Avram Grant: Fraud or the Portsmouth hero we needed when there was no hope?

‘On behalf of the team, thank you,’ said Avram Grant, his voice redolent with passion a decade ago.

‘If I could shake the hand of every one of you, I would. If anyone in the world wants to learn a lesson about passion, commitment and loyalty, Fratton Park is the place.

‘They can take points from us, put an embargo on us, they can throw us out of Europe but they cannot destroy our spirit – never!

‘On May 15, two weeks from now, each one of us – players, staff and fans – will come to Wembley very proud with the signs that we did it. We did it.’

That famous Fratton address emerged from the mouth of Avram Grant on Saturday, May 1, 2010 in the wake of the final home game of the Premier League era against Wolves.

The Israeli was feted by a packed crowd and given a long ovation by those who hung intently on his every word. A little, I guess you could say like Grant himself 10 years ago last Friday.

This occasion, however, was not witnessed by a supporters desperately in need of a symbol after their team became the first Premier League club to enter administration, but by a few assembled media - with most not realising what was unfolding in front of their eyes.

The then Pompey boss soaked up the talk of ‘unbreakable spirit’ and ‘fighting to the end’ in what was a small Fratton Park media room, in one of the grand-old lady’s many cubby-holes.

Yet, this time the words didn’t passionately emanate from the former Chelsea boss, but via the measured tones of former News of the World editor Phil Hall.

It was Hall, the man with the unenviable role of acting as a PR advisor to Balram Chainrai, who concocted much of the address Grant was then to parrot to the press, one which would go on to prove seminal as it was later delivered live to a wider audience in such defiant fashion.

So, sadly, the address which was to be immortalised in flags and banners at the 2010 FA Cup final alongside tributes to Grant, perhaps wasn’t quite the case of of the Blues’ manager ‘getting’ Pompey fans and their innate fire in the way it felt to so many.

Maybe we will never truly know how much his words were the result of selection and construction and how much of the 65-year-old’s own emotions were afforded them. Did uncle Avram need a spin doctor in his ear to tell him how he felt?

The reality, of course, is this kind of puppetry has had its place in the modern football world for a fair while now. The Alastair Campbell-style political propaganda had well and truly boiled over into the sporting landscape by the time New Labour began to unravel well into the new millennium.

The PR world can be a Machiavellian business which has benefitted the public perception of plenty of figures associated with Pompey in recent years.

Although a media master and arch-raconteur in his own right, the Harry Redknapp who won public affection in I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here was definitely given a leg-up from the sometimes prickly Blues manager; a Twitter account with 366K followers being one amusing example for a man who said he ‘can’t work a computer’ when cleared of tax dodging in 2012.

There’s also the Pompey players who were peddled as heroes for their charitable work in the Premier League era, when it was known - aside from the likes of the laudable Linvoy Primus and Richard Hughes - it would be easier to get Kenny Jackett to audition for Strictly today than see them attend events.

At least with Grant there were the signs of a genuine affinity with the club he managed.

The man who disappeared beneath a sea of bodies at Turf Moor after a victory in the first game post-admin, may have been shrewder than he let on and certainly had an eye for the theatrical.

And, yes, there’s little doubt he wasn’t even particularly hands on as a manager. He would often have a task recounting who was injured, with first-team coach Paul Groves usually left to pick up the pieces.

But while others, even those still revered today, barely cast a backward glance after leaving the island with their pockets full, Grant remained in touch and inquisitive as to Pompey’s fortunes.

There’s been return visits to Fratton, too, (most recently last year) while we’re still waiting to see the likes of Lassana Diarra, Sulley Muntari and the cherished Kanu back at PO4.

Undoubtedly, there are others whose Herculean efforts in Pompey’s fan-driven fight for survival deserve greater gratitude than Grant’s, people who, almost cruelly, history may not even remember particularly fondly.

Yes, the man from Petah Tikva arrived seeking opportunity at the end of 2009, but he soon found himself becoming the unwitting symbol of hope we all needed in circumstances he could never have anticipated.

However contrived, the fact he took on that mantle is more than many of his peers would’ve considered. So, a decade on, even with the assistance he received, maybe he still deserves our thanks.