Why Avram Grant's Chelsea future could lie in Aston Villa's past

Villa won the European Cup in 1982, not 1983. Tony Barton was, and is, widely respected by Villa fans. Despite taking the club to respectable if somewhat disappointing positions of 6th in 1982-3 and 10th in 1983-4, he was sacked by Doug Ellis. It is Ellis who is remembered without fondness, not Tony Barton. The failure of the club to commemorate his achievement in winning the European Cup (for example, by naming one of Villa Park's stands after him, not Doug Ellis) was for a long time a blot on the club's reputation

Well said Peter...Tony Barton was a true gentleman and very highly regarded former Villa manager. He was tireless in his work as assistant and then replacement to Ron Saunders and is fondly remembered by many Villa Fans. A fitting monument to his achievements and in his honour is possibly long overdue down at Villa Park.

I appreciate the comments from both (presumably) Villa fans. Perhaps if I had spoken to you before the article might have had a different slant! I'm sure that there are a good section of supporters who do look back on Barton's career with fondness, with good reason too. However, I stand by the similarities drawn and hope you will forgive the typo with the dates. And how Ellis has a stand named after him I shall never know.

i appreciate what ur saying but please explain to me how chelsea's league campaign has been 'ultimately disappointing'. When Grant took over from Mourinho, he was written off from the start with Arsenal and Man Utd being seen as the main contenders for the league title. Since then Grant has simply got on with his job and is now still in with a shout of winning the league and is in a semi final of the champions league. He has been more succesful in the league this season than Mourinho was last season, and before anyone tries to tell me the players have done the work for him this is pretty much the same squad as the one which 'the special one' failed with. Btw i am a villa fan.

You're definitely right - Grant has confounded most people's expectations by being still in the hunt at this stage. But even if Chelsea win at the weekend, they would still be relying on United to drop points against either Wigan or West Ham. This is a position I cannot imagine Man Utd relinquishing and, as has been proven in the past, Abramovich wants to win and win well. Mourinho won the league two years in a row and Abramovich still found fault following a second place finish and two CL semi finals. So, when I say 'ultimately disappointing', I mean that given the climate in Chelsea's boardroom, second place is simply not good enough.

I seem to remember that Ron said of his title winning side that "a monkey could come in and manage this team - they're that good".

I appreciate the comments from both (presumably) Villa fans. Perhaps if I had spoken to you before the article might have had a different slant! I'm sure that there are a good section of supporters who do look back on Barton's career with fondness, with good reason too. However, I stand by the similarities drawn and hope you will forgive the typo with the dates. And how Ellis has a stand named after him I shall never know.

Well loved at villa, was Mr Barton. He also managed us as we won the Super Cup the year followinf the European Cup win. Similarities are not the huge. Our team was not bought with millions from a bottomless pit. Saunders built a great team over years, and would've done a Fergie-esque dynasty but for the ego maniac Ellis's interference adn refusal to build on the success of that team. The fact the club was relegated a few seasons after winning league and European cup, supports this supposition. But that is history.

...the writer is too young to remember the time directly or american and just implied a similarity due to certain coincidences. It isn't a bit untrue. It's completely untrue. There aren't any similarities at all. And the Doug Ellis stand is so named because he had it built and he named it while he was still in control. You really know nothing at all - please stop advertising this very obvious fact.

Wow, I really have had a battering on the comments here. To Harry, I meant that Ellis' decision to rename the Witton Lane stand after himself has not only drawn a lot of criticism from supporters, but actually led to members of Aston Villa's fan community to petition to have it changed back. For the rest, I can only hold my hands up and say you are quite right, I was not alive at the time and through my research I felt there were parallels. It is clear to me now that Villa fans disagree vehemently.

Don't knock yourself too much Jon. The article was fair in that there are indeed a number of similarities. Ron and Jose were both successful, no-nonsense individuals followed by characters that had little chance is matching the charisma of their predecessors. Perhaps Barton was better liked than Grant, and perhaps Grant is more talented. As for Chairmen? Opposite ends of the spectrum.

People keep comparing Mourinho with Grant but what they forget is that the Special One was being undermined by Abramovich and the board while Grant enjoys their full support. Mourinho in his third season and the start of the fourth was constantly under pressure to play "beautiful" football and with players he didn't like (Shevchenko, maybe Ballack ). It was clear to me that he no longer was the same man of the first two seasons and therefore couldn't deliver the same results. He started as a manager and ended up as just a coach who was being sabotaged right and left, even by Avram Grant, who waited in the shadows fo take over. Had Mourinho kept the full support of the Chairman and the Board, he would have probably won the treble last season and would have won the premier league by now. In short Grant inherited the great work of the portuguese tactician and now is trying to portray the idea that he build the squad and taking credit for the good results. The fact is that Chelsea is still under Mourinho's "spell" and Grant even with total support is just going along with the ride. Next season Grant may still be in charge based on the results of this year but I suspect that by then the Mourinho "magic" has faded away and Grant won't be able to replicate the results of this season.