Ex-Portsmouth and West Ham boss Avram Grant's unlikely friendship with Michael Jordan and other A-listers

According to Michael Brown, the former Blues boss regularly lightened team meetings with stories about famous acquaintances.

Grant had already managed Israel’s national team and Chelsea before replacing Paul Hart at Fratton Park in November 2009.

And he claimed away from football he had a string of high-profile friends and associates – much to the amusement of his players.

Brown told The News: ‘Avram came in to replace Paul Hart and I got on very well with him. He was great.

‘He had a really soft feel and wanted us to enjoy our football, using some different tactics, and it was very enjoyable.

‘Avram would say “This is not pressure, go and enjoy your football, dreams can be made”. He gave us such a good feeling.

‘He also had great stories, some of them were amazing.

‘Avram would say “I’ve just come off the phone to Michael Jordan”. Some of the names he told us were insane, you couldn’t make it up.

‘During meetings, he’d mention all these A-listers he knew and we would be laughing. It was surreal.

‘I cannot remember all of them he told us about, honestly it was crazy. Some of the names he came out with were big A-listers!’

Brown was named by Grant in Pompey’s side for the 2010 FA Cup final against Chelsea.

However, there was drama in the build up, with his child due to be born on that same Wembley day.

And Brown recalls Grant’s masterful handling of the situation, which allowed the midfielder to be present for both.

He added: ‘My child was due on FA Cup final day, so I had a big decision.

‘How do we do this, what can we do? So we asked a specialist whether it could be brought on early because I didn’t want to miss the birth. It was Sod’s law you get to the cup final on the day your baby is due.

‘The specialist felt he could bring it on slightly and my wife suddenly had twinges around the Everton game – our last league match and the week before Wembley.

‘Avram Grant told me “Just go to your family, you don’t have to play in this game (Everton)”.

‘But it struck me that if I didn’t turn out, what would happen if someone played well in my absence? Then I could lose my cup final place.

‘I spoke to his assistant, Ian Woan, about it and Avram later called me over again.

‘He said: “Go and enjoy the birth of your baby, see you next week – you’re playing in the cup final”.

‘My son, Ritz, was five days old when we lost against Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

‘When you are talking about Avram – I have so much respect for that man. He reassured me like that and kept his word. That was first class.’

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