Let's all laugh at Chelsea!

It's hard to resist having a little chuckle at the misfortune that has befallen the other team in the borough. First they lose at Villa, thanks in part to our erstwhile defensive scapegoat Zat Knight, then they can only manage a draw at home to Norwegian "minnows" Rosenborg (a game that saw some 17,000 empty seats at the Dog Track!) and now "The Special One" has left them high and dry. All that just before they play Manchester United too.

How will it effect us though? They've already announced Avram Grant as new manager, a close friend of the Russian and someone already employed by the club as Director of Football. Whether his appointment was just an interim position so that he was ready to step in to the breech when Mourinho inevitably moved on is unknown. Grant doesn't have the most impressive of CV's. He coached both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa (among several other Isreali sides) before taking over as national team coach of Israel in May 2002. Israel finished third in 2006 World Cup qualifying Group 4 and thus missed out on qualification for the finals. Grant has a reputation for playing a conservative style of football based more on defensive solidness than attacking flare. With the depth of squad the Blue Poo have though, even Brian Robson could achieve a fairly decent Premiership finish, so maybe the upheaval won't make too much difference. I do think we'll be playing them at a good time though, and would expect Sanchez to ensure our team is really up for the sort of game the Chavs won't relish.

In case you needed another reason to dislike them here's a picture my Arsenal pal DT sent me of nasty John Terry picking on poor put upon Ashley Cole.