The Opposition View: Everton at Chelsea | Pressure mounting on both sets of Blues

For Everton, it’s seemingly two steps forward and at least one step backwards. Sure the Blues beat Burnley for their first league victory since December, but more points were taken from the side due to financial sanctions. Hence, while the Toffees might have felt on top of the world - albeit, momentarily and towards the bottom end of the table - they are likely heading into this Monday night matchup against Chelsea with a chip on their shoulders all the same.

They will need it.

Chelsea isn’t great this year, as has been the case over the last several years, but they have the talent on the side to show glimpses and glimmers here and there. They have a boss who is demanding and quite competent. Given time to mature, the team could be consistently dangerous sooner than later, but right now, Everton won’t be entirely sure what type of intensity they’ll get from their opposition - even in London.

The Blues will know to beware of dangermen like Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling, but who else will show up for Chelsea at home? And who will show up for Everton in London? Will it be DCL? His goals would be welcomed to the side, and his confidence must be on the rebound - alongside that of Beto - after some recent success was found.

But who will win? Only time can answer this question, of course

Ahead of Monday night’s match, we spoke to Dávid Pásztor, manager of SB Nation’s Chelsea blog, We Ain’t Got No History:

RBM: Straight off, Chelsea have had another frustrating season; what is the current feeling around this side, Stamford Bridge and the followers right now as the team remains inconsistent but full of potential?

WAGNH: There’s no two ways about it. The current feeling is overwhelmingly negative, both online and in the stands, which has of late manifested itself in booing and occasional chanting against the owners and coaches (and some players, even). We’re not quite to open rebellion, but as the Chelsea Supporters Trust put it recently in an open letter to the powers that be, we have already started down a path of “irreversible toxicity,” and it’s going to take a drastic change in fortunes to prevent that from happening.

The team’s potential is generally still recognized and agreed upon, which just adds to the frustration caused by our inconsistent results.

RBM: Talk to us about this side and this season please; what should we know about this year?

WAGNH: Chelsea are a very young (and still very new) side and that has definitely shown in our inconsistent performances, execution, and focus. An injury list at least ten deep for the vast majority of the season certainly hasn’t helped (including the likes of Reece James, Wesley Fofana, and Christopher Nkunku, among many others), but that’s an excuse we’re all tired of at this point.

This team can be inconsistent not only from game to game but often from half to half or minute to minute. We never know which side will show up: the one that can hang with Manchester City in two draws this season, or take Liverpool to extra-time in the League Cup final, or the one that will contrive to win fewer than half of our games so far against the bottom six, including 2-2 draws recently against (10-man) Burnley and Sheffield United.

Early in the season, we were struggling to score goals. These days we’re struggling to concede fewer than two a game; it’s maddening.

RBM: What is the feeling like around supporters and followers regarding Mauricio Pochettino, and does he have a future at Stamford Bridge?

WAGNH: Pochettino’s future very much hangs in the balance as we head into the final month of the season. It’s hard to see him stay in the job without getting back into Europe, either by winning the FA Cup (we’re in the semifinals) or by somehow going on a run of results and finishing in the top-six/seven in the league. Most fans would sack him regardless, I feel.

Poch came in with some strong, ambitious words about winning and trophies, but without results to match, his messaging has slowly transformed into cliches about process and work and progress and patience. That may be a more realistic expectation for this team, but the fanbase’s expectations remain much higher than that, so that sort of messaging hasn’t sat well at all.

RBM: Is the Todd Boehly era thus far being judged realistically, harshly, or both by supporters?

WAGNH: The summary judgments may be a bit harsh, but in a way, the new ownership brought it all unto themselves. Building a squad by bringing in a bunch of very expensive 19- and 20-year-olds on very long contracts may sound good in theory, or in a video game, but in the real world, it’s a plan fraught with danger. Even if we can see the vision that they are going for, the way they have gone about doing it has threatened to knock us out of the upper echelon for good. Four head coaches in two years have tried to make it work, without consistent success.

Boehly & Co have also come under (valid) criticism for failing to follow through on promises of clearer, more open communication with fans, and the stadium plans have made little to no progress in the two years that they’ve been in charge.

RBM: Can the side squeak into Europe with this young and disjointed squad? What is best case scenario over the rest of the season?

WAGNH: Amazingly, we still might squeak in. With eight games to go, we’re only five points off sixth and with a game in-hand. Of course, getting there would require the one thing that has eluded us all season, consistent results, but it’s not like the other teams vying for that position, Manchester United, Newcastle United, or West Ham United, have been able to do so either. So it’s a battle of which team can be the least worst.

That said, we are just two wins away from an FA Cup trophy, and if we can somehow beat Manchester City in the semifinal, surely we could get past either Manchester United or Coventry City in a potential final, too, and get back to Europe that way.

RBM: Will Chelsea be able to purchase any upgrades this summer, or are they going to have to sell the likes of James and others to comply with FFP in the wake of the recent crackdown?

WAGNH: It seems quite likely that we will have to collect some “pure profits” by cashing in on Academy products. Reece James is highly unlikely to be one of them, but the possibility (never say never in football) does make for some good headlines. Conor Gallagher would be a much more likely candidate, with just a little over a year left on his contract, for example.

As far as any incoming upgrades, we might be able to make a few signings, but probably not at anywhere near the nine-figure prices we have been paying of late.

RBM: How do you expect Chelsea to set up this Monday night, and who do you think could cause Everton the most problems in the game?

WAGNH: Pochettino has almost exclusively stuck with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Nicolas Jackson up top, Cole Palmer inspiring the attack, Conor Gallagher keying the press, Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo running the midfield, Malo Gusto providing attacking thrust on the right, Axel Disasi anchoring the backline, and Đorđe Petrović keeping goal. Unfortunately, both Disasi and Enzo look set to miss out, which could cause a bit of a reshuffle.

Palmer’s the obvious dangerman, though he was showing a few signs of fatigue last weekend, when Gusto was rested for similar reasons. But if those two can be at their best, they can generate more threat than most teams can handle.

RBM: Finally, what’s your prediction for Monday’s match?

WAGNH: Well, since we’re incapable of keeping a clean sheet, but with just one defeat since the start of November at the Bridge, I wouldn’t be surprised by another 2-2 draw or perhaps a 3-2 win for Chelsea.

Our thanks to Dávid for his time.