Chelsea need another new manager. So much for job prospects in West London. It’s all change at the top of the Premier League table. It’s all change within the BBC Sport department. There’s the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend as well. Issue 92. Go.

In Then Out

Could You Be The Next Chelsea Manager?

The marriage of convenience lasted less than four months at Stamford Bridge. Liam Rosenior ushered in as the bride from across the English Channel, his divorce papers handed to him on Wednesday.

A fifth successive defeat was too much for the Chelsea board to stomach, the manner of their 3-0 reverse to Brighton unpalatable for those who had made the journey down to the South Coast.

Five successive league defeats, five games without a goal. Chelsea moving further away from the all-important fifth place in the Premier League - after their reverse to the Seagulls, Fabian Hurzeler’s men have now swooped into sixth.

Enough to jolt Chelsea’s owners into action but action that once again comes without a plan. Rosenior’s switch from Strasbourg at the start of the year was a handy stop gap from within their own multi-club network but there is no short-term lever to pull right now.

On The List

The kind of appointment that had it paid off, Chelsea could have patted themselves on the back and said well done. Now, they once again are left to draw up another managerial shortlist for the summer.

The 41-year-old Rosenior was perhaps a pawn in Chelsea’s lack of joined up thinking. It always seemed from the off that the job was going to be too big for him, this was clearly the case by the time Spring had sprung.

Admittedly the language used is pre and post-match pressers was difficult to win naysayers over. The last thing you want to hear as a supporter is a manager making nonsensical comments on the other side of another defeat.

Of course, it is not just about Rosenior’s use of the English language that got so many people offside but when you start to become a figure of fun from a social media perspective, you can feel as if the job is slipping out of your hands (take West Ham and Graham Potter as another example).

More importantly, there has been no spring in Chelsea’s recent form and when you consider the reported financial pressure that the club are currently dealing with, the prospect of no Champions League football is enough to make any finance director sweat.

Another Chelsea Gamble

Four games of the league campaign, Calum McFarlane takes interim charge of the club for the second time this season - that in itself tells you how much upheaval has taken place in this section of West London over the past few months.

McFarlane’s first bit of business is the FA Cup semi-final with Leeds on Sunday. On paper, you would say Chelsea are the favourites but Wembley is a different surface altogether and with the form that Leeds are currently in, they will be smelling blood.

Whether you could consider Chelsea’s recent run of results as a bloodbath could be argued but there is an underlying feeling that it is rotten at the top and when the rot is visible from that high up, it soon filters through to the bottom.

No senior leadership on the field of play, no permanent manager to see them to the end of the season. A large likelihood of no Champions League football at Stamford Bridge in the Autumn.

Fundamentally, Chelsea don’t have a results problem but they do have a decision-making problem and until that changes, the boom and bust cycle won’t. They may win a Club World Cup or a Conference League every other year but is that really enough?

I think we all know the answer to that.

Lacking Real Focus

The BBC ends one of its flagship football shows

Thursday saw the BBC announce that they would no longer have Football Focus as part of its sport portfolio from the end of the season. The Saturday lunchtime show soon coming to an end after 52 years on the screen.

A show that feels like it has been running on fumes for the last five or so, certainly if you have watched any episode that has been on the television since the start of this current campaign.

Lost in a void of YouTube channels, podcasts and soundbites, the direction of Football Focus seemed to cater for nobody when it used to cater to everyone and by and large, that has been its undoing.

Editorially it feels flimsy, the best parts of the show, namely the main Premier League interview of the week being spun off into its own standalone segment. Like many things at the BBC, it feels like a death of a thousand cuts.

The fact it’s up against both EFL and Premier League matches on Saturday will not have helped its cause but it should not have meant the death knell either - there are still plenty of people who do not have Sky or BT Sports.

Not only that, but the fact a magazine show was in theory on offer to give a general overview of the last seven days was enough of a hook for people who also had the means to watch live football.

A Holistic Approach

Believe it or not, not everyone wants to watch Brentford vs Fulham on a Saturday lunchtime. They may just want to get an opinion or two on the biggest stories across the game, before then taking in a 3pm kickoff of their own.

The BBC say that the reason for scrapping the show is due to the different way that people consume football and although that cannot be overlooked, not everything needs to be a race to chase younger audiences all the time.

Just because the youth of today aren’t watching Football Focus should not have meant the death knell of the show. There is still enough of a potential audience out there to cater for, an audience that ironically is not being focused on.

A potential audience that have not been quiet in bemoaning the decision but at the same time, it is one of those use or lose it scenarios. If more people watched it, the show would not have been scrapped. Of course, the show has not been good enough for some time.

Would a Friday night episode on BBC Two or BBC Three have been the answer perhaps? Start the footballing weekend a night early, give it a free rein against any lunchtime fixtures the following day.

Who knows if that would have offered enough salvation. It’s all a moot point now anyway but as the broadcasting landscape changes once again and the obsession with digital clips continues, the traditional football show as we now becomes a relic.

As Football Focus dies, it’s ashes are scattered all over the internet but nobody knows where they will end up and that is football broadcasting’s overall problem.

All Change Please

A very quick midweek mop up

  • Will Manchester City regret only getting the better of Burnley by a single goal?

  • Burnley relegated to the Championship with a whimper, no suggestion that Scott Parker will be leaving Turf Moor but is this the right decision

  • Leeds hit the magic 40-point marker, I think they can start to relax now as safety is all but confirmed

  • Bournemouth go seventh but may feel that it is two points dropped in the race for European football

  • Especially as sixth place could open up Champions League football - Aston Villa must win the Europa League and finish fifth themselves.

  • Brighton now find themselves sitting in sixth place. The Seagulls have really woken from their slumber as of late. 13 points from the last 15 on offer.

  • Chelsea. See at the top of the newsletter

Six Quick Sprints

A look at a more condensed weekend of Premier League action

Fulham vs Aston Villa

With Sunderland and Nottingham Forest already underway at the time of writing, my Premier League focus starts at Craven Cottage as Fulham play host to Aston Villa. Marco Silva’s men have failed to score in each of their last two league outings but did at least earn a point at Brentford last weekend.

No shortage of goals for opponents Aston Villa after their four-goal haul on Sunday and with their recent win over Sunderland, Saturday presents Unai Emery’s men with an opportunity to move back into third. Win by the banks of the River Thames and the Villa Park outfit will also move a step closer to a Champions League return next season.

Liverpool vs Crystal Palace

Liverpool’s bid for Champions League qualification took a huge boost with Brighton’s win over Chelsea in midweek and although the Seagulls are now Arne Slot’s nearest challengers, the Anfield outfit have the chance to create an eight-point gap in the race for fifth. All they have to do is beat Crystal Palace.

The Eagles arrive on Merseyside having played out a bore draw on Monday night at home to West Ham. Not the biggest surprise when you consider that they have nothing to play for in terms of Premier League matters. European exploits on Thursday far more important for the Eagles, I would not expect them to soar at Liverpool this weekend.

West Ham vs Everton

With the way things are panning out at the time of writing, it looks like a straight shootout for the final relegation berth at the end of the season. Nottingham Forest steamrolling Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Friday leaving West Ham and Tottenham to duke it out.

The Hammers entertain Everton on Saturday as David Moyes returns to his old stomping ground and after suffering an injury minute defeat at home to Liverpool last Sunday, the Scot will be keen to take that frustration out on his former employers. Then again, West Ham may need a win themselves because of the fixture below.

Wolves vs Tottenham

Wolves confirmed to be playing Championship football next season, surely they are not going to put up a fight against Tottenham on Saturday? Or is this the day when Rob Edwards’ men turn into prime Barcelona 2009 in a bid to make Spurs’ anguish in the relegation zone even deeper.

Many Tottenham fans would have identified the trip to Molienux as one of the winnable ones of seven when Roberto De Zerbi took over as manager. The number of matches is now down to five. A win in the West Midlands and West Ham failing to get out of the bottom three would take Spurs out of the drop zone. Does the revival start here?

Arsenal vs Newcastle

All eyes on the red half of North London on Saturday evening as Arsenal play host to Newcastle and after being usurped at the top of the Premier League table in midweek, the Gunners now have to respond to Manchester City’s win at Burnley. Problem is, there is the small matter of Champions League football to also think about in midweek.

Could this leave the door open for Newcastle to get a much-needed result? The Magpies have lost each of their last three league outings. Late goals largely their undoing across all three. Time could be ticking for Eddie Howe as manager, a win here would allow him to turn the clock back by at least a week or two. A must win game for both sides.

Manchester United vs Brentford

Monday night football takes us back to Old Trafford as Manchester United play host to Brentford at Old Trafford. Michael Carrick’s men have one foot in the Champions League next season, a win over their West London opponents would all but confirm their seat at Europe’s top footballing table next season.

A venue that Brentford looked like they could gatecrash just a couple of weeks ago but five successive draws has been their undoing as of late. The Bees start the weekend sitting ninth in the table, but that does not have the same feel to it as sixth and although Keith Andrews will be delighted with how things have panned out, there is a risk the season is starting to ebb away.

The Filter Five

Let’s wrap it up quickly

Foxes Hunted Out

Leicester will be playing League One football after their relegation to the third tier was announced in midweek. A stunning decline when you consider that they won the Premier League just 10 years ago.

It just goes to show what years of financial mismanagment can do to any football club, no matter the previous success has been achieved. That mismanagement sees Harry Winks on £90k a WEEK. Good luck trying to get him off the books over the summer.

Baggies Bounce Down

Leicester’s six-point deduction would not have helped their cause, but they are not the only Championship club to suffer a penalty of that kind. Sheffield Wednesday falling foul on more than one occasion, West Brom now joining them on the naughty step.

The Baggies punished for a financial breach a couple of weeks ago, the penalty a two-point deduction. Convenient in the sense that it is highly unlikely to relegate the club, nothing more than a slap on the wrist considering the timing of it all.

Just As Bad

Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni has been given a six-game ban by Uefa for homophobic conduct during their Champions League knockout play-off match with Real Madrid in February.

Remember the comments he made to Vinícius Jr. Turns out they weren’t racist, just homophobic. Something does not add up there, especially as UEFA consider it the lesser of two crimes. Surely they should carry the same punishment?

Road To Wembley

The FA Cup semi-finals take place this weekend. Feels like an afterthought with all the football that is also taking place across Saturday and Sunday but that is modern football for you.

Can the Saints march on to their first FA Cup final in 23 years, Can Man City edge closer to a domestic treble?

Can Chelsea find some new interim manager bounce? Can Leeds continue their positive run of results at the expense of the Blues? Some of it is on BBC, some of it is behind the dreaded TNT paywall

Fantasy Stuff

You missed the deadline didn’t you.

Admin

Right, that’s the end of issue 92 as word continues to spread around the football world.

This isn’t a newsletter that follows the crowd. It sets the lens through which you see the game and more than 210 subscribers are now viewing it through that lens.

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Issue 93 drops Tuesday, I’ll be back with another round of insight, analysis and trends that matter. Any feedback or comments on this issue, contact me below:


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