Endoh’s Dungeon

Lose a championship and lose your job! That’s what some football fans were screaming when Chelsea lost the English Premier League Championship. Although I am very much a Red Devils fan, I see no reason why Avram Grant shouldn’t stay on. Moreover, he just barely took over Chelsea management since September 2007 when Jose Mourinho.

The EPL is a “blood-thirsty” game, that I know. For the entire time Alex Ferguson called the shots at The Theatre of Dreams, we have seen countless managers and top players switching sides. Honestly, I lost count. Especially so for teams that were relegated, a change of manager is not uncommon. For the top teams, the changes come if they failed to win any silverware. But in tribute to Avram, Chelsea has been fantastic.

Maybe singing the praises of Avram will not go down well with fellow fans of MUFC. Chelsea has grown to be a bigger threat than Arsenal afterall. Jokes aside, I have never seen a Chelsea that had pushed MUFC down to the wire, determining the champion only with the last match in the season. Let’s take a realistic look at the tables.

In 03/04 season, MUFC finished 4 points behind Chelsea which ended the season with 79 points. Arsenal took the championship with a whopping 90 points, without a single defeat throughout the entire season. In 04/05 season, Chelsea won the race with 95 points, even though they lost a match. That same season, Arsenal finished in 2nd spot with 83 points and MUFC closed the season with a miserable 77 points in 3rd spot.

Chelsea won the championship again in the 05/06 season with 91 points, and MUFC was lagging quite a distance behind with 83 points in 2nd spot. In 3rd spot was Liverpool just barely 1 point adrift from MUFC, capitalizing on Arsenal’s poor form (67 points) in that season. Just last 06/07 season, MUFC finally took the championship with 89 points, and Chelsea loses out with 83 points. In 3rd spot was Liverpool with 68 points, far from the top two leaders.

What about the 07/08 season that just finished on a high note? Chelsea ended up with 85 points while MUFC finished with 87 points, clinching the second title in a row. Nvm if Chelsea would still lose out in terms of goal differences should they have won the last match. There’s always chances for MUFC to lose the last critical match and hand the title into Chelsea’s hands even with a draw. Technically over the past 5 seasons, it had always been another team outright winning MUFC or pushing MUFC to the brink. Not the other way round, so to speak.

I don’t think any season under the charge of Jose Mourinho we would have seen such a superb Chelsea to be pushing MUFC as hard as this season. What else, but maintaining the pressure on MUFC until the last match is over? There’s a saying among football fans, players and the managers - the game is never over until the whistle is blown. The 07/08 season certainly looked that way, all thanks to Chelsea’s new manager Avram Grant. In fact, less bullshit from Avram and more action in comparison to Jose. Given the short time Avram had managed Chelsea and the fantastic results (even though Chelsea didn’t win), I think that’s a good performance to say the least.

I would prefer Avram to stay as a worthy opponent to Alex Ferguson.

Some said, MUFC will be having the advantage in the upcoming Champions League Final due to their winning morale. But as a Red Devils fan myself, this “high morale” is what worries me. I don’t think any Red Devils fan can deny that MUFC occasionally let confidence and arrogance ride over their head, and courting death literally. Having lost out with just 2 mere points in the EPL, I think Chelsea will come out even stronger and more hungry for a victory to end their campaign with at least one silverware. I think this Champions League Final will be a fiery one.

Needless to say, MUFC has a lot more to worry next season.