Source: Daily_Mail
Avram Grant in bid to be at Stoke for West Ham despite Yom Kippur - EXCLUSIVE
Avram Grant is trying to find a solution that will enable him to be at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday for West Ham's important Barclays Premier League clash against Stoke. [LNB]West Ham's Israeli manager has accepted that he cannot manage his team on what is Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of Atonement. [LNB]But Grant is also painfully aware of his team's current predicament - they have failed to gain a single point from their opening four games - and concern among many of the club's supporters that the players need their manager more than ever. [LNB] Game for it: Avram Grant wants to find a solution to be at Stoke on Saturday and observe the Holy Jewish day of Yom Kippur at the same time[LNB]On Thursday night Grant was in discussion with religious leaders in a bid to come up with a plan which he hopes will ease the sense of anxiety among fans while also not offending people in Israel. [LNB]AVRAM GAME FOR A WALK If Avram decides to walk to the Britannia Stadium from the nearest synagogue it will take him about as long as the match itself as the closest place of Jewish worship is in Newcastle-upon-Lyme, 4.3 miles away. [LNB]The Jewish community traditionally observe the holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer that will begin at nightfall on Friday evening and finish on Saturday night. [LNB]Grant wants to respect the tradition of Yom Kippur, as he always has. But he will prepare the team and pick the team for Saturday's game and he hopes that, by being close by and possibly even somewhere in the stadium, the players and the fans will not feel he has deserted them. [LNB]If Grant were to arrive in Stoke before nightfall on Friday, attend a synagogue service in the area, return there on Saturday morning and then walk to to the stadium, without coming into contact with his players, it might be considered acceptable. [LNB]Particularly if he then returned to a synagogue after the match, although again he would be expected to walk - and not in leather shoes. [LNB] Missing man: Israel defender Tal Ben Haim will definitely miss the visit to the Britannia Stadium[LNB]Stephen Pollard, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, wrote on Thursday of Grant's predicament. [LNB]'Yom Kippur has no equivalent in other religions,' said Pollard. [LNB]'The nearest is Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the day. But Yom Kippur is far more intense. [LNB]'Grant's problem is that he is damned whatever he does. If he stays away he will endure the wrath of some Hammers fans who do not appreciate what Yom Kippur means to him. And he is damned if he goes - damned in his own mind, that is. [LNB]'There is also the small matter of the reaction in Israel. If he desecrated Yom Kippur, he would turn from being a national icon to a pariah.' [LNB] Taking charge: Hammers assistant manager Zeljko Petrovic will step in for Grant[LNB]Avi Cohen, the first Israeli to play in England, caused a storm in 1980 by playing for Liverpool against Southampton on Yom Kippur while Israeli parliament members demanded that goalkeeper Ddudu Awat be ousted from the national team for playing for Deportivo on Yom Kippur in 2006 - although no action was taken. [LNB]This is not new to Grant. After being appointed Chelsea manager in 2007, he observed Yom Kippur on the day before an away match at Manchester United. [LNB]Pollard added: 'To fans who don't understand the meaning of Yom Kippur to a Jew, it must seem a terrible dereliction of Grant's duty. But Yom Kippur transcends everything else to a Jew.'[LNB] Respect Grant's absence for Yom Kippur, West Ham fans are toldWest Ham co-owner Gold insists they will not sack under pressure Grant Ben Haim backs West Ham to beat Stoke but he'll miss out on Yom KippurWEST HAM UNITED FC
