Avram Grant demonstrated his diplomatic skills yesterday by predicting that Luiz Felipe Scolari would surpass his own achievements by winning the Barclays Premier League for Chelsea next season, just as one of his former players became the latest in a long line of critics to question his credentials.
Nicolas Anelka followed the example of John Terry and Salomon Kalou by dismissing Grant's contribution to Chelsea's push for honours last season, the France striker blaming the Israeli for playing him out of position.
Grant's prediction, made in Bangkok after giving a lecture to Thailand Premier League representatives, is typical of the dignity that he has maintained since being sacked within 72 hours of losing the Champions League final on a penalty shoot-out in May. He also helped Chelsea to finish second in the Premier League and runners-up in the Carling Cup last season.
“In the last few months there have been big changes at Chelsea,” Grant said. “They are now better than Manchester United or Arsenal. Scolari is a good coach and can bring success.
“Chelsea have a good chance of winning the Premier League. When I took over, the English press and some Chelsea players did not believe in my ability. But I proved myself to them in the last two or three months when Chelsea nearly won three competitions.”
It appears, though, that Grant failed to alter the perception of all his detractors. Anelka's biggest complaint is that he was rarely played as a central striker, which goes some way to explaining him scoring only one league goal after signing from Bolton Wanderers in January. He is hoping for better treatment from Grant's successor.
“Scolari understands me better than Grant because I have never played on the right or the left since I have come to England,” Anelka said. “It was a difficult time because you know when you come to a new club, you want to play in your position and you want success. It's just good for me to play up front. I played in midfield, on the right or the left. So I am happy to play again in my position and I will try my best on the pitch.
“I know what I want and I know English football, so I know how to do it. For me, the boss does not have to speak to me because I know how to do it. So we will see what he wants.”
Anelka also claims that he deserves more sympathy than Terry for missing a penalty in the Champions League final shoot-out, as he had yet to establish a rapport with the Chelsea fans.
“For John, it was hard, but he is a big player at Chelsea,” he said. “I was new, so for me it was more difficult. I was not part of the competition at the beginning and I didn't play in my position when I arrived at Chelsea - I would play for maybe five or ten minutes. I am still thinking about it now because it's always hard to miss a penalty, but even more when you didn't play as much as you wanted in the competition.”
Nicolas Anelka followed the example of John Terry and Salomon Kalou by dismissing Grant's contribution to Chelsea's push for honours last season, the France striker blaming the Israeli for playing him out of position.
Grant's prediction, made in Bangkok after giving a lecture to Thailand Premier League representatives, is typical of the dignity that he has maintained since being sacked within 72 hours of losing the Champions League final on a penalty shoot-out in May. He also helped Chelsea to finish second in the Premier League and runners-up in the Carling Cup last season.
“In the last few months there have been big changes at Chelsea,” Grant said. “They are now better than Manchester United or Arsenal. Scolari is a good coach and can bring success.“Chelsea have a good chance of winning the Premier League. When I took over, the English press and some Chelsea players did not believe in my ability. But I proved myself to them in the last two or three months when Chelsea nearly won three competitions.”
It appears, though, that Grant failed to alter the perception of all his detractors. Anelka's biggest complaint is that he was rarely played as a central striker, which goes some way to explaining him scoring only one league goal after signing from Bolton Wanderers in January. He is hoping for better treatment from Grant's successor.
“Scolari understands me better than Grant because I have never played on the right or the left since I have come to England,” Anelka said. “It was a difficult time because you know when you come to a new club, you want to play in your position and you want success. It's just good for me to play up front. I played in midfield, on the right or the left. So I am happy to play again in my position and I will try my best on the pitch.
“I know what I want and I know English football, so I know how to do it. For me, the boss does not have to speak to me because I know how to do it. So we will see what he wants.”
Anelka also claims that he deserves more sympathy than Terry for missing a penalty in the Champions League final shoot-out, as he had yet to establish a rapport with the Chelsea fans.
“For John, it was hard, but he is a big player at Chelsea,” he said. “I was new, so for me it was more difficult. I was not part of the competition at the beginning and I didn't play in my position when I arrived at Chelsea - I would play for maybe five or ten minutes. I am still thinking about it now because it's always hard to miss a penalty, but even more when you didn't play as much as you wanted in the competition.”
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