Guiu's in the goals, a final trip to Goodison and the latest on Mudryk
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It's Straight Outta Cobham, a show about Chelsea FC from The Athletic. Coming up, another successful Chelsea conference as Guillaume pots a hat-trick. January sales. No hotels on offer this year, but you could get a Dewsbury Hall. We're previewing probably the last trip to... Oh, God. Goodison. There's Mikhailo Mudrik's murky Maldonian mess and a quiz. Available for free wherever you get your podcasts and ad-free on The Athletic. This is Straight Outta Cobham.

And we are back with our second show of the week, a Friday appointment for us, given there was Conference League action on Thursday. It's been a good week in the world of Chelsea again. Listen, you may well have enjoyed that video of Joshua Champong and Tyreek George being initiated into the first team locker room. Very, very similar. The speech that Enzo Maresca gave to the one that producer Lucy did. And we welcomed Luke Boccia into the first team fold on a full time basis. And Luke's with us today. How are you doing?

Yeah, well, I mean, there's nothing like some Conference League action to kind of get rid of that winter freeze, I think. It just makes me feel warm inside.

Simon and I were both there. Simon Johnson, that is, of course, the Athletics Chelsea expert on Thursday night. Simon, it was a dead rubber, but it wasn't freezing cold. I'm taking that as a win, essentially. Oh, you didn't feel the cold. I thought the temperature dipped again. Maybe that's just because I was in the car park. I went double socks and thermals. Yeah, I laid up a bit as well, especially because it had gone mild for a few days. I thought...

Us sensitive souls might feel it a bit. But Chelsea did warm us up. Media buffet update. They provided a meat pie before the game as well as at halftime, which I thought was an interesting combo, which I did comment on at the time that meat pie before a game and then just in case you haven't had enough meat pie, there's more after. I didn't have one, by the way, at halftime.

I resisted the urge. That's good. I had one pre-match. It was pretty good. Will the food featuring our premature adjudications? Probably not, but it's an awkward thing to segue to and from. Luke, what have you got for us? Mine is that a Chelsea player will finish as the top scorer in the Conference League.

Wow. Amazing. Because of Chelsea's success, they're going to play two games fewer potentially than other teams. So there's more games for other teams. I've thought about it. No. Yeah. Worth pointing out here that Chelsea have already scored one more goal in the competition than the winners Olympiacos managed in the whole thing last season. Simon, have you got one that's a little more out there?

Well, I'm always a bit wary of jinxing Chelsea because I do it so well. I've done it so many times. But I'm going to do it anyway. So this could come back to bite both me and Chelsea Football Club. So I'm going to say by the time Chelsea are in the knockout phase, which is March, Chelsea will still be in second place.

Like that. That's very good. How about that? That's putting my jinx on the line, isn't it? Yeah, jarringly positive. Mine is one that I'm not really sure I want to come true, but this is what I think. I think Josh Achampong will play more Premier League minutes than Rhys James will this season. And I came up with this before Andrew got in touch to ask, is Rhys the next ex-Chelsea reclamation project manager?

for AC Milan. Josh staying means there isn't a role for someone who hasn't played regularly for over two years and is the highest earner at the club. Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca countered in his pre-Everton press conference. Rhys will finally start with us for part of the session. Slowly, he'll be back. We will now build his condition and he'll be ready to play. It doesn't mean it will be this Sunday, but hopefully that is good news for Chelsea's long stricken captain. All right, speaking of good news, we're going to get to another thumping win in the Conference League to start today.

Some way to complete the hat trick lovely head of that brilliant night already for Mark Yu. Well Chelsea ends the league phase with a perfect record six wins out of six for Enzo Maresca's side already through to the last 16 with a game to spare they've now made sure of top spot to eight wins in a row in all competitions Mark Yu the hat trick hero full-time Chelsea 5 Shamrock Rovers 1

So once again, easy as you like for Chelsea in Europe. The Blues making it six wins from six to top the league phase. They're 26 goals, mightily impressive. And they were given some help here by the

by the Shamrock Rovers defence. Anurag on Blue Sky says, need a little bit of love for Mark Guillaume in the next pod. The kid is really raw, but I love his verve. Maybe Nico can get a bit of a rest sometimes. He is now the top scorer in the competition proper with six goals. Simon, a couple of them came gift wrapped, but generally an excellent performance from him for the time that he was on the pitch. He's so busy, isn't he? And he's really aware, which he needed to be for a couple of those goals.

Yeah, and he backs up what he did in Astana as well with the brace that he got out there. I remember sort of, I can't remember whether it was a premature education or just me sort of bantering, but early in the season where it just seemed like it wouldn't go in for him. He just needed some fortune to go his way somehow. And certainly against Shamrock Rovers, he benefited from that.

some terrible Shamrock Rovers defending, but he made the most of it. For example, I like the finish from the terrible back pass, the way that he went round the goalkeeper, but that was quite a tight angle and he put it away without any problem at all. Nice header from Madwecki's cross. The first header, I think, even I might have been able to put that one in, but fair play to him. I think people forget, and I think this is what Maresca says,

highlighted afterwards that he is 18 the same age as Achim Pong and Tyreek George and they're sort of seen in a different light because they're homegrown academy and there's sort of a bit more patience for those two whereas I think Guy who's been judged with a little bit more scrutiny because he was actually signed for a fee and from Barcelona but I've liked what I've seen since watching him in pre-season yeah of course he's going to be a bit raw he's got a lot to learn but

But I think there's been signs of him just growing a bit as a player, growing with a bit of confidence, which inevitably comes with goals as well. The question mark is, will he stay in January? And Maresca was asked about this. He said he wants him to stay, but sort of left the door open that it's kind of down to Guillaume because, of course, there is now no Conference League football till March. It's probably unlikely that

When the Conference League does resume that Guillaume will play, obviously, because it's now knockout, it's now serious. He certainly won't. I'll be surprised if he starts at the very least. Yeah, there's the FA Cup. So, you know, Chelsea more in the third round. But who knows who Chelsea will get, assuming they'll win that one after that. So there is a danger that the second half of the season, Guillaume will not be on the pitch very often. And that won't be a good thing for his development. So you can understand why Guillaume might sort of think that.

And Chelsea might think as well that perhaps she should go on loan. But first half of the season, I think she'll be pretty happy with the start of his maid's life at Chelsea.

I think the word that kind of springs to my mind when I watch him play is like, I don't even know if this is a word, but like grifty. Yeah, he's a grifter. You know, he works hard, he runs hard. I think he definitely falls into that bracket that we've spoken about a few times before of the striker or player that Chelsea fans and football fans kind of fall in love with because they work hard. And that just goes such a long way, especially, you know, if you're a match-going fan or you're watching on the TV. But as shown, I think, against Chelsea,

Shamrock Row is he's not just doing it

for show or because he's just got loads of energy it's intelligent pressing and kind of picking his moment so yeah I think there's plenty more to come from him hopefully. Grifty is a late stage capitalism audio newsletter by and about false idols available on Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts not too many other headlines from the game really Luke I guess Joshua Champong probably one of them though how did he and Tyreek George do for you?

Yeah, I thought Champong was, again, really, really strong. Si obviously wrote about him on theathletic.com or NYTimes slash theathletic.com as it is these days, I think. But he just...

Every time you watch him play now, you're like, oh, okay, yeah, this is why there's such a fuss over him. This is why people at Chelsea were so keen to tie him down to a new deal and equally why there were reports of big clubs like PSG and Real Madrid sniffing around him should Chelsea have not been able to tie him down further. And I think he strikes me as a real unicorn of a player because he's obviously very tall and can play at centre-back, as proved in the second half.

when he was switched over there. And with that height, you'd expect him to develop into an aerial presence in the senior game before not too long.

but he's also technically very good good passer and is a good ball carrier as well as you know I think it was the opening to size piece reference that bit around the sort of 13th 14th minute where he kind of jinxed his way past a couple of Shamrock Rovers defenders and then laid the ball off and he had another moment I think around the 52nd minute or so in the second half where he kind of burst forward played a one-two with Tyreek George and

And then played a ball inside as well. And there was another moment, I think, I can't remember. It was late in the game, I think around the 80th, 85th minute, where he was playing a centre-back and Shamrock Rovers left-back, I think, put a low cross into the box. And Champong, instead of kind of hooking it clear or smashing it out to touch, played a lovely, I think it was left-footed pass straight out, maybe to Tyreek George, maybe to someone else who was sort of in the Chelsea right-back area.

And I thought that just, that spoke to his kind of composure, level-headedness, technique.

So the future looks really bright there. And I'm not surprised, Matt, that you've said your premature adjudication about him getting Premier League minutes because that seems like the next logical step for him is to get serious minutes in the Premier League because he looks like he's ready for it. Particularly at right back, which has been weirdly an area of concern for Chelsea this season with Malagusto picking up more than one injury alongside obviously Rhys James. But I can't see a world in which a champon isn't firmly prepared

Chelsea's third choice right back and not Axel Desassie or Wesley Fofana when he eventually returns from his latest injury and it seems to me I think a champong is definitely sort of

slightly clear of Tyreek George maybe in terms of looking certainly I don't know from what I've seen looking ready for that step up to first team A team Premier League minutes I think George had another pretty solid game showed his versatility ability to play on both wings I still think he looks slightly more comfortable on the left but

And obviously, you know, I've spoken about it on other podcasts and we'll come to it in a bit. But with the Mikhailo Mudrik news, there may be more opportunities for him to get minutes on the left. However, as we've said, the Conference League group stage or league phase, to give it its proper name, is now over. So those opportunities may not be there. But I certainly don't think he's done... He's basically given a good account of himself every time he's on the pitch. I think he works hard, but he's a good technician, a good coach.

I think he strikes me as someone that has good high football IQ, game intelligence. And obviously, you know, had a chance late on in the game against Shamrock Rovers, didn't quite go his way. But yeah, really, really promising talent. So I think Chelsea have got two good ones there, I think, Matt.

Yeah, a debut for Harrison Murray Campbell here as well. You can get loads of detail on the Champong contract signing in Simon's excellent piece, theathletic.com slash ChelseaPod, the place to go to sign up. If you aren't currently a subscriber, you can also read something from Simon, which Chris has got in touch to ask us about. So let's hear it from the horse's mouth or the man who wrote the piece. I guess the horse in this case would be Kieran Dewsbury Hall. Chris wants to know, what do we think January holds in store for Dewsbury Hall? If he does move, does that mean we'll see other changes coming?

to the midfielders in the squads. Anything can happen, said Enzo Maresca, Simon. I mean, he was talking generally, wasn't he, about, well, he sort of caveated it with, we can say that about anybody in the squad. But it was interesting that he said that to your question on Dewsbury Hall, given that he is so new to the club, essentially. Do we think that this has come from the player or the manager realising that he doesn't fit or a bit of both maybe? And do you think a January exit will be likely for him?

I'd like to take the credit for the question, but it wasn't my question. I can't say I'm that surprised that there is a doubt over whether Dewsbury Hall will stay, certainly for the rest of the season. What wasn't clear was whether Maresca was referring to a loan or a permanent departure. But if you're Dewsbury Hall, I mean, I was part of the sit-down with him in pre-season tour yesterday.

and he was talking about how a move to Chelsea, he was hoping it would help his England ambitions. He's thinking of the World Cup, and obviously he wanted to play for Chelsea as well. It wasn't just about playing for England that he made the move, and he hasn't started a single Premier League game. He has struggled. It didn't help him that he came with an injury, which set him back during pre-season. He was playing catch-up from the get-go,

Chelsea's first team is very, very good. Very, very hard to get into and it's very hard to sort of prove that you're good enough to play for the first team when you're playing Conference League and the EFL Cup against Barrow. I mean, it's not a great marker to say, yeah, I'm ready to play against Liverpool at Anfield, for example. Moresca is clearly sort of saying that it's not his decision, it's not the club decision, but

but he's intimating clearly that Jules B. Hall may be thinking about moving. And if it happens, it's not going to be a seismic blow to Chelsea unless, of course, they suddenly have a spate of injuries. And then that's always the risk you take of starting to let people lower in the squad go is that

Suddenly you have a load of injuries and that's why they're there in the first place to provide some cover. But Jules B. Hall can't really argue with not being in the team at the moment. He's not made a big enough impact and he has looked, as Maresca has said, that he's struggled to be just one of many good players rather than the best player as he was at Leicester.

Yeah, and also, I suppose, even if it did leave Leslie a good trick, we might well be coming back in January. And Sam Raksaki's proved himself to be pretty adept in the time that we've seen him too. So Simon was part of the press conference that took place after the game, which was essentially to look ahead to the game of...

There are players that unfortunately they didn't play a lot with us in all the competitions like Chilwell, like Carney. Probably they are the first that they want to leave because they work every day, they train every day because they want to play games and if they don't play games probably they are thinking to leave.

But then we see, I think each player, it's a bit different situation. So we're going to see if some of them is coming and knock the door and say, I want to leave or something like this. And it depends. We try to find a solution.

So as we say, no European football now until March. A lot of people asking the Chelsea manager or making the point in the press that that might lead to some disharmony within the squad without so many minutes to share around. This is what you have to say about it. Personally, I'm not worried about the next three months. If the players are happy or not. The only thing I can say is that we have many games left.

and if they do the right things, if they work properly, for sure they all gonna have chance to play games. For instance, next week we have three games, so we continue to play many games. Then in January the FA Cup will start.

I don't know. Now Sunday is the game, then Wednesday. Game by game we're going to try to pick the best eleven or the ones that are not the best. The ones that we think are the right ones for that game. Then we'll see.

And off the back of that, Simon, Sharpie says, do Parma and Lavia get back in the European squad for the next round? And if so, at whose expense? I mean, it's so far off, isn't it? It's kind of hard to predict because we don't know what kind of shape the squad's going to be in injury wise and who's departed. I guess that's maybe one we put a pin in. But Enzo Maresca might be thinking at least one of those would come back. I mean, Fofana hopefully will be back by then as well. He obviously wasn't included either.

Well, this was one of my questions. This was in the broadcast section. And Maresca said almost word for word what you just said, Matt, that he hadn't thought about it yet. It's too early. He essentially said the January window will play a part in his decision-making in terms of who goes. And, of course, if certain people go, then inevitably that opens up spots because, of course, Chelsea can only make three changes in

I mean, it is a decision to make because the priority, as Chelsea have made clear by leaving Cole Palmer in particular out in the first place, is clearly the Premier League. Now, the deadline is, I think I looked it up yesterday, it's February the 6th when the squad for the group phase has to be announced. So he has a bit of time to give it some thought, obviously see what happens in January and figure out how important is winning the Conference League to

qualifying for the Champions League and who knows perhaps this title race that Chelsea aren't in if that is still in good shape because you have to say that so far the resting of Karl Palmer has worked. Fofana has needed it. He's picked up an injury anyway but he benefited from it. I mean, Lavia is clearly...

The fact that he's sort of been, well, he hasn't been completely 90 minutes yet. I wouldn't be surprised if he's continued to be left out, quite frankly, because he's struggling to play on a regular basis. But Karl Palmer's the decision. You know, he's your best player. But can you, would you look back, come the semi-final or the final, and Karl Palmer's not in the squad and say Chelsea missed a penalty or whatever, you know? It is a tough one, but the Premier League is the massive priority. So...

If it was me, what would I do? I'd pick him. He can do it. He'd love it. You can just think Cole would be sitting there going, I want to win. I want to win a trophy for Chelsea. So yeah, get your best player in there. Yeah, I guess you put him in the squad. You don't have to play him in the early knockout rounds. But anyway, that's the question for 2025. We'll finish on the Shamrock Rovers game. And well done, Simon and Luke. We've all resolutely stuck to not calling them Shamrock.

just shamrock rovers and that speaks well to the lessons that we learned at the start of the week this is an email that came to us via soc at theathletic.com from ian who says myself and my son sam age seven are huge chelsea fans and being from ireland thought it would be great to make it over for the rovers match we bought tickets through what we thought was a trusted source but when we went to get in we refused entry so needless to say we were extremely disappointed and my son was very upset

On the way out, we shared our story with one of the stall sellers on the left when he walked out from the tube. They were very sorry and immediately set about helping. They made some calls and managed to get us two tickets for the East Lower and we were back on. That was some turnaround after 30 minutes of tears we had before that. I wanted to shout out those guys who helped. I didn't get their names in the season of goodwill. It was great to me.

to see kind people like them who just wanted to help us enjoy our trip to Chelsea. They have two customers for life now. Happy Christmas and come on the Chelsea from Ian and Sam. So there's a heartwarming winter's tale for you. Well, that's right up there with all the Christmas movie. I feel in the holiday spirit even more now. I told you, the Conference League just provides a warmth that you can't get from anywhere else. Well, yeah, but some of the Rovers fans... Yeah.

Yeah. And that just didn't quite get them their minds. My other premature adjudication that I thought was too obvious was that Shamrock Rovers are going to get a UA for fine. But I thought that was too obvious, yeah. Yeah. Conduct inside and outside the stadium. Not amazing. But anyway, well done Ian and Sam. Glad you got in to see the game. Hope you enjoyed it. We'll turn to something slightly less palatable next.

Thursday night football is on and it's only on Prime Video. This week, keep the holiday celebration going as the Seattle Seahawks take on the Chicago Bears. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern with TNF Tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member? Sign up for a 30-day free trial to stream the game. It's the Seahawks and Bears Thursday at 7. Oh!

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So, Mikhailo Mudrik is in a spot of bother, to put it mildly. Simon and Adam Crafton joined Ayo Akimweleri on Thursday's Athletic FC podcast. Be sure to check that out for a deep dive into the situation. This is his failed drugs test, of course. That's Mudrik, not Simon. Let's hear a little bit of that now.

Mudrick is provisionally suspended. That means he can't train or play with Chelsea Football Club. And we are now waiting the results of his B sample. And until the sample and results are known, that's as far as it goes. Mudrick has got his own training program away from Chelsea Football Club. But clearly it's a worrying situation. He is, as his statement maintained, he's declaring his innocence.

Chelsea are certainly supporting him through this, as both Mouraska, the club, and his teammates. But as we've seen with previous cases, the consequences, if this B sample comes back positive, are very severe indeed. Because even if, as Modric has made very clear, he's not knowingly taken any substances, that that is no defence from a ban.

that you are responsible as the strict anti-doping rules dictate. You're responsible for whatever's put in your body. So that is why this is such a big story. Yeah, and what is Maldonium, just to clarify for those listening? It's a drug that is mainly available in Eastern Europe and it helps with endurance and recovery from injury. It was banned, they put on the official ban list in 2016.

And the most famous case of it being used and a sports person being found guilty of using it was Maria Sharapova, who ended up getting a two-year ban reduced to 15 months when she appealed to the court of...

arbitration for sport so again that just highlights what a severe situation this could potentially be for for mcconnell madrid okay well at the time of recording there has been no comment from the fa about madrid's provisional suspension under regulation 54 it states if a sample delivers an adverse finding an investigation including further testing of a b sample will follow the process will be kept confidential until the point of a charge letter being sent out adam i

I mean, I read this and I was like, wow, this is such an interesting turn of events. What did you make of it when you read about the failed jug test? Well, it's a difficult one in the sense that, you know, I mean, until we have the B sample, you know, it's hard to make a firm judgment. However, you know, the worst case scenario here is that the most expensive footballer that Ukraine has ever produced is

a signing that Chelsea you know committed 62 million minimum on you know could go up to far beyond that if he hits certain performance related bonuses both for him and the club you know Chelsea win titles and things like that so would be a huge shock you know what we do know is you know because we

We, along with other publications, were attempting to publish this before it came out in the Ukrainian media. His lawyers in the UK managed to delay publication, I think it's fair to say. And

We're making some pretty forceful arguments. He's hired lawyers that do have a background in challenging anti-doping. So there's no huge surprise in any of that. But it's a huge issue, right? It's a huge issue. I think it's a big issue because when we think about doping, for some reason, you tend to think first about cycling, about track and field, right?

But football, we're kind of a bit naive about it, I think, to be honest. You know, we're a bit, let's not look too far. It seems to be the approach that football takes at times. Even with a lot of these adverse findings, there doesn't always seem to be the... The FA tends to keep it quiet until the point where they really have to go public with it as well. There's reasons for that, but...

So I think it's a shock in the sense of, oh my God, this happens in the football world, but clearly it's never going to be limited just to other sports when there is advantage to be gained. But clearly, as we keep saying, let's wait and see what the B sample says.

Simon, you made the point in that podcast that this isn't a massive blow for Chelsea, given that he's not exactly a regular at the moment. It's not particularly good financially. I mean, the real worry here is for Mudrick himself, isn't it? Because we've spoken about his fragile, perhaps, mentality, totally understandably, given the situation that he's come from and what's happening in his home country. You worry for him, don't you? You want to get this resolved swiftly one way or another. Yeah, you know...

Every conversation I've had about what he's like, he has been quite a quiet fellow in the dressing room. And understandably so. I mean, he's a young man living abroad, first time in his life, doesn't speak the language that great, although he has improved a little bit. But he's always struck me as someone very uncomfortable with

very rapid status he was elevated to of course I'm reading into the situation and his body language and that's just my opinion but there are times that he's looked a bit oh how did I get here

and feeling that pressure of the expectation. I mean, I spoke recently on the pod, of course, when he scored that fantastic goal against FC Noah. Okay, it was FC Noah, but it was still a superb goal. And the loud noise, it was the loudest noise of the night when he scored. The fans have been willing him on the whole time.

It'll be very interesting to see sort of how they react to this if the worst case scenario happens. But you do worry about him sort of having a lengthy ban if that materialises, if the B sample does turn out positive and he's charged, etc. Because for any footballer to take away what they want to do for a living, you talk to anyone that's had a long injury, it's the being away from your teammates, the loneliness of it all.

He's arguably harder than the physical pain and the monotony of the training and the rehab. And, you know, it will be a tough way back if that is what he has to put up with. But in saying that, as I highlighted in the Athletic UFC podcast, the long contract means that if he is given a ban, he could come back.

you know, that there will probably be years left on his contract when he returns. So it won't be the end of his career if the worst case scenario happens, but no one should underestimate what a seismic blow to his career is if that does happen. And I guess Chelsea wouldn't look to sort of find him in breach of his contract and nullify it because then he just signs for somebody else and Chelsea don't get any money. Well, that's, that's a possible sort of scenario way of looking at it. I mean, I,

I would sort of say that, and this is kind of where I'm getting at with the long contract, is it does give Chelsea some room for manoeuvre if he does get a ban, that he will still have value on his contract. Of course not, his value will diminish, obviously, if he's found to have been doping, whether he's innocent or not. Of course, he's made it very clear that he's not knowingly taken any substances, any banned substances, but

But yeah, it will be a decision for Chelsea to make. Of course, they've made it very clear they're standing by him. Maresca has said that he has the club's full support, his support. He trusts Mudrik and his claims of innocence. But Maresca also said, but then we'll see, which has kind of just left that little door open, that little bit of wriggle room for Chelsea. But yeah,

Again, Matt, it's sort of very difficult to talk about hypotheticals at the moment. We'll only find out what Chelsea really think about the situation if, well, as and when the sort of results of the B sample and any subsequent negative consequences that come of a positive sample come to light.

Luke, it's another welcome to Chelsea moment for Enzo Maresca, this, isn't it? Captain in racism storm, owners wanting to buy each other out. Now player fails drugs test. It's not your normal coaching role, but as ever, he seems to be dealing with it pretty well at the moment. Yeah, I think that kind of became clear from early on in Maresca's tenure that I think he had...

a reasonably good way with the media answering questions quite directly and honestly the majority of the time and kind of just saying it how it is. And we kind of, in a much smaller scale or less important scale, have seen that with his quotes around transfers and young players where he's basically just saying like, yeah, it'd be great if they stayed, but if they really want to go out on loan, then they can go out on loan. And he said it, you know, we had it with transfers and the bomb squad players in summer. And I think that really helps create this

I mean aura for want of a better word around him that he is

in charge of this group, if not in charge of the situation and that he has a handle on stuff. And I think you see other, you know, managers around Europe and in the Premier League that are more evasive and blunt in press conferences and, you know, maybe see the media as their enemy. And maybe it's at times that's with good cause, but I think Maresca doesn't seem to treat the media like that. And I think that reflects well on him as,

Not that he therefore gets an easy ride, but I think it just means that he comes across as like a leader. It kind of reminds me of when Thomas Tuchel was having to face very, very difficult questions over the Chelsea ownership. And he was essentially the club spokesperson in that very challenging kind of 2022 period. And he again established himself in his second language. Again, you can't forget that with Maresca as well as a very, very astute communicator and communicator.

again, I'm sure that'll be a reason why the FA wanted him for the England job. But, you know, kind of back to Maresco, I think, yeah, I think communication is key. That's basically what I'm getting at. And when you're able to communicate, you know,

you know, honestly and fairly, I think people have a lot of time for that. And it seems like he's doing that in the dressing room as well, you know, creating a pretty positive atmosphere for the Chelsea players to thrive in. So it's clear that he's not just a coach. I think he's a good communicator and he seems to be a good man manager and manager of situations.

All right. Well, the Athletic, the best place to keep updated with everything on the Mikhailo Modric situation. Let's get on to something less depressing next. Oh, wait. It's an away game against Everton. We have one more act for you this evening.

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Well, unless they meet in the FA Cup, Sunday we'll see Chelsea visit Goodison Park for the final time. Thank God, not a happy hunting ground of late. The Blues have lost on five of their last six visits. If they can turn the tide, though, they might go top of the table for a few hours.

At least. Here's Prasanna who says, why did they have to confirm it? It's in this question being Everton's takeover before the Chelsea game, as if Everton away wasn't already a difficult enough fixture. Real test for this young team. This will determine if they're ready for a title race or not. Shouldn't have much of an impact, should it, Simon? I mean, I guess it might be a slightly cheerier place before kickoff. But as we've said, Goodison's not a good place for Chelsea to go anyway, regardless of whether they've just been taken over.

That's right. I mean, I've been to Goodison on so many occasions when the mood has been very down and dour and negative, more negative than me. And I've watched the same game and the same defeat, which usually has been a quiet Goodison for the first 20, 25 minutes.

Chelsea look like they can almost lulled into false sense of security, pass it around a lot, almost thinking, oh, we'll score when we want. And then Everton score from a set piece. And the whole mood changes and it turns into a really intense atmosphere and Chelsea will. So the mood will be a bit more upbeat now that the ownership issue has been resolved for them. But I don't think it really changes the...

the challenge that awaits them. I was a bit surprised actually in the post-match press conference that Maresca had a preview rather for this game. He didn't actually know how bad Chelsea's record was. He normally has done loads of research on, not that I'm criticising him, but normally he's watched loads of videos and he tells us that he's watched a team like loads of times and sort of seems very, very thorough. I'm sure he has perhaps watched Everton this season, but he doesn't seem to have watched Everton

Chelsea's previous defeats which is something previous games against a team which is something that he has admitted that he's done before perhaps that worry about facing Shamrock Rovers was on his mind but no it is going to be very difficult also Everton have had a few good results lately of course only just gone to Arsenal and drawn 0-0 so this will be a challenge of course even Jamie Carragher Chelsea's biggest fan

was talking about how sort of downplaying Chelsea's title hopes and sort of saying he will take notice if Chelsea go to Everton and win there. And I think that in fairness is fair comment because as you say, Matt, Chelsea's record there is terrible in recent years. I remember when they won their

last time they won the title and of course under Tom Stucco I think but mostly it's been a tough place to go and yeah it's up to the Chelsea players who have shown great form away from home but ignore wherever to know on the table this is going to be a tough tough game Now let's not delve any further

into recent visits to Goodison Park, lest we spoil the quiz. Instead, let's talk team news for this game. So we're not going to have Badia, Scheele. We're not going to have Fofana or James. Doesn't look like Romeo Lavia will make it either. Maresca saying Lavia will struggle to play, but we will see today, which I think it means he ain't going to play. The key one though, and Luke, this is essentially why I've been booked for this pod. David says, Gusto or Vega at left back?

on Sunday. One real curveball and Colwell is the left CB of a back three. Maybe might give us more height, says David. It's got to be your boy though, hasn't it Luke? I don't know. Whoa. Well, I mean, Marescu's done it a couple of times. I think he has done it with Tosin recently, but I always think when players play 90 minutes in the Conference League, it almost automatically rules them out of playing

in the Premier League at the World, certainly starting at the weekend. But maybe with defenders and maybe Vega playing at centre-back for the whole Shamrock Rovers game where he maybe wasn't as tested as he could have been.

I don't know the distance run stats, but I feel like it might not have been that many kilometres for Vega. But yeah, I think it's potentially chance for him. But yeah, I think the Balear-Shield injury also creates a bit of a headache because it means...

that you couldn't play Levi Colwell as the left centre-back, as David had suggested there, because I think Chelsea are kind of short on centre-back options, particularly considering Josh Ashenpong played 90 minutes as well. So that kind of means it's unlikely he'll start in the Premier League. So, yeah, I'd expect Vega to come in. But to be honest, Matt, I've kind of given up with trying to predict...

and Zomorescu's Premier League teams because he always seems to throw at least one curveball in or there's at least one injury that somehow didn't come up in the press conference. So I think he'll play, but he probably may not. Yeah, I mean, we could see Kayser right back again, I suppose, and Gusto left back, which we'll find out what is it these days, an hour and a half before kickoff on Sunday. Simon, do you think Mark Guillaume did enough to get himself a place on the bench?

It may be. I haven't really thought about it. Hasn't played in the Premier League since he came off the bench against City on opening day. Yeah. He can't have done much more. Yeah, probably not. But he's got the hat-trick to dine out on to compensate for that. But I'm not going to be there. I gave that duty for Liam, that honour for Liam. Maybe that will improve Chelsea's chances of winning on the road.

He was there last season with me so maybe not. Let's hope so. Everton have only won two home games in the league this season. They are unbeaten in their last five at Goodison. Chelsea won their last five away league games. Their only defeat in the Premier League on the road this season of course came last time they were on Merseyside. Worth pointing out that Robert Sanchez is a booking away from a ban. Just how much does he love Christmas dinner? We'll find out in Liverpool on Sunday.

Elsewhere in Chelsea news on Tuesday evening the women's team came from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 and move into the Champions League quarterfinals as Group B winners. Sub Kat Macario scored two quickfire penalties in the 51st and 56th minute to make it six wins from six.

In the group stages, they'll face one of the group runners-up in March's two-legged quarterfinals. Crikey, we're having to wait a long time for these European competitions to kick back in, aren't we? The draw will be held in Nyon in Switzerland on the 7th of February. They're on a winter break now, the women's team back in action on the 12th of January. They'll host Charlton in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

In terms of the men's academy sides, the under-21s host Bournemouth in the Premier League Cup Saturday lunchtime. It's their final game of 2024. You can't watch it live because there's a Premier League game going on at the same time, but you'll be able to see the full thing back on the Chelsea app with me talking over it at some point. The under-18s are on their winter break. Now they're not back until the 11th of January when they'll play West Bromwich Albion. We are nearly done for today, but you know I've got a quiz.

Right, this is Chelsea Everton related. I can't promise that there aren't questions that I haven't already come up with in seasons past, but we'll certainly try for that not to be the case. Simon, you're up first. How many goals have Chelsea scored in their last seven games at Goodison Park? Oh, my word. I'm going to be anguished. How many goals? Not many. That's right, but I'm going to need you to be a bit more specific.

Isn't that good? I'm going to go, I don't know. I remember that one. Oh, absolutely spot on. Well done. 1-0. Well done, Chelsea. We'll double that on Sunday, I'm sure. Luke, how many appearances has Armando Breuer made for Everton this season? He ain't going to be making one on Sunday, obviously. I think it's one. I'm going to go with one.

Simon, do you want to steal it? I think it's two again. It is two again, yeah. Both are substitutes. Desmond. Against Wolves and Arsenal. 2-0, Simon. Right then, you can really take a stride towards, I was going to say three points. There are no points on offer. So your first question was how many goals have Chelsea scored in their last seven games at Goodison Park? The answer was two. Can you tell me either of the goal scorers who've managed to find the net at Goodison for Chelsea in recent years? So I only have to name one of them? Yep.

Jorginho penalty. That's correct. In the 1-0. Do you know who the other one was? Good goal, actually. I think I do. Basically, I was at both. Actually, I should go at Goodison. I was at both of these games. It was Kovacic. It was Mateo Kovacic. Yeah. All right. It's 3-0. So, Luke, you're going to need this one. Which former Chelsea player rejoined Everton after just a season away last summer?

Ask me Begovic. Oh, straight away. Yeah, that was what I thought was the hardest question of the quiz. None of this me walking my way through it. From anybody. To be fair, Matt was about four words into the question and I was like, it's Begovic. I didn't even know he'd gone back there until I wrote this quiz yesterday. Yeah.

Poor from me, not keeping up with Asmir's moves. Simon, final question of regulation time for you. Whose first Chelsea goal came against Everton last season? Oh, it was Alfie Gilchrist. Surely was. Yeah. So I think you've pretty much won by now, but we'll do the 4-1. Blimey. Let's see if you can at least reduce the arrears somewhat, Luke. Who made their Chelsea debut in this fixture last season?

Okay. Oh, okay.

Okay. And this is more walking me through. Because I think it's a tricky question. Yeah, yeah. Because I'm like, I don't think it wasn't like, it wasn't near the transfer window. So I'm like, and would be weird for it to be a new signing. But then I'm pretty sure this was the game where Robert Sanchez got injured and Petrovic came in. So is it Petrovic? It is Petrovic, yeah. I mean, it wasn't quite near the transfer window because it was in December, but the wrong side of it.

Anyway, you're beaten, I'm afraid, Luke. Simon, pleased with that? I don't care. Early Christmas present? Got to be consistent. Yeah, wonderful. I'm emotional. I feel like I've scored a hat-trick in the away for Conference League.

The tiebreaker was what year did Goodison Park open? I don't think either of you would have got that if I'm perfectly honest, but it was 1892. I was going to go 18s, yeah. Yeah, yeah. As you know, history and all that. It's a chart that they love to see. A broad range of answers within a whole century, but there we go. Let's see if you've got an answer to this, Simon, because loads of people are asking us about a shirt sponsor. Jesse says, what's more likely, a shirt sponsor this season or a title? Ha!

My thought when Shirt sponsored, and then you sort of go, no, hang on a minute, they can go top of the, you know, just remember they're actually up top of the table. Look, the last sort of conversation I had on this is that they are talking to four or five companies and that they are optimistic that something will be agreed and that they won't go full season sponsor-less.

but it's all about maximising value. The concern is, of course, you can imagine sponsors are sort of pitching a certain price and Chelsea are thinking, yeah, but we could be in the Champions League next season and...

hopefully for seasons for many seasons to come after that and the way they're going in the right direction as a squad that they could be back to where they used to be challenging at the top of the table every year and of course they got the FIFA Club World Cup so that's one of the reasons why it's dragged on is this sort of what potential Chelsea have in the future and where they are right now and of course the last couple of years so that's so that's why it's not been as smooth as

as perhaps everyone wants. But maybe just enjoy Chelsea having a clean shirt for as long as it lasts. I think there are quite a few fans that enjoy, not so much this actual shirt strip, I'm not sure that's the most popular in Chelsea history, but being sponsorless I think has been fairly popular in terms of a look, I don't know.

Do you think if it gets to the last game of the season, we should just put a bid in? Just sponsor it? Just for the podcast to sponsor it? We could all chip in like a tenner, right? So they're making money. It'd be like... Straight out of a con. Yeah, some media publications have sponsored lowly teams in the FA Cup, haven't they?

Like the athletic. Yeah. It was us. Yeah. It was us. We did one, didn't we? Yeah. It was Marine, Marine FC. I think pretty sure when they played Tottenham. For some reason, I was thinking of the sun. I'm sure the sun have done one as well. I've got my own company has done it as well. I mean, we should do the training gear because they wear that at Cobham.

So there's a natural synergy there, I suppose. But more on that as we get it. Will it happen? Absolutely not. But it's a fun thing to think about, isn't it? Have a good weekend. Theathletic.com slash ChelseaPod, the place to go to sign up. If you're not currently a subscriber, find us on Blue Sky, on X, email soc at theathletic.com. Leave us a five-star review, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your pods. If you'd be so kind, we'd really appreciate it. Thanks to Simon.

To Luke, to Lucy, and to you for listening back with our final show of the year on Monday. Join us for that if you can. Bye for now. The Athletic FC Podcast Network.

The first ever 12 team college football playoff is set and you can join me, David Ubbin and me, two time national champion, Alabama, Damian Harris and me, Chris Vanini, two time national champion in the college football 25 video game on until Saturday, the athletics college football podcast for all the playoff previews, predictions, coaching carousel and transfer portal news four times a week throughout the CFP.

Dame, how do you think Bama's going to do in the playoffs? Shut up, David. Listen, the time may be out of the playoffs, but I'm super excited to see the 12 best teams in the nation play. All the banter, insights, and more on Until Saturday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.