Avram Grant goes back to Chelsea

Avram Grant returns to Stamford Bridge this evening as Portsmouth visit Chelsea in a Premier League clash.

Sacked by manager of Chelsea at the end of the 2007-8 season, he says of tonight's match: "The fans were very supportive when I was there. I think they respect what I did for the club. For me, Chelsea are the best team in England and they play good football, especially at Stamford Bridge. They are a strong team though they haven't won for four games. They've only dropped two points at home all season, but we will try to take points. You'll see a team that will do their best to achieve a good result."

Chelsea were a John Terry penalty kick away from winning the Champions League final against Manchester United in 2008 in Moscow, but, despite coming so close, Grant was sacked by owner Roman Abramovich.

It is widely believed, however, that grant would have been sacked even if Chelsea had beaten United. Defender Ricardo Carvalho said yesterday: "I don't know if the missed penalty changed anything. There were some problems and sometimes complaints, but he had his way of doing things. In the end he was very unlucky, but his work was good."

Grant, who won 39 of 54 games when he was in charge at Chelsea, reckons Abramovich should have stuck with him. "I thought I needed to continue because the team as on the way up. Every month it was better."

I'm sure Grant would love to get something out of tongith's game, but even with Chelsea's recent winless run, I just can't see it.