This Chelsea match is most important of next two – Here’s why | OneFootball

Elvis Costello once sang ‘(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea’.

Well our double header against the Pensioners is almost upon us.

A trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, followed by a midweek Carabao Cup tie at St James’ Park.

I find Chelsea and their supporters easily unlikable. I never liked them even before Roman Abramovich racked up in 2003.

I couldn’t stand the arrogant Ken Bates who came before him. I honestly believe that Chelsea fans have almost no recollection of what happened before the noughties.

They actually were successful in the late 1990s under Ruud Gullit and then Gianluca Vialli.

Abramovich’s billions transformed the footballing landscape in the EPL and in Europe.

At the time of the Chelsea takeover in 2003 there had been a G14 of elitist clubs within UEFA.

The usual suspects, likes of Real, Barca, Bayern, Man Utd, Liverpool and Milan etc, held sway.

It wasn’t long before the likes of Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (who held the UEFA chair for a while) started crying and spitting their dummies out regarding Chelsea’s wealth.

Chelsea went on to win EPL titles, Champions Leagues and countless other trophies in a literally golden two decades.

All things must come to an end though, the Roman conqueror deposed after the beginning of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Todd Boehly and his consortium then joined in the Yank invasion of the EPL when they acquired Chelsea in 2022.

This man has been seen as somewhat of a clown since his arrival but that hasn’t stopped the West London club spending even more ridiculous amounts on players.

They are definitely nowhere near the side they once were and Newcastle United owe them for last season. They somehow managed to overtake us in the Premier League to grab a European Conference place, also luckily beat us in the Carabao Cup. A Kieran Trippier mistake in the dying seconds of normal time at their place led to our eventual downfall on penalties.

Now I’m going to be honest. I don’t think we will beat them at Stamford Bridge at the weekend. Confidence in the camp seems low and our form this season has been below par.

The Cup is a different matter altogether though. Eddie Howe and the fans will be craving a victory under the Gallowgate floodlights.

This season’s Carabao Cup competition has been manufactured to help most of the usual suspects and I am desperate for a return to Wembley in 2025, to put right what didn’t happen in the 2024 final against the Salfords.

We should have won the bloody Carabao Cup in 2023 and it was one hell of a lost opportunity.

I hope we win both games but the Cup game is the most important. Lets shake off the Blues by putting Chelsea out of the competition.