When Jose left and Avram Grant became the new manager, most of us thought that Chelsea would become a Liverpool but without Champions League success, yet Chelsea have managed to challenge for the EPL title & have reached the CL final.

So for me yeah, they definitely did.

If Chelsea end up winning nothing this year........it will be right in line with my CURRENT expectations

Not really. At the beginning of the season I expected them to be one of the heavy hitters. When Mourinho left I thought it would be the beginning of the end. I didn't take into account, however, that the players were still there and that they still have the spending power. Mourinho was just one part, though I thought integral, of the whole puzzle. Credit to him though for forming that team and having all those big names work together. Grant inherited a great team to begin with who are tried and tested in England and Europe. He's done well to focus on football and dismiss all the negative press he's received so credit to him as well. Bottom line is that it'll take more than Mourinho leaving to signal the collapse of Chelsea as being legitimate contenders in all competitions. They have the strength, talent, depth, and most importantly, money to keep competing at the highest level. They could stick a monkey in the manager's chair and they will still probably do well.

They did

I think he's more of a slug than a monkey though... Monkeys are at least entertaining.

Well i predicted Chelsea to win the title - with Grant in charge - so that concludes my answer.

Well Said Mate...

Not a big fan of Chelsea and the way they achieved their success, but ill give em credit from coming out of nowhere to push United to the brink. They fell short at the end and it was never in their hands but they've earned my respect in the way they hung on this season. Also props to Avram for how he has behaved during the season when he was getting clobbered by the fans win/lose or draw.

yeah thats a good point BMJ.

Avram Grant has shown the rest of the 'top bosses' how to behave with respect, dignity and class.

even if he never manages Chelsea again i feel that he has made his mark. just because he is no media whore he gets vilified by the media time and time again and even by his own fans and yet he gets on with his job in a manner that a certain few others could learn a lot from.

i wish him every success in whatever his next move happens to be.

not in my opinion , i expected Chelsea to challenge for the major honours . Only the manager changed ...the players and money were still there .

If Sir Alex Ferguson suddenly retired , and Steve Mclaren replaced him you would still expect Man Utd to be a top team and challenge for the title ...etc

Mclaren didn't even qualify for the Euro 2008 with a team like England. He lost to CROATIA, so no if he was United's manager then it's a safe bet to say they're out of the title race.

Steve Mclaren? What a terrible example to use lol. He would not be able to lead United to the title or to even challenge for it in my opinion.

Avram Grant deserves respect for not only what he has acheived so far, but also the way in which he has gone about doing it. With Grant at the helm, Chelsea were not really considered as contenders for the title. People thought it was a 2 horse race between Arsenal and United right up to the final few weeks. Grant and Chelsea went about their business quietly, and ended up pushing United right to the wire, not to mention Chelsea making the European Cup final.

I was indeed a critic of Grant originally, but I am man enough to say he has proved me wrong, and has won me over. Whether he will be there next season or not is yet to be seen, but he has proved a lot of doubters wrong.

Nah he's just as bad as the others when it comes to losing. I recall the Carling Cup final when he came out blaming the referee for all the decisions that went against his side, which is utter rubbish. He may not be as vocal as Mourinho but the bad atittude to losing is still there.

I give a huge amount of credit to Grant for keeping the Chelsea ship afloat through difficult waters this season. But that team is Mourinho's - it was created by him and I haven't seen anything new that Grant has brought to it. Fair play to Grant through for acknowledging that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

alas ...i feel Steve Mclaren will never get the chance to prove either of us right or wrong ....

I agree, he was a disgrace after the Carling Cup final and he didnt even have anything to complain about!

And then theres his recent tanty with the media where he wouldnt answer the post-match viewers questions with anything more than a grunt or yes/no.

i dont blame him. the abuse the media have given him is a complete disgrace.

can you imagine them ever treating wenger or ferguson in such a way? they wouldnt dream of it. every single one of them should write him an apology for the relentless abuse they gave him.

im sure you can begrudge him one rant atfer losing a cup final!

i think if we are honest most of us expected the title to be between Man Utd and Chelsea again , Arsenal were predicted to struggle without Henry and Liverpool were once again deemed as not quite Premiership challengers ..

So our expectations were not exceeded in Chelsea`s case ..

Agree Conner, if you are talking about at the start of the season then Chelsea have fallen short of my expectations of them. I definitely would have expected them to get one but of silverwear by this point.

Good point, I forgot about that. The truth is that he is less respected than Fergie, Wenger, Rafa and Jose etc. but that's understandable. All of those managers earned the right to manage at those big clubs, whereas Grant is only there because of who is he is, rather than what he has actually achieved in the game. He's Roman's Jewish bumchum, it's as simple as that.

On a side note, I think Fergie gets an easier ride with the press than the others. He can intimidate them rather than the other way around, and if he gets asked a question or two that he doesn't like he'll just blank them like he's done to the BBC for the past 10 years or so.

Not when Jose left, we all thought Chelsea were doomed.

I expected Chelsea to be the team to challenge United for the title irrespective of who was managing.

With that squad any manager could do a good job of it.

you could say that about Man United

Very true, but the difference is that Fergie created that team. Grant is just carrying on the work Mourinho did. The style hasn't changed, the personnel hasn't changed, the system hasn't changed.

I must admit that I did expect Chelsea to fall from grace though. Never thought they'd be in with a shout of a League/Champions League double.

so in theory the majority of managers could inherit the Man United side right now and replicate the season Man United have just had if they stuck to the same system and players?

we both know its not as simple as that.

you have said yourself there that Chelsea have exceeded your expectations