Latest news with #LiamTwomey
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why Chelsea have no margin for error against Manchester United
The race for the Champions League spots is intensifying, with just four points separating third-placed Newcastle United from seventh-placed Nottingham Forest as we head into the penultimate week of the Premier League season. Chelsea occupy the final Champions League spot in fifth, level on points with Aston Villa and just one ahead of Forest, who they face on the final day. Advertisement On Friday, Enzo Maresca's side host Manchester United, whose focus will be on their upcoming Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. On the latest episode of Straight Outta Cobham, Matt Davies-Adams was joined by Liam Twomey and Sam Parkin to discuss why Chelsea shouldn't be discouraged by their 2-0 loss against Newcastle and why Friday night's game is a must-win for Maresca's side. A partial transcript has been edited for this article. The full episode is available on the Straight Outta Cobham feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Matt Davies-Adams: It's important we don't get too carried away with the defeat last week. It was quite damaging, but Chelsea played OK in the second half with 10 men, and they had won five games on the bounce in all competitions before that. So it's not like it's completely fallen apart based on a defeat against a decent team on their own patch. Liam Twomey: Yeah, the sky hasn't completely fallen. The Nicolas Jackson red card against Newcastle is almost a bigger issue than the defeat — it was already conceivable that Chelsea would go to St James' Park and get a bit overwhelmed by the intensity. That can happen. But it's unfortunate that of Chelsea's top-five rivals, Newcastle are the ones who have the hardest game — away at Arsenal — and even though they're not quite over the line yet, they're very close to securing Champions League football next season. What we've seen in the last couple of weeks is that I don't think any of these teams are going to win out. I didn't feel that way when there were four or five games left, and that's not only because some of them were playing each other, but I still don't feel that way now. There will be more dropped points from all of them, and Manchester City finding a way to not beat Southampton last weekend was exhibit No 1. Advertisement Matt: Do you include Villa in that, because they've got Spurs at home and Man United away? Liam: On paper, you would think those should be the two easiest Premier League games you could wish for at this point. Spurs and United will have both eyes on the Europa League final, never mind one. But you never know. Villa have been very up and down this season, and they concede a lot of goals. And if you concede a lot of goals, on any given day you can shrink your margin of error to the point where you don't win. Chelsea experienced that a lot last season under Pochettino when they were just leaking goals at the defensive end. So it's still there for Chelsea, but they have to take care of business against United on Friday. I don't think they can afford to go to Nottingham Forest on the final day at a tangible disadvantage. But if they beat United at home, I suspect there will be a slip-up from someone else this weekend. And that would put Chelsea in a pretty good position heading into the final day. Matt: The old Opta supercomputer thinks Chelsea will finish fifth and gives them a 32.9 per cent chance of that. Villa have a 24.5 per cent chance and Forest have a 13.6 per cent chance. But Sam, there's no doubt about it — a win is the only acceptable result for Chelsea on Friday night. Sam Parkin: Yeah, I think so. Forest going to West Ham is a difficult game in the aftermath of the West Ham winning last time out, and maybe Graham Potter will do Chelsea a favour. But to alleviate the colossal pressure that would grow before a final day shootout, a win is a must. Then hopefully others will drop points this weekend before going into the final day. But there's no margin for error here. It wasn't a disaster losing at Newcastle, even though a point would have been brilliant. The red card completely changed the outcome, and the result was inevitable from that moment. But given that Chelsea are at home, and given how they performed against Liverpool, they're more than capable of getting the job done this weekend. And hopefully, when they get in the dressing room after the game, a few results will have gone their way. Matt: Let's hope Spurs can do Chelsea a favour then… You can listen to full episodes of Straight Outta Cobham free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
New York Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Chelsea mailbag: Enzo Maresca's future, sporting director scrutiny and the Bridge buffet
Chelsea have entered the business end of the season and there is still plenty to play for. Qualifying for next season's Champions League is a must. Winning the Conference League would be a bonus. But if they finish sixth or lower, then winning UEFA's third-rate competition will not make up for missing out on a return to the top table and the financial benefits Champions League football brings. Advertisement So, with five league games remaining and potentially three more in European competition before the squad travel to the United States for the Club World Cup (CWC) in June, there is plenty still on the line for Enzo Maresca's side. As the 2024-25 campaign hurtles towards a conclusion, The Athletic sent out a rallying cry for your questions — and you delivered. Simon Johnson, Liam Twomey and Dan Sheldon are here to provide some answers, from the latest on Maresca's future to how sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley should be assessed. And there is even time for the slightly less serious topic of the best meal our writers have had at Stamford Bridge. I'll answer the second question first. Three owners need to sign off on all major decisions at Chelsea: Clearlake co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, and Todd Boehly. That arrangement is set out in the ownership agreement. The reality on the ground, however, is that as the majority shareholder, Clearlake are effectively running Chelsea and have been since the tail end of 2022, shortly before Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart were hired and given the title of co-sporting directors. Eghbali, as anyone who follows the team can see, is the most visible Clearlake representative at Stamford Bridge and attends most games. As for the first question, I detailed in this piece the differences in how Winstanley and Stewart are being judged internally relative to their standing with many supporters. I don't have the space to repeat it all here but the bottom line is they were appointed to build out an organisation across all departments of the club, not just sign and sell footballers and select head coaches. Advertisement There are no indications that their positions are in any danger, and it is important to remember that the strategy they are following is the one that ownership wants implemented. Liam Twomey Reports linking Campos, football advisor at Paris Saint-German, with Chelsea were quickly dismissed by the club when they surfaced at the end of February, and I've heard nothing to indicate the situation has changed. We are consistently told that Winstanley and Stewart are going nowhere, and there is no plan to bring in Campos or anyone else above them in Chelsea's sporting structure. It is not unusual in the football industry for speculation to mount when a contract is running down. Given the success that PSG have enjoyed under Luis Enrique this season with a squad that Campos has helped to assemble, it would be a surprise if they did not make retaining him a priority. Liam Twomey Signing young players is the direction in which Chelsea's owners have chosen to go. It is a policy, allied with the reality more than £1billion ($1.3bn) has been spent on players since 2022, that has attracted ridicule, but you only have to go back a few months, when many thought Chelsea were involved in the title race, to see people saying the strategy is beginning to pay off. Fast forward to April, however, and the discourse has resorted back to how ludicrous Chelsea's recruitment policy has been. However, as discussed on The Athletic FC podcast this week, Chelsea explored the possibility of signing Virgil van Dijk while there was a chance he would leave Liverpool as a free agent this summer. The Dutch centre-half is 33, so the club's interest in him implies they are open to adding experience. Christopher Nkunku and Tosin Adarabioyo, both 27, are the most senior outfield players at Chelsea this season with Raheem Sterling, 30, on loan at Arsenal, so there is clearly space for a wise older head — like Thiago Silva in recent times — in the squad. Daniel Sheldon Chelsea showed their intent by giving Maresca a five-year contract in June. This was a much greater show of faith in the Italian than the deal presented to Mauricio Pochettino in 2023 — he was handed a two-year contract with the option for a further 12 months. Advertisement One of the reasons behind parting ways with Pochettino when they did was because Chelsea did not want any uncertainty over the head coach position going into the CWC this summer. The hierarchy regard the tournament not only as one they want to win, but also their main preparation for next season. Effectively, they went into 2024-25 regarding it as a two-season campaign because of the short turnaround before 2025-26 begins. Graham Potter was also given a five-year deal by these owners and lasted only seven months, so it shows things can change — but Maresca has done better than him. The team can still qualify for the Champions League and win the Conference League, which would have to be regarded as a successful campaign. Even if they do not end up in the Champions League, it is not the only barometer on how Maresca's first season will be judged. Simon Johnson It was only in February when Boehly refused to say whether the ownership structure will look the same this time next year, instead noting how he 'can't predict the future'. If everything was harmonious and Clearlake Capital and Boehly were on the same page, then you would not leave such a response open to interpretation. Since then, Boehly has told Bloomberg that whether the consortium stays together will depend on whether they can agree on a plan for the stadium. When the extent of the breakdown of their relationship became apparent in September, it was simply unsustainable for their fallout to be played out in public. Although it is unlikely to have thawed, despite Boehly and Clearlake co-founder Eghbali having been pictured together since then, both parties surely realised such a public spat is not what's needed and it is better to keep any disagreements in-house. Advertisement Daniel Sheldon Without making any promises, there is a good chance. Chelsea have been planning to get their transfer business done as quickly as possible, certainly in terms of incomings. They want the vast majority of the 2025-26 squad together at the CWC because, as mentioned above, they regard the competition as their main pre-season. The club feel like they have put in a lot of good groundwork for several months, including during conversations in the January transfer window. Now, even if nothing happens in that mini-window (which cannot be ruled out given the complexities of the market), Chelsea still intend to have most things (outgoings as well) finalised by the end of June. As far as acquisitions are concerned, the main priorities are a centre-forward and right-footed winger. Simon Johnson Since August, Chelsea have maintained they will secure a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal before the season ends — but time is not on their side. They do, however, have a longer season due to their involvement in the CWC, which is taking place between June and July in the U.S. The Athletic estimated Chelsea will receive $29million for participating in the CWC, with the potential to earn a further $125m should they win the tournament. That would more than compensate for finishing a season without a front-of-shirt sponsor. If a multi-year sponsorship deal isn't secured before the CWC begins, then there is scope for Chelsea to obtain a month-long partnership for the tournament. Given the United States is hosting the tournament, you would expect that to be an attractive proposition for some brands. All games will also be broadcast free-to-air in an attempt to pull in as many global viewers as possible. Advertisement Chelsea know they can attract a more lucrative deal by qualifying for the Champions League, so should they achieve that goal, then it would not be a big surprise to see movement on finding a sponsor. Daniel Sheldon As we reported when detailing the owners' rift in September, the lack of progress in Chelsea's stadium project has been a point of tension between Clearlake Capital and Boehly, who referenced as much in his interview with Bloomberg last month. Building a new state-of-the-art arena, whether on the Stamford Bridge site or at Earls Court, is vitally important to their shared aim of growing the revenues and the value of the club they paid £2.3billion to acquire in 2022. It will be very difficult, and perhaps even impossible, for this ownership to realise a significant return on their investment whenever they decide to sell without all the benefits a new stadium would bring. But that does not mean a solution will materialise quickly. Chelsea are caught between two unenviable options: one that is hugely challenging in terms of feasibility (redeveloping Stamford Bridge) and another that they do not control (the Earls Court site, owned by property developer Delancey, Transport for London and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham). Another consideration is Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), whose members must vote to approve any stadium plan. It is a real dilemma, but one I still expect these owners to address. Liam Twomey The hope is that he could be back for the busy May schedule and the CWC, but Chelsea are being very cautious with him. Guiu has recovered from the leg abductor injury sustained against West Ham United. Now it is about building strength in his leg muscles and working his way back to training with the team. Chelsea are taking it on a week-by-week basis. The 19-year-old has a long career ahead and they do not want to risk a recurrence. Simon Johnson Talent has never been the issue for Chukwuemeka at Chelsea. A freak injury cruelly denied him what looked like it could be a breakout Premier League season under Pochettino and, by the time he was fully fit again, the club had picked a different direction with Maresca. He needed game time and he has begun to get it at Borussia Dortmund, though he is still not starting regularly in the Bundesliga. Advertisement I expect he will remain a player Chelsea would sell for the right price. His lucrative contract — signed in the summer of 2022 before the owners implemented their model of lower base salaries and high incentives — is likely a factor in the equation. His release clause is set at around €50million (£42.9m; $54.7m). It will be interesting to see what offers present themselves for him this summer. Liam Twomey Unfortunately, he has been injured for most of the season. He sustained a hamstring injury in late August and it took longer than hoped to recover. The plan had been to send him away on loan in January to secure first-team football, but he was not fit enough to do so. He made his comeback for the under-21s in March against Ipswich Town but suffered another hamstring injury in his first start of the year at Norwich City just a week later. He has undergone surgery since then and will obviously not feature again until next season. Simon Johnson I will ALWAYS defend the honour of SOC! You clearly haven't been listening to Simon's post-match voice notes… jokes aside, I'm not really sure where you're coming from here. We reflect supporter unrest in almost every episode and I don't believe we've ever shied away from being critical where we feel it is fair and accurate — whether that be criticising players, the head coach or the owners. But equally, SOC has never been and is not a Chelsea fan podcast. We are journalists who cover the club, and while the individual allegiances of our contributors are not hidden, the primary value we can add comes from our professional knowledge and analysis, not our own emotional reactions to what is going on. Advertisement There are excellent Chelsea fan podcasts that already fill that space. Looking at things through a more detached (but hopefully still entertaining) media lens is what I feel marks SOC out as different and complementary to everything else out there. Liam Twomey Every club will have a regret about something — it is the nature of the sport. When it comes to Tuchel, though, the answer is 'no' from both sides. The relationship between Tuchel and the new owners broke down pretty quickly in the summer of 2022. Tuchel, now England's head coach, enjoyed the previous setup where he was primarily left alone to concentrate on coaching the team. The new regime wanted a lot more interaction and so neither got what they wanted from the other. You also have to factor in the unique circumstances that the takeover was completed in late May and Chelsea had to play catch-up in the transfer window having just endured a period of strict sanctions being in place. That inevitably led to a more fraught close season than usual. Simon Johnson A delicious question. The buffet in the Stamford Bridge press room has always been regarded by the media pack as one of the best in the Premier League, but one particular pre-match meal comes to mind: it was September 17, 2014, and Chelsea were hosting Schalke in the Champions League group stage. The culturally appropriate hot-meal option was bratwurst, and it was so good that it is still in my mind more than a decade on. I don't remember what I had for dessert, but the Stamford Bridge desserts are always excellent — dangerously so. You've made me hungry now. Time for lunch. Liam Twomey (Top photos: Getty Images)
New York Times
03-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur: Head coaches, players, aims, fears and predictions discussed
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur face off tonight for the second time this Premier League season. It is one of the standout games from this round of top-flight fixtures, given it is another edition of one of the most vociferous rivalries in the English game. And both sides have plenty to play for at Stamford Bridge, whether to achieve their goals this season or just for the sake of pride. Here, The Athletic's Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey and Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Jay Harris discuss the upcoming match. Liam Twomey: Chelsea's impressive 4-3 comeback win over Tottenham on December 8 moved them to within four points of Premier League leaders Liverpool, sparking a lively debate about their burgeoning title credentials. Enzo Maresca was notably keen to stress his young team was not ready to battle for top spot, and events in the four months since have proven him grimly correct. Advertisement If the Premier League had begun on December 9, Chelsea would be 14th. They have won just five of 14 league matches since beating Spurs, garnering 18 points — only four more than Ange Postecoglou's team. They also have a slightly negative goal difference over that span (18 scored, 19 conceded), which underlines the attacking problems that have undermined them. Injuries to Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke have removed two of the most dangerous receivers of incisive passes from talisman Cole Palmer. Palmer has also seen his own goal production dry up completely since scoring in back-to-back Premier League games against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth in January. Chelsea are still fourth (at the time of this conversation), just about on track for Champions League qualification, with key players including Jackson and Madueke nearing returns. But they urgently need a lift to re-establish some positive momentum for a challenging run-in, and beating Spurs again would do just that. Jay Harris: Tottenham were sent into a downward spiral after losing at home to Chelsea for the second season in a row. Postecoglou's first-choice centre-back partnership Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven returned from injury in that chaotic game on December 8 but suffered setbacks and have only started together once since then. Spurs won their next game against Southampton but then went on a seven-game winless run which included damaging defeats by Everton and Leicester City. They reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup but were thrashed by Liverpool at Anfield in the second leg. Postecoglou has had to juggle a threadbare squad and has been forced to name lots of academy players on the bench. Just when it seemed like the situation was improving with the return of Wilson Odobert, Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie, Kevin Danso and Dejan Kulusevski picked up injuries. Tottenham are low on confidence and there is serious doubt over Postecoglou's long-term future. The only spark of optimism is the possibility of winning the Europa League. Twomey: For all of the problems Chelsea are dealing with, no one at Stamford Bridge or Cobham would swap places with Tottenham. Maresca's team is depleted and clearly flawed, but remains well positioned to earn a return to the Champions League in 2025-26 — by some distance the most important objective for this season. Advertisement The return in the domestic cups has been disappointing given Chelsea's history, and Maresca provoked the ire of many fans after a limp FA Cup exit away at Brighton & Hove Albion last month by citing as a 'positive' the fact that his players could focus fully on the Premier League and Conference League. But there is still a very good chance that the Italian will end his first season as head coach with a trophy; Chelsea are overwhelming favourites to win the UEFA Conference League and as long as that success goes hand-in-hand with Champions League qualification, 2024-25 will go down as an unequivocal step forward. Harris: Despite losing three of their last five league games, Chelsea are fourth in the table (at the time of this conversation) and have a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League. Spurs have lost over half of their top-flight matches this season and are only above Everton on goal difference but none of the supporters will care if they win the Europa League. However, if Postecoglou fails to deliver success in that competition then this will go down as potentially the worst season in Spurs' modern history. Tottenham's chairman Daniel Levy summed it up best, in a statement accompanying their annual financial results, by describing it as a 'highly challenging season'. Twomey: Maresca's approval rating among supporters has plummeted alongside Chelsea's form since early December. Part of it is results and part of it is performances; a view has taken hold within a large swathe of the fanbase, reinforced by some of the Italian's public comments, that the team's early form in 2024-25 was powered by the chaotic, transitional muscle memory forged during Mauricio Pochettino's brief tenure and that the more the slower, possession-focused principles of Marescaball have taken hold, the more predictable and less effective Chelsea have become. Advertisement That theory does not make much allowance for how the loss of several key players to injury (not just Jackson and Madueke but also Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana) have upended the balance that Maresca was attempting to establish — but the fact that so few are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt is indicative of broader disillusionment with the club's direction. The act of criticising Maresca has become a more convenient shorthand for expressing opposition to the overall strategy deployed by majority owners Clearlake Capital. Harris: It feels like the tide is beginning to turn with Postecoglou. The majority of the fanbase backed the Australian throughout a miserable winter when Spurs were ravaged by injuries but performances have not improved since key players have returned and difficult questions are being asked. Spurs were not thrilling at the beginning of the campaign when they had a healthy squad and it is not unreasonable to ask if the injury crisis became a convenient excuse for a team which was already declining. Twomey: Many supporters recognise that Chelsea's unprecedented transfer spending under Clearlake and Todd Boehly has assembled a very talented core of young players, led by the consistently excellent Moises Caicedo and the peerless Palmer, adored at Stamford Bridge. Marc Cucurella is also emerging as something of a cult hero, for his personality and his play. But many others have so far failed to convince a majority of fans, and on Chelsea's bad days — which have outnumbered the good ones in the last four months — the shortcomings of this team and the holes in this squad are glaring, particularly in both boxes. Robert Sanchez lost the trust of Stamford Bridge to be the team's starting goalkeeper long ago and has been booed and jeered at times. Jackson is respected for his work ethic and all-round contribution but his erratic finishing is a source of deep frustration, made even more fraught by the lack of credible No 9 alternatives available to Maresca. Advertisement Harris: There is a core group of players that Spurs should build around for the next five years which includes Solanke, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Djed Spence, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario and a few others. This summer feels like the right time to sell underperforming or injury-prone players who have been given multiple chances including Yves Bissouma and Richarlison. Romero is the vice-captain but he has two years left on his contract and has been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid. Would it be worth cashing in on the World Cup winner whose availability record has been patchy for Spurs anyways? Tottenham triggered a one-year contract extension in Son Heung-min's contract but his long-term future needs to be resolved too. Twomey: Tottenham's stadium! Chelsea Pitch Owners would never sign off on relocating to north London but within Chelsea there is plenty of grudging admiration for Daniel Levy's success in delivering what some regard as the finest, most modern club arena in Europe. Stamford Bridge is an iconic home boasting 120 years of history, but the question of what to do about its limited capacity is the defining one hanging over Chelsea's future. Whether it be on the same site or at Earls Court, they need their own version of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium sooner rather than later. Harris: Tottenham would love to have Chelsea's strength in depth and the ability to completely change their starting XI for different competitions. You could make a strong argument that Spurs' failure to replace fringe players who left last summer, including Oliver Skipp, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Emerson Royal, contributed to their injury crisis over winter. Key players were barely afforded any rest until their bodies broke down. If I had to pick a particular player, then I would go for Caicedo. He would offer the defence the protection it desperately craves and could nurture Gray in the No 6 role. Twomey: Tottenham's league position means they will come to Stamford Bridge with very little to lose, and some of their best wins under Postecoglou have come away from home. Harris: Jackson, Madueke and Palmer being reunited sounds like a recipe for disaster for Spurs. Twomey: Chelsea showed in the December meeting that they are not cowed by Spurs in the manner they sometimes give the impression of being by other 'Big Six' opponents. Maresca also has plenty of attackers (as long as they are fit) who can exploit Postecoglou's high line. Harris: Tottenham have demonstrated on multiple occasions this season that they can turn up and win important games. They have beaten Manchester City twice, Manchester United three times and earned an impressive 1-0 Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool in January. When everything falls into the right place, Spurs can still cause opponents a lot of problems. Twomey: Chelsea have one of the tougher Premier League run-ins on paper, but finishing well enough to secure Champions League qualification is well within the capabilities of this group. It would also be a huge shock and disappointment if they do not win the Conference League. Harris: Tottenham have lost half of their games in the top flight this season and Postecoglou needs to change that alarming statistic. The main goal though is to lift the Europa League trophy in Bilbao on May 21. Anything less and the chances of Postecoglou sticking around for next season will be slim. Twomey: We are nowhere near the stakes of the infamous Battle of the Bridge, and Tottenham's lowly league position means only one of these teams can meaningfully affect their Premier League destiny. But this is a big game for Chelsea and perhaps even more so for Maresca, who needs to boost his popularity with supporters. Few things go further towards achieving that end than beating Spurs. Advertisement Harris: It is not on the same scale as December's match when both teams were directly competing with each other towards the top of the table. Tottenham need to win on Thursday to give themselves a confidence boost ahead of the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt next week. Twomey: Expect a feisty London derby with shades of real animosity, particularly after the way Chelsea humiliated Spurs in December. As long as Maresca's team have Jackson back and bring the appropriate level of intensity, they should have enough quality to squeeze out a win. Harris: It will be another erratic encounter where Chelsea look to exploit the space behind Tottenham's back four through their rapid wingers Madueke and Pedro Neto. If Tottenham are at full strength with Kulusevski and Van de Ven both available, then I can see them coming away with a positive result.
New York Times
27-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
120 years of Chelsea: The BlueCo takeover and the club's future
On the latest episode of Straight Outta Cobham — the last of our three-part series celebrating Chelsea's 120th anniversary — Matt Davies-Adams, Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey looked at the club in the present day since the BlueCo takeover in 2022. They analysed the current state of the Chelsea project, what success would look like over the next couple of years and the club's downturn in form since the arrival of the new owners at Stamford Bridge. Advertisement You can listen to the previous two episodes in the series here. A partial transcript has been edited for this article. The full episode is available on the Straight Outta Cobham feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Matt Davies-Adams: May 30 will mark three years since Todd Boehly & co. completed their takeover of Chelsea Football Club. Liam, where do you think we are in terms of the project? Do the owners believe it's on course? Liam Twomey: We still don't definitively know what this era is going to be. I know that will frustrate many fans who already think, 'It's on fire, it's all on fire'. There has been a lot of pain in the first two years, and everything the ownership have done in that time has been so aggressively future-focused that what is in front of us still hasn't assumed its final form yet. That's what many fans are still trying to come to terms with. Even as journalists, and Simon can speak on this as well, it's quite hard to know exactly what we're writing about because the way Chelsea are trying to operate is unlike any other club has ever tried to operate. Investing this much in players this young hasn't been done on this scale before, all while still trying to satisfy the demands of a win-now club by its modern history, and a win-now fan base. We know the early results have been underwhelming. And the ownership — and when I say the ownership, we have to parse that as well because it's Clearlake Capital running the club right now, and Todd Boehly is very much on the side, and that situation is not resolved — but Clearlake believe the plan is working in terms of the big picture. They believe things are moving in the right direction. I'm sure they would point to the league position as one of the metrics, and we'll see where Chelsea finish this year. But right now they're fourth, which would be an improvement on last year. Their players are getting older, closer to their primes, and there are more young players coming down the pipeline. So that's where it is. But I do find it very difficult to talk about this era of Chelsea because it's so changeable right now based on the way they're operating, so I don't feel comfortable passing judgment. It's obviously not a success right now but I don't feel comfortable calling it a complete failure either. Advertisement Matt: If it's not a success right now, what would make it a success over the next couple of years? Is it purely just qualifying for the Champions League a couple of seasons in a row, or are the ambitions a little loftier than that? Liam: The ambitions of the people running Chelsea are huge. They've marketed this to the players who have agreed to join as the most ambitious football project in the world. They want to be a world-class team that competes for the Premier League and the Champions League every year, and one that is in that inner circle of contenders. The way they're looking to try and do it sustainably is to have this conveyor belt of young talent, continually investing more than everyone else and identifying and recruiting the best young players in the world, then helping them fulfil their potential and retaining them at Chelsea. The difficulty is that we've seen clubs that win, and we've seen clubs that develop. But we haven't seen a club that can do both at an elite level, at scale. No one has tried to do this before, but that's what Chelsea are trying to do. They're trying to be an extremely expensive Brighton that wins the Champions League, essentially (laughs). It's a massive investment development project, but they're also trying to thread the needle of being a team that can be successful. At least on par with what we saw in the Roman Abramovich era, but without the boom and bust feel of the Abramovich era. We're obviously nowhere near there right now, but that's where they're trying to get to. Matt: Simon, you were covering the club in the Abramovich era, during the upheaval of the takeover, and now in this new era. Did you expect there to be such a downturn in form because of the upheaval the club had gone through? We forget the Champions League in 2021 maybe papered over some cracks. I remember Chelsea being called a deluxe cup team for a couple of years before the takeover happened. But even so, we've got to be surprised at just how dramatically things have fallen off in the last couple of years, haven't we? Advertisement Simon Johnson: I've said before there was a downturn in standards, just generally speaking, under the old regime anyway. I can imagine the outcry of people listening, and going, 'How can you say that? We won the Champions League'. It's seen as an understandable, magnificent achievement and rightly so. But Chelsea had gone their longest run without winning the title under Abramovich before he left, so there were signs of a downturn. But there are downturns, and there's this downturn. There's going from a shoo-in to qualify for the Champions League most years, let alone compete for silverware, to the first season being an absolute calamity. Arguably the worst season in Chelsea's history in terms of expectations, talent and money spent compared to the actual results delivered on the pitch. It was that bad. It was an absolute shambles of a football club. You had players who didn't have seats in the changing room and at team meetings — absolute bonkers. The one thing you would say about the new ownership and this era is that Chelsea are still the reigning champions of being the most bonkers football club to report on (laughs). They're the undisputed champions for the umpteenth year in a row in that regard. There's never a dull moment covering them. But when you think of the amount of money spent, we are in season three, and yes, they can point to being fourth as we speak, but it's a very unconvincing fourth. In one of the worst Premier League seasons in terms of the top four race that I can remember, it must be said. So it has been a disappointment, and I don't think anyone can say otherwise. There's no way the new owners bought this club thinking, 'We'll be in season three and still not sure if we're going to be a Champions League club in season four.' There's also disappointment because there's been no silverware. Last season, they did come awfully close. Mauricio Pochettino got Chelsea to a League Cup final and outplayed Liverpool until extra time, but they didn't take their chances, unlike Newcastle recently. They also outplayed Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final, but again didn't take their chances. This season, they can still get that dream trophy and say, 'Chelsea have won it all,' with the Conference League. But Chelsea want to be at the top table, not dining at the kids' table and feeding off the scraps. I will say no one can accuse the owners of lacking ambition, that is the one thing I will defend them on. We've seen an extraordinary amount of money spent, but the question obviously has to be, 'Have they spent it wisely?' And the answer is a resounding 'no'. You can listen to full episodes of Straight Outta Cobham free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. (Top Photo: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
