Chelsea: Grant's shrewd moves keep Blues revolution on track

Chelsea: Grant's shrewd moves keep Blues revolution on track

Thursday October 25, 2007
by Steve Griffiths

LONDON (AFP) - Avram Grant knows his Chelsea revolution is still a work in progress but he believes it is only a matter of time before he delivers the fantasy football that Roman Abramovich demands.

Grant's dour demeanour hides a shrewd character and he has so far managed to avoid the pitfalls that eventually cost Jose Mourinho his job.

Where Mourinho was unable to back down in his power struggle with Abramovich, Grant is proving adept at telling the Blues owner exactly what he wants to hear.

The Russian has made it clear he expects Chelsea to play with style as well as substance and Grant is talking up his desire to turn the London team into entertainers at every opportunity.

Grant's side showed signs of living up to his lofty billing as they cruised to a 2-0 win over Schalke 04 in the Champions League on Wednesday.

There was still more than a hint of the no-frills efficiency that was the hallmark of Mourinho's reign, but Chelsea undoubtedly played a more open game against the Germans.

Grant is pleased with the progress of a side which has now won their last four matches but he was keen to emphasis it will take time to fully establish his purist principles.

"We have won games and played well but we have to go step by step," he said. "We always want to be better but I don't want to look at the sky and say this is the limit.

"We are improving every game. You see that the players have commitment to win the game and also to play positive football.

"I don't think it was not good in the past but we are trying to change it to do something else.

"The past is past. I respect it but I am looking forward. I can say that we are on the way to getting the team how I want to play."

As Grant concedes, Chelsea's engine still needs some fine-tuning, so it must be slighty unnerving to see the finished article going at full speed just across London.

Arsenal are playing some of the most breathtaking football in Europe and underlined their quality with a 7-0 demolition of Slavia Prague this week.

While Grant admires Arsene Wenger's side, he insists they are not the benchmark for his own club.

"I respect Arsenal and I respect other clubs but we are not taking examples from other teams," he said.

"We want to play our game. It will be positive football most of the time.

"It has taken a long time for Arsenal to build their style. They play their football, we play ours and Manchester United play theirs.

"We don't take examples from other teams."

Chelsea are in pole position in Group B after easing past Schalke.

They were gifted the lead in the fourth minute when Florent Malouda's low shot squirmed through goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's legs.

Didier Drogba put the result beyond doubt early in the second half when he finished a flowing move with a diving header from Paulo Ferreira's cross.

Abramovich, watching from the stands, certainly couldn't have asked for more as he celebrated his 41st birthday and he leapt off his seat to celebrate Drogba's goal.

While Chelsea appear to be heading in the right direction, Schalke are in danger of slipping out of the competition.

They were unfortunate to a have a goal wrongly ruled out for offside when Carlos Grossmuller beat Petr Cech from close range and their coach Mirko Slomka is determined to give Chelsea a harder time when they meet again next month.

"When it is a matter of points you can't ignore the maths," Slomka said. "But we still have a chance to finish second. We are at home to Chelsea next and I hope we can challenge them and provide stiffer opposition."