The Flag Stays Down

Matt was a little late today, but Andy and Parker held down the ship.  After a draw and a loss this week, the boys discussed who or what is to blame for this poor run of form.  They take a look at the top four chase.  Finally, Andy Matt and Parker discuss the news that broke last week of Todd Boehly's consortium being announced as preferred bidder.

Andy admits he has changed his mind on Marcos Alonso, once the most hated man on the pod.  Matt and Andy discuss transfers, young USMNT players, and their hate of MLS.

Parker is back, meaning we are at full strength this week!  The boys discuss a pretty poor week at home where we gave up four goals to Arsenal and had to wait until the 90th minute to beat West Ham.  We break it down: who, or what, is to blame?  We also discuss the sad news this week that Antonio Rudiger is confirmed to be leaving.  Is Reece James an option at CB?  Finally, we discuss the overall home record this season.

Parker is out sick, so it's just Andy and Matt holding down the fort this week.  The two, who are normally at odds, had some great conversation about a pretty positive week in Chelsea Football Club.  The boys chatted about how resilient this side is, even though it may be a different look squad in 2022-23.  Ruben Loftus-Cheek earned some praise this week with his stellar play at RWB.  Timo Werner has now officially and forever passed Romelu Lukaku on the Flag Stays Down totem pole.  Mason Mount gets even more praise.  Finally we give our Chelsea-Arsenal predictions.

Andy has a theory about Romelu Lukaku and how this season has unfolded.  Matt things transfer fees are too high and we need to avoid "club record signings".  We break down how this season is going to be remembered, three-quarters the way through this campaign.  Matt wants to know who should be our 5-year core.

In this week's episode the boys discuss some low lows and some high highs.  Andreas Christensen was trash this week.  N'Golo Kante is playing out of position.  Timo Werner was good, but also bad.  Mason Mount needs some respect put on his name.  It was an odd week, and we're all about discussing here is on the Flag Stays Down.

Bets are on the table.  Loser owes a bottle of Slipknot No 9 Bourbon to the other two.  We take a look at the draw and determine who will take first and second in each group.

We wait two weeks between Chelsea matches and we get to see them get thumped 4-1 by Brentford.  The boys just want to know, how?  There are a lot of factors in this one, between resting after international matches, a wrong lineup, a "black hole" on the pitch.  Andy, Matt, and Parker break it down and try to figure out the root cause of this thrashing.  As always, the boys also discuss the ownership situation with the Ricketts family releasing a plan this week.  They also finally get to celebrate Antonio Rudiger (#StrikerRudi) hitting a long range effort.

On international break, it seems like we're getting a lot of rumblings of players wanting out of the club.  The boys tackle statements from Timo Werner and Jorginho's agent suggesting they may think the grass is greener on the other side.  The boys then discuss Raine Group's shortlist of potential Chelsea buyers.  Surprisingly, they're all in agreement over one party.  Lastly, we have a listener question that turned into a heated debate!

Andy is out of town, but that didn't stop the boys from podding this week.  For seemingly the 100th consecutive episode, the boys discuss Chelsea's sale as the bids for purchase were due on Friday.  It leads to a change of pace discussion of how well the players and staff have done in handling this whole situation.  There are not enough positive words available to talk about Thomas Tuchel.  Getting into the football, Andy ponders if we are seeing a new "Evil Dave".  Frank LeBeouf says Romelu Lukaku looks happy.  The boys dissect this comment and how ridiculous it is.  Needless to say, if we owned the club, he would be sold.  Finally, the boys discuss Mason Mount and what made him come out of his shell this week.