happiness all round!

Obviously chelsea will not do well this season under the owner' mate. (It should be expected - According to Chelsea until yesterday he was worth less than one fifth of the salary of Mourinho). This will make all the supporters of other Premier teams happy

Two players crying re the news. Lampard and Drogba. but two players very very happy to see him gone: Ballack and Shevchenko.

Lampard and Drogba will probably make themselves happy by leaving and make Ballack and Shevchenko even happier by leaving,.

And at the end of the season - mass exodus. Much happiness for the supporters of other teams and their replacements who will be able to get a fortune from Chelsea to sign on..

All us poor people made happy that you don't need to be clever to be incredibly rich, and that a fool and his money are often quickly parted...

Bill Adams, New Delhi, India

What a imformed, entertaining and interesting read. A shame for Chelsea fans that the dream seems to have turned sour. It will be interesting to see if there is a players or fans revolt., Look at where Bolton are in the leauge with the no.2 at the healm.
Roll on Sunday.

mark shepperson, Chiang Mai, Thailand

I have to say that i am not a chelsea fan.i am a diehard liverpool fan but i am shocked at the sacking of mourinho.much as i did not like chelsea's style of play but i think they deserved their success.it is wrong to not acknowledge hard work and i think that the man is a good and succesful coach.I hope abramovich and his advisers realise that football is not for amatures

ade okeaya-inneh, abuja, nigeria

To Mr Silver. I re-read the article after your comment. It is not antisemitic, it was factual. It contained no comments that could be construed as attacking Israel or those of Jewish belief. It pointed out that Grant was relatively successful as manager of Israel and described him as an inteligent and charming man. It did highlight the strong Israeli influence at Chelsea, but to highlight this influence is not being antisemitic.

Martin, London,

chelsea have seen the light, chelsea should have have won all the silver in sight.Mo took chelsea to anew level with style and debts, chelsea led the rest of the premiership clubs to new ownership.The problem is chelsea as club can only become aglobal brand not a better team, balleck and shev were bought to broaden the support base in their respective countries not on their quality.We supporters of adifferant era have to come to terms with chelsea as brand not aclub, The 20 million pay off could have bought chelsea 10 years ago, mo has moved chelsea from the chorus of the league to a club worth over 500 million sterling not bad for interpreter. prawn sandwiches

michael joseph heavey, cahersiveen>adams towns, madness

Simon Barnes writes: "He [Roman] is sponsor of the First Channel Cup, which brings together teams from Israel, Russia and Ukraine, pumping £4 million into the 2007 tournament at a time when Mourinho was denied funds in the transfer window." I guess Barnes doesn't realise Mourinho got a little more than £4 million to spend on transfer during his three-year stay at Chelsea.

simon kolawole, Lagos, Nigeria

My previous message didn't make it but the sentiments were similar to Sophie and Koldo. Martin Samuel is a seasoned and astute observer of sport., and no anti-semite. But you don't need to be an expert to see that the fundamental theme of this article is true. Grant is Roman's placeman. He has no pedigree at this level. And he will be seen though by a bunch of players who might be entitled to demand "show us your medals". Smart, clever and affable he may well be. But those are not the qualifications needed here. My biggest fear as a Chelsea supporter for longer than Roman has been alive, is that the job will come to be seen as offering nothing but the poisoned chalice. Stand by for a return to the years of mediocrity.

Tim, Kingston,

Jewish or not jewish, (and by the way so are the Man U owners, and others), Mr Abramowich has spent 500 million pounds on Chelsea! And no one else would have paid so much money for such players as the now whining Drogba, (taking three years to be a Shearer, or Shevcenko of youth), Lampard, (please!!!), and Wright-Phillips( ask Wenger).
Morinho is good, what's more he is a splendid actor of the role given to him. But is Abramowich that made this Chelsea, not Morinho.

Jondi Saka, London,

in the American media they have been forced to report only after they have noticed the internet traffic going up in searches for Mourinho, but they have only reported what the club has said...

maybe a little half line at the end questioning something, but in general the covering has been dull

leo, arizona, usa

"September 20, 2007 is the day that Chelsea stopped being a football club and were reinvented as a rich man’s plaything."

No, that happened 4 years ago. Weren't you paying attention?

Tony, london,

It is not only a failure for football but an MBA case .... it is a management failure ! more to come .........

andrew timei , beijing , china

Scratch the surface of the thin veneer of civility in your society, and people are still full of racial prejudices. A quick search of "avram grant" on facebook groups reveals one grossly racist group after another, before even a ball has been kicked. There, people are showing what they really think - and it ought to scare the hell out of us who would like to live in a society without all this hatred.

Criticise Grant's coaching philosophy for sure, but leave his ethnicity out of it!

Ant, Melbourne,

Yes Mourinho had "a very good squad", but you must understand that having good players never necessarily means you will have "a very good squad" if we must remember the past Real Madrid and Barcelona teams.
We all know football is a team game and in this day and age if you do not play as a team even with the best of players you will loose enough games not to win anything.
Chelsea never played entertaining football which is a different matter on its own, but they did had a manager that did what he had to do to win trophies. We should give more credit to Mourinho, he may have his short comings but to be fair he has done more than most people will do in their lifetime.

mide, Essex,

I attend every home game at Chelsea, and I can hardly remember a single occasion when the fans have been scintillated with the performance of the Team even when winning. We couldn't get above 25000 supporters to see what should have been a massacre of Rosenboeg, and for the first time I can remember, my Team got booed off the field. How were we ever going to fill a stadium of 60,000 regularly with this fare.

I shall always be grateful to Jose for bringing the first title for 50 years, but let us not pretend that his loyalty to us was absolutely unconditional, and I believe the decision to part company was taken with the best of intentions.

Ourduty now is to GET BEHIND OUR TEAM !

Petr Cech risked his life in our cause, JT nearly got decapitated by an Arsenal boot in our cause. Essien, Lampard and Shaun sweat blood in our cause. We now need to play OUR PART !

Joe, Birmingham.

Joe, Birmingham,

I agree with Martin's view that Abramovichs' decision making is being influenced by his faith. Also of what faith is Eugene Tenenbaum I wonder?

It's not that anybody has anything against a particular faith, but it does seem strange that Grant has been appointed when clearly he is not qualified for the job.

Not that I am disappointed- I have always felt that Chelsea's dominance of English football was overstated and that the big 4 will soon become the big 3.

vm, san francisco, us / california

Mourinho was overrated. Yes he won trophies, yes he didnt do bad. But he certainly was no 'genius'. He just had a very good squad in his possession.

With this squad he never played very good footbal, always relying on the indiviudal genius of his footballers.

EVT, Beijing, China

Chelski should het used to this. Only B rated managers will take job and working for an interfering owner. No manager of a Top Class pedigree will take this unless he wants a nice retirement. If winning so many things and still shown the door, there is a fundamental problem. It will be an "Also Ran" team. Just pray does not end up like Leeds

AE, MAURITIUS, MAURITIUS

JET what are you barking about. He is just citing that they a connected through their Jewish roots! Lets not try to steer what is not there.

Pete Barnes, London,

This article is in no way anti jewish. It is just pointing out the face that there is an Israeli-Russian cabal running a British football team. It says Roman feels strong Jewish roots, this is hardly a suprise considering the amount of jews who were in the USSR and many could not leave in USSR times.

matty , frankfurt, germany

Martin ,
he isn't qualified but he is a safe pair a hands unitl Keano arrives. Keano is taking over in January and Mowbray's going to Sunderland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Ask Roy see what he says.Kenyon may think he is the only man capable of out doing Mourinho and Fergie.

BIKDEEK, Korea,

Criticise them for being all sorts of things, but don't criticise them for being Jewish. This article treads a very fine line.

JET, Stamford, CT

mourinio is probably the best manager in the world right now and we have now got a nobody will he be given a chance not unless we be untd well. As for the players who knows with reports that drogba will be off this could all come crashing down around our ears how the other clubs will laugh

stuart thompson, ramsgate, kent

Get a life, for God's sake, and watch a real man's sport, Rugby League. 80 minutes of non-stop pulsating action. No rolling over twenty times for a kiss, arguing with referees, and drawing over £100,000 per week. Cry for me Agentina, poor Mourinho, how will he survive the next few weeks on £20 million!! Talk about tosh, it is no wonder that the country is going down the tubes.

Joel Joseph, Oxford, England.

"Real Madrid are the only team to switch managers midway through the season and win the competition"

Didn't Aston Villa also do this in 1982 when Tony Barton took over from Ron Saunders in the February, before going on to beat Bayern Munich?

Steve, Reading, UK

"September 20, 2007 is the day that Chelsea stopped being a football club and were reinvented as a rich man’s plaything. "

eh?

where the hell have you been for the last few years?

jem, london, uk

Avram Grant was already supposed to be blowing his own trumpet, after his hiring. If i weren't a Chelsea fan, it would almost be funny to see the guy in charge of first-team affairs.

Chelsea's season can't do anything but turn very pear-shaped from here. They won't even win the Carling Cup. The only hope is for Hiddink to be drafted in IF Russia fail to qualify for Euro 2008.

Peter Koeb, Geneva, Switzerland

His achievements are undeniable; but made possible by the most expensive squad of players ever assembled in football history. He was colourful. He was a character. But he never learned the basic rule that applies to any form of management: you are never bigger than the company that employs you. As a lifelong supporter of Chelsea, my admiration is still with Roman Abramovich.

white, Toronto, Canada

It is now clear to me that Chelsea have a different ambition: not to conquer Europe as a football giant, but as a football circus. It is sad I was a die-hard supporter of the Team. Now I better don't waste my time on them. No team in their right senses would interfer with the work of such a successful manager and frustrate him to be driven out of the club, and still claim to be ambitious. The Chelsea dream is now a mirage. Thank You Mourinho for what you brought us the supporters.

T Sarkodie, London, UK

As a lifelong Chelsea Fan,MURHINO has to top the list of All Time Chelsea Greats. He ranks up as a clear number one in my Top Ten Chelsea Greats.
(1)Jose Murhino(Put Us On A Pedestal Genius)
(2)Peter Osgood(Our First superstar)
(3)Gianfranco Zola(Genius)
(4)Kerry Dixon(Goal Machine)
(5)John Terry(Captain Fantastic)
(6)Peter Bonneti(The Great Cat)
(7)Peter Czech(Super Keeper)
(8)Frank Lampard(some engine)
(9)Ray Wilkins(Youngest ever Captain)
(10)Micky Droy(Great Captain)
Murhinos loss is a tragedy for our club. we accept abramovich's money made a difference. But murhino knitted his players together with an undying spirit & loyalty that only became fragile when ballack(Bollocks) & Schevchenko came on board. I hope we can recover 7 continue to prosper. But the spine of the team may well desert a sinking ship. This happened up in Scotland with Hearts,the owner ended up in Control and they've sunk from heroes to zeroes. I pray murhino comes back,but no chance

Joseph Seward, Cork City, Ireland

The greatest loss imaginable to chelsea. I can't imagine Chelsea without him flourishing.

Joseph Seward, Cork City, Ireland

ROAM, is the owner of his empire and he is runing the Russian way, lets see how it goes . We will all miss jose's
flairs, but good luck to him wherever his magic (in football) takes him .Tunde Ogunleye

tunde ogunleye, lagos, nigeria

It is increadible, ..... Grant is underqualified and when we point this, there is nothing antisemit.
Times are naratting a facts, I would understand if Grant has a pedigree of Capello, Trapatonni or even ant premiership manager but it is not the case and so it is not understandable.

Sophie, Leverkusen,

can in europe, in 2007, a newspaper have an opinion and a comment on israel and its citizen that it is not consider antisemitic. This gentlemen are doing what the journalist expresses and they happen to be jews from Israel that is all...no more victimism and impunity just cause someone is jew. This is europe, not USA.

koldo, galway., ireland.