Podcast
[00:00:00] Brandon: Alright, Chelsea fans, welcome back to another episode of the London Is Blue podcast. As always, your host Brandon, joined by my co-hosts, Nick, and Dan and gentlemen, we have the Manchester United Match Review here on the books. Ready to go? Uh, Nick, we were just saying before the call a little bit interesting since we typically never really play United on a Saturday, but they, I guess, felt like it was appropriate
[00:00:20] this year
[00:00:21] Yeah, I know. Just it felt odd cuz I think the last many, many times, especially at the bridge, we always play ’em on a Sunday, uh, like kind of late afternoon kickoff and instead we got like kind of the evening. Spot, which was nice. It was nice to not have to wake up super early on, on the state side and, and go through our, uh, our premo routines, uh, in, in any sort of rush format.
[00:00:45] It was great to kind of take the, the morning and, and ease into it, you know. So
[00:00:49] Dan: just to confirm that, uh, we played Thursday last April, I think that was one of our makeup games. Yeah. Uh, but then you had Sunday and [00:01:00] then the, in 2021 Sunday in 2021 reverse fixture. And then it was Saturday, the 24th of October in 2020, uh, was the last time we played them on a Saturday.
[00:01:10] So I mean, it’s at least been a couple years and it doesn’t go further back than that. And I refuse to do more research on that, but I feel like that’s enough evidence for you. It’s called
[00:01:17] Nick: science. I think we got it.
[00:01:21] Dan: All right. Well, um, as always, uh, we’re gonna be chatting about, uh, United’s early dominance and how it tested Chelsea.
[00:01:27] We’ll talk about the critical subs that put Chelsea back in front, including the first half, uh, sub. And then surprisingly, we’re not gonna talk about Covid Chich, Dan. I mean, is that in the script or not? Because he’s in there, He’s kind of a headline. Well, he’s a headline for a couple of reasons. Uh, and one, if you didn’t see anything after, you know, he left it all out in the pitch, left it all out of the pitch.
[00:01:51] Now he kept the socks on, which I thought was surprising. Move. Uh, but anyways. Well, and just
[00:01:56] Nick: the one sock Well,
[00:01:57] Dan: and with, uh, are these draws [00:02:00] more of a resource problem, uh, than a tactics problem. So as always, Dan, kick us off with the three word match review, um, and give a temp check of what the people feel like.
[00:02:09] I feel like this is gonna be mixed bag. It is, it is a mixed bag. I mean it’s draw, it’s a gut punch draw And Jason with the hop, skip draw. Getting us started there, you had tan with inches from three. There’s a lot of like measurement ones. You know, obviously Hawkeye kind of situation there per plus with the match of millimeters.
[00:02:31] TG soccer, love with Chava Potter, undefeated, like that one that made me feel a little bit better lifted. Spirits Zaley with the happy then sad Chris with these six minutes. Seriously. Sam for the doggy with my heart hurts right there with you. Janique with the the worst fixture. Absolutely. And then JW with the on the more serious note pride over prejudice cuz it was the rainbow lace speaking.
[00:02:58] Uh, uh, as much as I wanna [00:03:00] steal your gut punch straw, I feel like that, you know, was, was a nice accidental three word match for you. Threw at the beginning of that. I’m gonna go that good? I’m that good. Well, Sometimes, uh, I, well, nevermind , I’m gonna go with big club standards for this one. Uh, because for, for where we wanna be and where we should be, uh, being one nail up in the 86 seventh minute should be enough, even six minutes of stoppage time to Beat United who didn’t offer a whole lot, uh, after the first 30 minutes.
[00:03:29] So, uh, I think it’s good that we keep our standard high and that we’re frustrated at that result. Uh, absolutely. So, uh, Nick,
[00:03:36] Nick: what about you? Mediocre meets mid, Uh, there was a lot of really average stuff out there today.
[00:03:44] Dan: Yeah. The, the stats back that up. Uh, Dan, lastly, but not leastly, the incomplete builds because we are still missing pieces.
[00:03:53] Pieces are not available. They’re off the board and it’s hard to win a game in that [00:04:00] type of scenario. So still work for Todd Boley, Grand Potter, and, uh, our physio team to do. You know, speaking of missing pieces, Reese James on the, in the, in the stands there with that fresh green cut. Wow. I, uh, I feel actually the Gucci North face.
[00:04:15] What, what a, what a kind of move. He tipped his cap too early. Clearly he’s trying to blend in and, and surprise attackers a little bit more, but now, now where we know where he is going, So,
[00:04:29] Nick: I mean, just imagine when he gets back. It might be around the holiday time, you know, it may, we may be some battery powered lights in it.
[00:04:38] We, we may be in a spot where we could start doing some decorations. And I look, I think that you, if we had an ugly sweater type of jersey, which I’ve petitioned US soccer for, by the way, like that there could be like the perfect holiday look with Reese James right now, like the, the man’s hair is impeccable always.
[00:04:59] He’s [00:05:00] usually only doing like the front corner. Colored though, but he went all in. He went all in. Now this thing looks beautiful. Um, and so yeah, I really, I hope, I hope that we get some, some ho just keep it through the holidays, my guy, Or go red. I mean, then we’re, then we’re totally maybe half and half.
[00:05:20] Come on now. We’re, now we’re in. Sorry. It was the most exciting part of the match. I think we dedicate five or 10 minutes talking about it and then breeze through the rest of it, you know. All right.
[00:05:30] Dan: Well, huge shoutouts to, uh, Nathan. Join us on Patreon. Uh, we’ll see you in the Discord. Uh, and then Apple Podcast reviews are, are, are going strong, Dan.
[00:05:39] Yeah. Mrs. S w four from Great Britain and Bryce Stoneley. Wonderful five star views now podcast. Thanks for doing that. You also lead them for the blue royalty feed as well. That’s, uh, in double digits now in terms of five star reviews. So we appreciate the support for Jesse Abdullah and Nick and what they kind of do week and week out now, twice a week on that feed.
[00:05:59] So go [00:06:00] five star review there. And then, uh, on Spotify, we’re, uh, still above 1,500 reviews, 4.9. And, uh, look, we’d like, just like to get to 1.6. Uh, that, that’s our wish for this holiday is just more five star reviews, Uh, makes us feel good, makes people find us. And, uh, you know, it’s a good use of
[00:06:16] Nick: your time.
[00:06:17] It’s free. You don’t have to contribute a single dime. You just have to press that five star button right there. And it’s like we, we receive a hit of dopamine every time. It’s.
[00:06:28] Dan: All right, well let us jump into it. It was Man United at the Bridge this past Saturday, the 22nd of October in the Premier League, in case you missed it.
[00:06:36] Chelsea One United. Also one goals coming from Regino in the 87th minute off of penalty in Cast Romero, uh, in late into stoppage time. Uh, so we’ll go ahead and kick it over to the fist standup, the official FC Chelsea FC app from her friends over there. They’ll run you by all the highs and lows of this one.
[00:06:54] We get back, we’ll jump into the lineup. Here we go. All right, Line [00:07:00] time, Dan. Uh, another, I mean this is definitely the biggest talking point per usual for the matches. What is GPOs gonna do? Uh, a little bit more of a, You guys are welcome for that. You can borrow it. That’s fine.
[00:07:12] Nick: What if I choose not to
[00:07:14] Dan: never brand that.
[00:07:15] You call them that
[00:07:16] Nick: up to yo Jeep pots. What’s up man? What’s up? Woo. That’s tough. Well
[00:07:23] Dan: anyway, there was a line, but we’ll get into that here. It was kept over at the blogger. Between the six defenders included, Mark, Aria De Silva, Andreev, Chava, still undefeated, and Ben Cwell, Geogen, Rub Cheek and Asta made up your, uh, midfield, quote unquote.
[00:07:40] And then you had bombing Ryan Sterling and Mason Mount, all on the forward line. Subs included Armando Bro, Kans, also knowns Chuck me. He had Kris ballistic mate, potato, Coba, Chicha coming in, unused subs. Uh, you know, there were a [00:08:00] few of them. Do we really need to talk about ’em? I don’t know.
[00:08:03] Nick: They weren’t used, so
[00:08:05] Dan: probably.
[00:08:06] Right. Some of the top line stats. Chelsea, uh, at home with 47% possession, we had six shots, Only two on Target to United 13 shots. Six on target for them, um, for the first time and a long time. I remember we were out past at the bridge. We had 11 tackles there. 17, we had 18 clearances there. 16, six corners though to their four, uh, a couple off sides for us.
[00:08:27] Three to them, one caution for us, four to them and eight files conceded to their 10. Uh, does, the analyst has a 1.0 XG for us and a eight five XG for them. I think F RF had one for both sides. They, I think they definitely round a little bit more. This is a lot more detailed. Uh, so I mean, there’s not a lot to split between the teams, Nick, at least statistically when you look at all 90 minutes, cuz we’ll get into it.
[00:08:53] There’s definitely, um, kind of chapters to this game without a doubt.
[00:08:59] Nick: [00:09:00] Yeah, I mean, I think in the moment, right, especially as you score the penalty in the 87th minute, you’re like, Wow, we really deserve to win this game. Like we really fought back against adversity. And then you see these stats and you’re like, Did we, And I think this is where, you know, Potter in his post-match press conference was like, I don’t think we did enough to win the game.
[00:09:27] I think the stats clearly illustrate that I don’t think we did enough to win this game. Um, as frustrating as that can be to say, and, and certainly to hear his fans like you, look at where the XG is on this, uh, fun chart that Dan always likes to pull in. Then you’ll note that I pulled in a different XG for the midweek in your face.
[00:09:46] Um, but I, uh, yeah, I just out past Outshot sh more shots on target, everything, uh, it, it just, It’s not saying that United were phenomenal cause I [00:10:00] don’t think they were either. But when I said mediocre meets mid, that’s kind of what this looked like. And for everyone who was excited about a Chelsea United game because of what happened in like the early two thousands, that’s not the level of quality that you saw today.
[00:10:15] This is more spark wear than
[00:10:16] Dan: fireworks. Yep. Yeah, there, there’s a lot to get into with, uh, some of that as we work through kind of the different layers of this match. Uh, but at Opti Joe, within around one random set saying 26, no Premier League fixture has been drawn as often as Chelsea against Manchester United 26.
[00:10:32] Indeed, seven of the last nine meetings between the sides have finished level, including each of the last five in a row still, mate. So my Friday preview video, I definitely sat on YouTube, one, one draw. And then in my prematch live stream, I saw the lineups come out. I was like, Oh no, we’ll get ’em 2 31. Um, which could have worked.
[00:10:51] But as we’ll see, we had absolutely nothing to offer going forward. So one, one was.
[00:10:57] Nick: Gotta stick in your guns there. You gotta stick to your guns. [00:11:00] You got, you
[00:11:01] Dan: got, I got emotional, I got hyped, I got excited. I was like right before the match. Yep. So anyways, wouldn’t
[00:11:08] Nick: know anything about that. So
[00:11:10] Dan: I’ll try to, try to reign it in next time.
[00:11:13] uh, anyways. Alright, we’re gonna take our ad break when we get back. Jumping right into Uniteds early dominance and how Chelsea turned it around. So thank you, the sponsors for financially supporting the show and we’ll be right back. Uh, quick reminder, Nick, uh, that yes, I’m doing YouTube videos. Yes, we are crushing an Untick doc, but most importantly, Blue Royalty, as we said earlier, has a new fee.
[00:11:29] This should go like, subscribe, leba review, um, because we’re double dipping for a little bit longer.
[00:11:35] Nick: Yeah, we’re, we’re gonna double dip for a couple more weeks just to make sure everyone gets the transition note. But if you care about Chelsea Women’s team, uh, and you have enjoyed listening to Jesse Abdullah, myself, any rotating cast of characters.
[00:11:49] And you want more of that content, Blue Royalty in your Apple Podcast, in your Spotify, in your Stitcher, wherever you get your podcasts, go subscribe, uh, go listen [00:12:00] to all of the podcasts that are up there, give us some extra downloads, and then look for, uh, the ability to, uh, rate and review as well. That really, really helps us out, helps us build, um, kind of standing within those different platforms.
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[00:12:30] Dan: Right. Well, as we mentioned, the first one we’re gonna talk about is unites early dominance. Uh, early efforts showed lack of balance depth. I think a lot of people immediate were like, Uhoh, cre, chill. Well again, is this gonna go better? Then we also found out there’s a bit of a force change. Kuali, he had hid that he is having some knee issues in the back of his knee, and so he wasn’t gonna feature at all.
[00:12:53] Um, but Potter still offered to go with the 3 43, uh, [00:13:00] before quickly changing it into a back four. But for whatever reason, Dan, he felt like the back three without having any defensive subs on the bench, minus Saria, which would’ve been the biggest gamble of gambles. Um, he felt like that was the, the formation to start with.
[00:13:17] Yeah, it is showing the lack of depth right now, and we had depth heading into the season. But then when you lose Reese James and then you lose Maana and you lose cool Bali out to an injury, your defensive reinforcements become very limited. And that is going to present a problem potentially over the next, uh, few weeks, you’ll have three more Perman League games left, but we have a Carou Cup, uh, match against Manchester City.
[00:13:52] We have two more matches, uh, one probably more critical than the other. If you can win versus Salberg, you’ve effectively locked up your [00:14:00] first place and you can not have to worry about the match against Dynamo Za grab. So it’s just all happening at the wrong time. It’s all happening similar to last season.
[00:14:10] It’s just happening in October instead of November. And so, yeah, I mean, this was a makeshift 11. It doesn’t feel like this should be considered a makeshift 11 when you consider Oh, yeah. Georgina has long been a starter for Chelsea. Asta has been a long starter, but obviously is kind of season over the season.
[00:14:31] Performance last two years is kind of dipped a little bit. Thank goodness for Tribe Chaba being who he is and excelling in this moment, and Tiago Silva being able to, you know, seed the future even though he isn’t, uh, ever been the fastest guy of the pitch. So I don’t, I don’t know Nick, like, I, I kind of expected that this lineup based upon all the issues that Grandpa is fa facing at the moment with personnel deficiency, was going to be not to [00:15:00] anyone’s real liking, which, uh, you know, that’s the nature of the business.
[00:15:05] Nick: Yeah. Look, um, two things on this. I think first it’s surprising that Cou Gore has struggled in this left center back role. As much as he has over the last few matches, given that he’s played it for Potter before and I would guess knows the expectations that come with that role. So it’s a little surprising, like I think some of it’s down to personal performance and you know, the player, but it was very clear from the off here, Brandon, that this was not the right formation to Attack United with.
[00:15:36] They were overrunning our midfield like crazy, and while there were pockets of space on the wings, Kea couldn’t hit those passes out to the wings with any sort of regularity. We were the entire match. We were one or two passes away from breaking their stupid ass press. But we couldn’t do it. We couldn’t get the ball, we couldn’t get a header flick on.
[00:15:58] We couldn’t get a, a channel runner [00:16:00] going after we received the, the wing pass. We couldn’t do the crossfield diagonal and that had to be mad name for Potter because I’m, I’m sure he saw what I was seeing, which is if you get as spill cueta or, or chill well in an. Any sort of decent space like you, you back them to make the right pass and break this press.
[00:16:20] We just couldn’t do it. And then, you know, you add to the fact that you, we were, we were sitting so far back in that first half, we were basically inviting United in to, to attack us. Something had to change. And I feel bad for Cougar Rea because I think this was more Potter getting the formation wrong than it was about his performance necessarily.
[00:16:42] Whereas I think the other night it was about his performance. Um, or I think Phil actually it was about his performance today. I think it was a, it was a bad, uh, it was a bad lineup decision and it was clear once Covid Church came in and we had three in midfield, [00:17:00] that we were far more competitive and it allowed Georgio to kind of sit in the hole a little bit more and distribute.
[00:17:06] And it gave Kochi and, and lot this cheek the ability to get forward and take on players one on one, which. They kind of did to some effect. Uh, but look, I, I think this is like two or three matches in a row where you could argue that Potter’s initial lineup didn’t quite meet the moment. And I, I’m a little, you know, I think Dan’s death’s point is right, but I’m a little concerned about that, frankly.
[00:17:31] Dan: I mean, to the one point though on that, you know, with the Ko Bich element, you know, afterwards he’s heard you get the from Potter. Yeah. He has a knee issue. He’s had a knee issue all season and we’re managing the knee issue. And so as much as we would say yeah, on any given day, would you want Mateo Ko Bich from the starting 11?
[00:17:49] You most likely say, yes, I would like Mateo Koic from the starting 11. It’s just not possible on a three day change in between matches Brandon to [00:18:00] expect that every player is going to be able to come in. I mean, it makes you ask a lot of questions about Zakaria and what level he needs to be at to get into a match, but.
[00:18:11] There is still a midfield gap that has been the midfield gap for multiple seasons. That is just making it really difficult, particularly when the way that Ericsson Casaro and Fernanda and Fernanda’s lined up made it really difficult for us. And that’s where we were getting kind of just pass around my analysis.
[00:18:30] When I saw the lineups come out, I was hopeful because they were in a 4, 2, 3, 1, or they’re in a 4 1 41, which is what I thought it was gonna be with Ericsson. And Bruno pushed up and then Casa Samir holding. And I was like, Okay, great. You know, we can essentially have our two center mids, um, match up to their attackers and then our wingers can pinch in and essentially create overloads with cair.
[00:18:53] And I was like, You find them, you turn, we burn wing backs bombing down the sides. That didn’t happen. But [00:19:00] what we, but what did happen, and correct me if I’m wrong, we invited their press today for like the first time I feel like under Potter, we really were like playing short from the goalkeeper, high possession.
[00:19:12] It looked tole esque. At times we were not very comfortable. We were, we needed to break said press with finding our wing backs. We were missing a Marcos Alonzo type player who you could just lob one out there and you knew he would win it. Uh, and it didn’t happen. And I’m looking at the press stats on Fbf from us and them, and like they, they pressed more.
[00:19:36] They had, you know, 15 more presses than us. They had like 8% more. Press success than us. Not to get too nerdy in this, their top pressers were Anthony Marcus, Rashford, Christian Erickson and Casa Romero, right? Essentially midfielders and forwards our top four pressors were mea mount, then Georgio, then Chillo, then Aspy.
[00:19:59] Like [00:20:00] that meant we were pressing from the back in, They were pressing from the front out. And, and that I think explains a lot of the reason why, uh, and then we can get into progressive passes and things like that because it just, it wasn’t there. It came from Kpa was the most by a long shot. Then you then Chillo again, like, it, it, it wasn’t there for the day.
[00:20:20] The good news is Potter did make the change, whi, which we needed. But the midfield is a problem. It doesn’t. Chi and Georgio aren’t a pair. Chi Ruben aren’t a perfect pair. Georg and Ruben are an okay pair, but like, it’s not good enough without Angola content. Our midfield is pedestrian. Uh, we don’t have a great passer out of it.
[00:20:42] Kovi Chi will dribble his way out of trouble. Uh, Georgio will short pass his way outta trouble, and Ruben is just kind of waiting for something to appear so he can just go attack space. It’s, Connor isn’t even the answer yet either, although he’s helpful because he’s good in a
[00:20:57] Nick: tackle. . Well, I mean, he’s also good in a [00:21:00] press.
[00:21:00] I mean, like, I think, yeah, I think this is where, you know, look, I mean, kind of talked about the wing backs, but this is where we, we got so overreliant on these wing backs to make up the numbers in midfield, right? To help both, uh, advance the ball and to uh, basically help defend, right? To help, you know, close in when Georgio.
[00:21:25] Did one of his crazy presses that inevitably got him passed up in midfield and then you’d have chill, well slot over and help defend, right? Like we’ve become so overreliant on those positions that when we do move to a four, it’s where it’s where the team has to get better positionally, right? They have to keep some positional dis discipline.
[00:21:45] I saw too many times yesterday, Georgio goes on a wild press, Kovachi follows him, and then Port Ruben’s just back there kind of by himself covering a ton of ground and like, frankly, he did okay with it, but it’s not a recipe for [00:22:00] success, I would say. It’s not the way that you’re gonna win matches. So that to me, Dan, is where I get a little bit like angsty.
[00:22:06] Add in the fact that like Ruben’s an injury prone player who has had a really good run of health and knock on wood that continues, georgio’s not fully fit, Coit isn’t fully fit. This is like duct tape right now.
[00:22:19] Dan: And it’s a matter of you’re, you’re at home. It’s a Manchester United team who has only recently found form, and you end up with less than 50% of the ball this Manchester United spell that has been over us the past couple years of just giving them way too much respect for the legacy.
[00:22:39] Way too much is ridiculous. It is absolutely ridiculous that this united side, and look, there were some strong performances, right? Martinez, definitely a player. Casa Murro, I think had a really strong game, but in general, their attack didn’t offer a whole much, whole much to kinda look at and [00:23:00] be challenged by.
[00:23:02] And you just gave them a lot of opportunity to harass you, to buy early fouls, to run the narrative of the game. And it was only very late in the match where we had those kinda late subs where we started to punch back, I think, at equal measure because in general it felt very flat. And that’s not what I would anticipate from this side, Brandon.
[00:23:25] All right, well let’s, let’s highlight the rock bottom. That was the first 35 minutes. And then, cuz that’s really chapter one, we’ve talked about the formation not working, the, we got out pressed. Yep. Statistically. Uh, so a, a new source mark. Our stats is making his debut in the script. Uh, gave us
[00:23:44] Nick: some stats.
[00:23:45] Congratulations to Mark, by the way, for making it just illustrates
[00:23:49] Dan: big win. Unbelievable. You guys could tweet it him, just let him know cuz he probably didn’t know. Um, said after the first 30 or up to the first 35 minutes, the field tilt was 40% [00:24:00] Chelsea, 60% united. Essentially they had the upper hand. Uh, you think of like an arm wrestling duo, right?
[00:24:06] Like they were definitely like in our side. They had the leverage. Um, the defensive line height, we are at 38.4 out. They were at 43.7. Again, we were far. Far closer to our goal than, than they were. Uh, and then the top stats, and, and I think this is good to see how we grew from here, but our XG was 0.02. Is that bad?
[00:24:27] I also have some, some bad news for the second half, but yeah, that’s pretty bad. They’re 0.45. They’re expected threat. We were 0.16. They were three five over double possession again, 43 57. Um, and our buildup completion, we were sub 80%. They were almost 85%. So again, this is really like basement level. This was as bad as it got in this game.
[00:24:53] We’d made some changes, but. This is all time bad. And I think everybody was super frustrated, Nick, at just [00:25:00] how bad this was. And the good news is if you check Twitter, we had all kinds of solutions that we were thrown out there .
[00:25:07] Nick: Yeah. I, it was all time bad, especially if you were me watching him with your Manchester United buddy.
[00:25:12] Um, and just
[00:25:14] Dan: terrible decision.
[00:25:15] Nick: Why’d you do that? It was a look poor tactical adjustment by me. I’ll admit that. I think I, I didn’t show up half time. I didn’t show up ready to play today. And, uh, that’s, that’s definitely on me. But Nick
[00:25:27] Dan: went on a beer rung for the second half and never came back. .
[00:25:29] Nick: Got it.
[00:25:30] Yeah. All right. Take it easy. Uh, yeah, no, it was, it was really terrible to watch. And, and your, your thought about, uh, inviting pressure was accurate. Like, why were we. In a press scenario, so casual about where players were positioned, like Kea was just kind of laly passing it to a Silva or Geogen or Tr Chava or Asbe.
[00:25:54] And we never got out of like our 18 yard box. It felt like in those scenarios, and you wanna know why the [00:26:00] field tilt was that way, it’s because of that. And then when we would go long, we’d lose it immediately cuz they had numbers back. It was, it was weird.
[00:26:07] Dan: That was a weird thing to me is like, why play short when you’re essentially gonna get the shit pressured outta you, so you’re gonna hurriedly pass it back to k k and he’s gonna lump it.
[00:26:16] And you knew you weren’t, you weren’t set up to win that anyway. So it’s like,
[00:26:19] Nick: well if you’re gonna do that, put numbers forward. So in a weird head on, you can do it for you. You know? Exactly.
[00:26:26] Dan: I, I, that blew my mind. I was like, you’re playing short, you’re putting yourself pressure. He lumps it, but we’re so far sucked back that there’s 0% chance Pierre Emerick Bombay is gonna win header.
[00:26:37] In these scenarios, and even if he does, no one’s around. So why not just set up, push the line higher? Anyways, I, that, that, that, that hurt my brain a little bit.
[00:26:47] Nick: And as, as long as we’re talking about first half subs, then why wouldn’t you, if you’re, if you changed to our completely rational scenario, Brandon, why wouldn’t you just take out Rahi Sterling and put on Bria who can win those balls?
[00:26:59] Dan: [00:27:00] Well, I mean, yeah, he, he’s definitely, uh, uh, one that, uh, will, will match up here in, in a second. But yeah. Dan, I guess anything else from your perspective on like the basement level beginning to this performance before we talk about the changes? Well, I’ll say to maybe transition us into the talk about the change is that it’s nice to have a manager who says, Yep, this isn’t working.
[00:27:23] I’m gonna make a change where I could actually have time to impact the end result. Yes. I don’t think it’s gonna be long before he subs the sub. Yeah, . I just thought about that yesterday when Cova came on. I go, at some point he’s gonna sub us sub. I’m like, it’s gonna happen.
[00:27:42] Nick: I, but I mean, on a, on a serious point, I think Grandpa Potter does not look at the game in terms of haves.
[00:27:51] I think he looks at the game in terms of like smaller time increments. Um, you don’t have to call those quarters. You can just call them [00:28:00] smaller time increments for those who are angry at me, . But like the first third of the game goes right? And he’s like, This isn’t working. Like we gotta figure out what we can do to bounce out the midfield.
[00:28:14] And so he does it. And the, even the way he made some of his late changes, it was a late phase adjustment, right? Like I, that’s kind of what I’ve noticed about him. I don’t know if that makes sense to you guys or not, but like, yeah, if he subs a sub, I think it’s because it’s simply a phased approach to a game and not necessarily.
[00:28:32] Ultimately due to like an extremely poor performance, because if that would’ve been the case, Rahe would’ve got pulled early yesterday. Um, and, and I think he’s just looking at the game a lot differently than like you were me or anyone. So
[00:28:45] Dan: I, I think it’s pretty well established, uh, with the pros that they kind of look at the game in 15 minute incre.
[00:28:53] You know mm-hmm. , how do you come out in the first 15? Um, and then, you know, when you get a goal, can you survive the next? So I do think that [00:29:00] they kind of chop it up into each, happen to thirds a little bit. I mean, Kochi came out in 36 minutes. So clearly after 30 minutes, you know, Potter could say, Nope, not working.
[00:29:08] Go get warm. Like really warm, cuz you’re going right in, you know, subs coming in at the 75th minute. Right. So that would’ve been, you know, heading into the last third where, you know, 75th to 80th minute, three, three different players came on. Uh, so I, I could definitely see that. And I think you’re right. So the change that was made was obviously Kochi on for Crea, uh, cre to be fair, when he came off, the camera was right on him.
[00:29:34] He seemed to accept it. I think he understood it was not working. And why Potter made the change. And again, I’m just saying from a mentality standpoint, that’s now twice. He’s been hooked early by Potter. He seemed to be taking it well.
[00:29:46] Nick: A, a really, I think a really good coach. Would build this into their game plan, Dan.
[00:29:53] Like, guys, if we go out there and it’s not working, I gotta make adjustments. There’s no fucking complaining [00:30:00] when you come off. We’re, we’re trying to win games here. Like, this is what it is. And if you’re the sacrificial lamb, accept it. Be a good teammate, move on. Like, because I, I don’t think grandpa is the type of manager who’s going to accept temper tantrums from players.
[00:30:15] And I, he’s not going to be the one that certainly engages in those moments. Like he’s spar too, Cere bowl for that. But I think you saw CRE come off and instantly be engaged with his teammates, which is proof of being a good teammate. Like even when it didn’t work out for you, you still want the team to win.
[00:30:33] I, I gave him a ton of credit
[00:30:35] Dan: for that. Well, and it’s, uh, you know, and, and there is a little bit maybe more of a relationship there with other players trust. Yeah. Because of the, the background and coming from Brighton. Yeah. I mean, I think just in general, Happy he made the change early, happy. He had an opportunity to see things that weren’t working and to see that KO hitch, even though he came in and there is a [00:31:00] potentially larger injury concern looming.
[00:31:03] If he gets overused in this period and you look at the next string of matches, you’re like, Wow, he probably is gonna get overused. So I would imagine the thought is, Hey, let’s see if we can make it to have time to 60 minutes. And if it’s all square, I can bring in Kochi and have him, you know, for the last 30 and everything is okay.
[00:31:23] So I, I don’t think went to script here, which maybe puts into question how much we’ll see him over the next one to two matches as we look to round out this last run. But I think in general gave us the opportunity to win back control and set the stage for, for what came next. Well, what came next was pretty, uh, significantly different.
[00:31:45] Uh, as we talked about, Covid came on immediately wrestled control back into this one. Potter even said that pretty much verbatim post-match. Uh, no surprise there. I maybe you could be surprised at how well it worked and how quickly it works. I mean, it was [00:32:00] damn near instant. Um, and then he brought on Broa and Kane Slate in the match.
[00:32:05] Pulisic came on a few minutes before that. Um, Broa won the crucial penalty. He was a handful. Uh, Chuck Omeka was running everywhere, uh, on the pressures. I think he was two for two, albeit a small sample size. You know, he was highly energetic and I think that speaks a lot to the confidence Potter has in him as a young player.
[00:32:25] Remember he played midweek against Brentford. Mm-hmm. turned at 19 and is now playing against United at home. So big week for the guy, uh, and continuing to be trusted. But again, Nick. You, you visually passing the eye test could tell that this changed the match. What? I would say that was one of the most boring second halfs I’ve seen in a long time.
[00:32:49] Yeah. It was, We, it was a bad watch. We nullified it. They didn’t have shit going forward. But it also came in our expense of it, our stats guys, We, we had [00:33:00] nothing going forward, like absolutely nothing. We had 0.1, 0.1 xg, one from a bombing and one from Trevo outside of the penalty. Right. We didn’t provide shit, our shots.
[00:33:11] We had two from Trevo, two from Ruben, one from, uh, a bombing. And that was it. Like me. We had nothing to know, but we completely nullified them. So I guess that’s the, the trade
[00:33:25] Nick: off. Well, yeah. I mean, you, you can’t, you can’t keep, you have to stop the bleeding first. Right. And I think that’s what the, the midfield adjustments did.
[00:33:34] But I mean, when you look at. When you look at some of the late attacking substitutions, I think this is where we got a little too conservative for, for my tastes. And again, my tastes don’t mean shit because I’m not the manager of this team, but the game was there to be one clearly. I mean, it’s, No, no, they’re not really, you know, most of their threat was in the first half, [00:34:00] um, compared to the second half.
[00:34:01] I think we had a, a really, you know, solid approach to the second half, but nothing special. We didn’t, we didn’t have that final ball. And then when we did have the final ball, uh, either a deflection that was gonna go right to a bomb yang on the far post or the, uh, Rahim, uh, rahi, uh, no shot essentially. I mean, those were the two that I can remember Dan.
[00:34:23] Like, it just wasn’t, it just wasn’t clinical enough. And that, that’s when I think like the pool six sub came too late. The Broa and Karin Subs came a little bit too late. I know they’re young players and that’s putting a lot on them, but. I, you know, if it’s not working, you gotta try something else. And while I praise the Covid Church won in the first half, I think these came a little too late.
[00:34:43] Dan: And if you remember the moment after Potter made his changes, 10 Hogg made his changes. And so it felt like there was also the, Well, I don’t want to be the first one to make a move. I’m gonna try to give my players on the [00:35:00] pitch an opportunity to work it. Obviously, I think Mason got a pretty sweet looking ball in that got, you know, if Ron doesn’t make a crazy interception, would’ve been the bombing yang tap in, in the, the half.
[00:35:14] So, I mean, I think there’s, there was attacking movement that looked better, you know, for, for, for, you know, from first half to second half. But it just wasn’t consistent. You weren’t getting enough SNPs of gold. You weren’t putting yourself forward enough. You weren’t. Maintaining possession, obviously, I think, you know, as P and Mount when they were on the ride together, wasn’t a, a really dynamic pairing, uh, particularly with Ruben.
[00:35:39] I think you maybe struggled just to touch in this game. Um, but overall it was just a, an average kind of total team performance. And yeah, I think the, the stats and the end results kind of map that out. I mean, we had 147, uh, touches in the attacking. Third, they had 155, but [00:36:00] again, ours were just like, you would say that they were far more threatening, you know, and.
[00:36:06] It just wasn’t there to only have one shot on Target all match, like all right, we had to grind this one out. I was kind of hoping going into this one too, like, Oh look, they just had a big result midweek against tat. They don’t have as much depth, you know, there’s, they’re probably gonna be a little bit leger.
[00:36:20] Granted we had a no no drug against Brentford, but it probably was less emotionally draining. Like I’m sure the intensity level was less. So I was just kind of hoping that Chelsea would come out and like really go at them and do, it didn’t feel like it was there. I think you guys summed it up perfectly before even with the, the subs and we were able to kind of regain some, some stuff we we’re lacking.
[00:36:40] Any type of like cutting edge ball or cutting edge, you. Play it in the buildup in the final third, but like we respected them far too much. Mm-hmm. , and we were very quick to sit back, let them possess. We had less possession than them and we, we [00:37:00] were kind of coming at it, in my opinion, from a, a, a smaller club mentality, thinking that like, we shouldn’t be able to go out there and just dice them up.
[00:37:08] And I was, I was a little frustrated with that approach, but I can understand, um, I think after the fact, how much Potter is talking about the load management of these players, the fact that you guys, Covid isn’t even a hundred percent healthy, he’s managing pain. And then we kind of connected the dots of like, well now we have new medical team coming in.
[00:37:28] We’re trying to solve these maybe structural problems that are in Chelsea because you know, with Ola Conte being out Reese Chill. Well, last season we had so many injuries last season and stuff. It’s just like, it, it sounds like Potter is dealing with a lot more than what any of us as fans are privy to.
[00:37:44] And I think I’m having to kind of take a step back and accept some of those things and understand that, um, you know, this squad might be hanging on by a hamstring at this point, and that’s not something that he wants to gamble with. And I get why?
[00:37:57] Nick: Well, it’s a, it’s a draw That feels like a loss, [00:38:00] right?
[00:38:00] Because you, you drop points. But yeah, I mean if you really look at where this team is out is, is at right now. Um, The injury list is far too long. The crucial player’s injured list is incredibly long. Recent county and Fiona, right? Tiago, Silvas not, didn’t look fully fit yesterday. Uh, Covid Church, if he goes out, what the hell do you do in midfield Mason Mount if he goes out?
[00:38:31] What do you do for attacking creation? I mean, there, there are a lot of players on this, on this list right now. Chill. Well, getting back up to full fitness, um, you know, as public weight to probably not in every, every match player anymore, right? So what we just named seven or eight players of the team right there.
[00:38:52] I mean, it’s, it’s a real problem. This team is going to have to survive until, uh, I think the New Castle match is [00:39:00] our last one, right? Or is it Zo? Now
[00:39:03] Dan: Newcastle’s the last match. Okay. Before the
[00:39:05] Nick: world got break. So we have to survive until Newcastle, which coincidentally we will be watching in person in Kansas City.
[00:39:11] But I mean, this is a, this is a problem. They, they have essentially three weeks right To survive to get through the Champions League group stage and to just get as many points in the primary league is possible. Keep yourself in a decent position in the league. If they can do that, it will be an amazing load management for, for the team, for Potter, for, cuz he inherited some stuff here.
[00:39:35] Right. And obviously I had some co you know, a couple of really difficult circumstances pop up with Reese Andana. So I, I just get to this stage and then see which players come back from the World Cup semi healthy and which ones don’t. I mean, there’s no control. He has past that point.
[00:39:54] Dan: The thing to keep in mind is so you, you’ll come back and it’s the boxing day, fix your period [00:40:00] and you’re gonna struggle to get a new player in.
[00:40:04] So you’re hoping that there’s fitness returns for Reese James is available at the beginning part of that, you know, fa fauna, maybe he’s back and healthy at that point too. And your, your defensive element is restored maybe in GoCon as what, February March at this point, at that kind of a optimistic outlook.
[00:40:25] So you have after the break home to bor away to Forest, and then home to city before the 14th of January, where then you would’ve palace and Liverpool. And so like maybe by the second or third week you sign that player that you want, maybe an Alvarez in midfield or something that nature. So you’re gonna have to make due with who’s healthy and available post World Cup.
[00:40:50] If her also some, yeah. Three kind of critical matches in short timeframe, um, to, to get it right because it’s the 26, 30 first and second. No [00:41:00] pressure.
[00:41:00] Nick: Well, and also like, if you’re one of these young players who isn’t going to the World Cup, let’s, let’s call it a broa, let’s call it a true Omega. You know, I, I don’t know if Gallagher’s gonna be on the 50 fives Band England squad that they’re putting out this week, uh, or whatever.
[00:41:18] Right. Richardson
[00:41:19] Dan: and the Death
[00:41:20] Nick: Squad. If you’re one of these young guys, boys, this have the opportunity. Yeah. I mean, this is for, and, and not like a fake opportunity like we used to have under like going, or sorry, or any of these guys. Like this is. We may not have a warm body to fill in a role. Can you please come play in the first team?
[00:41:39] Like it’s, it’s that series right now.
[00:41:41] Dan: Well, and it’s how Ruben’s gotten his chances, right? He’s not gone away over international breaks. You know, he started that palace match right away and mm-hmm. hasn’t turned back really. So, uh, just to tie off what the, the jump was. So the post 35 minutes to the end, uh, we jumped.
[00:41:57] According to their stats, uh, to a 1.35 [00:42:00] xg. Uh, the Manchester unit only had a 0.19. Obviously we had the penalty, so I mean, that’s like a 0.8 0.9, just so we’re keeping track at home. Uh, expected threat, we went up to a 0.68 there, a 0.67, which is nice. And even ball possession went to 50 50 split. Field tilt was a 60 40 split in our favor.
[00:42:19] Defensive line height, we pushed up to 45.8 46, they dropped to 33. And then our buildup completion stayed, eh, at 77, but United’s dropped from over 80 down to 75%. So again, spent a lot of time killing them off. We did create more, but uh, you know, we, we still, we’re still a little bit to improve as far as like actual clear cut chances.
[00:42:41] Brandon: So anyways, we’re gonna take a last break when we get back though. Uh, problem of resources question mark. And essentially where we go from here, think the sponsors will be our back.
[00:42:50] All right, Dan. Uh, the, how we frame this last part of a problem of resources is that it, it’s probably not a short term problem you just brought up, uh, Alvarez. [00:43:00] That sounds like a short term solution. We’re gonna see what bully does. We know that there’s potential, Can you limp across, uh, the top four finish line this year and then maybe really splash the catch for some top targets?
[00:43:10] Um, I think that it’s gonna be, uh, you know, as we start to, or as we continue to build up the scouting and kind of the strategic leadership department at Chelsea with the technical and sporting director, um, we’re gonna have to see how they really hit the ground running, uh, very quickly because, again, since Potter’s arrival and eight matches played where five wins, three draws no losses, 13 goals, four, three goals against, with an 11.1 xg . And a 6.24 xg against.
[00:43:40] N’golo Kante has pretty much never been available. I actually, I don’t think he has been available for Potter. Mm-hmm. But Fofana Reece James out with long term injuries as well. Uh, what do you think, What do, what do you think we’re, we’re looking at, We talked about, you know, getting across the, the three weeks of the World Cup, but again, who knows what’s on the other side of that World Cup[00:44:00]
[00:44:00] Dan: Well, I asked the question afterwards because, uh, you know, Champion is different, but you. Three more matches against sides in the Premier League. Yeah. Obviously probably the, the, the two of the biggest ones being our match against Arsenal. Uh, currently league leaders who just drew today and then New Castle who are going up against Spurs as we record right now, and then a match show a way to brighten.
[00:44:27] And so you have a massive opportunity mm-hmm. to not only pick up non potential points, but to take points away from a team that is pressing forward to try to make it in the top four with, uh, a large injection of, uh, a a a A country, uh, funding their club and then a Arsenal team that drop points for the first time in a very long time today that you could make up significant ground on and really solidify yourself in the top four because then it to anyone’s [00:45:00] game the second half of the season, like you, you’re.
[00:45:02] Teams might be ravaged by injury, players may not be available for significant period when they come back to the Premier League. That could also be us as well. And so you want to be, you have the time to control this part. What happens after the World Cup is a little more random, a little more chaotic.
[00:45:17] And so in that regard, I think maximizing those three matches you have to win versus Agre so that you can get done with the, or sorry, with, uh, Salberg, so you don’t have to worry about that game. And you basically can take some of those young players that Nick was talking about. You know, you get Charlie Webster’s been training with the first team.
[00:45:37] You start throwing in some of the young guns here and give them an opportunity to get ready for what could be critical opportunities for them to be involved in those first three games post World Cup. Mm-hmm. , I, I just, I think it’s a, a realization that Potter has done extremely well over the string of it in the entirety of the context.
[00:45:59] [00:46:00] Even if this match didn’t feel great. That was what I was trying to kind of frame Nick.
[00:46:04] Nick: Yeah, I mean, I agree. I, I don’t think his last three matches have ne uh, necessarily like, inspired me from a football perspective, but of course a lot of that is understandable with all the contexts that we just gave.
[00:46:20] I think, I think he has to figure out a way to give crucial players a break without the level dropping. And I think that’s not worked so far. Um, like giving Kovachi a break yesterday didn’t work. Right. Uh, giving Mason out a break hasn’t necessarily worked Right. And even when he tried to against Brentford, uh, you know, unfortunately Connor, uh, Connor had a bit of a difficult situation there.
[00:46:58] So, um, [00:47:00] You know, I, I think, I think a lot of it’s been bad luck to this point, but, you know, history doesn’t remember bad luck. They just remember it just remembers results, you know? Um, and so I, I look at this as an opportunity for the team to show the kinds of character that I think they have, um, especially after everything they’ve been through over the last call it year, uh, post Luke Kaku statement on.
[00:47:32] And I think there’s a huge opportunity, Brandon, for players who have been underutilized to this point. And I think there’s some stronger shots for pik now. I think there’s some strong shots for Broa. I think, you know, haves needs to figure it out. As we talked about midweek, uh, Conor Gallagher, you know, you, you start looking down the line at players who haven’t started every match this year.
[00:47:58] And if [00:48:00] they can figure out a way to come in against a Zo, a against Salzberg, against any of these matches that we have coming up and positively contribute to a Chelsea win, just how much that would lift those players who normally start. I think there has to be the right balance in there. That’s, that’s
[00:48:16] Dan: my thought there.
[00:48:20] I have a feeling that they splashed a ton of cash in the summer. They’re probably gonna be a little reluctant to do it in January, especially in a post World Cup window. Mm-hmm. , Is Todd Bulley gonna be sporting director again? Is someone else gonna be there? I think that they’re already looking ahead to, uh, next summer, right.
[00:48:38] And trying to find those long term key targets. And if that’s the case, if that’s the way they play it, then these young players are absolutely gonna have minutes to play. But we’ve already seen the trust there. The fact that he’s bringing in Chuck Omega, uh, late in the game. Hopkins Zish is not playing.
[00:48:55] Kai Hobarts is not playing. These are very [00:49:00] big calls for him. Um, and so there’s, there’s gonna continue to be, a lot of games be played. We haven’t even started the EFL Cup, although it might be a short run as we play Man City away in the, in the first league. FA Cup hasn’t started, continue Champions League.
[00:49:16] So yeah, I mean, I think that this is probably largely gonna be the team for this season, and they’re gonna continue to get chances, continue to get minutes. Um, and, and that’s only gonna be positive for their development. Potter is known for being a long term, uh, approach as a manager, as best as he can. I mean, look, you gotta win weekend week out.
[00:49:38] Uh, but he has a track record of taking, uh, maybe a team who’s six outta. And growing them into an eight out 10 and surprising people. So if you can take an eight outta 10 Chelsea and grow them into a 10, outta 10, which is really the challenge he’s being tasked with, um, we are gonna be on for a wild ride.
[00:49:56] And think about how successful that be for the club. If Broa [00:50:00] is a week and week out player, if Conor Gallagher’s week and week out player, you know, if you can turn on politics career at Chelsea, I mean you will be the , the savior of all Chelsea fans. I think in general. Um, you know, Trevor Chaba playing Weekend Week out, Reese James, and just all of these players, uh, what, uh, a legacy that would be at
[00:50:18] Nick: Chelsea.
[00:50:19] Let, let’s talk about Trev really quick, cuz I know this is not necessarily a solve, but the dude has been fucking fantastic, like be his best match of the season was yesterday for my money. He was dominant in the air. Um, did not get beat for that last header, fyi. Um, and I think really in tough possession situations, handled himself well.
[00:50:44] This was a really great performance from a guy who was an afterthought two months ago.
[00:50:52] Dan: Uh, he wanted to leave, you know, didn’t think he was gonna get any opportunities with Aspy and Fafa essentially ahead of him.
[00:50:57] Nick: Now you can’t see the team without him. [00:51:00] And, and I think what Tre Chabas opportunity this year is, can he play himself into the England squad?
[00:51:06] That’s how good he’s been. Um, yeah, it’s been absolutely fantastic. There is no guy on the team that I love to see Thrive more than Tre Chaba. I just absolutely love him.
[00:51:15] Dan: Or if you have a completely healthy backline. Can you potentially hear me out? Crazy thought you said it before. Don’t do it. Put him in midfield.
[00:51:24] Stop it at the base of the midfield. Yeah. And let him operate there because he could very easily then drop back into a central position. Yeah. And join the defense. Like if you’re looking for something and I think right now you can’t look at him anywhere else outside of that Back three. Back four because of our lack of individuals there.
[00:51:44] But boy, oh boy. I would be very interested to see Trev in the midfield if you have a Tiago Silva, a Fafa, um, a Reese James, and potentially, you know, cool b, healthy, [00:52:00] interesting wrinkle. Particularly if Conte is not gonna be back for a very
[00:52:03] Nick: long time. Yeah. I mean, and on the other side of it, uh, I think there are some questions being asked about Brahe right now and like, This is supposed to be like a leader in the team.
[00:52:18] A guy who steps up in big performances, obviously has never played well against Manchester United at Liverpool or at City Zero goals, I think in those fixtures over 25 matches. Um, yeah, it
[00:52:29] Dan: was, it was something like shocking. Just in general.
[00:52:32] Nick: Yeah, it’s like a, it’s like one of those fluke numbers that’s a part of a trivia game at some point.
[00:52:38] But man, he has not looked the same since Potter came in. Uh, he’s not looked like these the same sort of aggressive player. And when you’re kind of in a front two and if you get an opportunity to shoot and you don’t take it, it’s what made us crazy about basically every single attacker that we had last year.
[00:52:55] Just rip it. I mean, it’s not as if Deha is the world’s best goalkeeper. [00:53:00] I mean, he is playing all right this year. Don’t get me wrong, but like, rip it man. No one’s ever going to default you for taking a shot at Chelsea Football Club. That’s my stance. Like if you have a shot and you’re the guy. You’ve already scored a couple of good goals this year.
[00:53:15] Rip it. Yeah. Tr child has scored three goals in his career. Everyone wants him to shoot when he gets near them. Almost had one today too. Yeah, I mean, it’s just, I don’t know, man. Uh, I’m a little concerned about that though, cuz if he’s not playing well, Zish like, obviously pool is like Roy, we’ve, we’ve talked about that, but like it gets a little thin up there.
[00:53:40] Dan: We’re gonna have to figure something out, uh, for the saltsburg match away, uh, coming up on Tuesday. Uh, the last thing we want to touch on, and quite honestly, uh, might be the most important thing, is that the fact that we, again, uh, it was a rainbow laces match. It’s an inclusion campaign, right? It’s not a pro-gay pro [00:54:00] anything.
[00:54:00] It’s just inclusion. It’s be nice to people, right? But obviously people have, have, have gr blown it outta proportion. People have freaked out as if like, you know, at some point, it’s kind of funny, the people who are usually most upset about this are actually the minority. They just don’t realize it that their actions in, in words are not of the majority.
[00:54:22] Um, and the club had to address this because there’s a homophobic chant sung by the United fans, like factual, like
[00:54:28] Nick: all game, all game too. Like this was not just one period of time. It, it’s, it was
[00:54:33] Dan: disgusting. And as Chelsea fans, we’ve had to, uh, Uh, except and address our own flaws. Uh, but at this point it was United, right?
[00:54:44] And so Chelsea put out the, the typical PR statement. Uh, it’s unacceptable. We condemn the language. Uh, we are proud to be supporting Stonewalls Rainbow Laces campaign today Act access proof that we must do more to make football a game for everyone. Uh, this year we are educating, celebrating, communicating, and motivating all [00:55:00] ship and action for our players, employees, fans in society.
[00:55:02] Again, um, this thankfully didn’t seem to be a Chelsea problem. It was United problem. Uh, the biggest concern outta all this Dan, might be Eric 10 Hogg’s response when it was brought up to him at the behavior of their fans. Oh, I think it was the false equivocation that he tried to provide. And look, if there’s a player down and.
[00:55:23] and, you know, yeah, it’s, it sucks when other op, you know, opposition players are cheering or booing it sounds like. Also, I think he hit the flag at a certain point on his way off, which I think definitely increased the amount of during, uh, and booing that he received. But it’s the saying, Well, this is bad.
[00:55:41] And look, I’ll admit like, yeah, it’s not great to be booing an individual who’s down and injured and, you know, basically saw, I think their World Cup campaign gone. But that is a fan cultural element. The other is a, you know, through the CPS is a criminal [00:56:00] offense now in the uk, like it is a crime. You can be punished for it and there are legal repercussions for what you did on top of it just being aran as a, a thing to do.
[00:56:11] And so when he says, Hey, it doesn’t belong in the stands, which good to say, uh, but when I call the stands, I mention the stands because I mean the whole stadium. Because also when Ralph of Iran came out, it was the same, the other side, the Chelsea fans. So we all don’t do it. And look, I you’re not necessarily looking to football managers who have the moral high ground on many things, uh, Nicholas, But I mean, he, he 10 hog is not, you know, put him, you know, cover himself in glory here.
[00:56:40] And nor has he done so in, in his past either. It,
[00:56:43] Nick: it’s such a easy thing to go, Yeah, we shouldn’t do it like this, this shouldn’t have been done. I condemn it and move on. Like, all you have to say is, that was wrong. I do not wanna see this at Manchester United and move on. They’re a publicly traded company.
[00:56:59] Like, [00:57:00] this is a bad, bad look for a publicly traded company. This is a, a stock you can buy in the. Like it’s, it’s a horrific look regardless of that, but especially at a publicly traded company, it’s, it’s also
[00:57:14] Dan: a terrible hold in your portfolio. It is not beat the index
[00:57:17] Nick: Sure, sure hasn’t. No, it’s something like a rock.
[00:57:20] But, um, but at the same point, like we have worked, uh, not worked, I think, uh, had the opportunity to have, uh, Tracy from Chelsea Pride on multiple times throughout the last handful of years. Uh, Tracy has been on the, on the Chelsea Women’s Pod a bunch. Uh, they, Tracy runs Chelsea Pride with a number of other individuals who are, who are simply asking for a place at football matches where they aren’t being discriminated against.
[00:57:48] Not too much to fucking ask by the way. Um, you know, I think we have never gone to a football match as straight white guys and been discriminated. So, you know, we, we might [00:58:00] get yelled at by opposing fans, like, let’s say it leads for wearing the wrong color for, for their taste. But like we’ve never been discriminating against in that way.
[00:58:09] And so I think it’s just absurd that in 2022 for, for this match in particular, that they came armed with all sorts of discriminatory language and chants and stuff like that. And it just shows how long of a road we have to travel here. I don’t wanna beat this to death because I think the club already has, and Chelsea are frequently targets of this sort of chant language.
[00:58:33] I’m not going to to repeat the chant cause I think it empowers it. But I really hope that we can all just be adults and, and stop discriminating each other. If you heard the stories that Tracy has experienced in the stands, the threats, the violence that’s been, uh, kind of shouted her way, anyone in their right mind would think twice about.
[00:58:56] Saying anything remotely of this kind of ilk. So [00:59:00] I really hope that we can grow up
[00:59:02] Dan: and, and again, our plea is to attack this in a much better way than 10 Ho did. And we’ve tried to do that. And all we’re saying is you are a power and a place of position and power and leadership for you to point and compare what happened to Chelsea fans during a United player as he goes off are worlds apart.
[00:59:24] I mean, Esp, Rael, Veron has played in how I know Classicos. Do you think he’s ever been boot and cheered like that? This isn’t the same whatsoever. No. Right. He signed up in is in his compensated well, to go out there and, and have, you know, perform on this stage, fans slurring and spreading homophobia and just, and just negativity is not it, it would just separate the things 10 ho.
[00:59:50] Like deal with them one at a time. But again, if you wanna be the manager of Manchester United, you better grow a spine as well, because it’s gonna be a long ride for you. This is an I act where you walk [01:00:00] the air divi. This is, you’re gonna have to have some stones, my man.
[01:00:04] Nick: Gee, I wonder if Manchester United are a beloved club for other opposing fans in a primary league.
[01:00:09] I don’t think so, man. Like, sorry. Get
[01:00:13] Dan: over it. Yeah. All right. Uh, hard pivot to Dan of the match. Only when we draw or win, or if Dan wants to surprise us. I was actually surprised we had one, but I think it was good. You did. I dropped it in the livestream. It exploded. I had to shut it down. How did it go?
[01:00:31] This was not an easy one for you. I don’t know. I thought it was pretty easy. I thought it was an easy one to define who had the best performance. And look, uh, no surprise the people agreed with me. That’s just how this works. Um, Trevor Chaba with 65% of the vote, uh, Kpa coming in in second place with 29, uh, Tiago Silva with 4%.
[01:00:54] And then, uh, other had a, I give a write in option because I think beyond those three, I was struggling. I [01:01:00] think Kochi could also have been a shout to be included, but this is Chaba running away with it all day. He got the official Chelsea man of the match as well. So good to see that they are scraping our data.
[01:01:15] the fan sentiments are there. Uh, some of the other results from around the league. I’m interested to hear what Nick thought. Not even forced beating Liverpool for the early match on Saturday. Aton smacking Crystal Pale. Nothing pal. We’re doing all right. Manity whooping up on Brighton. Three one. Obviously we drew with United.
[01:01:34] And then you get to today where Lester City for wolves, nil. That was an, I think an 18 versus 20. Lester was desperate for that one and they got an early pen and just all went their way. Villa Post Stephen Gerard, uh, quotes from the caretaker manager that have been leaked, said, I’m ripping up the Stevie VG play.
[01:01:52] We are starting over. They won four. Nothing against Brett. We drew midweek . Oh boy. So not a [01:02:00] good look for Mr. Gerard. Uh, Arsenal dropping points, one won against Southampton. Uh, Fulham beating leads in a shootout. Three, two. And as it stands, Newcastle currently throttling Tottenham two. Nothing guys, way till you see the first goal.
[01:02:15] Hugo Uric came out to try to like trap thigh, groin the ball out runs into Callum Wilson flops down, and then Callum dinks it in and the bar let it stand. It was hilarious. I hope they pull it off west. Are you crazy? On Monday,
[01:02:33] Nick: Uh, yeah, I nodding and forest beating Liverpool is just peak. Like there, there was, there were many memes that were talking about Liverpool’s miraculous victory of Men’s City last week, only to come out and shit the bed to 19th place Nottingham Forest.
[01:02:54] Uh, that, that was a, a difficult loss for them. Uh, I would, I would also say, [01:03:00] uh, the South Hampton draw with Arsenal. May this please be a bit of arsenal reverting to the mean. May this please just be the first step in a seventh place finish for Arsenal this season based on their, uh, based on their previous form.
[01:03:17] Uh, what, And, and I also joked before the , before the pod, what kind of idiot team would draw lose to South Hampton? I certainly can’t remember one especially seeing no, no idea seeing in person. Don’t think it happens. It’s pretty terrible. So, uh, so yeah. And then I, I would also just want to give a huge, huge, just hilarious shout out to Everton, who I can’t, I, I watched that game.
[01:03:44] I couldn’t believe that they were three L up at the end. I, it just, none of it made any sense. It was like the like, run of play game. I thought that Palace did okay with possession. I thought they moved the ball pretty well. I thought they had some pretty good chances at the end of the day. I [01:04:00] think Everton just came through and scored.
[01:04:01] All of them actually had a really nice goal at the end too. And a lot of people were saying it’s, it’s great to see Lampard beating Vera. So look all good.
[01:04:11] Dan: Absolutely. Now the crazy part is, is if this result stands that Newcastle beat Tottenham, uh, we actually dropped to fifth place. Albe it. We have a game in hand against those teams.
[01:04:25] So Arsenal in top on 28, Man City in second on 26, uh, Tottenham as it stands. If they lose, they’re on 23 with new cast on fourth on 21. Now Chelsea fifth, we are also on 21 points, but New Castle even have a superior goal difference. Again, if they just go and put 3, 4, 5 in against Spurs, , that’s not gonna help us.
[01:04:45] Uh, we’re plus five, they’re plus 11 currently United in six, uh, on 20 points, Liverpool in eighth. Um, and the bottom three again before the West Ham. And, [01:05:00] uh, Bsmith match, which should not affect this at all, not even for, are still in last, or I’m sorry, they dropped to last. Even with their win, which is very cruel, they’re on Nine Points Wolves in 19th, also on Nine Points.
[01:05:12] And Leads United have now dropped into the relegation zone with nine points. Three of their points and three of their goals came against us. At Chelsea, they have a negative five goal difference. Uh, at leads wolves have a negative 13 and not even four have a negative 15. So it’s literally just goal difference down there for them.
[01:05:30] So it’s, it’s
[01:05:31] Nick: weird how it’s just completely falling apart for ’em, huh? It’s almost as if Nick, it’s almost as if no one saw this coming except for everybody.
[01:05:39] Dan: And it, it’s interesting that how quickly either on the top or the bottom one win, one loss, one draw can change things. Usually there’s starts to be a little bit more separation.
[01:05:50] So at the bottom you don’t have that much wiggle room right now, you know, if an 9:00 AM force wins their next game and, uh, Lester Lewis is. There’s a complete flip [01:06:00] in terms of total points, and so just chaos. Chaos is coming.
[01:06:04] Nick: Got a fun stat for you to end this one. Miguel Al Moran for, for, uh, New Castle. Uh, former mls, by the way, at Atlanta, United has scored as many Premier League goals this month as Jack Greenish has since joining Manchester City.
[01:06:19] Yeah, I
[01:06:19] Dan: saw that too. And he scored, he scored again tonight, so he actually might be ahead of him,
[01:06:25] Nick: so that’s, that’s not great if you’re Jack Grish. Yeah.
[01:06:29] Dan: Good. It is not our problem. Anyways, tell fans we’re out. Uh, we’ll be back Wednesday at the latest with a, uh, another match, uh, post Salzberg. Uh, hopefully we’ll be celebrating three points.
[01:06:40] Um, otherwise yeah, Matt
[01:06:41] Nick: Law special coming up, man. Come on.
[01:06:43] Dan: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. At, at a minimum, right? And then we’ll have Matt Law, uh, blue Royalty, uh, for their match. They’re playing bright and away today as well. We got a couple of
[01:06:53] Nick: special ones as well. Uh, we got Sam’s first edition. This is CFC [01:07:00] Central for those who are un indoctrinated.
[01:07:02] His first player analysis coming out. Very excited about this. Perhaps he will change hearts and minds on a certain player to be named later. And then another excellent edition, a famous CFC coming up. If you haven’t listened, the famous CFCs get involved. I’ve, I’ve never been. What are they do with their
[01:07:18] Dan: lives?
[01:07:18] You gotta call ’em out. You gotta call ’em out. I’ve
[01:07:20] Nick: never been so thrilled by talk of paint before. It is just fantastic. So really, really well done to Rick and Gary. Uh,
[01:07:28] Dan: yeah. Uh, what I gonna say is, is this the first time we’ve had a paint expert on the, the podcast?
[01:07:33] Nick: I’m, I’m very sure it is , right? Yeah.
[01:07:35] Dan: Beat your heart out. She Williams.
[01:07:37] Brandon: All right, we’re outta here. Have a great one, Chelsea fans. Uh, we’ll be back in just a couple days, so don’t worry. You’re not gonna have to wait too long. Uh, check out the blue royalty feed. As always, we’re out. Uh, until next time, Chelsea fans, you know what to do. Keep the blue flag flying high.