In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, Dan (Host – @DanBarkerCoach) is joined by Paree (Owner- @CFCParee) & Danny (Writer – @danny_new_) to discuss Chelsea’s 7-0 incredible victory against Norwich with a Mason Mount man of the match performance, Hudson-Odoi and Reece James goal, Chilwell screamer, Loftus-Cheek assist and so much more on a great day for Cobham!
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In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, Dan (Host – @DanBarkerCoach) is joined by Paree (Owner- @CFCParee) & Sairam (Writer – @ftblsairam) to discuss how Chelsea somehow won against Brentford with a world class goalkeeping performance. Talking about brocolli on pizza, Loftus-Cheek showing Jorginho how it’s done, the possibility of going to a four at the back and so much more!
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In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, Danny (Writer – @danny_new_), Paree (Owner – @CFCParee) & Dan (Host – @danbarkzr) discuss the latest news including Chalobah’s breakthrough into the first team, the midfield/defence dilemma and the possibility of Loftus-Cheek/Ampadu staying! The boys also look ahead to Sunday’s game against Arsenal, where they were perhaps a bit too pessimistic..
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Multiple transfer outlets have claimed that new Chelsea gaffer Thomas Tuchel is set to raid his former club Paris Saint German and pinch 18-year-old French-Moroccan starlet Kays Ruiz-Atil on a free transfer.
Image source: AS
The midfielder was born in Lyon, France and is of Moroccan heritage through his father, making him eligible for both national sides currently. He featured for France at U19 level most recently, however also has had spells on the pitch for Morocco at youth level. While he’s yet to declare his international allegiance officially – it looks likely that his future will be in the France jersey and Les Bleus, in my opinion, will be lucky to have him if he can reach his full potential.
“Mini Messi”
Almost every young, technical footballer coming through the ranks has been described as the “new Messi” at some point it seems and it usually piles unnecessary pressure onto young shoulders, however Kays Ruiz-Atil’s comparison to the Argentine magician is more justified than most. Atil was one of the hottest prospects in Barcelona’s ‘La Masia’ academy and progressed through the ranks much quicker than most. Aged just 7, Barcelona made an offer to Ruiz-Atil and his family packed their bags and made the trip to Catalonia where Kays continued to develop, becoming a super-technical and highly impressive midfielder, as you’d expect if you throw North-African football heritage and a La Masia education into a mixing bowl. Ruiz-Atil‘s stocks continued to rise and at the age of just 12 he was signed up by Adidas as one of the youngest footballers on the sport-giants roster. Unfortunately, he was forced to leave Barcelona after being released due to the club breaching regulations in regards to signing U18 players, which lead to their transfer ban back in 2015. PSG were quick to snap him up though and he’s gone on to successfully reach senior level in Paris.
Image source: Kays Ruiz-Atil via Facebook
Ruiz-Atil’s idol is another former Lyon man in Karim Benzema, but unlike the Real Madrid legend, Atil does his work in the middle of the pitch – predominantly as a central midfielder (although he has also operated in the ‘number 10’ role with success in the past). There is a very limited sample size to judge him off at senior level since he only debuted for PSG this season, making 7 appearances and featuring for less than 200 minutes, all of those coming under Thomas Tuchel. However, I’m sure lots of fans are digging up ‘welcome to Chelsea’ YouTube compilations already. I won’t pretend I’ve seen much of Ruiz-Atil, but I’ve seen a solid handful of Paris youth games over the last two seasons and it’s fair to say he’s been up-and-down. It’s clear to me when watching him that his technical ability is leaps and bounds ahead of most others on the pitch, and his vision to thread the needle with a cute pass or fancy flick is seriously impressive.
A short example of Atil’s vision, weight of pass and technique. [Clip via World Of Football]
Despite his clear quality, it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Kays at PSG. He was a regular under Thiago Motta but once the Italian departed he has found himself in-and-out of the side and struggling for form at times. He’s always been described as hard working, though, and didn’t let his struggles get to him. Just before lockdown in March 2020, he managed to fight his way back into the side and impressed against former-club Lyon before football was suspended. He doesn’t strike me as somebody who will ever be a regular goalscorer, and I don’t think he’d rake up assists in the mould of Cesc Fabregas either, but I’d compare him slightly more to the likes of Thiago Alcantara as someone with immense ability in the centre of the park. You’re likely to find Ruiz-Atil slightly further up the field than Alcantara, though, as more of an #8 than a #6.
Barcelona and Arsenal have also been linked to Kays Ruiz-Atil who is set to become a free agent this summer having failed to agree new terms with PSG as he’s seemingly decided to end his 6-year stint in the France capital. Chelsea currently looks like the most likely destination for the midfielder though and he’d most likely slot into the clubs PL2 side initially with the view of eventually training with the first team. He’d have some serious competition for places though, with the ever-improving Lewis Bate already at the top of the food chain in Chelsea’s U23 midfield.
Would he ever become a Chelsea first team regular? Who knows. He definitely has the ability to do so but with so much competition he’ll certainly have to fight off some fellow youngsters to make it in London. He strikes me, personally, as somebody who’d continue to develop at Chelsea and he’d likely have a few loan spells away before he and the club ultimately decide his long-term future.
Do the boys think Frank is getting sacked? Find out above!
In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, Dan (Admin – @danbarkzr), Paree (Owner – @CFCParee) and Danny (Writer – @danny_new_) discuss Chelsea’s lacklusture performance against Leicester City which could lead to the sacking of Frank Lampard. They also discused possible replacements such as Hasenhuttl, Nagelsmann, Tuchel, Allegri, the youngster’s futures under a new manager, and so much more!
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Make sure to check us out on all our social media platforms, including our website, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, ITunes, Amazon Music, Google and Youtube.
Chelsea are currently experiencing their worst run of form under Frank Lampard. This has pushed the club legend right to the top in the Premier League sack race, with The Athletic reporting that the club legend is on thin ice.
Now, I’d personally never call for Frank’s head. He’s earned his bias amongst the Chelsea faithful and deserves time to turn things around. I absolutely do not want him sacked, and I hope that Mr Abramovich feels the same way.
Regardless of my opinion, though, it’s quite clear that there are discussions being held at Chelsea about the head coach position. The names being flung around at the moment include Thomas Tuchel, Brendan Rodgers and Julian Nagelsmann. For me though, Chelsea should look to current Southampton head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl. The Austrian has been in charge on the South Coast since 2018 and currently has the Saints sitting level on points with Chelsea, in 9th position.
Hasenhüttl has had Southampton flying at times this season. (Image source: Thisisfutbol)
He has been noted for the attractive, pressing style of play that his teams utilise. He has claimed he wants all of his players to “be hungry” in order to maintain a passionate and high octane philosophy on the pitch. Despite tinkering with systems at times, Hasenhüttl’s go-to system is a 4-2-2-2 (4-4-2 on paper) which allows his team to create a “box” in midfield, with the wide players regularly coming inside to operate centrally and the pivot in midfield sitting quite deep. This, combined with two strikers, gives the side an overload of attacking options as well as an heir of unpredictability as they move around with the freedom of fluidity. This system could work perfectly with Chelsea’s personnel, two forwards would allow Timo Werner to slot in centrally but still have the support of a fellow number-9 in Tammy Abraham or Olivier Giroud. Intestingly though, having Kai Havertz operate high up the field – almost next to his fellow German, could be the most effective option. This would allow for Hakim Ziyech and one of Callum Hudson-Odoi or Christian Pulisic to take the wide positions and utilise their playmaking and creative ability by coming inside as they so regularly do.
The pivot in midfield would be an area to consider too, it’s likely that N’Golo Kanté would slot in comfortably and would be in his ideal position in a two-man midfield which he found so much success within under both Claudio Ranieri and Antonio Conte. With the wide players operating very centrally, just ahead of the pivot, this can leave space empty out-wide. Chelsea’s strong wing-back partners of Reece James and Ben Chilwell push-up very high though, which suits the system down to a tee.
Hakim Ziyech’s ability to operate centrally could suit the system perfectly (image source: OneFootball)
I’m no tactical expert, so I won’t attempt to delve deep into Ralph Hasenhüttl’s system but I’ve offered my thoughts based on what I’ve seen of his Southampton side in the Premier League. It seems pretty clear that his style of play, combined with the personnel already at Chelsea, could match up perfectly. It’s worth considering too that he’s previously worked with the likes of Timo Werner during his successful stint with RB Leipzig.
The only complication here is that the Austrian isn’t actually available. He’s obviously employed at Southampton so not only would Chelsea need to tempt him away from his project at The Saints but they’d also be required to pay a fairly hefty compensation fee to the St Mary’s club. We’ve seen in the past though with both Mauricio Pochettino and Marco Silva that this doesn’t tend to be a block when a ‘bigger’ club comes in to pinch Southampton’s gaffer.
Everyone needs to calm down a little bit… Lampard IN!
In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, Orlando (Host – @0rland1nho) and Dan (Admin – @danbarkzr) discuss Chelsea’s draw to Aston Villa, including Tammy Abraham vs Olivier Giroud, a potential loan for Billy Gilmour, an exceptional performance from Callum Hudson-Odoi, Lampard IN, player ratings and so much more!
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A very unbiased and respectful chat with an Everton fan!
In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, host Dan (@danbarkzr) and Paree (@CFCParee) spoke to Mike from the Unholy Trinity Everton Podcast (@UHTPodcast) where we discussed how the Chelsea vs Everton game could plan out tonight – including predicted lineups, a combined eleven, the injury issues both sides have, score predictions and much more!
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Make sure to check us out on all our social media platforms, including our website, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, ITunes, Amazon Music, Google and Youtube.
Sorry for taking a two week break once again, but we’re back! In another episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast, Dan (Host – @danbarkzr), Orlando (@0rland1nho) and The Chelsea Spot writer Chris (@ChrisOflynn4) discuss our solid defending performance against Sevilla and also look ahead to the weekend’s game against Manchester United…
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In another episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast, Dan (Host – @danbarkzr) and Orlando (@0rland1nho) make their Premier League predictions ahead of the new season (recorded four days ago)! Talking about top 6, bottom 3 , top scorer, POTY, first manager sacked, and a lot more!
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In another episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast, host Dan (@danbarkzr) and special guest Simon (@SiPhillipsSport) go into detail about Chelsea’s transfer window, talking about Sarr, Havertz, Silva, Rice, Barkley, Ampadu, Goalkeepers and so much more!
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In our twenty eighth episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast, Dan (Host – @danbarkzr), Orlando (@0rland1nho) and The Chelsea Spot writer Ameya (@LampardsLegacy) look back at their predictions from 9 games ago, and also answer YOUR questions!
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In another episode of The Chelsea Spot Podcast, we got the great opportunity to talk with Chelsea fan and social media influencer Zac Djellab! A big thank you to Zac of course for taking his time out to talk to us, and also our hosts Dan (@danbarkzr) & Orlando (@0rland1nho).
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Chelsea have already confirmed the signings of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech and are expected to have a busy transfer window with the club looking to offload a number of squad players.
But where do the new signings rank amongst the squad? Who should be starting every week? Who needs to be sold?
Well, here’s my rankings from “Star player” down to “Must be sold”
Tier List made via tiermaker.com
As you can see, the list is quite ‘bottom heavy’ with a large number of players thrown into the must be sold category. The likes of Bakayoko, Batshuayi and Pedro feature as they look destined to be moved on by the club and I doubt many Chelsea fans would disagree. There are, however, some admittedly controversial picks in this tier.
Jorginho is a player who has drastically divided the fanbase ever since he signed for the club in 2018. Since the restart, Jorginho has been out-of-favour and Chelsea managed to win four out of the five league games in which the Italian midfielder didn’t start, scoring an impressive 12 goals in the process. Due to injuries to both N’Golo Kanté and Billy Gilmour, Lampard was forced to hand Jorginho his first start against Sheffield United and The Blues were thumped 3-0 with many describing the performance as the “worst of the season” and Jorginho faced the brunt of the criticism due to a lacklustre display. Despite beating Norwich 1-0, Chelsea put in another fairly disappointing display which lacked urgency, tempo and attacking quality. Yet again, Jorginho started this game and for me, he’s a big part of the problem.
I personally don’t dislike Antonio Rudiger as much as most Chelsea fans seem to. I think he does offer some leadership and certainly has a physical presence which most of his peers lack, however if I’m being completely honest (and harsh) he simply cannot defend.
Image Source: Chelsea-News.co
He’s a central defender… who can’t defend!
So, not only do I think Rudiger should be moved on but I also believe his calamitous partner Andreas Christensen has had more than enough chances at the club. These two are an actual comedy spectacle when they line up next to each other and while Andreas is still young and could improve, I just don’t think he’s suited to be a Premier League centre-half. Although he’s welcome to prove me wrong!
Finally from the bottom tier, Kepa has to be sold. I’ve never witnessed a goalkeeper at the top level struggle to stop shots so badly. The club are reportedly interested in Jan Oblak and Andre Onana, both of whom would massively improve our squad, so Arrizabalaga has to go.
Just as a caveat, Willian has been included in the ‘must be sold’ category solely based on his contract situation, otherwise I’d be happy for him to stick around for a year as a squad player.
The boys in the ‘loan’ list are fairly self explanatory. The teenage lads from the academy could do with a season on loan in the Championship or even League 1 to get acclimated with senior football. I’ve chucked Kenedy in there too just because I think he’s hugely underrated so I’d like the club to keep him on the books, but it looks likely that he’ll be leaving on a permanent basis.
Image Source: Sportskeeda
The squad players section was fairly easy for me. Not all 23 first-teamers can be ‘world class’ (unless you’re Manchester City) so we need a solid bench consisting of players who can come into the squad when needed and make an impact. Players who “offer something different” are key throughout a squad and the likes of Olivier Giroud,Ross Barkley and Marcos Alonso all tick that box. Giroud has proven his value since the restart and is still a goal threat, while Barkley has actually impressed at times throughout the season and by all accounts works extremely hard to improve himself. The reason I’d keep Alonso around is because he gives us the option to switch to a three-at-the-back system whereas Emerson, for me, just offers very little.
There’s absolutely no reason why both Billy Gilmour and Tammy Abraham cannot be starters next season. They both have the quality as they have proven already, but due the signing of Timo Werner and Lampard moving Kanté into a deeper role, I think that they may not be nailed on to start week-in week-out next year but both will certainly play a crucial role in the long-term.
The regular starters that I’ve selected are a perfect blend of youth and experience in my opinion. Azpilicueta has proven to still be a quality captain and player throughout the season and I believe that Frank Lampard is a big fan of the spaniard, Reece James is also battling for the same position though and deserves to be a starter so we may see ‘Dave’ continue to feature as a left-back. However, if we do sign Tagliafico, Telles, Chilwell or whoever it may be then that could knock one of Azpilicueta or James down a tier.
It’s pretty much impossible to fit all of Kovacic, Mount and Loftus-Cheek into one starting eleven but all three players offer different skill sets which are incredibly valuable to this Chelsea side. Mason Mount has been the club’s player of the season for me, his quality both on and off the ball is outstanding and to have contributed so much in his debut Premier League season is hugely impressive. He’s absolutely key to Frank’s system and therefore should and will start the majority of games next season wether we sign Havertz or not.
Image Source: 90min
I honestly believe that a fully fit Ruben Loftus-Cheek is one of the best players in the Premier League. He’s the definition of ‘complete midfielder’ and can offer both a goal threat and be a creative outlet. His physical strength combined with immense technical ability when in full flight makes him a defender’s nightmare and if he can get back to his best next season then he has to be a starter.
Fikayo Tomori and Callum Hudson-Odoi have both suffered injury problems as of late but are two of England’s brightest talents. Zouma and Tomori’s partnership in the first half of the season was far from perfect but was certainly the most encouraging central defensive set-up we’ve seen. Chelsea fans rightly love Hudson-Odoi and despite all of his off-the-pitch issues this season he has the quality to set the standard for young Premier League players next season.
Werner, Ziyech, Pulisic, Kantè. Is that the best “big four” since the Warriors lined up with Curry, Thompson, Draymond and KD?
Edit by @AAZChelsea
Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech are nailed on to be top, top players next season for Chelsea. They’re two of the most dynamic and exciting players in the Premier League and will improve Chelsea’s already strong attack ten-fold. Christian Pulisic’s form since the restart has all Blues fans convinced that he’s the real deal, adding goals to his game and beginning to remind fans of a certain Eden Hazard due to his immense dribbling ability. N’Golo Kanté’s inclusion as a star player needs no justification, despite injury issues this year he’s clearly a world class player who would start for any and every team in Europe.
So, that’s my personal ranking of next season’s Chelsea squad. Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know @TheChelseaSpot
*I (stupidly) forgot to include Ethan Ampadu in this tier list. Personally I’d like to see him as a squad player next season but he could benefit from another loan.
Jorginho in the mud… Sheffield United Match Review
In our eighteenth episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast Orlando (@0rland1nho) and Dan (Host – @danbarkzr) discuss the 3-0 loss against Sheffield United after some embarassing defending and a complete lack of chances being created. Make sure to have a listen to our rants, but then also we try and see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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In our seventeenth episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast Orlando (@0rland1nho) and Dan (Host – @danbarkzr) discuss the 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace thanks to a brilliant sliding tackle from Zouma, and also look ahead to our big game on the weekend against Sheffield United!
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Lampard Masterclass, Liverpool Champions & Leicester Preview!
In our thirteenth episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast, Dan (Host – @danbarkzr), Orlando (@0rland1nho) and The Chelsea Spot writer Mash (@mashgreaves) discuss Lampard’s masterclass over Manchester City which handed over the Premier League title to Liverpool, as well as looking ahead at Sunday’s FA Cup game against Leicester City.
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Chilwell Screamer, Arsenal Collapse & Manchester City Preview!
IIn our tenth episode of The Chelsea Spot podcast, Dan (Host – @danbarkzr), Orlando (@0rland1nho) and The Chelsea Spot writer Jordan (@@brighty160) discuss the first gameweek of the Premier League since the return, as well as looking ahead at Thursday’s game against Manchester City after they thumped Burnley 5-0.
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The Chelsea Spot 