London is Blue Dispatch #004

Mykhailo Turns Heads In Debut

James Milner closes his eyes and all he can see is the blue blur of Mykhailo Mudryk speeding towards him. As Dan said in our script this week, Mykhailo Mudryk is going to be a problem, but not for us. Milner tried first and Trent went second, but neither had an answer for Mudryk’s blistering pace or close-control technical ability. If the first 35 minutes of his Chelsea career are a prelude of what's to come, we have all the reason in the world to feel confident he will be special. Don’t buy the hype yet? Here are some initial reviews:

• Joe Cole: “What I liked about Mudryk today was the way he threatened Liverpool. When you can do things like that in the final third, forget about systems & tactics. You’ve got a player like that who can run away from someone; it lifts the crowd, it’s a reason to be positive.”

• Steven Gerrard: “Mudryk looks the real deal, some of his clips today were outstanding. He reminded me a little bit of Arjen Robben here today, his footwork, how quick he is, how he manipulates the ball, I would be very excited if I was Chelsea.”

Registration Deadline for XL Tours & LIBP March Trip

You still have time to join us on our trip to London from March 3rd through 8th to see Chelsea's mens team take on Leeds and Dortmund and the women play either Brighton or in the Conti Cup final – but time is running out. The deadline to register is January 31, 2023. Bonus: we asked, and XL Tours delivered, a new $100 registration discount applied automatically at checkout. We're excited by the number of people already coming, and are happy to answer any questions you might have! There will be pints, pies, and plenty of good times including some live podcasts (#1000 hopefully at a very, very special location). So book now and join us in London this March!

Badi's a Baddie

Credit to friend of the pod Tannah Overall for a great 3 Word Match Review™ and clutch phrase.

2 appearances. 180 minutes. 2 clean sheets. Life at Chelsea has started beautifully for Benoît Badiashile. He’s provided a calming presence in the back when we desperately needed it and has shown maturity beyond his 21 years. His match stats against Liverpool (credit to Statman Dave) were: 99 touches, 88% pass accuracy, 75 passes completed, 7 ball recoveries, 3 clearances, 2 interceptions, 1 key pass, 1 big chance (he will rue not scoring that header). On top of all this, Badiashile signals a new era of transfers at Chelsea: Young, hungry, promising, and most important, ready.

On joining Chelsea, he had the following to say: "Chelsea have obviously shown they have huge faith in youngsters and it’s a good club to progress as a youngster. It’s a project that convinced me as soon as we talked about it."

Chelsea, ICYMI

• Cesar Azpilicueta reached 500 Chelsea appearances at Anfield. “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.” If you watched The Sandlot like I did growing up, you’ll remember that phrase. Assistpilicueta™ is a bona fide Chelsea legend. Put up a statue. Add him to the looming Hall of Fame. He’s simply one of the best winners in club history. We got the chance to interview him before he made appearance #300, so take a trip down memory lane with us and salute the man. Link to YouTube video.

• Captain, Leader, Legend sighting: John Terry was in the away end at Anfield. Songs were sung, pictures were taken, and joy was had. Love to see JT back in the mix.

• New Signing: Chelsea signed Noni Madueke on Friday as the young attacker joins from PSV. He’s a different profile of attacker than what we have right now. To ensure that you have COMPLETE Madueke coverage, please listen to our Madueke Profile pod feat. CFC Central, and read his brilliant analysis thread.

• Winter Break creates a big chance for Chelsea. We don’t play until February 3rd, which signals the longest time between matches that Potter will have on the training pitch with his players, including all the new signings. I expect Chelsea to come out firing against Fulham.

• Missing big chances: CFC Central also made us aware of a stunning stat on Saturday. Of the last 10 big chances that Chelsea have created, we have missed 9. Obviously, this is stopping us from winning matches like we could have against Liverpool, Fulham, etc.

• Transfer rumors:

  • Lyon RB Malo Gusto is apparently a target in January to help spell Reece James, according to L’Equipe.

  • Brighton’s Caicedo consistently linked with Chelsea, but the fee may prove difficult as Chelsea have offered less than the asking price.

  • The Declan Rice sweeps are underway. Can Chelsea bring him home and cause the Arsenal message boards to go into panic mode again?

  • Enzo continues to be talked about, but will Chelsea meet the steep €120MM release clause for the star midfielder?

  • Bayern Munich have been in contact with Chelsea this week in order to inquire about the possibility of a future deal for Kai Havertz. Been told things could go faster at the end of this transfer window. (via @sachatavolieri)

  • Hakim Ziyech apparently has interest from AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven. With Madueke’s arrival will Ziyech leave in January?

• Utter nonsense: The Chelsea Women’s match against Liverpool was abandoned because of a frozen pitch. There are a lot of questions to be asked of the FA why the match could be played in the first place if conditions were so bad. Emma Hayes also asked why more women’s grounds don’t have underground heating to avoid this situation in the future.

• Tifo Alert: The excellent “We Are The Shed” group are planning an epic home tifo for Dortmund. We can’t wait to see it live (more on the trip below).

• Keeping up with friends: Tammy Abraham continues to impress at Roma by scoring classy goals like this.

Upcoming Podcast Schedule

Our podcast schedule this week includes:

• Monday, January 23rd:

  • Liverpool Match Review

  • Blue Royalty: Maika Hamano Player Profile

• Tuesday, January 24th: Transfer update with Matt Law.

• Wednesday, January 25th: Looking at RB targets with CFC Central.

• Thursday, January 26th: Blue Royalty: Conti Cup Match Review.

• Friday, January 27th: Cobham Crew Academy Update with Chelsea Youth.

Winter Break Notes

That’s it for our fourth edition of the London is Blue Dispatch. Please keep the comments coming and let us know what you’d like to see from the newsletter!

We hope that you’re able to follow the Chelsea Women and Chelsea Youth teams during the men’s break. These teams are worthy of your time. The Chelsea Women play Spurs in the Conti Cup on Wednesday. The U18s play Cambridge in the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday. The U23s play West Ham on Friday. Get stuck in.

Finally, I know my White Lotus take was not well-received last week. I (Nick) do not care. However, this week, I will share something I like: a clip from SNL. A couple of Parks & Rec alumni (Aubrey Plaza and Amy Poehler) reunited during SNL’s Weekend Update to share an update from Pawnee, Indiana. It made me smile… unlike the White Lotus (boom roasted… ok I'm done slating White Lotus).

Keep the Blue Flag Flying High,

Nick