Straight Outta Cobham: The Athletic FC's Chelsea show

Matt Davies-Adams has got Luke Bosher and Liam Twomey for company for a look ahead to the visit of Manchester City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Who the heck is going to be in the starting XI?! What chance do Liam Rosenior's side have of frustrating Pep's men like they did at the Etihad back in January? And can they avoid losing 3 successive league games without scoring for the first time since 1998?!

Plus - a deep dive on who we think will be wearing the captain's armband this weekend - and whether we're going to have to reopen the never tedious starting goalkeeper debate...

Oh - and neither Luke or Liam cover themselves in glory when tasked with naming the last 10 footballers who've made at least one Premier League appearance for both Chelsea and Manchester City.

We'll be back on Monday (probably slightly later in the day because Producer Lucy may or may not be on holiday, sorry!) to capture all the fallout from events at the Bridge on Sunday.

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HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Luke Bosher and Liam Twomey

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can you come away from a 7-0 victory... still kind of unconvinced?!

Matt Davies-Adams has got his Easter bunnies Sam Parkin and Liam Twomey alongside him for a look back on the thrashing of Port Vale in the FA Cup.

Who were the big winners and losers from the game? Why didn't Josh Acheampong get more minutes? And what does it say about Liam Delap's future that he was left out - and then still didn't manage to score once he'd come on?

Plus - a chance to touch upon some of the ongoing drama behind the scenes at the club - with Enzo Fernandez's two-game benching, Cucurella's comments, the race to finish in the top five - and Mudryk training in Uxbridge!

We'll be back on Thursday with a comprehensive look ahead to the visit of Manchester City in the Premier League.

https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/7lntvq

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HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Liam Twomey and Sam Parkin

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anyone else want to speak out in the press?

Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Luke Bosher for company as we return from a short international break of our own to look ahead to the return to action of the men's team.

But we begin with disappointment in the UWCL for CFCW - 1-0 winners on the night against Arsenal but knocked out of the competition at the quarter-final stage 3-2 on aggregate... no thanks to some of the officiating on show.

Then - we turn our attention to the visit of bottom of League One Port Vale in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. They couldn't do a Bradford - could they?!

Plus - more news of a financial variety as the club announce the biggest pre-tax loss in Premier League history... winning something at least, eh?!

We'll be back on Monday to look back on the visit of the Valiants - and surely be celebrating safe passage to an FA Cup semi-final?!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Cerys Jones and Luke Bosher

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Losing isn't exclusive to the men's team at the moment...

Matt Davies-Adams has a new-look starting line-up - with The Athletic's Charlotte Harpur and Michael Cox joining forces with SOC's own Cerys Jones for a closer look at all things CFCW hot off the back of Chelsea's 3-1 defeat by Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

We look at the big talking points from the match in rainy north London - before pondering whether the Blues can turn things around in the return leg back at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday. How damaging would it be if Sonia Bompastor's side got knocked out at this stage and then also failed to qualify for the competition next season?

Plus, we shine the spotlight on what's going on behind the scenes at the club - with news of big departures on and off the pitch, recruitment uncertainty, questions over the best stadium to play at moving forward - and whether the new model the club is operating under as a whole will have a detrimental impact on CFCW.

We're taking a short international break of our own - but we'll be back next Thursday to look back on the 2nd leg contest - and a look ahead to the visit of Port Vale for the men's side in the FA Cup.

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Cerys Jones, Charlotte Harpur & Cerys Jones

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're going to need more than Good Luck, Babe!

Matt Davies-Adams has got two Chappell Roan enthusiasts - Cerys Jones and Simon Johnson - alongside him for a look back at another miserable trip to Merseyside.

There's the fallout from the abject 3-0 defeat to Everton. Have the players downed tools? Have they lost respect for Liam Rosenior's methods? And are we in danger of seeing the Blues tumble down the table?! With Champions League football next season looking fanciful in this current state...

It might be time to regroup for the men's side over the international break - but CFCW have got the small matter of a Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal on Tuesday night to look ahead to. We preview that game - and some big contractual news to come out of the club with a couple of legends looking set to depart.

Plus - an unfortunate trip down memory lane to that 2022-23 campaign - surely it can't get that bad?!!

We'll be back with a special show on Wednesday shining the spotlight on CFCW and hoping for a night to remember for Sonia Bompastor's side under the lights at the Emirates.

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Simon Johnson and Cerys Jones

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You 8-2 see it...

Matt Davies-Adams enlists Cerys Jones and Liam Twomey for a gory-post mortem of Chelsea's 8-2 aggregate defeat by PSG in the Champions League last 16.

Simon Johnson beams in from the Stamford Bridge press box with a pretty damning assessment of what he saw in front of him on a 'horrific night' for everyone associated with the club.

Was this result breaking point for Liam Rosenior in the eyes of Chelsea fans? And will this embarrassment on the biggest stage make the club hierarchy reconsider their approach to this 'project'?

The mood is very high going into the first ever trip to the Hill Dickinson then (!) - we look ahead to that match. Plus - racking our brains for players who found the net at Goodison...

We'll be back on Monday to look back on the trip to Everton - will the Blues be heading into the international break on a much-needed high?

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Luke Bosher and Simon Johnson

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Respectfully...

Matt Davies-Adams is joined by the SOC OG's Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey for a look back at events at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as Chelsea's top five hopes were dealt another blow.

But we begin with a double dose of bad breaking news to come out of the club on Monday - with Reece James injured and the club handed a suspended one-year ban from signing first-team players and given a £10million fine from the Premier League relating to breaches of financial rules during Roman Abramovich’s time as owner.

If that wasn't fun enough - we get stuchin into the farcical pre-match huddle situation - before finally focusing on the lowlights of the 1-0 defeat by Newcastle.

Things don't get much easier - with PSG in town on Tuesday with the unenviable task of trying to overcome a 5-2 deficit.

As has so often been the case in the past - thank goodness for CFCW! They picked up their first silverware of the season thanks to the 2-0 League Cup final victory over Manchester United.

We'll be back on Wednesday to look back on the miracle against PSG????! And a look ahead to Saturday evening's trip to Everton... and any other bad news that wants to darken our door in the meantime!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was all going (kinda) well for 73 minutes...

Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Sam Parkin for company for a look back on the 5-2 defeat by PSG on Wednesday night.

Liam Twomey was on the ground at the Parc des Princes - and he sends his thoughts on the calamitous end to an otherwise positive performance in Paris.

While PSG can put their feet up for the weekend, the Blues have to navigate the visit of Newcastle on Saturday evening. We've got a look ahead to that - where we hope Eddie Howe's side will be resting players with one eye on Barca seeing as they've still got something to play for in that tie?!

Plus - there's silverware on offer this weekend! CFCW take on Manchester United in the League Cup final at Ashton Gate. We preview the first final of the season for Sonia Bompastor's side.

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Cerys Jones and Sam Parkin

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was certainly a welcome...

Matt Davies-Adams has got The Athletic's Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey in tow to look back on the 4-2 (AET) victory over Wrexham in the 5th round of the FA Cup.

It certainly wasn't pretty - but we take a closer look at how Rosenior's side eventually got over the line, the silver linings from the laboured performance - and how Garnacho is taking his chance with options on the wing so limited.

Then, we turn our attention on another jetsetting trip for the Blues - from Wrexham to Paris! It's a Club World Cup final rematch as Chelsea travel to take on the reigning French and European champions PSG.

We'll be back on Thursday morning with all the fallout from events at the Parc des Princes - and a look ahead to the trip to Newcastle on Saturday evening.

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can't stay mad at them for long...

Matt Davies-Adams has got The Athletic's Liam Twomey and Luke Bosher with him for a look back on Wednesday night's 4-1 win at Aston Villa - to take Chelsea back to 5th in the Premier League table.

Simon Johnson sends us his post-match dispatch from the press box - before we discuss the bold decision to drop Robert Sánchez, the continuation of João Pedro's sensational form - and whether this game was proof that playing the big teams in this difficult upcoming run could actually prove to be in Chelsea's favour.

Next up - Wrexham in the FA Cup! The Athletic's Wrexham reporter Richard Sutcliffe drops by to give us the lowdown on Saturday's hosts - who are going for back-to-back-to-back-to-back promotions - and will certainly be up for the cup when they welcome a Premier League side to the Racecourse Ground - aspiring to be in the top flight with them next season.

We'll be back on Monday to discuss that fixture AND look ahead to the small matter of PSG in the Champions League round of 16 1st leg on Wednesday night!

HOST: Matt Davies-Adams

WITH: Luke Bosher, Liam Twomey & Simon Johnson

PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.