00:00:00
00:00:01
EP 29: Wildcard Wednesday - The Story So far, Barrow Battering
8 Plays16 days ago
Join Jake from the Daily Chelsea team to discuss the story so far in the premier league season, plus the 5-0 win against Barrow which got Chelsea through to the ext round of the League Cup.
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:10
officialgspn
Hello everybody and welcome to Daily Chelsea. It is, of course, Wildcard Wednesday. um It is just me, Jake, here today. I am your host. And what better day to host alone than Wildcard Wednesday? I have complete control.
00:00:25
officialgspn
Over the wildcard Wednesday agenda and so I thought I would I thought we would just we would discuss today How the Premier League season has been going so far and what what sort of push me through this is? There was an overlap episode that came out today for anyone who watches that on the sky sports football YouTube channel um and Carragher and a couple of the other pundits on there were quite interested um in
00:00:55
officialgspn
in ah how Premier League teams have performed so far and and and there have been quite a few surprises so it's it's definitely put been quite an interesting start to the Premier League season um especially if you're a Chelsea fan because what's been interesting for us is I think obviously we have walked into the last couple of seasons um either too expectant and been really disappointed or we've, you know, we've been the other side of that and we've just sort of not expected it to go well. So if you're on either side of that, you know, fence this season, then you wouldn't be expecting us to where we, we sit now. And obviously this is the daily Chelsea podcast. So we'll discuss Chelsea first. I think we've, we've done really well, but I mean, as well as discuss Chelsea, we'll discuss the sort of top seven top eight picture at the moment, because it's very similar as we're, We're on five games. It's very similar in terms of the amount of points. There's not too much breaking people apart. As you would expect, we've only five games being done, but we've seen quite a lot from a lot of different teams and some funny results and some different play styles and stuff like that. So Chelsea currently sit fifth on 10 points. We're level on points with Newcastle.
00:02:02
officialgspn
although we do have five higher goal difference, and that's because Chelsea are the second highest scoring team in the league. I think we can be pretty proud of, I think. um And obviously, when it comes to the top four in general,
00:02:20
officialgspn
I think we're probably looking at, well you know, the sort of top five or six teams, I think we're probably looking at the top five or six teams for this season i think all the teams that probably will be up there have have started well enough um the only time the only team i'd like to talk about to be honest i think is arsenal now arsenal have had some tricky fixtures to start off with obviously they only just finished playing land city at the weekend um they obviously beat spares in the north london derby um they're doing they've done all right in terms of their results but i think in terms of their play style and how they're playing in terms of
00:02:54
officialgspn
this season versus last season, um this may just be a um ah symptom of Arteta trying to go for a very rock solid defense in the games he's had to play against, which is understandable. um you know you the games The teams they've been playing against, they need to have a rock solid defense to do so. um And but to me, I think that they've sacrificed quite a lot in terms of attacking play and their overall fluidity when they're trying to put up that very stern defense.
00:03:24
officialgspn
um and it has worked for them so far but has it worked for them so far in terms of their own ambitions for this season um they yeah it would have been a sort of a different story if they had one on sunday i think everyone would be looking at little a little bit differently and of course um they would be top of the league but it's it's hard to
00:03:45
officialgspn
it's it's It's hard to not analyze Arsenal as it's how they want to be analyzed. They want to be analyzed as a top team. That's what they're trying to do. um So it's it's interesting that Arsenal are... I don't think they've really been living up to their expectations so far. um It's not a massive worry for Arsenal fans. I wouldn't say, obviously, we see this from City quite a lot earlier in the season and then they kick into another gear. um But this is a different season.
00:04:11
officialgspn
yeah ah Overall, you know, there's more fixtures as well this season. Arsenal have got some tougher Champions League games this season. um It's a different format entirely. So I think it'll be interesting to see where Arsenal end up. I think everyone who was thinking about just the Man City Arsenal title race, um I think everyone is now thinking differently. I think we're probably looking at either possibly a freeway between Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, or or I think Manchester City could end up walking away with it. It depends on the next few games, to be honest, but My current prediction, and I've said this on daily Chelsea podcast episodes before, I think Sissy will probably walk this league. I could see them a few points clear by Christmas and probably wrapping up the title by March or April again. um And it's interesting because the the most likely team that we're we're looking at to probably push Sissy at the moment is Liverpool, who have been really, really good so far.
00:05:03
officialgspn
um Not necessarily completely copying how Klopp has played, but they've been incredibly efficient um in terms of their goals. I think in terms of their XG and how many goals they're scoring, um it's incredibly similar. And of course, their goal difference speaks for itself as well. They have the highest in the league. They've done very well and have been keeping clean sheets. So I think it could be a bit more of a push for Liverpool than Arsenal in terms of the title race.
00:05:26
officialgspn
um And then when it comes down to European places, um we as Chelsea fans obviously want to see us pushing there, although I think with the way the season's currently going, I think we we could be looking to push this top four, possibly. um It's what I expect from Chelsea, to be honest. I think we've we've signed enough players and I think we should be doing it well enough to finish in the top four, but doesn't always go that way and you know we need to we can't we can't be too expectant I think we would do all right if we maybe finish in a Europa League place but we also want to begin Europa League by winning the conference league as well um but when it comes to just the Premier League table I think we we we probably are hovering around the sort of similar places that we are in now
00:06:06
officialgspn
um Newcastle and Brighton obviously have both started pretty well as well. I think they're similarly going to be, you know, pushing for those European places. Forest, I think there's a bit more to be seen, but considering they had a big injury at the start of the season, I think they've actually started quite well. And obviously they've had some tough opposition. um They obviously, you know, be Liverpool away. That was a massive result from them.
00:06:27
officialgspn
And of course, we're talking about these sort of teams being here at the moment, like not in a Forest are eight, five to five games. But if you discuss the teams that are sort of sitting just below them, Tottenham, Man United and I think another team we're going to see a bit more from is West Ham. They're obviously going to be sort of pushing into those European places as well and I don't think Forest have got the strength to match any of those players. We'll take a quick break and then we'll discuss the Premier League table a little bit more. See you in a second.
00:06:57
officialgspn
This podcast is part of the Global Sports Podcast Network. the only network bringing you exclusive daily news and views on your Premier League team, the Premier League, women's football and fantasy football. A unique listening experience that puts fans first, bringing you the very but latest breaking news from your team. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and make us your first listen every day. Global Sports Podcast Network, every club, every day.
00:07:30
officialgspn
And we are back on the Daily Chelsea podcast. It is Wild Card Wednesday and it is Jake, your host today. And for Wild Card Wednesday, we're doing a slightly split episode. We're mostly discussing the story so far in the Premier League. We're five games in, that's five games out of 38. We're getting close um to, you know, getting a court way through the season. We'll be discussing how teams have performed so far. um It was quite interesting watching an episode of The Overlap, if you watch that.
00:07:57
officialgspn
earlier on today to see the pundits reactions and see how they've they fought certain teams will be doing certain things and doing well and doing not well and you know, they've obviously broken those expectations. However, in terms of expectations, what we just discussed before the break was the sort of top six, top seven. um And I don't think there's any one sort of out of the ordinary in there. um You could probably say Chelsea to be honest, but probably not when it comes to the amount of money that we spent um And to be honest, we should really be pushing up there and we've done well done more to get into that top so six or seven. and We spoke a little bit about how Forrest and Fulham have both started well, but are likely to sort of drop down the places a little bit because of the teams behind them. ah Now discussing the teams that are behind them, we have Tottenham and manun United who are in 10th and 11th at the moment, both on seven points each.
00:08:45
officialgspn
um And then we also have a another team I think who have really started poorly, but will probably sort of get a lot better as they go on through the season. um They do have a new manager, a fair few new signings as well, sort of embed into their squad, which is West Ham, who Chelsea beat obviously on the weekend. And it was that weekend performance was so weird from West Ham. It was interesting. It was and interesting for two reasons for me. One of them was the fact that they just played so poorly. They were so easy to split open. and i think really for in terms of being a Chelsea fan. I think that just, we expected that to be quite a test for us and it and it wasn't. It really wasn't. It didn't really test us at all. I think they had a couple of better spells in the second half, but um they they just didn't, they they they weren't really up for it. And then the other reason I find it interesting is it was a London Derby and West Ham typically at home against us are very good. So it was interesting to see their performance on on on the weekend against us.
00:09:43
officialgspn
I think they will get a lot better. They do have a new manager in Lopategi. Lopategi has a very specific way of playing and players need to get used to that and that was again something that was interesting because we didn't see any sign of Lopategi's playstyle on the weekend and I don't think West Ham fans have seen much of that from Lopategi at all yet. um but I think they'll definitely improve and I think i can we can sort of expect them in at least the top 10. Maybe we're only saying the top 10 because of how poor they've started but I think realistically, they'll be pushing for the top eight with the attacking talent that they have. It's a similar situation to Chelsea, where I think the attacking talent um that is in the squad is really gonna pull us through and put us up the table. um But we did discuss, as we just mentioned Tottenham and Man United. Tottenham are an interesting one.
00:10:29
officialgspn
It seems that a lot of fans on the spurt side, ah maybe not a lot, maybe less we won't we won't say the majority, but we'll say a large section of fans are starting to have a bit of an issue with Foster Cogloo. And it's interesting because last season, Foster Cogloo, obviously he has this very abrasive style. It's very attacking. It's very full on.
00:10:54
officialgspn
and when you're winning games in that sort of style it must be the absolute best feeling ever because you're not grinding out games you're just going into games and trying to score as many goals as possible have a bit of a defensive you know sort of stability about you and and that's your play style but when results start going against you There's a lot to question. Um, and I think that was always going to be the issue for post the cochlew is, is when the results aren't going Tottenham's way. There are so many questions to asking in terms of like, why is that line so high? Why are we not being a bit more pragmatic? And a lot of managers face these questions when they're playing an attacking type of football. And it's post the cochlew is now in that period where I think a lot of attacking managers.
00:11:37
officialgspn
go through where you're in a bad run of results. Obviously, Tottenham didn't end last season two too well either. um And I don't know if they actually got the signings that they wanted this summer. I think they probably wanted a couple more and a couple of bigger signings to sort of improve their squad. Plus, I think they're probably looking at a couple more outgoings, but didn't really happen.
00:11:55
officialgspn
um They post co-groups at that moment now where he's going to get a lot of questions from fans, because the results are not going his way. And if you look at Tottenham's fixtures list, it may not be going their their way until at least after the next international break. So if Tottenham are a stern, um and leather usually is, um I think they'll have quite a promising season, because Postercoghi is a good manager, and that style will work against a lot of teams. um And it will it will get will get them a lot of points, and they've got the quality to get a lot of points.
00:12:30
officialgspn
Um, as much as I have to say as a Chelsea fan. Um, but if, if they break in this moment and it's going to be a very tough moment, and I think it's going to get a lot, it's going to get a lot worse for Tottenham before it gets better. Um, then they are sort of back to square one. And I think we probably could probably see Tottenham sort of middling around mid table, but it really depends on how, how much they can hold their nerve when it comes to post the Cogloo. Um, the other team, we just mentioned Man United are also sort of in a similar situation.
00:13:00
officialgspn
Um, obviously they get a new contract to 10 hog in the summer, but I don't really know what that means. I don't think it means anything besides a bit of a ah faith, a bit of a, you know, push of faith in, in, in 10 hog. I don't think it means as much as probably what they wanted it to mean to fans. Um, 10 hogs in a weird position, because I think it's probably a lot of people's favorites to get sacked first. Um, you know, there's a new regime and United, and if they don't sort of see.
00:13:29
officialgspn
Man United pushing up the table, which they've not really done so far and they've not really had that many great performances so far either, ah then we could see 10 hard go. And I think the instability of Tottenham and United this season, um just around how many questions are going to get asked when they're in a bad run of results, I think is probably going to maybe leave Tottenham and United outside, definitely the top four, I would say, possibly outside the top six again as well. So we're not getting in terms of Tottenham case, but for Man United,
00:13:59
officialgspn
um We'll discuss a couple more of the um teams that who who could be pushing up the table who have definitely got some quality in there. um Unfortunately, I don't think we're really talking about any of the teams who are in the bottom four. um Ipswich have some good attacking quality, but I think i think a lot of people are overestimating Ipswich a bit. I think they've come up and they've done they've done really well in the last couple of seasons. but I see them being a bit more of like a looting team this season. I think they'll try really hard, but I don't think they'll be from pragmatic enough to sort of get up to sort of mid table. I think they'll be, you know, sort of hovering around, you know, sort of 13th to 17th. Um, if we're being honest, um, Southampton, Everton and Wolves, I think as well. I think Wolves will pull themselves out of that, but, um, they have started poorly and I'm wondering if the players are, for for what, what I saw in the Chelsea Wolves game is,
00:14:52
officialgspn
Are they really in buying into Gary O'Neill's ideas? has it maybe Are they starting to think it's not working for them? I don't know. um But I got a bit of a sense of that when Chelsea played Wolves as well. I think to mention down there is obviously Crystal Palace. They have a lot of good attacking quality. They took a point off us. They took a point off Man United already.
00:15:08
officialgspn
and they seem to be sort of getting into their groove a little bit now. And of course their manager is quite highly rated. um I think Crystal Palace can easily sort of sit at mid-table this season. And if if they really kick on their next few games, and if they obviously had a tough start as well in terms of fixtures, and we could see even see them possibly pushing for those European places as well. ah it the The main thing before we jump off from the sort of the story so far in the Premier League, the interesting thing is I think from about fifth, and that includes Chelsea down to about Well, from about 5th down to about 20th, I think anyone can beat anyone on their day in terms of that group. I think the top four at the moment are still worse than the Liverpool Man City, and the only teams you can sort of see going into a game at the moment are saying, yeah, they're going to win that, they'll win that, that's fine. Or they're at least not going to lose in that game. You can't really say that from 5th down to 20th in terms of the teams. I don't think anyone's really showing that yet.
00:16:03
officialgspn
Uh, the teams that are closest to showing that sort of, that sort of rigidness, I think probably Brighton and Chelsea, if I'm being honest, I think Brighton are really sort of. They were so inconsistent on the deserby, but they seem to be under this younger manager. They seem to be really, really pushing in each game and.
00:16:19
officialgspn
ah They seem to understand what to do in certain moments of games a lot better. Their change their transition play is a lot better. Their understanding what's doing key moments is a lot better. Their tactical changes in terms of what to do and when in terms of game state is a lot better. And I'd also say for Newcastle this season as well, and especially for what I've seen from Chelsea,
00:16:42
officialgspn
we have really, really done well. And I think that showed from sort of day one, to be honest, where, you know, we lost against it, but it was two nil. And I think we had to put in a really solid performance. um I think on the on the day we could have had a couple of goals ourselves. um Yeah, I think I think it would probably say us, maybe Newcastle, Brighton, who are closest to that as well.
00:17:01
officialgspn
um We'll take a quick break and after that we're going to come back and discuss Chelsea's results against Barrow on Tuesday. Three of the hosts from Daily Chelsea were there to watch the 5-0 victory over Barrow. We'll discuss that in a second.
00:17:19
officialgspn
Do you have a story that the world needs to hear? Have you struggled with reaching new audiences who are engaged with your story? It might be time for you to start a podcast.
00:17:30
officialgspn
Let me tell you about a platform we use here at Global Sports Podcast Network. Zencaster makes it easy to start a high quality podcast built for growth from day one. With 4K video recording from your phone and AI editing that automatically removes arms, arms, your nose, and 22 other speech patterns, Zencaster makes it super easy to start a podcast that sounds great. Ready to tell your story?
00:17:57
officialgspn
Check out the link in the show description to learn more about Zengaster.
00:18:05
officialgspn
And we are back on Daily Chelsea. It is, of course, Wild Card Wednesday. And I'm your host, Jake. I had control over the agenda today. And therefore we did a story so far with the Premier League, as well as we're going to discuss the game against Barrow this week. We have to discuss a win like that, Chelsea fans, don't we? um So co-hosts Luke and Matt were with me at the bridge for Chelsea's game against Barrow yesterday. um A lovely five-nil win.
00:18:34
officialgspn
that saw us ah you know saw ah sorry so and cuckoo get a hat-trick within 75 minutes. We had an own goal from Barra as well, as well as a goal from Pedro Neto. um A couple of things to discuss from this one. now Obviously, this was a third round of the Cup game. and We entered in the third round as we finished in the top six in the Premier League. and What was interesting, firstly, was the lineup.
00:18:58
officialgspn
What I think you know me and Luke and Matt from the podcast all headed to the game expecting to probably see quite a few youth players play, um quite a few people given a rest. The biggest surprise I think was Gus though who was who's only just come back from injury um and we did discuss before the game we said we'd probably only see him get a half um if we do well in the first half and we did do well in the first half and therefore Gaston came up for half time. Good to see that he's probably back in action and possibly ready to start in the Premier League on the weekend against Brighton. um Having a good right back, a good attacking right back as well is going to be really important against Brighton, especially some sort of container wingers as well. um In terms of containing wingers, I think Vega again had a really good game. Obviously we're talking about a League 2 game here, but Barrow good turn up.
00:19:44
officialgspn
um sort of ready to go. They had a pretty good start. um And I think Vega actually had them really well contained. And Vega's really impressed me this season, to be honest. he He seems very sound on the ball. He, positionally, he just seems to know where to be. And that's really, really good for a player who plays left back, center back, and center defensive midfield as well.
00:20:06
officialgspn
um And of course, he he typically invert as a left back as well. So his positional play is really, really good. And I think it's really helping us when he's on the pitch, to be honest, um in terms of, you you know, teams like I think I don't think he played in the city game, but the teams have come up against us and they like they can't really play that pass that really cuts through the midfield completely because Vegas seems to be really well positioned for that.
00:20:28
officialgspn
Same when someone tries to play a ball past him down on the wing. um He seems positioned well enough that he doesn't need to rely on pace to recover um if a ball is about to get past them or something like that. Really impressive, Vager, so far, to be honest. um ah The midfield, I think, was probably our worst point against Barrow. We started with Cassady and Dreesbury Hall. Cassidy was decent. I think he had a couple of actually really good moments. um But in terms of holding down a sort of starting place for us, i I still think he's a bit off it. um I think he's definitely certainly useful in certain situations. He's a tall midfielder and he's quite good on the ball. um We don't necessarily have a player in the squad like that, someone who's got the sort of height and strength that he's got in the midfield as well as the ball control. But I don't think that really sort of earns him a place, you know, but even on the bench, really. um What I would say though is he did play better than Dusby Hall and i'm I'm quite worried for Dusby Hall at the moment.
00:21:26
officialgspn
Where is his position position for us? Where is his place in the squad? Because, you know, some fans sort of touted when he came in that he was possibly good enough to sort of start pushing into our first team. And he he has done that a little bit, but not really. All of his starts have come in the a conference league qualifier and a cup competitions.
00:21:45
officialgspn
and and he's not impressed in any. I think he was actually just not that good last night. I think he was actually a bit overrun by sort of Barrow players um and on the ball as well. I don't think he was that good. I think he had a good pass completion rate and maybe that's sort of all he's there to do when you're when you've got an attacking lineup of Neto, Felix, Madrid and Nkuka against Barrow.
00:22:08
officialgspn
But that doesn't necessarily mean that he shouldn't have made an impact himself. And I think that's probably what Mariska is looking for in games like this. He's looking for players to make an impact. and Players who are on the fringes of the squad, who are showing they want to a starting place in this team. um I think Neto Felix and Akuka all really showed that. I'm not too sure, but I'm a direct, to be honest. Asazi was really solid, Badia Shira was really solid. I think Vega shows that he wants a starting place every time he plays. but from Duesbury Hall I'm just not really getting that yet and it's making me worry a little bit um because he was probably he was one of the signings that we got I think was he was a bit more of a utility signing and someone we can depend on in a lot of scenarios um but so far I've not been able to depend on him in any
00:22:51
officialgspn
So we'll see how it goes for dudes before at Chelsea um He needs to start impressing games like this though The front floor was as previously mentioned Neto Felix mudrick and Nkuku Nkuku got a hat trick in 75 minutes and He then came off after he finished his hat trick But what a game from him. Not only did he score three goals. They were free quality goals as well. um The first one specifically took it down really well, managed to get it past the keeper. um He's really showing his skill and I think the one the one reason he's not starting yet is obviously he's showing his finishing ability but Jackson is at the moment as well. ah jack and Jackson's second highest top scorer in the Premier League at the moment and I think if Jackson had been missing a few more chances then I think we were probably seeing who replaced Jackson on the weekend but
00:23:41
officialgspn
at the moment i think jackson is just edging him out in terms of you know overall performance but he was really really good in this game and again he's what another player showing that he wants to be starting um netto had a really solid performance he again only played 60 minutes um and it's getting quite interesting because he's not played more than 60 minutes fresh yet um although he is obviously a new signing so we'll see how that uh see how that progresses uh felix um game off for 76 minutes himself, got an assist himself and he had quite a good impact. he was The main thing he was doing was he was making a lot of runs and he made the Barrow players quite tired very quickly. um He did not have one player marking him the entire game. He had about three or four. I don't mean in one go but I mean
00:24:24
officialgspn
the mark the mark but the person who was marking him had to constantly switch to keep up with Felix and I think I know it's i know that again this game you can say oh it's only Barrow but that is such an important feat for us at the moment because the movement that we need when we start these sort of attacking especially when we start with counter attack and we did barra had did we did have a few counter attacks because Barrow had a bit of possession as well. Felix is really keen and he showed I think what he can do very well to Maresca in this game.
00:24:49
officialgspn
and Midrick, me, Luke and Matt were all a bit disappointed in to be honest. ive he It just it seems like he's not trying hard when he's on the pitch and he when he's on the ball it's almost like his his whole character changes. It's like I'm on the ball now and I can do something here and I'll show how good I am.
00:25:11
officialgspn
but he doesn't have anywhere near that sort of like off the ball and that doesn't just mean off the ball in terms of when we don't have the ball I mean off the ball in terms of like making runs you know everything like that which is really important for a winger and someone who we've signed for the qualities of having good pace being good on the ball and having good finishing And we can't get to those last two feats of his ah because the first one doesn't really work. um And that's that's that's really so starting to to hurt Mudrick, I think, um in the fans' opinions and I think in Mariska's opinion as well. um Out of all the front four who should have been making the biggest impact in this game, it should have been Mudrick. And I think out of the front four, he probably made the worst in impact out of those front um those front four.
00:25:56
officialgspn
So I think to from this game I think there's two players I can sort of question the future of and I think that's Dusby Hall and Midrick. Dusby Hall obviously I think has a lot more time with us, he's a new signing. um and he's The only other thing with Dusby Hall is is that he should be the one player who's already used to playing under Maresca and therefore should not have any issues adjusting to anything tactically.
00:26:19
officialgspn
so You can't really say, oh, he needs to get used to the system and the sort of the things you allow for other players who are already at Chelsea. Doosby Hall has come with Maresca, make no doubt about it. And if at the moment, if he's not putting in the performances, you can't really question much else besides his quality. um And we need to see a bit more quality from Doosby Hall. I think we we may get there in the next few weeks, but it's an interesting few weeks at Doosby Hall, certainly.
00:26:46
officialgspn
and So this has been Wild Card Wednesday. We have discussed the story so far in the Premier League with us being five games in out of the 38. We discussed which teams have been doing well, which teams have not been doing so well, which teams may do better, which teams probably won't do better.
00:27:02
officialgspn
um And we've also discussed ah Chelsea versus Barrow, which was our midweek fixture in the League Cup. Chelsea are going onwards and upwards in the League Cup. Hopefully a competition we can go one step further in this year than just getting to the final. A bit of redemption there waiting for us if we can take it. I've been your host, Jake, today. We'll be back tomorrow for our crossover with Brighton as we preview the game ahead on Saturday at 3 o'clock. Thank you very much for listening and we will see you tomorrow.