Viktor @VikCFC

Even Abramovich would have had to work within today's FFP and PSR rules, so spending power alone would not solve everything. The difference was stability and clear ownership. Chelsea still need the stadium decision, but it is probably worth waiting to see what the current owners actually deliver.

Stamford Bridge is the biggest financial decision Chelsea cannot keep delaying. The Telegraph says matchday revenue was £86.8m, far behind Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool. Clearlake may be at the point where doing nothing is no longer an option.👇 Sam Wallace reports the choice remains rebuilding Stamford Bridge or moving to Earls Court, with a new stadium potentially costing £3bn or more. That means Clearlake would need to make the case again to investors or lenders that English football can support such a huge long-term commitment. But this is exactly why the decision matters. Chelsea cannot close the revenue gap while staying in a 40,000-capacity stadium that earns significantly less on matchdays than its biggest rivals. The appetite for a project of this scale can be questioned, but the financial pressure to solve it is becoming harder to avoid.

Alejandro Garnacho has been an unused substitute for Aston Villa in four straight matches. Whatever the long-term plan, that loan is doing nothing for him right now. A 22-year-old winger Chelsea still own needs minutes, not a permanent seat on someone else's bench.

Romeo Lavia and Mike Penders are both in Belgium's squad for four Nations League fixtures, starting away at Italy on Friday. After the season he's had, Lavia getting a proper run of competitive minutes matters more than the result of any one game.👇 Belgium play Italy, then host France, then two more before October 6. That's rhythm Chelsea haven't been able to give him. Worth watching how he comes back.

Lavia has four Belgium Nations League games in this break. I would rather he comes back with rhythm than another stop-start month. Chelsea's midfield is too dependent on Caicedo for Lavia to remain a theoretical solution.

@FutyChels Fake quote. There is no original interview, video or reputable report showing Arsene Wenger said any of this. If a quote this long has no source attached, that should be the first warning sign. I genuinely cannot understand why people decide to bookmark or repost stuff like this.

@Bosha485735 @KingDickso28297 Chelsea already have around 28k season ticket holders, about 10k on the waiting list and well over 100k members in the ticket pool. An 80k stadium is not relying on fans flying in from Nigeria every week. The demand is already here.

Alonso wanted to reunite with Xhaka after their time at Leverkusen. Sunderland said no to Chelsea's £8million bid instead. Given the fraud investigation Xhaka now faces in Switzerland, that rejection looks like it worked out fine.

Unconfirmed, but Si Phillips reports Chelsea plan to add two midfielders. That is the part I care about. Brentford showed how thin the area looks without Caicedo, and relying on full-backs to cover central midfield cannot be the long-term answer.

Liverpool away on 28 October is exactly the sort of Carabao Cup tie Chelsea need. After putting six past Leeds, the fourth round gets serious. I would rotate, but not tear the side apart. Anfield is a proper test of the depth Alonso has been given.

Interesting early-season table using Transfermarkt summer spend against points won. Chelsea sit at £50.0m per point after seven points from five games. Far too early to judge squad value properly, but it is a pretty brutal snapshot of the return so far.

Out of Context Football Manager @nocontextfm1

13 hours ago

Premier League cost per point this season so far: 20. Tottenham - 2 points - £157.4m per point 19. Aston Villa - 4 points - £64.5m 18. Chelsea - 7 points - £50.0m 17. Coventry City - 3 points - £46.2m 16. Fulham - 2 points - £43.9m 15. Newcastle United - 8 points - £33.6m 14.

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Martyn Ziegler in The Times reports leading European clubs are exploring a real salary cap and limits on agent fees. For Chelsea, this is not abstract. FA figures show the club paid GBP65.1m to agents in the latest period, the highest total in the Premier League.👇 UEFA already limits squad costs to 70% of revenue, covering wages, transfer amortisation and agent costs. Chelsea breached that threshold for 2025 and received a €3m fine, €2m of it conditional. Yet The Times reports that some owners believe the current system behaves more like a luxury tax than a genuine brake on spending. That is why a real salary cap would be a much bigger change than another accounting rule. I think it is something football should seriously explore. Chelsea's £65.1m agent bill alone shows how much money can disappear before supporters see anything on the pitch. The FA says Premier League clubs paid £460.3m to agents in that reporting period. The Times also reports the concern from club owners that as salaries and agent payments keep rising, clubs keep looking for more income from supporters and commercial deals. That link is not as simple as saying wages directly set ticket prices, but the direction of travel is obvious: football keeps generating more money and an enormous amount of it is absorbed before it reaches infrastructure or supporters. The difficult part is legal. Clubs are only exploring whether a genuine cap can be built and defended. But if they can find a workable model, this would change European football far more than another tweak to FFP.

Reece James should not be treated as a midfielder by default. The Standard's point about Arsenal matters: his lack of experience there was exposed, while Neto has adapted better to the right wing-back role. For me, James still makes more sense closer to the back line.👇 If Alonso keeps the back three, right centre-back is where I would use him most. He can step into midfield from there without asking him to live in central traffic. His passing and defending remain strengths. Building the midfield around him does not.

Chelsea have scored enough to make the attack look healthy, but the underlying number is 7.3 xG after five league games. That is the warning. Palmer, Rogers and Joao Pedro have been finishing above what Chelsea create. If that drops, the results will drop with it.👇 Talk Chelsea, citing Dom Smith in the Standard, points to the same issue. Brentford showed it. Once the front three could not create something themselves, Chelsea had very little underneath. Alonso has to improve the chances, not just the possession.

Eleven senior players are staying at Cobham this break, James, Colwill, Fofana, Gusto, Caicedo, Henderson, Gittens, Chavarria, Palestra, Palmer and Joao Pedro among them. That's the group actually available to fix what went wrong at Brentford.

This international break is not a full reset for Chelsea. National teams can play up to four matches between September 21 and October 6, so Alonso gets time at Cobham, but not with the whole side he is trying to fix.

Lacroix has played 90 minutes in six of Chelsea's seven games, but I am not convinced the balance helps him or Colwill. Colwill looks less comfortable defending wide, while his passing range is reduced on the left. Lacroix has not looked settled centrally either.👇 For me, Colwill is the cleaner fit in the middle. That gets his passing back into the game and stops asking him to defend wide so often. Lacroix still has value, but, I think, the current arrangement is not getting the best from either.

@LuisToochi No one. That is the point of having squad depth. Estevao does not need to bench Palmer, Rogers or Neto every week. He needs enough minutes to develop and enough trust to change games when one of them is out or the match needs something different.

Estevao's Brazil call-up is useful for Chelsea. Three friendlies give him a chance to build proper match rhythm after such limited club minutes. If Brazil use him regularly, Alonso should get a clearer picture of where he is physically.

Conceding 12 goals in five league games is not just a back-three problem. Chelsea have no clean sheet and four goals have come from set pieces. The same picture keeps repeating. Opponents attack the ball first while Chelsea react too late. The whole defence has to be more aggressive inside the box.👇 Changing the goalkeeper or moving between three and four defenders will not fix that on its own. Alonso can improve the setup, but somebody still has to attack the cross, win the header and clear the danger. Chelsea are losing too many basic duels.