Chelsea: The Father of the Pride speaks (Volume VI)

And relax. Chelsea is back and the international break is over. It seems an age since Anthony Taylor was interpreting the rules of the game as he saw fit. Looking at it now, it feels less painful than it did a couple of weeks ago, and perhaps by the end of the season, it will be a vital point. However, we must move on from that because that’s history and everyone knows we don’t have any of that.

There have been a plethora of World Cup qualification games over the last couple of weeks and I think Chelsea’s players have done OK. I’ll be honest, I don’t take much notice, I’m very much a plastic international fan. Of course, Christian Pulisic has returned to the fold with an injury and misses Saturday’s game against Aston Villa. The American has not really put himself in the position of a first team regular for one reason or other. It’s not always been his fault, but should that continue through the season, there’s every chance Thomas Tuchel or the powers that be above him will look to move him on next summer, probably on loan.

Another given during the break was Timo Werner missing an open goal for his country, it’s good that it’s not just us he does that for. To be fair, he scored in every game, so I think we can let that one slide. Someone else missing out was Jorginho, who watched his hop, skip and jump penalty saved by the Switzerland keeper Jann Sommer. Good that he did that for Italy rather than Chelsea, for that alone, the international break has at least served some purpose.

There was a tremendous stat over the last week about Cesar Azpilicueta having not made a single error leading to a goal during his entire Premier League career. You can twist stats any which way to suit your own particular agenda, but it’s really hard to put a negative spin on that one, though some tried. That leads to another conversation about our Spanish captain and his status as a potential club legend. There’s no doubt in my mind he will forever be a Chelsea legend—no question. I’m just not sure that can be until he retires or, perish the thought, moves on. I think he has a few more years in him yet though.

Talking of our great captain, he was sent off against the Villains—away from home—in our final league game of last season. It was a scrappy game and defeat could have seen us miss out on the fourth spot in the league and crucial qualification for the Champions League. We lost 2-1. Of course, in the end, it didn’t matter, that qualification was achieved six days later in Porto. Both last term’s games against Villa were refereed by Stuart Atwell, the home game being a 1-1 draw. Not that we really care who presides over games, as long as his initials aren’t AT, but Atwell takes charge again at the Bridge.

A Chelsea victory this weekend will be the club’s 600th in the Premier League. Only Manchester United has more. Arsenal is close behind, but in all likelihood, it will be falling further back as the season progresses. It’s no mean feat for the Blues to have achieved such success and is a testament to the players and managers that have been at the club. As fans, we’re so lucky to be living through the most lucrative in the club’s history. Not too shabby for a club founded in 2003.