Chelsea are many things right now, but boring isn't one of them.

Chelsea's centre-backs played more diagonal balls than five-yard passes at the weekend, and that's the story of Xabi Alonso's Chelsea in one stat.

A 4-3 win over Brighton, three goals inside half an hour from Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto, Emiliano Martinez's first game in a Chelsea shirt, and a defence that still has plenty to fix.

Chris and Joe on the possession numbers, VAR's surprisingly light touch so far this season, and Wesley Fofana finally looking like himself again.

Then: deadline day chaos. Enzo Fernandez finally away to Man City, a stunning Tosin-Mudryk double deal to Tottenham, and Robert Sanchez off to Como.

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Meet the Hosts

Chris Sheen and Joe Kevin are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.

What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

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The 1905 Podcast

Chelsea FC Founded: 1905

European Champions: 19/05

🌐 www.1905podcast.com

📧 [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One game was all it took. Xabi Alonso watched Robert Sánchez against Fulham and Chelsea signed Emiliano Martínez three days later — £7.5m, two years, mentality monster, no block on Mike Penders.

The case isn't really about mistakes that lead to goals. It's what a loud, confident keeper does for a young back line and a crowd that goes quiet at the first sign of trouble.

Then Luton in the Carabao Cup, 2-0, Barco the best player on the pitch and Palmer continuing his resurgence.

The title talk has already started... Brighton on Sunday could tell us how realistic that is.

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Meet the Hosts

Chris Sheen and Joe Kevin are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.

What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

--

The 1905 Podcast

Chelsea FC Founded: 1905

European Champions: 19/05

🌐 www.1905podcast.com

📧 [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

31 seconds. That's all it took for the Xabi Alonso era to get started.

Chris and Joe are buzzing after Chelsea's breathless 3-2 win at Fulham, with Cole Palmer back to his brilliant best, Morgan Rogers marking his debut with a goal, and Joao Pedro underlining why he might be the second-best striker in the league.

There's still the small matter of Rob Sanchez between the sticks, and the lads dig into whether Mike Penders should be handed the gloves against Luton and beyond...

Plus: the latest on Enzo Fernandez's Man City exit, Nicolas Jackson's future, and why Reece James is finally becoming the captain Chelsea need.

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Meet the Hosts
Chris Sheen and Joe Kevin are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.
What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

--

The 1905 Podcast
Chelsea FC Founded: 1905
European Champions: 19/05
🌐 www.1905podcast.com
📧 [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Xabi Alonso wants Chelsea to put fear back into the Premier League — and Monday night at Craven Cottage is where that starts.

Chris and Joe preview the season opener, picking their lineup for Fulham away, backing the front three to click early, and weighing up whether Enzo Fernández or Romeo Lavia gets the nod alongside Moisés Caicedo.

Plus the latest on the the swirling ownership rumours around Todd Boehly and Clearlake. First game, new manager, and a west London derby that always carries an edge.

Meet the Hosts
Chris Sheen and Joe Kevin are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.
What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

The 1905 Podcast
Chelsea FC Founded: 1905
European Champions: 19/05
🌐 www.1905podcast.com
📧 [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's a real buzz around Chelsea heading into 2026/27 — Chris and Joe call it the most open Premier League in years.

Xabi Alonso's aura alone has lifted the mood among Chelsea fans, and the squad finally looks built for the Premier League's physicality.

They dig into the Enzo Fernández saga — Chelsea's £120m Man City deadline — not as a crisis but as proof of how far the club's standing has shifted. Levi Colwill and Romeo Lavia both get tipped for breakout years. Then: full predictions for the league, both cups, and Player of the Season.

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Meet the Hosts
Chris Sheen and Joe Kevin are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.
What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

The 1905 Podcast
Chelsea FC Founded: 1905
European Champions: 19/05
🌐 www.1905podcast.com
📧 [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Xabi Alonso has two unsolved problems going into the season — goalkeeper and central midfield — and Chris and Joe work through why neither gets fixed by the transfer business done so far.

Robert Sanchez versus Mike Penders gets a proper airing, Tosin Adarabioyo's continued involvement baffles them both, and outgoings (Trevoh Chalobah, Malo Gusto, Pedro Neto, Nicolas Jackson, and more) are weighed against incomings.

Then the dark horses question: with pundits tipping Chelsea for a top-four finish or better, where do they actually land?

--

*Meet the Hosts*

Chris Sheen and Joe Kevin are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.

What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

*The 1905 Podcast*

Chelsea FC Founded: 1905

European Champions: 19/05

🌐 www.1905podcast.com

📧 [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chelsea have signed two grandads — and somehow it feels exactly right.

Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson arrive with 71 years of experience between them, the grown-ups this dressing room has been crying out for.

Maxence Lacroix completes a defensive rebuild from Crystal Palace, Mykhailo Mudryk returns to training for the first time in 580 days, and Chelsea dodge a transfer ban with a £10m FA fine.

Pre-season brings a narrow defeat to Spurs, a horror show from captain Tosin, and real excitement about Estêvão, João Pedro and Cole Palmer up top.

Chris and Joe on why Xabi Alonso's old-head signings might be the smartest business of the summer.

Meet the Hosts
Chris Sheen and Joe Kevin are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.
What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

The 1905 Podcast
Chelsea FC Founded: 1905
European Champions: 19/05
🌐 www.1905podcast.com
📧 [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The tingles are back. Chelsea just dropped £117m on Morgan Rogers, prised from under Arsenal's nose, and suddenly a squad still recovering from 10th place feels like one building something real.

Chris and Joe run through the incomings — Rogers, a possible John Stones reunion, Lacroix closing in from Palace — and the outgoings, with Nicolas Jackson splitting opinion, Garnacho definitely not, and Enzo Fernández's future still in doubt.

They map out Xabi Alonso's likely shape too, 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1, and ask what a front four of Rogers, Palmer, Estêvão and Joao Pedro actually means for teams sitting deep.

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* Support the Show *

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* Meet the Hosts *

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Sheen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Joe Kevin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.

What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

_____________________________________

* The 1905 Podcast *

_____________________________________

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Five names, one question: who actually turns up fit and firing under Xabi Alonso?

Chris and Joe run through the Chelsea players with most to prove this pre-season — Cole Palmer's search for his old rhythm, Levi Colwill's fitness after a lost year, Romeo Lavia's now-or-never moment, Josh Acheampong's fit for that back-three role, and Pedro Neto's alarming underlying numbers from last season.

There's also a tribute to Ken Bates, the chairman who bought Chelsea for a pound and built the foundations for everything that followed.

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* Support the Show *

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* Meet the Hosts *

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Sheen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Joe Kevin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.

What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

_____________________________________

* The 1905 Podcast *

_____________________________________

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New manager, new swagger, and a transfer window already splitting the fanbase. Xabi Alonso's first day at Cobham brought a calm Chelsea have been missing for years — then the mood shifted fast.

Andrey Santos heads to Manchester United for £50m and the reaction is mixed at best.

Chris and Joe make peace with the sales, welcome Marco Palestra's £48m arrival from Atalanta as a proper old-school right wing-back, and explain why Real Madrid's Enzo Fernández chase finally looks dead.

Plus Cole Palmer's training clips, Reggie Walsh's growth spurt, and the case for Alex Scott.

_____________________________________

* Support the Show *

_____________________________________

* Meet the Hosts *

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris Sheen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Joe Kevin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ are lifelong Chelsea fans who've been going to Stamford Bridge for over 30 years.

What started as swapping post-match voicenotes has grown into a fan pod capturing the highs, the lows, and everything in between from Gate 13 of the Matthew Harding Stand.

_____________________________________

* The 1905 Podcast *

_____________________________________

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices