“He’s not even a household name in his own front room . . . it’s laughable, completely and utterly stupid.”

– Former Conservative minister and Chelsea supporter David Mellor on Grant’s appointment.

“If you were telling me Grant ticks the right boxes to become Chelsea manager, sorry you’re wrong. He’s achieved nothing in football – it’s like giving me the job.”

– Tony Cascarino, meanwhile, claimed his coaching CV was identical to Grant’s: blank.

“Grant, hailing from football’s lower depths, is at Chelsea for one reason. He’s an Israeli-Russian in a club owned by an Israel-obsessed Russian, who seems to love institutionalised conflict. Caligula made his horse a consul, and Abramovich made his director of football and now, God help us, manager.”

– David Mellor again.

“Jose Mourinho is the reason I came to Chelsea and if I knew Avram Grant was going to be the coach then I would have signed for another club. I knew that nothing good would come with Grant as Chelsea coach.”

– Chelsea’s Tal Ben Haim . . . just before the club reached the Champions League final.

“Grant is a full-blown car crash.”

– Headline in The Sun after Chelsea drew at home to Wigan last month.

“He is great at PR and getting on with the wealthy but he knows very little about football.”

– Former Israeli manager Shlomo Scharf