WE HAVE all heard the claim, 'If I won the lottery tomorrow it wouldn't change me'. Well, ever since Roman Abramovich turned up at Chelsea, the club have enjoyed the equivalent of a hundred lottery wins, but has it changed the fans?
Not so long ago the idea of the FA Cup in the cabinet at Stamford Bridge was worthy of years of celebration. There had been long barren spells and I even remember scenes of unbridled joy when the club won the mighty Full Members Cup at Wembley. This
season there will be a great depression hanging over the place if they do not pick up the Champions League or the Premiership after striking out on the other domestic silverware.
I write a column for the Chelsea website every Tuesday and at the bottom I put a quiz question that usually elicits a few hundred entrants, all eager to win a Chelsea DVD or book. This week following the draw against Wigan the figure rose to thousands and very few were hazarding a guess as to which was the last team to beat Chelsea in the league.
The major complaint was about manager Avram Grant and his suitability for one of the most coveted jobs in football. Five years ago a cup final defeat, second place in the league and an impending Champions League semi-final would have had the boss carried shoulder high the length of the Kings Road, but money has changed everything, especially expectations.
Right now, even though Chelsea are way above Liverpool in the league, I don't know many people who would bet on the Blues reaching Moscow. It is partly to do with the fact that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are bordering on unstoppable, though if anyone can halt them it is Chelsea's miserly defence. It also has something to do with Liverpool's pedigree and hoodoo over Chelsea in the tournament. But most of the vocal fans simply feel that Rafa Benitez is in the Premier League of tactical coaches and Grant isn't.
Some of Chelsea's players are also fading at just the wrong time, none more so than Didier Drogba, who didn't even make the bench on Thursday night at Goodison. A phenomenon for Chelsea over the years, regularly carrying the entire team, he has been suffering from a knee injury since the African Nations Cup and he usually plays on his own up front, so he is not lacking in excuses, but I do not think any of these is his real problem.
I think he is one of those passionate types who needs to feel everything is right and that hasn't been the case since Grant took over. It has led to the striker being more self-indulgent on the field and working about half as hard as he did for the previous coach. He would have gone through the proverbial brick wall for Mourinho, but would only be likely to get beyond it for Grant if there was a strategically placed stepladder.
The dour looking Grant also has the unenviable task of following the Special One and you can't help feeling that whatever he did was always doomed with some of the players, the media and the fans when they compared him to Jose. Success this year and it would have been argued it was all down to Mourinho's team, anything less then the Israeli would be the cause of the failure.
It is widely accepted that the injury list has been ridiculous this season at Stamford Bridge and that the African Cup of Nations affected Chelsea more than any of the other big three. The unbeaten home league record remains intact and Grant could argue that he has spent relatively little in the transfer market compared to his Portuguese predecessor. In most situations, a first season like this would be accepted while the manager rebuilt the team in his own image, but not in SW6, not now.
In the end is there anything that will satisfy the fans other than a new face and one that is more recognised and renowned? There are lots of rumours about Frank Rijkaard, whose popularity is on the wane at Barcelona. He would bring a more attacking outlook for sure, but would he bring in the silverware in the first year? Who knows, but I am sure he wouldn't be pilloried in the same way as Grant has been in his inaugural season.
Another logical choice would be Guus Hiddink who has seen success throughout his career and is currently in control of the Russian national side. Abramovich is a fan, a friend and he also had more than a little influence in the Dutchman's appointment as coach with the billionaire's home nation.
Considering the vast sums of money that will be available to the next manager, the discussion on who will be brought in to play alongside Ballack, Lampard and co is almost beyond credibility. One emailer suggested that "Lionel Messi might do but he is a little lightweight". This is bordering on madness from the type of fan who was only too delighted to have the likes of Kevin McAllister and myself on the wing a while back.
Or maybe this is the point, maybe it isn't actually the same people who are turning up any more. From my emails it is clear that Chelsea have a new and very large fan base from all over the world, but it may be that the majority of people who used to turn up to sing and shout every week have been priced out of their season tickets.
I went down to a recent match against Liverpool, entire family in tow, and the worst part of the weekend was the dire, soporific 90 minutes of the game itself. Was it the lack of atmosphere that led to the players' lethargy or the dull game that bored the punters to distraction? It is hard to get your head around when the fans have dreamt of success and world class players for so long and appear to have got bored so quickly now that they have it.
The anger from the dislocation between the fans and the club is now being targeted directly at Grant. He is a decent enough coach, but he has landed a job that was previously being done by one of the world's best and one who was adored by the fans. Many of them still think Grant was plotting against their man all along to get the job and he certainly was about as welcome as Camilla at Diana's memorial.
Mourinho made mistakes, and big ones too, but he could either talk his way out of it or simply point to the trophies he had already won. Grant makes mistakes such as leaving Joe Cole on the bench and Ricardo Carvalho out against Wigan and he is pilloried for being an amateur. His fine decision to play the last 10 minutes on Thursday with two holding midfielders, which earned the three points against Everton, is conveniently overlooked. But fans have a right to be fickle. If Grant does steer his side past Liverpool this time, most will be forgiving.
One emailer might even have made the manager smile. After complaining bitterly about Grant, he added: "…I have to admit to sneakily quite enjoying being rubbish again. It's like pulling on your favourite old cardigan and brings back warm and fuzzy memories of getting beat by Sunderland in the Milk Cup semi., Doug Rougvie's last minute tackle at Sheffield Wednesday etc". From amongst the throng a true football fan emerges.
The full article contains 1281 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
