Thinking out loud about football, data and tactics. DM for enquiries. Articles at: expectedchelsea.substack.com…
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I'll be pinning this thread and include my best works in it so that it will be easy for newcomers to read. Hopefully I'll be able to update this thread on a regular basis. :-)
As always, RTs will be genuinely appreciated.
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Rafael Leao, Wilfred Zaha, Leroy Sane, Heung-min Son and Harvey Barnes have attempted 11 dribbles against Reece James this season. They've succeeded in 1.
Oh, and he had 5 goal contributions in those games too.
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Thomas Tuchel is the first manager to ever defeat Diego Simeone over two legs in a Champions League knockout tie without having Cristiano Ronaldo on his team.
Master.
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Callum Hudson-Odoi is the youngest player ever to win both the Champions League and the Europa League.
He's just 20 and doesn't turn 21 until November!
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CFC Dubliner™
Career goal contributions by current under-23 strikers:
Tammy Abraham: 107 🔷
Erling Haaland: 107
Lautaro Martinez: 91
Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 68
Luka Jovic: 66
Youssef En-Nesyri: 52
Joao Felix: 52
People often underrate just how special Tammy Abraham is as a goal-scorer.
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Frank Lampard's first 6 official signings:
🇭🇷 Mateo Kovacic - £40m
🇲🇦 Hakim Ziyech £37m
🇩🇪 Kai Havertz - £72m
🇩🇪 Timo Werner - £47m
🏴 Ben Chilwell - £50m
🇧🇷 Thiago Silva - free
We're supposed to believe he has an "English bias" and no pull power though.
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Diego Simeone on Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea:
"We understood their superiority from positional play. There were always people in space. I loved it, they are a team with versatility. It was demonstrated against City. They beat Madrid as they beat us. Tuchel has done an enormous job."
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Chelsea's record when Andreas Christensen has started under Thomas Tuchel:
14 games
13 clean sheets
10 wins
1 goal conceded
Rolls Royce.
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Graham Potter – A Brave New Era.
In this thread, I am going to look at why Potter to Chelsea makes a lot of sense and why he is the man we need.
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Saves made by Karl-Johan Johnsson tonight: 13 (as of 112th minute)
Saves made by Kepa Arrizabalaga since the restart: 13
Yes, that is a real stat.
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Saul Niguez player summary:
Positives: He can play in many positions.
Negatives: He's bad in every position.
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Edouard Mendy is already a Chelsea cult hero and could go down as a Chelsea legend in a few years.
This man deserves all the love in the world.
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Jorginho is the first Chelsea player ever to win ALL major European trophies.
2019 — Europa League
2021 — Champions League
2021 — Euros
2021 — Super Cup
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Chelsea are now the only team in Europe to concede fewer than 5 league goals this season.
Brick wall.
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A crazy statistic: Juan Mata has the same number of PL assists for Chelsea and Man United - 27.
He was at Chelsea for 3 seasons, he has been at United for 9.
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The Edouard Mendy story:
-Unemployed at the age of 23.
-First professional contract in Ligue 2 at 24.
-Promoted to Ligue 1 at 26.
-8th place finish with newly-promoted Reims at 27.
-3rd place finish with Rennes and a move to Chelsea at 28.
This is what dreams are made of.
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Olivier Giroud leaves Chelsea as the only player to have ever scored a perfect hat-trick in both the Champions League and the Europa League.
Cult hero.
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Petr Cech's first 12 games for Chelsea after signing from Rennes:
9 clean sheets
3 goals conceded
Edouard Mendy's first 12 games for Chelsea after signing from Rennes:
9 clean sheets
3 goals conceded
History repeating itself?
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Havertz — £37m FFP profit, £13.5m/year wages saved
Kovacic — 22m profit, 6.5m wages saved
Mendy — 1.2m profit, 4m wages saved
Koulibaly — 6.7m loss, 13.5m wages saved
Ziyech — 6.5m loss, 5.5m wages saved
Kante — 16.2m wages saved
Net: £47m profit, £58.2/year wages saved.
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Only 6 signings have contributed more than 20 goals in their debut Chelsea season since 2003:
26 – Cesc Fabregas
25 – Eden Hazard
24 – Diego Costa
24 – Juan Mata
21 – Timo Werner
21 – Didier Drogba
[PL + European stats only]
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N'Golo Kante and Jorginho are the first teammates for an English club to finish among the top 3 finalists for the UEFA Player of the Year award.
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Chelsea International Summary:
🇮🇹 Jorginho, Emerson - Euro champion
🇺🇸 Pulisic - CONCACAF Nations League champion
🏴Mount, Reece, Chilwell - Euro runners-up
🇧🇷 Thiago Silva - Copa America runner-up
🇩🇰 Christensen - Euro semi-finalist
🇪🇸 Azpilicueta - Euro semi-finalist
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These are the only players who should be nailed-on starters next season. Formation might vary.
Big summer ahead if we want to compete with the very best.
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Premier League players with at least 40 key passes, 80 progressive passes and 80 passes into the final third this season:
• Kevin De Bruyne (29 years old)
• Bruno Fernandes (26 years old)
• Mason Mount (22 years old)
Elite company.
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Since the start of October, Chelsea have allowed only 26 passes within 20 yards of their own goal!
This is the best record in the Premier League in that time period.
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Premier League ✅
FA Cup ✅
Europa League ✅
World Cup ✅
Champions League ✅
N'Golo Kante is the best defensive-minded midfielder of all time. No more arguments.
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Most clean sheets for Chelsea in a single CL campaign:
7 — Edouard Mendy 2020/21 🔵
5 — Petr Cech 2005/06
5 — Petr Cech 2008/09
5 — Petr Cech 2011/12
Another record broken.
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Fikayo Tomori jumped to a height of 2.63m (8.6 feet) to score his goal against Juventus, setting a new Serie A record.
The previous highest was Cristiano Ronaldo, who jumped to a height of 2.54m (8.3 feet).
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Last time a Tottenham player scored against Chelsea in the Premier League:
- Eden Hazard was at Chelsea
- Mount and Reece James were in the Championship
- Edouard Mendy was in Ligue 2
- Lukaku was at United
- Hudson-Odoi hadn't made his league debut yet
- COVID-19 wasn't a thing
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Crazy stat:
Juventus have conceded more goals at Stamford Bridge (4) this season than Chelsea (3).
Juventus have played one game here, Chelsea have played nine. CL + PL stats.
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Most Man of the Match awards in this year's Champions League Knockout Stages:
4 — N'Golo Kante
3 — Kevin De Bruyne
2 — Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe
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Youngest players to score a competitive hattrick for Chelsea since 2000:
Christian Pulisic - 21 years and 38 days
Kai Havertz - 21 years and 102 days
Tammy Abraham - 21 years and 347 days
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 22 years and 272 days
Eden Hazard - 23 years and 32 days
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League goals this season:
Messi and Mbappe: 5
Foden and Grealish: 4
Ronaldo and Sancho: 3
Reece James and Chilwell: 7
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In Kalidou Koulibaly, Chelsea are getting the most two-footed elite centre-back in the world.
You might remember Terry pinging passes with both feet, Koulibaly is just as good.
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£80-110m + Tammy Abraham for Erling Haaland is the definition of a win-win deal.
- We get a world-class striker.
- Dortmund get a proven goal-scorer and a truckload of money.
- Haaland gets a club where he can win trophies.
- Tammy gets a club where he can play every week.
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic has failed to finish top of the league (in Europe) in just 3 full seasons since 2003.
2011-12: Lost to Antonio Conte's Juve
2016-17: Lost to Antonio Conte's Chelsea
2020-21: Lost to Antonio Conte's Inter
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Chelsea this season:
4th – Final position
4th – Expected position
7th – Goals scored
2nd – Expected goals
3rd – Goals conceded
6th – Expected goals conceded
Youngest team in the league and first season in the PL for Maresca. Impressive work.
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Non-penalty goal contributions per 90 of selected PL strikers:
Didier Drogba: 0.79
Harry Kane: 0.74
Andy Cole: 0.73
Wayne Rooney: 0.70
Michael Owen: 0.68
Romelu Lukaku: 0.68
Alan Shearer: 0.63
Jamie Vardy: 0.59
Respect the king.
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As a fanbase, we don't hype Trevoh Chalobah enough.
He has taken a massive leap forward on the ball and in the air. Can play all across a back 3 or on either side of a back 4. A major presence in set-pieces on both ends. An amazing player to have in the squad.
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Imagine hating on Kurt Zouma of all people. The same Zouma who has been with us since he was a teenager. The same Zouma who has gone through numerous hardships. The same Zouma who has always been a credit to the club.
Some Chelsea fans are such bad vibes.
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Olivier Giroud since joining Chelsea:
Champions League ✅
World Cup ✅
Europa League ✅
FA Cup ✅
Bundles of iconic goals ✅
One of our best-value buys ever.
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We signed Malang Sarr despite knowing he's not good enough for the first team. This was a favour to his agent.
In return, his agent convinced Lukaku (also his client) to move here.
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Let’s take an in-depth look at Kai Havertz – his strengths, weaknesses and tactical fit at Chelsea.
(THREAD)
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We sold Lamptey and Livramento for peanuts without factoring in the age and declining ability of Azpilicueta and Alonso.
This is on us and no one but us. Atrocious squad planning.
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Chelsea are the first team to beat Juventus by 4 goals since February 8, 2004.
Not bad for a "defensive" team.
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I’ve been thinking about the issues facing Chelsea and there is one simple answer that covers everything: CULTURE.
Culturally, the club is broken and needs to be urgently repaired. Let me tell you how in this long thread.
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Jude Bellingham suffers from the same misconceptions as Frank Lampard. He's a victim of his own ability.
He's so good at scoring that casual fans think it's all he does. In reality, his actual midfield work is better than 99.9% of midfielders too.
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Cole Palmer has 10 goals and 6 assists in 16 starts in his first ever full PL season.
10 goals. 6 assists. 16 starts.
What a joke.
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Jorginho is the only player in history to have won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Euros, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Player of the Year awards in the same year.
History-maker.
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With all due respect to Kounde, we don't need him now. Trevoh has proven himself. We can look again next summer.
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Chelsea fans haven't yet realized the team is really good, and is equipped to deal with injury/suspension shocks.
Like I keep saying, there is no need to panic about signing players. The ones we have are plenty good and Maresca has a strong record in improving players.
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Youngest Chelsea players to have double-digit goals and assists in the same league season:
23 years - Mason Mount 2021/22
25 years - Juan Mata 2012/13
27 years - Frank Lampard 2004/05
28 years - Didier Drogba 2005/06
28 years - Eden Hazard 2018/19
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Thomas Tuchel is the first manager to ever win 7 straight London derbies in the top 4 English divisions.
History maker.
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Chelsea have conceded just 3 goals in Antonio Rudiger's last 16 starts. That is roughly a goal every 5 games.
His recent form deserves plenty of praise. Very impressive stuff.
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Open play goals conceded in first 7 league games:
Chelsea 2004/05 – 1
Chelsea 2021/22 – 1
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Yuri Zhirkov was 25 when he signed for Chelsea in 2009.
12 years on, he's still playing at the highest level.
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Kai Havertz is the youngest player to:
- Make 50 Bundesliga appearances
- Make 100 Bundesliga appearances
- Score 15 Bundesliga goals in a season
- Score an European Championship goal for Germany
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Chelsea have lost 8 of our last 11 finals since 2015.
2015 League Cup ✅
2015 Community Shield ❌
2017 FA Cup ❌
2017 Community Shield ❌
2018 FA Cup final ✅
2018 Community Shield ❌
2019 League Cup ❌
2019 Europa League ✅
2019 UEFA Super Cup ❌
2020 FA Cup ❌
2021 FA Cup❌
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Of all the strikers in the world, Romelu Lukaku is the best suited to Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel. This is an UNREAL deal.
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If it was Conte or Tuchel on the touchline and not Maresca, the narrative would be how this was a "lock down" defensive performance.
United had just 5 shots the whole game, just 1 on target.
We played a final today, and the best way to win finals is by making them boring.
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Cole Palmer is a Man City footballer. Movement, technique, everything, he's a level above. Absolute Rolls Royce.
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Roman Abramovich:
- Made Chelsea the most successful men's team since 2004
- Revolutionized our academy
- Funded a league-leading women's team
- Went over and above to care for our staff
- Donated to the NHS during the pandemic
Forever grateful to him. 💙
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Cole Palmer has scored or created a big chance in each of his last six Premier League games, the first Chelsea player to do so since Eden Hazard in 2018/19.
Gem.
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Callum Hudson-Odoi for the Chelsea senior team:
32 starts
26 goal contributions (19 in Premier League/Europe)
137 minutes per goal contribution
Superb end product for his age.
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Do you think Marcos Alonso and Xabi Alonso get mixed up often? No.
Do you think James Rodriguez and Ricardo Rodriguez get confused for one another? No.
Then why is it okay for Edouard Mendy and Benjamin Mendy to get mixed up?
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The two best managers Chelsea have had in recent times.
2016 vs 2021 - A tale of two away wins at the Etihad.
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Caicedo and Cucurella have earned permanent respect and affection from me for what they've done this season.
It's been a season of ups and downs but those two have always been there - commitment, intensity and application have been flawless.
Well in lads.
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Mason Mount ranks in the top 10 in the Premier League for the following stats:
Successful pressures – 2nd
Key passes – 3rd
Shot-creating actions (SCA) – 4th
Open play SCA – 5th
Progressive carries – 5th
Carries into final third – 6th
Through balls – 7th
Amazing footballer.
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Edou running all the way until the corner flag on the other end of the pitch to celebrate is so wholesome.
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If only England had a pair of Champions League-winning fullbacks in their team... Oh wait, they do!
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Introducing Edouard Mendy – A thread on his strengths, weaknesses, areas to improve and fit at Chelsea.
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Mason Mount should be the front-runner for this year's Young Player of the Year award. Phil Foden has been phenomenal but he has started only 14 PL games.
Would be a richly deserved award for the season he has had so far.
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Chelsea could possibly become the face of Nike's football marketing campaign very soon.
- Kai Havertz
- Christian Pulisic
- Mason Mount
- Thiago Silva
- Hakim Ziyech
- Ben Chilwell
- Antonio Rudiger
- Kurt Zouma
- Reece James
- Mateo Kovacic
- Tammy Abraham
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The last time Chelsea won a Champions League knockout tie, Edouard Mendy was unemployed and considering quitting football altogether.
7 years from then, he has kept two clean sheets to help us defeat the best team in Spain.
Never give up on your dreams, friends. 💙
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This Mason Mount hatred and abuse is getting ridiculous and out of hand.
Yeah, he missed a penalty, but he was one of our best players yesterday. Shit happens. Pick it up and move on.
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Mason Mount has not gotten anywhere near the appreciation he deserves for his performance yesterday.
A goal, an assist, a ton of ball progression and a lot of defensive work, all at the most iconic stadium in the sport. A complete performance.
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Chelsea have only signed two left-footed centre midfielders under Roman Abramovich.
1. Nemanja Matic
2. Saul Niguez
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Andreas Christensen:
UEFA Youth League champion.
UEFA Europa League champion.
UEFA Champions League champion.
The first, and only, player in history to achieve this feat. Take a bow, sir.
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Frank Lampard 2009/10: 22 goals, 10 assists. Not in the PFA Team of the Year, didn't win Player of the Year.
Eden Hazard 2018/19: 16 goals, 15 assists. Not in the PFA Team of the Year, didn't win Player of the Year.
Welcome to the club, Mase.
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Chelsea players returning to pre-season this week:
Monday (19th) — N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic
Tuesday (20th) — Antonio Rudiger, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz
Friday (23rd) — Michy Batshuayi
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Chelsea's attacking ranks in the PL:
Crosses — 1st
Big chances created — 2nd
Passes into box — 3rd
Progressive passes — 3rd
Through balls — 3rd
Touches in box — 3rd
Successful dribbles — 3rd
Carries into box — 3rd
Shots — Joint 4th
Shot quality — 6th
We are good. Stay patient.
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Thiago Silva is probably our best signing since Kante in terms of value for money and sheer quality.
We're witnessing greatness everytime he steps on the pitch.
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Chelsea are the first club in Europe to earn 30 clean sheets this season.
Edouard Mendy - 23 (38 games)
Kepa - 6 (11 games)
Willy Caballero - 1 (2 games)
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Someone has to tell Havertz every game he plays is a cup final or a Champions League knockout. He is unstoppable when the stakes are high.
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Had Reece been allowed to take the penalty, he could have been the first Premier League defender to ever score a hat-trick.
It's a shame we robbed him off that possibility, especially since the game was more or less wrapped up.
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All good things have to come to an end. Thomas Tuchel’s reign as a Chelsea manager was undoubtedly a good time but it had to end – for his benefit and ours.
I will explain in this thread where things went wrong and why we had to separate.
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Callum Hudson-Odoi is a victim of systematic character assassination by the media. Unfortunately, this has been bought by fans who either naïve or have their own agendas to pursue. This has to stop.
Let me explain. (THREAD)
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