Spare a thought for Uncle Avram
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- Written by David Moftakhar
Amidst all the lauding of Guus Hiddink and his achievements during four months at Stamford Bridge, let us not forget an altogether more morbid figure. Avram Grant achieved perhaps greater things during his own short tenure as Chelsea manager, but plaudits for the underwhelming Israeli have never been forthcoming.
There is no denying that Hiddink instilled renewed zeal into a Chelsea squad that had begun to flounder under Luis Filipe Scolari. The Dutchman has cemented a Champions League place for the Blues, taken them to within a whisker of a Champions League final and led them to their first silverware since the departure of Jose Mourinho.
Partisanship aside, Manchester United vs. FC Barcelona is the dream Champions League final. The two best teams in the world, both winners of their domestic championships (Europe’s strongest), and each with their fair share of the world’s best players. In theory it should be the perfect match. 
Many papers and news outlets will be picking over the remains of Newcastle United's end to a 16 year tenure in the top flight today. Whilst relegation has looked like an increasing possibility in recent weeks, there is still a lot of shock and glee over the demise of the black and white Geordies. They say that all good things must come to an end, but really Newcastle United have been a miserable team for a few seasons now. As silly as it may sound, a season or more in the Championship might actually help to revitalise this ongoing 'sleeping giant'.
Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona all scooped their domestic league titles last weekend. To achieve the feat the three clubs spent in the region of €200m between them on new players in 2008-2009. Little wonder then that they emerged victorious. But, in fact, the vast majority of that money was wasted on poor and ineffective signings. That they still emerged victorious after such large financial blunders tells of the pre-eminent clubs’ dominance.