SoccerNet Live

Open any Chelsea blogs these days and you are likely to find a groundswell of disapproval for Avram Grant. The circumstances in which Chelsea drew 4-4 with Tottenham Hotspur in this “entertaining” London derby has won Grant few fans and belief in his ability to fill the trophy cabinet is waning.

A victory will put Chelsea on par with second-placed Arsenal and more importantly, to exact sweet revenge for the Carling Cup loss. However, poor defending and a series of bad decisions (not the first time nor will it be the last for Grant), allowed Tottenham to get back into a game where they fell behind thrice and shared the spoils.

Chelsea got off to an electrifying start. In the third minute, Tottenham were a goal down as Drogba directed a header past Paul Robinson from John Terry’s inch-perfect cross. Moments later, Joe Cole had the ball in the net after sliding in a rebound but an offside decison was given.

Just as Chelsea were cruising, Spurs equalized after Woodgate rose above Drogba to power home a close range header. Nevertheless, Chelsea’s attack was well-oiled and they hit back almost immediately. In the 20th minute, Joe Cole made a mazy run into the box and squeezed a pass to Essien who lifted his shot over Robinson to restore the lead.

Ashley Cole then recklessly made a nasty lunge on Hutton and this caused both benches to erupt in fury. Referee Mike Riley eventually booked Cole and Chelsea were very lucky to get away with only a slap on the wrist. After the break, Chelsea picked up where they left off. Makelele’s pass found Joe Cole outside the box and he released a shot which crept over Robinson. If Jose Mourinho was still in charge, Chelsea can call it a day with a two-goal advantage.

But Grant was steering the ship and Tottenham had no reason to lose heart. Indeed, they reduced the deficit nine minutes later when Berbatov looped a header over Carlo Cudicini. With increased confidence, Tottenham drew level as Keane’s corner was met by a superb strike by Huddlestone.

Amazingly, the drama continues. In the 80th minute, Joe Cole skipped past Chimbonda and calmly buried his shot into the top corner. Spurs replied when Keane beat Cudicini with a brilliant long-range curling shot. Tottenham could have the last laugh by making it 5-4 but Cudicini was up to the task of denying Berbatov.

Grant said: “It’s very disappointing. One of our strengths is we defend well against corners and free-kicks but in the last two games Spurs scored five goals from set-pieces. I don’t know how to explain this. We wanted three points but we are still in the race and we will continue fighting like we did before.”

At least, Avram Grant is able to spot the team’s weakness but if he doesn’t know how to explain it, I doubt he can fix it. A famously water-tight defense has forgotten the basics of defending against set-pieces, maybe Mourinho will accept a consultant’s role and give him some pointers. If Grant still endeavors to be the manager, he has to learn and improve. I say it again, get that Uefa pro license, luck can only carry a team so far.

It is disappointing to see Joe Cole being substituted. Most of Chelsea’s attacks stem from him and I will rate him above Lampard in terms of creativity, that applies to the England setup as well. Cole supplied most of the chances for Drogba who was unfortunately not as threatening with his poor passing and decision making since his return from the African Cup. Lampard and Kalou were hardly in the thick of action, save for Essien who put in a credible effort.

Lampard’s brilliance in the 6-1 drubbing of Derby glossed over his shortcomings. Recent matches have shown that his form can fluctuate and in the most untimely of situations, meaning the big games. And I find it hard to accept the manner in which he and John Terry protested aggressively in a bid to stop the referee from booking Ashley Cole for the horror tackle. You gain respect for winning in a fair and square manner, not to pressurize and influence the referee to award your team favorable decisions.

I doubt if Chelsea will be worse off if they put Lampard on the open market this summer. Because of his amazing fitness, he can play in every game for Mourinho and avoid injuries, but of late, he is less “durable.” He is also less effective in coming up with vital goals in crucial matches so while he can score hat-tricks against the likes of Derby, his value to the team has depreciated.

By selling Lampard, Chelsea may miss out on getting some deflected goals but they relieve themselves of an outspoken or troublesome vice captain and clip the wings of John Terry. They get a huge chunk of money back for a player his age and Chelsea are on their way to a more profitable operating statement with one hefty salary out of the way. But a word of caution here is not to attempt an exchange for Ronaldinho. Both were flops in the last World Cup and their inconsistent club form has done little to change that impression.

Without the wizardry of Cole in penetrating Tottenham’s defense, the front line sputtered, and Spurs sensed blood as they had no fears about committing all their resources to attack. Changing his formation into a 5-man defense, Grant compounded the matter by ceding control of midfield to Spurs who virtually camped in Chelsea’s half of the pitch.

I am not saying that Grant should subscribe to the notion that attack is the best form of defense, shutting the door on the opponent can be equally effective, as Mourinho has shown, if you know how to do it properly. Chelsea were scrambling to make clearances in the final stretch, instead of playing the ball out of danger calmly and launching counter-attacks. The players were unsure what to do the ball in possession, to hold or to venture upfield. After a few months with Grant and his supposed emphasis on entertainment, Chelsea had become ill-adjusted to the strategy of defending a lead.

For good reason, Grant preferred to name himself the normal one. He does not possess charisma in getting the players to put in extra effort for him or the tactical acumen to mold the players into a ruthless team. 4-4 draws are totally unheard of in Mourinho’s era. Though Grant has not done too badly by staying in third place, keeping alive Champions League qualification and getting Chelsea to contend for everything, the problem is they do not exhibit the killer instinct in winning anything.

Instead of closing the gap with the forerunners, Grant’s team are now five points off the leader and two behind Arsenal, who they face on Sunday. If they can defeat Arsenal and secure second spot, all is not lost yet and everybody earns a repreive. Otherwise, Roman Abramovich has to decide whether to stick with Grant and give him the funds to get his own team or to sack his good friend and get a proven manager in.

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