Saturday 21st October, 5:30pm
Chelsea @ 11/5
Draw @ 5/2
Arsenal @ 5/4
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In these volatile, fractured times it is important to look kindly upon the things that bring us together. The things that create a unifying inner warmth; the things that can instigate a small, galvanic chuckle as we make our way to work in descending temperatures.
And for the first six games of the season, one of those things was Chelsea FC.
With the obvious exception of actual Chelsea fans, the ‘Boehly Imbroglio’ brought delight to the nation. The frillions of dollars spent; the ostensibly chaotic 6-year-old-in-Hamley’s transfer policy; and then, on the pitch, an impotent home defeat to Nottingham Forest and numerous dropped points elsewhere.
This was said to be a project that would require patience. From a club that is famed for having none.
Since the year 2000, the Stamford Bridge managerial seat has been vacated 20 (TWENTY) times. Yes, some of those were caretakers; but of all the big clubs in the Premier League you would expect to commit to a long-term project that may not bear immediate fruit, Chelsea would be the least likely. For them, when it comes to managers, it has been more like a slapstick round of musical chairs than an epic game of thrones.
However, this is the post-Ambramovich world. And things will be different. But will they, ultimately, be successful?
The task of creating a functioning footballing unit from the numerous, shiny, gold-plated jigsaw pieces that have been dumped into his lap was already a sizeable one for Mauricio Pochettino. And a cascade of injuries to key players has made this assembly process even more challenging – Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, and Romeo Lavia are all long-term absentees.
But with two Premier League wins in their games just before the international break – including timely goals for Mykhailo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson, and Cole Palmer – were there finally signs that Pochettino was beginning to fit his pieces together? And was he assembling something that resembled a pretty good football team?
The answer to this question will be a lot clearer come the conclusion of Gameweek 9, where Chelsea play a very good football team – Arsenal – at 5:30pm on Saturday.
The Blues could be further boosted by Reece James’ return to the squad. But after successfully grinding down Manchester City in their last outing, Arsenal will be confident they can upturn Pochettino’s flimsy card table, and send his jigsaw pieces hurtling to the floor in chaotic disarray.
Unfortunately for the Argentinian coach, defeat to Arsenal could be just the beginning of a major new problem. A problem that arrives, as we trudge slowly towards the months of winter, in the form of the fixture list.
Chelsea’s next six Premier League games, following this weekend’s Gunners tie are: a West London Derby (Brentford at home), followed by Tottenham Hotspur (away), Manchester City (home), Newcastle (away), Brighton (home), and Manchester United (away).
One expects difficult fixtures, of course, when you play in the most competitive division in world football. But when you’re only just beginning to establish threads of cohesion in your XI, and have only eleven points on the board, that is a mightily unwelcome and daunting demi-dozen.
Could such a run help to ossify this Chelsea squad? Force them into a form of robustness? Or will it merely serve to decimate the burgeoning sense of optimism? And how many points would be deemed a good return from this run of matches?
If, as we enter December, the points haul from these games is a poor one for Pochettino, is there a possibility that the owners might begin to feel restless; and – despite their statements to the contrary – opt to vacate the Chelsea throne once again?
So beware Mauricio, and take heed; because, in the words of House Stark of Winterfell, ‘winter is coming’…and it could well be one of discontent…
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