A close friend of Avram Grant claimed shortly after the
Israeli’s controversial appointment last September that he would be
in charge of Chelsea for 15 years, such was the strength of his
relationship with Roman Abramovich, but in reality he lasted little
more eight months. Grant will not complain too loudly, however,
certainly not to his bank manager, as with a payoff negotiated on
top of his salary, his earnings over that period come to an
extraordinary £8 million.
Grant’s £980,000-a-year contract as director of football was
upgraded to £2.8 million last December after he had become
first-team coach. Two days of negotiating with Peter Kenyon at
Stamford Bridge on Friday and Saturday proved even more lucrative.
Grant received a payoff of £5.2 million, which, although that is
less than half of what José Mourinho was awarded, it still
represents riches beyond the wildest imaginings of a man whose most
high-profile job before joining Chelsea was managing Israel, where
he earned £100,000.
Grant also believes that his reputation has been sufficiently
enhanced for him to find alternative employment in the Barclays
Premier League. The 53-year-old exceeded all expectations by taking
a squad in disarray to the Champions League final and second place
in the Premier League, shrewdly recognising the strength of the
players and the tactics of the previous regime and letting them get
on with it, while adding the odd innovation of his own.
His main strength lay in man-management, bringing the best out
of players such as Michael Ballack and helping Joe Cole to produce
his most consistent performances, but he also made the occasional
tactical tweak. Although largely forgotten, because he was
discarded towards the end of the season, the decision to deploy
Shaun Wright-Phillips as a central midfield player while Michael
Essien and John Obi Mikel were away at the African Cup of Nations
was a master-stroke, with the 26-year-old far more effective than
he often is on the wing.