Chelsea swing the door wide open for Newcastle United | OneFootball

I can’t say that I was ever that impressed by Chelsea.

Earlier in the season when the media were lining up to to say how brilliant they were.

Any Chelsea victory ‘proof’ that they were back as contenders, any Chelsea defeat conveniently ignored.

The hype and bias shown towards clubs like Chelsea by the London centric media is laughable.

To me, two other thing stood out to me about Chelsea in particular early in the season, how much luck they were carrying in many games to get the points they did get, plus how they were so overly reliant on Cole Palmer. Actually, the Chelsea fans were more honest than the feeble journalists, I often say comments from them stating that if Cole Palmer was missing then they had little confidence in their team to get results.

Looking back at their early season results, Chelsea only won five of their first eleven Premier League matches.

They have went out very early in both domestic cups, winning their first game in both FA Cup against League Two opposition, then losing in both when they then met Premier League opposition. I think flat track bullies is a perfect description, summed up by the fact that they won 5-0 against both Barrow and Morecambe but struggled playing decent level teams.

Which brings us to now.

I watched Chelsea on Friday night, they were absolutely woeful. They lost 3-0 to Brighton and it could/should have been double that scoreline.

As a reminder, Brighton’s last four results have been a 1-0 defeat at home to Brighton, a 7-0 thrashing at Forest, a 2-1 defeat in the FA Cup to Brighton when Chelsea had only one shot on target, then last night’s 3-0 when Maresca’s team didn’t have a single effort on target.

This leaves the Premier League table like this on Saturday morning:

I find it astonishing that Chelsea are top four.

They have absolutely fluked it, but possibly not for long…

Chelsea have swung the door wide open for Newcastle United.

There are no guarantees but we just need to now walk through that open door.

With the top five positions almost certainly giving Champions League football, I see it as Liverpool and Arsenal, plus any three from Forest, Man City, Newcastle United and…Bournemouth.

These are the Premier League records over the last nine matches for both Chelsea and Newcastle United:

Chelsea: Played 9 Won 2 Drawn 3 Lost 4 (9 points)

Newcastle United: Played 9 Won 7 Drawn 0 Lost 2 (21 points)

As you can see, in the space of only nine PL matches, Eddie Howe’s side have gained 12 points on Chelsea.

These are the records in domestic matches this season for both Chelsea and Newcastle United, since United lost at Stamford Bridge on 27 October 2024:

Chelsea: Played 19 Won 8 Drawn 4 Lost 7

Newcastle United: Played 21 Won 15 Drawn 2 Lost 4

You have to laugh, despite spending way over £1.5billion in less than three years on new signings under these new owners, the Chelsea boss and the media are saying that they are desperate for a striker just because Jackson is currently injured. Also claiming an urgent need to buy players for other areas of the team as well.

The way the fixtures have fallen, it is Man City, Forest and Liverpool next for Newcastle United in the Premier League. However, what of course that means, is that then the final 11 PL games that follow, looks nowhere near as daunting.

What a prize today though, if Eddie Howe can pull it off.

Plenty of Man City fans and pundits are predicting a Newcastle win at the Etihad. This would be yet another hoodoo lifted, which Eddie Howe has made a habit of doing with NUFC.

Nobody thinks this will be an easy game but certainly Newcastle have a chance, a very decent one.

Plus, the massive prize is that a win today would see Newcastle United move fourth in the table and make it 13 wins in the last 15 matches in all competitions.

United going above Chelsea and if they do so, then every chance I think that Newcastle United will remain so for the rest of this season.

The hype on Chelsea has extended to their European run, winning games against Eastern European low standard opposition and the media fawning over them.

Chelsea always strike me as a team of individuals, indeed a club of individuals.

I just checked and Maresca is third favourite to be the next manager sacked, only Postecoglou and Van Nistelrooy more fancied to go.

In stark contrast, Newcastle United are a real team, not 11 individuals, whilst in Eddie Howe we have a modest but stellar manager.

The Newcastle United players and fans just need to keep on doing what we have been doing and it will be Champions League football next season AND whisper it quietly, maybe even also silverware in the dusty NUFC trophy cabinet before this season has the final whistle blown on it.

Saturday 15 February – Man City v Newcastle (3pm)

Sunday 23 February – Newcastle v Forest (2pm) Sky Sports

Wednesday 26 February – Liverpool v Newcastle (8.15pm) TNT Sports

Weekend of Saturday 1 March –  Newcastle v Brighton (1.45pm) FA Cup fifth round – ITV1

Monday 10 March – West Ham v Newcastle (8pm) Sky Sports