No-good Grant should be shipped out now

SCHADENFREUDE — “The malicious joy in the misfortunes of others.” I thought I’d start with that so that Liverpool fans are aware that I know what it means.

Let me first congratulate Barnsley because they fully deserved their win. Chelsea were out-fought in every respect and I wish them the best of luck in the rest of the competition.

We should have won with the team that Grant put out.

Much has been made of Drogba and Lampard not even being on the bench but really, doesn’t that sound a bit desperate? We lost to Barnsley not because the manager chose the wrong team, made the wrong substitutions and chose the wrong tactics (as was the case in the Carling Cup final). We lost because Grant has destroyed the winning mentality. It is evident from the stories being leaked to the press that players do not respect, do not rate and, more importantly, do not trust him.

Only last week Grant demanded respect from the press. He’s got some neck, I’ll give him that. To have such a job bestowed on him purely because he’s a mate of the billionaire owner; to then guide a team of serial winners into losing all big games put before them; and then to continually snipe at his hugely successful predecessor — and the man demands respect?

The players left the Oakwell Pitch (which Grant also moaned about) to the chants of “José Mourinho” on Saturday. I can understand the fans singing this out of frustration — but the chants should be “Grant Out”. The only thing that needs discussing is whether to wait until the summer or do it now. There will probably be a better choice of managers available at the season’s end, but do we risk keeping him the remaining three months and watching our season further implode?

I would ship him out now and get someone in temporarily — or even let Clarke manage the team until the summer. The most important thing is to convince the players that the club have realised their mistake and are doing their utmost to rectify the situation.

Chelsea players may have some of the best salaries in the game but we all know it’s about more than that. Who wants to be associated with a losing team? Not sponsors, that’s for sure. Players make more from sponsorships and they need their profiles to be positive in every way. Fans like to imagine that the team means something to the players, but this jumpers for goalposts view of football is hopelessly out of date.

Tonight we take on cannon fodder Derby — and even if we thump them 8-0 it will not change anything for me or the great majority of fans that I go to matches with. Grant claims that he wants to concentrate on the Champions League — why? What would winning the Champions League prove other than you are a lucky manager? It certainly didn’t herald the wealth of trophies that Liverpool fans undoubtedly imagined after defeating AC Milan.

I’ll tell you how bad it is . . . a West Ham fan at work was bemoaning their results and slating Curbishley.

“Would you take Grant?” I asked.

“You must be joking,” came the reply. “We may be desperate — but we’re not stupid.”

I didn’t think I could be more depressed . . .

So the Champions League draw this Friday. I wonder if we’ll draw one of the big contenders or get lucky and get Fenerbahçe, Schalke or Liverpool? Keep your knickers on Scousers — I was joking. I wouldn’t bet on us to beat . . . errr . . . Barnsley. I bet the other seven teams are thinking: “I hope we draw Chelsea.”

The reaction to the manager will be interesting at tonight’s game, especially if we get put under any sort of pressure. I have no doubt that the players will come out of the tunnel with a point to prove, but what good is that if that point is somehow lost the very next game? The performances on the pitch are just part of the problem. We have to read about bullying at the training ground, physical altercations between playing and coaching staff, secret player meetings, players wanting to leave — this is not a happy camp.

Abramovich himself is rumoured to be calling a players-only meeting . . . although what he thinks he can do I don’t know, as it was his moronic appointment and ego that have led us into this mess in the first place.

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