Grant's is not the only head that should roll at Chelsea

And so am I, Willie. Because I have never wavered in my conviction from the first moment I heard of this ridiculous appointment, the footballing equivalent of Caligula making his horse a consul, that no good would come of it.

But now it's time for all of us to move on and in particular, for more people than Grant to move on out of Chelsea.

What about Peter Kenyon and Bruce Buck? Both of them must have known appointing Grant was a grotesque folly. So why did neither of them say so publicly?

Why did both of them praise the appointment in fulsome terms and, in the case of Buck, even suggest it was disloyal to the club to criticise Grant?

Grant's appointment was down to Roman Abramovich, who, as Tony Banks once famously said, bought a team not a club. So he feels under no obligation to consult the fans, or explain his erratic decisions to them. Instead he employs Kenyon and Buck to do so, but, as our fans' survey showed yesterday, neither has any credibility left. Their slump in the ratings is as disastrous as Gordon Brown's.

And if either has a modicum of self-respect, they'll resign, and suggest to Abramovich he appoints in their stead men with the guts to stand up to the oligarch when appropriate. Kenyon should go merely for the crass stupidity of giving Grant a four-year contract at £3.5million a year, when there was no need to. This means the club have to pay at least £7m to this third rater for nine months of fiddling around. And all this arranged by a man who keeps telling us Chelsea, having lost £75m last year, and burdened with about £600m in outstanding loans from Abramovich, are on course to break even. Really?

Now, the same flexible friends who gave us Grant are going to make another appointment. In a sane world the choice would be restricted to two names - Mark Hughes, who has a Chelsea history, and a good record as a tough-minded manager, making bricks without straw at Wales and Blackburn, and, of course, Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho should never have been displaced, and reappointing him would be a fitting public recognition by Abramovich that he has seen the error of his ways. Doing that would allow fans' confidence in his regime to be rebuilt.

But I'm not holding my breath.

Why it will be hell for Hull in the top flight

Dean Windass scores a Wembley goal at the age of 39 to put Hull into the Premier League. Great, and not so great. Good for him of course, but the idea of Windass turning out in the top flight next season at 40 is a joke.

As perhaps is the thought of Hull staying up barring a miracle; on an honest view they'll be lucky to get as many points as Derby did. Once you cut through the inevitable sentimentality about a small club's triumph, the truth is the Premier League as an internationally credible competition is damaged by such promotions. If the Championship can't throw up more credible candidates than Hull, then perhaps we should go back to two-up two-down again.

Tears of joy for Captain Courageous

Great news that John Terry has been reinstated as England captain for tonight's otherwise futile friendly. It's a deserved morale booster for Terry as he seeks to come to terms with his missed penalty that cost Chelsea the Champions League.

Terry has come in for stick over his tears. Some say he shouldn't have volunteered to take the penalty, others claim he should have shown more of a stiff upper lip after his slip. Both criticisms are rubbish. It's a captain's job to step up to the plate, which he had to do after the idiot Didier Drogba got himself sent off.

As for breaking down, why shouldn't he as he watched one of his life's ambitions gurgle down the plughole.

Terry may sometimes let himself down off the pitch, but on it he is Captain Courageous. It's distressing for such a man to think he let down the fans who idolise him. Even those who aren't Chelsea fans should respect the man's total commitment to every cause he serves and give him a rousing cheer tonight.

Don't blame Pietersen for speaking out

Kevin Pietersen wants his £1million for playing in the Indian Premier League next season, and it's pure cant to denounce him as a mercenary for speaking out.

Like most athletes, he's got a short career, and this is perhaps his only chance to make that kind of money.

The England Cricket Board are daft to stand in the way of top England players competing in the IPL. It proves their invention of Twenty20 is indeed a serious money-spinner for a game that otherwise looks in serious, and maybe terminal, decline.

Lap up Lewis while we can

Lewis Hamilton spent most of last season being written up, and a lot of this one being written off.

But after his victory in rain-swept Monaco on Sunday, which required driving skills of the highest order, why don't we just accept that here is an outstanding talent, and not lay into him as if he isn't the real deal the next time he has a bad race, like the one in Bahrain?

If McLaren's technology is as good as Hamilton's driving, he'll win the drivers' championship this year - but it's a pretty big if.

Meanwhile, there are people trying to persuade Hamilton to take on a professional agent rather than dad Anthony.

Since to call many sports agents professional is a clear breach of the Trade Descriptions Act, I for one am glad Anthony is determined to carry on.