Unfair Firing: Avram Grant Sacked by Chelsea

What does a guy have to do to hold on to the manager's job at Stamford Bridge? Apparently more than finishing runners-up in three competitions. When Avram Grant took over at Chelsea following Jose Mourinho's departure, I was skeptical, especially considering Grant had never been in charge of a top European club before. But Grant led Chelsea to the League Cup final, chased down Man United in the Premier League, and was a penalty kick away from being crowned Champions of Europe. If John Terry hadn't slipped, forcing his spot kick wide off the post, Chelsea would have won the Champions League and Grant probably would have been hailed as a hero. � But Terry didn't make his kick, and as a result, Chelsea finished the season without a trophy. Not good enough, say Peter Kenyon and Bruce Buck of Chelsea, but surely you can't blame Avram Grant for Terry's slip. Grant has dealt with injuries to key players throughout the season, including Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba, and Petr Cech. But they still battled on and were level with United going into the final Premier League match. You can look back on last minute goals Chelsea allowed to Wigan and Bolton and wonder whether the manager could have done something to prevent them. And you can ask questions about Grant's tactics in the League Cup final against Spurs. But overall, Grant has done much better than any of us thought he would do. Enough to deserve a full season to show what he can do. � In the end, Chelsea finished two points behind United in the Premiership and were the width of the post away from winning the Champions League. When the margin between victory and second best is that microscopic, it seems overly harsh to sack the manager. After all, Jose Mourinho never even took Chelsea to the Champions League final. � Losing the Champions League final was surely tough to take for those in charge at Chelsea, including Roman Abramovich. But making a scapegoat out of Grant seems like a knee jerk decision that could come back to haunt Chelsea. Yes, they have plenty of quality managers to choose from. Sven Goran Eriksson, Gus Hiddink, Frank Rijkaard, Gianfranco Zola, and even Jose Mourinho have been mentioned as possible candidates. I'm sure many fans would welcome Jose back with open arms, but I don't know if the special one would welcome a return after the circumstances in which he left. � Whoever the new manager is, Chelsea should have the sense to give him more than one season to prove if he is up to the job. Unfortunately, Avram Grant was not afforded that courtesy. In fact, nothing about Chelsea's handling of managers over the past two years could be described as courteous. With Grant out the door at Stamford Bridge, it will interesting to see if any players follow him. More changes could be in store. �