Straight Outta Cobham: The Athletic FC's Chelsea show

Not quite sure how that happened but...Matt Davies-Adams has got Sam Parkin and Simon Johnson for company to pass judgement on the beating of the Bees and a look ahead to Pafos.We begin by touching upon the protests which gathered outside the ground before the game, before turning our attention to the events on the pitch - which saw the Blues somehow come away with a 2-0 win over Brentford.Then - it's the David Luiz derby!! Only he might be injured... but hopefully not! It's surely a must win for Chelsea if they're to secure a spot in the top eight and guarantee automatic passage through to the knockout round.Plus - why are the club interested in signing yet another young centre-back, this time in the form of Rennes 20-year-old Jeremy Jacquet.We'll be back on Thursday to reflect on Wednesday night's encounter with Pafos AND to preview the visit to current Premier League crisis club Crystal Palace.Join the Straight Outta Cobham FPL League! Take part in our audience survey for a chance to win an $/£100 Amazon voucher!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Simon Johnson and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been real, Facundo...Matt Davies-Adams is joined by Luke Bosher and Liam Twomey with eyes on Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night and the 3-2 defeat by Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final first leg. Simon Johnson sends his thoughts on the final whistle on a chaotic evening of Carabao football. We discuss the defensive and goalkeeping shortcomings exposed once again, how Rosenior wants this side to play - and the positives considering how depleted the squad was due to injury and illness. Attention then turns to the visit of Brentford on Saturday afternoon - a Brentford who sit fifth in the Premier League table and could move five point clear of the Blues if they were to come away with a win.We'll be back on Monday to bring you reaction to the Bees match - and look ahead to the midweek Champions League action with Pafos in town!Join the Straight Outta Cobham FPL League! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Liam TwomeyPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big win to kick-off the Rosenior reign...Matt Davies-Adams has got Sam Parkin and Simon Johnson alongside him to look back on the 5-1 win at Charlton in the FA Cup on Saturday night. Then it's onto a wholly different challenge - with Arsenal making the short trip to Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup Semi-Final First Leg on Wednesday evening. Is the pressure off for the Blues? And what kind of reception will we see from the home fans towards the new head coach? Plus, the WSL returned this weekend and CFCW got back underway in style with a 5-0 thrashing of West Ham at Kingsmeadow! But it's still all to do in the league with Man City staying six point clear at the top of the table. We'll be back on Thursday to run the rule over the first leg clash with Arsenal - and look ahead to the visit of Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Simon Johnson and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in October 2025, Liam Rosenior sat down with The Athletic FC Podcast's Ayo Akinwolere and Carl Anka - with RC Strasbourg flying high in Ligue 1.Now Chelsea manager - Rosenior gives an insight into his management style, working in a multi-club ownership model and the importance of representation, diversity and role models.Plus - his approach to coaching and how he gets a big dressing room to come together...Matt Davies-Adams and the gang will be back on Monday to review Rosenior's first game in charge of the Blues against Charlton in the FA Cup - and to look ahead to Arsenal in the League Cup!Host: Ayo AkinwolereCo-Host: Carl AnkaWith: Liam RoseniorExecutive Producer: Adey MoorheadProducer: Jay Beale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are SO back, baby... not a red card in sight...Matt Davies-Adams has got The Athletic's Chelsea experts Cerys Jones and Liam Twomey (!) alongside him for our second show of the week... a second show we'll be bringing you every week going forward!It's a shame we're not with you in happier circumstances - as we have to look back on the 2-1 defeat by Fulham at Craven Cottage on Wednesday night. We discuss the ongoing ill-discipline problems which are plighting this side, Cole Palmer's worrying lack of form - and take the positives from Liam Delap getting his first Premier League goal for the club.Plus, we react to Liam Rosenior's first interview as Chelsea boss and discuss some of the key challenges he faces ahead of his first game in charge on Saturday.Speaking of, we've got another quick look ahead to the trip to The Valley to take on Championship strugglers Charlton - and we preview the return of the WSL with CFCW hosting relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday.We'll be back on Monday with a look back on visit to Charlton and a look ahead to the League Cup Semi-Final First Leg vs Arsenal on Wednesday night.Thank you for your support and emails, messages, five-star ratings which have allowed us to bring you two shows a week! We wouldn't have done it without you.Join the Straight Outta Cobham FPL League! What is Pubalgia? Read Sarah Shephard's piece HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Cerys Jones & Liam TwomeyPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not bad for your first senior game in charge...Matt Davies-Adams has Cerys Jones and Sam Parkin along for the ride as we look back on the hugely creditable 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Sunday evening. Simon's on hand with his reflections on the final whistle from inside the Etihad - as we praise Calum McFarlane's tactical tweaks, the spirit showed by the team to come back into the game - and what it's like for a player in such a bizarre week at the club. We discuss next steps - with Liam Rosenior reportedly in London to finalise details to become the new head coach. Will he be involved in the preparations ahead of Fulham on Wednesday night? We preview that game *and* Saturday's trip to Charlton in the 3rd round of the FA Cup! We'll be back on Monday to reflect on the matches against Fulham and Charlton - plus a look ahead to the visit of Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final first leg! Join the Straight Outta Cobham FPL League! HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Cerys Jones & Sam Parkin PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy New Year...Matt Davies-Adams, Simon Johnson and Luke Bosher assemble for an emergency pod following the news that dropped at lunchtime on Thursday 1st January 2026 - that Chelsea Football Club and Enzo Maresca have parted company.We take a deep dive into the reasons behind the decision and its timing, the mounting questions which will now only grow for the club's hierarchy and their policies - and why it looks like Liam Rosenior will be the man to take over the helm at Stamford Bridge...Back on Monday with our regularly-scheduled podcast looking back on the trip to Manchester City, plus all the latest news and developments off the field. HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well, that wasn't very festive Chelsea.Matt Davies-Adams has got Luke Bosher and Simon Johnson for company as we unpick the collapse in the 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa at the Bridge on Saturday evening.We discuss the failings of the squad building process of the summer, the defensive lapses which yet again came back to bite this team - and whether Enzo Maresca can avoid the pressure mounting to deliver performances and results considering it's now just two wins in eight matches in all competitions for the Blues. There's no time to dwell on that result - with games against Bournemouth and Manchester City in quick succession to take us into 2026. We look ahead to those and make the case that no one from the bench exactly made a case to be starting in these ones... Plus - a quick look ahead to the January transfer window activity and the importance of the League Cup with nine games to come in a crazy month for the club. We'll be back NEXT MONDAY the 5th of January with our reaction to the Bournemouth and Man City games - plus a look ahead to the trips to Fulham in the Premier League and Charlton in the FA Cup. Strap yourselves in for a crazy January!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A minor Christmas miracle in the circumstances...Matt Davies-Adams has got Sam Parkin and Cerys Jones alongside him for a look back on the quintessential game of two halves in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle on Saturday lunchtime.We talk the impressive second half comeback after a dicey opening 45 minutes, Reece's spectacular free-kick - and is Garnacho actually any good at football?Aston Villa are in town next weekend - an Aston Villa side who have won no less than TEN matches in a row in all competitions. So - what can Enzo Maresca's side do to put a stop to their rampant form? And is it another game where they'll rise to the challenge against a top side? Meanwhile CFCW put just the NINE past a sorry Liverpool to book their place in the League Cup semi-finals. And - Chelsea players as Christmas things, anyone? We'll be back next Monday to look back on Saturday's visit of high-flying Villa - and preview the clashes with Bournemouth and Manchester City.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Cerys Jones and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Ornstein reports that Chelsea's Enzo Maresca is high on the list to replace Pep Guardiola - with the anticipation of this being his last season at Manchester City.It comes less than a week after Maresca's outburst regarding his 'worst 48 hours' at the club, which came following the 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday. The Athletic FC Podcast assembled to react to the news. Matt Davies-Adams and the gang will have more reaction to the story on Monday's pod - where we'll be reflecting on Saturday's trip to Newcastle as well and looking ahead to the festive fixtures.Host: Adam LeventhalWith: David Ornstein, Oliver Kay, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Simon JohnsonExecutive Producer: Abi PatersonProducer: Guy Clarke Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How was your last 48 hours?!!Matt Davies-Adams is joined by Cerys Jones, Luke Bosher and Simon Johnson (through the medium of extensive voice notes) as we look back on a pretty bonkers few days in the life of Chelsea Football Club.We take a deep dive into Enzo Maresca's post-Everton press conference revelations and the subsequent reluctance to elaborate on his angst. We've got a look back on that 2-0 win over the Toffees on Saturday AND the slightly painful but ultimately successful path through to the League Cup semi-finals after the 3-1 win at Cardiff on Tuesday night.There's a look ahead to the slightly daunting trip to St James' Park on Saturday lunchtime - a venue where the Blues have suffered four straight defeats. Plus - there's a big European tie for CFCW, forgotten £50 million men and FPL woes to boot.We'll be back on Monday with our analysis of that game and a look ahead to what the Christmas period has in store for Enzo's side. HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Cerys Jones, Luke Bosher and Simon Johnson PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Non bene... Producer Lucy's joined by The Athletic's Simon Johnson out in Bergamo for some quickfire reaction to the 2-1 defeat by Atalanta - which leaves Chelsea's hopes of a top eight finish in the UCL league phase hanging perilously in the balance.So where did it all go wrong in the second half? What have been the big areas of concern across these that three performances against La Dea, Bournemouth and Leeds? And how much pressure does this put on Saturday's game against Everton?Matt will be back with a thorough look at the visit of the Toffees - and a look ahead to the trip to Cardiff in the League Cup! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the dullest games in recent memory?Matt Davies-Adams has got Luke Bosher and Sam Parkin alongside him with the unenviable task of having to look back on Saturday's drab goalless draw at Bournemouth. Cerys Jones was there and sent her thoughts - and tried to take the positives from the clean sheet! But the misery was compounded by another serious injury to Liam Delap as the curse of the '9' shirt continues...The Blues have to get back to winning ways on Tuesday night, making the trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta in MD6 of the Champions League. The Athletic's Italian football expert James Horncastle sends in his assessment of the challenge the Blues will face against the side who they sit level on points with in the league phase table.Elsewhere, the streak is over! Chelsea Women's unbeaten run ends at 34 games after their shock 1-0 defeat by Everton at Kingsmeadow on Saturday. So does it mean their title hopes are over, sitting six points behind Manchester City at the top of the table?Plus - a chance to hear from Chelsea loanee Leo Castledine - who's impressing at Huddersfield and in a rich vein of goalscoring form in League One!There will be a SOC Extra dropping for you on Wednesday morning off the back of the trip to face Atalanta - before Matt returns with a full squad on Monday to look back on the visit of Everton AND look ahead to the trip to Cardiff in the League Cup on Tuesday night.Join the SOC fantasy leagueRead Simon's piece with Leo CastledineHOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It feels like more than just a point... Matt Davies-Adams has got an OG SOC crew of The Athletic's Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey alongside him to look back on Sunday's 1-1 draw with league leaders Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.The gang reflect on the pretty remarkable point picked up against the Gunners given the first half red card dished out to Moises Caicedo, the maturity showed by Reece James and the rest of the team to contain Mikel Arteta's side - and the overall growth of this young squad over just a matter of months to show they really can be competitive against the very best the Premier League and Europe has to offer. Next up - the Blues kick off a run of three straight away games when they travel to Elland Road to face Leeds on Wednesday night. How will Enzo Maresca tinker ahead of that one? And will Cole Palmer be thrown back in from the start? Plus! Dom Fifield pops by to tell us more about The Athletic’s brand new book ‘The Soccer 100’ - billed as ‘a celebration of the beautiful game and its 100 greatest players’. Who of a Chelsea persuasion gets a mention?!We'll be back on Monday to look back on Saturday's trip to Bournemouth AND look ahead to UCL MD6 as the Blues head out to Bergamo to face Atalanta on Tuesday night.Join our Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league!Get The Athletic's 'Soccer 100' book! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yamal who???????Producer Lucy's joined by Simon Johnson to look back on a great European night under the lights at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea dispatched Spanish champions Barcelona in emphatic fashion, winning 3-0 and in some style on Tuesday evening.What more can we say about Estêvão?! How big was it for Liam Delap to open his account? How good is Marc Cucurella!? And how does this set the team up for the top of the table clash with the Gunner's this weekend?Matt will be back on Monday for a comprehensive look back at Sunday's visit of Arsenal - and to look ahead to the midweek trip to Leeds in the Premier League! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some week ahead...Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Sam Parkin alongside him for all the fallout from Saturday's ultimately comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.It might not have been the most memorable of encounters - but we lavish praise on Andrey Santos and his MOTM performance, ponder Liam Delap's importance despite his struggles in front of goal - and lament Cole Palmer's door frame after his freak injury extends his lay-off from action. It tees us up for an absolutely pivotal week - with Barcelona visiting Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, before Arsenal make the trip over from North London in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.We look ahead to the Champions League MD5 meeting against the Spanish giants - with The Athletic's Barca reporter Pol Ballús on hand to give us some insight into what to expect from Hansi Flick's side. Simon Johnson was in SW6 for the pre-match press conferences of Enzo Maresca and Marc Cucurella - so we've got a bit of a flavour of that for you too! We'll be back on Wednesday morning with Simon's official verdict from the Bridge - before Matt and the gang return on Monday morning with our full post-Arsenal pod.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Cerys Jones and Sam ParkinPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No more international breaks until March!? Hallelujah!Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Luke Bosher along for the ride as we relish the return of the Premier League - and Saturday's long trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.We've got a round up of the international Blues in action - before pondering how that will impact upon Enzo Maresca's ever-unpredictable team selection, why this could be a big opportunity for Liam Delap to kickstart his season - and whether Cole Palmer should be risked with Barca and Arsenal on the horizon?!CFCW suffered disappointment at the weekend, held to a 1-1 draw by bottom of the table Liverpool to see them fall three points behind Man City at the top of the WSL table. Can they use that as fuel when they face old foes Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday night?We'll be back on Monday to round up events in Lancashire - and look ahead to the visit of Spanish champions Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday!Listen to the Totally Football Show - The Art of Enjoying Hazard Join the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Cerys JonesPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

165 games later...Matt Davies-Adams has got Cerys Jones and Liam Twomey alongside him for the seismic fallout from Malo Gusto scoring his first ever senior goal - which got the ball rolling on Chelsea's ultimately incredibly comfortable 3-0 win over Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night.We talk the ongoing great rotation debate, whether starboy Estêvão should be in from the start - and whether this enforced break will give some of the team a chance to get back to something like full fitness after a punishing schedule. Cerys did the double-header on Saturday, also in place at The Emirates for the eventful 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Chelsea in the WSL. We've got reaction to that one and a simply sensational first league goal from Alyssa Thompson. We'll take a pause for the last international break until March (hallelujah!) - but return the back end of next week to look ahead to the trip to Turf Moor AND the visit of Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek.Join the Straight Outta Cobham Fantasy League! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Cerys Jones and Liam TwomeyPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Qarabag had lost all seven of their previous matches against English opposition, but that's fine... Producer Lucy's got reaction from the 2-2 draw with the Azerbaijani champions out in Baku - with Cerys Jones across the game for The Athletic on a night where the Blues avoided the embarrassment of a shock defeat, but still suffered a major blow to their hopes of finishing in the top eight of the league phase table. Are Chelsea suffering due to the ongoing lack of stability in the starting XI? Why was there such little urgency from the heavily-rotated side? And what does this mean going into the visit of Wolves on Saturday?! Matt Davies-Adams will be back with a full show on Monday looking back on that game under the lights at Stamford Bridge, as well as the huge WSL clash between Arsenal and Chelsea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

0.05 xG?!?Matt Davies-Adams is accompanied by two of The Athletic's finest - Simon Johnson and Luke Bosher - to look back on the 1-0 victory over Tottenham.It was a rather bizarre evening without major incident compared to the recent mayhem between these two sides - but we discuss the complete nullification of Spurs, Robert Sanchez's impressive command of his box (while hearing from the man himself) - and run out of ways to describe just how magnificent Moises Caicedo is.The Blues have got a long midweek trip to Qarabağ to navigate on Wednesday night. We preview that game and ponder just how many changes we'll see from the utterly unpredictable Enzo Maresca.Elsewhere - CFCW were back in domestic action and back to winning ways after their hard-fought 2-0 win over London City Lionesses to maintain their 1-point lead at the top of the WSL table. Plus - we're all Team Hannah Hampton!We'll be back later in the week with some quick-fire reaction to Wednesday's trip to Azerbaijan - before Matt and the gang return on Monday to bring you the fallout from Saturday evening's visit of Wolves in the Premier League.Join the Straight Outta Cobham fantasy league! HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Luke Bosher and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.