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Clean sheets, Mike Penders and who is Bobby Vincent? · Chelsea Press Room

• peter: It begins. Right. We're actually it's actually recording now, so we can actually we could do a proper intro, but we're not. Kieran's gonna laugh. This isn't good. This isn't good. So you're gonna you're gonna claim credit for the name of the podcast because you did you did come up with it, you know. It's it's been in your back pocket for a while. She sent us a whole list of them pretty much on on the money. Kieran Gill: Yeah, I mean, no, I know Bobby thinks I used AI, but I didn't. It's just Chelsea Press Room. It's just coincidence. CPR. peter: But Bobby thinks all of your content's AI. Bobby Vincent: I'm going back to find the list now. I'm trying to find the whole list. Kieran Gill: No, please don't. Bobby Vincent: forgot what the other ones were. There was another one we liked, I can't remember what it was. Kieran Gill: It was just embargoed. Bobby Vincent: embargoed, yeah yeah yeah. Kieran Gill: then we had to explain peter: Yeah, but Kieran Gill: to you what embargoed meant. Bobby Vincent: I love Jaddy Alonso peter: Situa. Kieran Gill: you Bobby Vincent: with a blue love heart. Kieran Gill: Alright, what we talking peter: Great start. Kieran Gill: about? peter: Great start. Right, so shall we just like so that's Bobby Vincent. Do you wanna say who Bobby Vincent is, Bobby Vincent? Bobby Vincent: Bobby Vincent is a senior Chelsea correspondent for peter: Signia. Bobby Vincent: Football London and the Daily Mirror. I've been doing it for about, it's my fourth season covering Chelsea, which is more than both of you combined probably. peter: Ooh, it's throwing shade already, glime. Fair enough. It's not wrong. Kieran, you've left out your middle name, you've left out confidential. Kieran Gill: Yeah, well I'm Kieran Gill from Daily Mail. like long walks on the beach. I'm Bobby Vincent. Bobby Vincent: On walks on the beach peter: And I'm Peter Utzler from The Times. Kieran Gill: And then, see you. peter: There we go. That's Bobby Vincent: That's it. peter: that's that's all anyone needs to know about me, and that's that's how it will remain. so yeah, we we all cover Chelsea. we which is actually a clue in the name of the podcast, which was, as I said, immaculately conceived by Kieran Gill. We're regularly there asking questions. Bobby Vincent's there, you know, writing writing writing up the magic afterwards for us so we don't have to do it. but in the best possible way to start this podcast, only one of us was actually in the press room at the Hill Dickinson stadium on Saturday, and that was confidential himself. a big win for Chelsea, wouldn't you say, Kieran? I think considering well, how much Chelsea have struggled in these kind of games and and I think it was put to Xavi Alonso beforehand as well, that we don't really see much fight from from Chelsea, at least in the last couple of seasons in in these sort of iterations of young Chelsea teams. Kieran Gill: Yeah, because that yeah, I mean, Chelsea tend to struggle up north, don't they? And, you know, wherever it is, the I think they've got a pretty bad record once they go north of Luton, essentially. And yeah, the first half was a bit dull, but then I think Chelsea wanted that they want they needed a bit more control. And then, know, the second half with the kickoff glitch yet again. And I mean, met up, mean, you know, Bobby wasn't there, he abandoned me. So the night before I actually met up with a couple of the Chelsea staff to have a couple of drinks. You know, people who work in football are so boring, aren't we? We just talk about football. For some reason we were talking about like Pep Shavarria. like one of them basically said, the biggest compliment you can give to Pep, and you know, to Giorgietto, is that nobody's mentioning how... the miss Kukureya, which I thought was fair enough. then, yeah, was close to being in the lineup, couldn't make it. Then Giorgio Hector had to fill in and he created the opening goal for Neto really with that overlap. So I thought overall it was a really good performance from Chelsea. I quite like the nasty side to Parma that we're seeing as well. I feel like we haven't really seen that before. peter: I wonder if that's also like an element of having Jordan Henderson in the group. I I know we'll probably talk a bit more about him in a bit, but he he is very gobby in in the nice sort of way of describing that. in a way we haven't really seen I mean that when you're sitting pitch side at Stamford Bridge, we're pretty close to the technical area. You you can tend to hear what the players sound like, or at least not always hearing what they're saying, but you can see who's loud. But certainly week before, in the five on one over Bournemouth, you could really see how much Henderson was having that that kind of impact. And you wonder whether that's actually sort of helping others in a way. Because there's there's a good way of doing it in a bad way. And and we've talked a lot about their their ill ill discipline as as well, right, Bobby? Bobby Vincent: Yeah, and just to that point as well, saw one of the bits I did see from the game was Levi Colwell very early on, who was the captain on the day, sort of losing it. not all close to losing his head, but in that instance, Jordan Henson was the one calming him down. So even though he didn't have the armband on, it was almost a bit like he was the real captain. But yeah, like you said. I remember watching Henderson at Liverpool a lot and he was always in the refs here, no matter what really. And I think that's what, that's kind of what you want as a fan, even though sometimes when you're watching as a neutral, you're looking and being like, it's a bit much, but as a fan, want the players to at least try to influence the referee in whatever way you can. And it does definitely make a difference if you've got, you know, someone like Jordan Henson, a very loud guy just shouting in your ear constantly. Kieran Gill: I mean, even, Bobby Vincent: Go. Kieran Gill: even like after full time at Everton, Henderson was having a chat with Palmer. and I presume that was him telling him, don't be so silly sort of thing. Cause Palmer was on the windup for some reason he was, you know, throwing balls in the air, talked himself into a yeller. he lunged in on Jared Branford after a hundred minutes when Chelsea were already 2-0 up. so he's kind of flirting with a second yeller for a while. And then Henderson was having a word with him after. And I presume it was him saying, you know, lesser the, you know, it's fine to be like that, but lesser the silliness because, know, got Tottenham next done when you're suspended. I think, but yeah, I think that's a new side to Palmer we're seeing as well. Cause normally he's just like this laissez faire dude, isn't he? You know, when there's aggro, he's just, he sits on the ball on the pitch and watches everyone else get into a scrap. Whereas I think he's, I don't know, he's been on Bobby Vincent: yeah. What game was that again? What game was that when he sat on the ball? Kieran Gill: Was that when Kukure was chucked to the ground by a Dama Traore? peter: Yeah, Bobby Vincent: I it might be last peter: the West Ham game, yeah. Bobby Vincent: season, yeah. Kieran Gill: Yeah, was something like that, but Palmer's normally away from it, but I feel like he's been a bit more involved. don't know if, you know, we've seen Morgan Rogers come in and do that squaring up with Rice at Arsenal, squaring up with Tarkovsky at Everton. So maybe he's rubbing off on Palmer and getting a bit more, I don't know, a bit more passion out of him. I don't know if that's... Bobby Vincent: I mean, Jaby peter: Is it there's been a Bobby Vincent: just, sorry, I was just gonna say Alonzo did speak in pre-season about Palmer taking up more of a leadership role, which we hadn't necessarily heard from his predecessors. So maybe that is something he's doing. peter: That's exactly what I was going to say, Bob. Look at that. Great minds. Great minds. good going back to before kickoff, obviously Pep Chavara, I think, was supposed to be playing at left wing back. And you as you as you mentioned, Kieran, Gerald Hato comes in, does particularly well. And it is an interesting point that Chelsea seems to have coped pretty well without Mark Cucarreia, which feels pretty significant given how much praised. I mean, we were all writing about Cucarea, his influence. obviously we we all interviewed. Mark Cooker before the Club World Cup final, you could tell that he was one of the the more senior experienced communicative types within the group. Obviously to lose him we can say what you want in terms of the the him wanting to go and whether he worked particularly well under Liam Rassigna, but it still felt pretty significant. I mean we were regarding him as one of, if not the best left back in the league. So for that question to not be so loud, it feels pretty important. Kieran Gill: Yeah, I mean, I'll state it on record, I'm a Pep Shavarria fan. When we saw, was it Brentford? Where we saw him, I even quite liked him when he came on then. I don't know, every time I've seen him at, he kind of reminds, I don't know if he's just a lookalike, but he looks like Neto. But I don't know, I just like his energy. I like him as a signing. But yeah, when I was chatting with someone at Chelsea on Friday night, That's one the things they said. They said one of the biggest compliments is the fact we can just say, or nobody has said, Chelsea are missing Kukereya, which I think is fair. peter: There's an interesting dynamic as well, right, Bobby, because obviously we've seen Chelsea move to essentially using wing backs. We haven't actually seen Marco Palestra play. but we've got Pedro Neto on the other side seeming seemingly taking on a new role. I know Xavi Alonso has questioned that, hasn't he? Kieran Gill: Well, I'll interject here because that was my question to Alonzo when he came. peter: So he's basically calling calling out your football knowledge. Kieran Gill: Yeah, so I was at Everton, Neto just scored twice in the press conference. Nobody had asked about Neto and I thought, well, let's give him his flowers. I just need some nice words to put into the copy. So I just said to Alonso, said, is he surprised you? know, since you came in, you've kind of asked him to play in a bit of a wingback role. And Xabi came back and said, you think he's a wingback? And, know, Bobby's been in this situation. I've seen him brick himself when You know, Enzo Maresca asks him a question to his question. And Bobby Vincent: Enzo Morisca's scary oven job. Kieran Gill: I, I was just, you know, you're panicking now, but you don't expect the manager to ask you a question. So I said, well, well, you tell me. So, you know, and then he kind of explained he's, he's a wingback, he's a winger, he's whatever you want him to be. But I don't know, I thought he's been a wingback. He's been getting back doing his defending, obviously attacking. Yeah. I know there's different systems in and out of possession. So, but that kind of suggested Alonso doesn't think he's playing as a wingback. So I'm questioning everything I know about football. Bobby Vincent: Yeah, he's a bit Alonzo's. There's been a few questions like that when you've asked him about a certain player's position. Even like when we've been talking about Estival and him not playing that much and he doesn't like to sort of just tie them down to one position even though like when we watch it, it does look like he's a wingback. I mean, Pedro Neto said himself right, he did that interview with Sky. I think it was after one of the Carabao Cup games, I think maybe Leeds. And he was Kieran Gill: Yeah. Bobby Vincent: having a bit of a back and forth with Conor Cody and he was saying he's a wingback now. Who knows, maybe it's just mind games from Alonzo. peter: Alon Alonso's been doing that all summer as well though, because even when you know when we were on tour, you try and ask him, Are you gonna play a back three? Are you gonna play a back four? And he just he wouldn't like go into that at all. And it it's always felt like he's kind of he's trying to say, I ba I play players based on their profile, like what I think they they can do. But it's it is it he is playing as a wing back, like that's that's his role. I suppose the only difference is maybe defensively he's sort he's higher, isn't he? He's not doing what like what Hatto did on on Saturday, which would have been drop right into a four when they lost the ball. But he's he's still having to to cover that that space and I guess it feels even more relevant considering that it feels similar to Victor Moses, obviously ten years ago for Chelsea, a winger suddenly playing at wing back and and are we kinda are we surprised that that Neto's playing as well as he is in this role? I mean we can bring come on to Esteval and whether he where he fits in In a bit, but for Neto in particular, it feels like he's he's adjusting. Like I don't I don't know if I feel like I'm completely comfortable with him in that role defensively, but at the moment it feels like he's he's fitted in better and also been willing to make that change. Because I think that there was a sense that Neto was also pretty close to Cucareo we talked about close to Enzo Fernandez in the group. He signed a new contract, he's clearly committed and and is now playing in a role that I don't think he expected to to play in. So how how do we think he's Kieran Gill: Yeah, peter: sort of taken to it? Kieran Gill: I mean, it wasn't the very beginning of season. I can't remember which game, but Rhys James had a go at Pedro Neto for not tracking back. Bobby Vincent: Yeah, was it Fulham? peter: Quite early on, yeah. Bobby Vincent: No, know. Can't remember. peter: Brighton? Bobby Vincent: Maybe. peter: Might have been Brighton. Kieran Gill: Maybe, yeah. But he, it feels like ever since then, Pedro Neto has been, you know, busting a lung to do whatever he needs to do. Like at Everton, you know, I never really know if this stuff comes across on telly, but he was like, he was dropping deep to help Josh Acheampong loads, you know, who was facing Jack Grealish. So I suppose you need to help with that. But then as soon as Chelsea won the ball, just, Pedro Neto was like a sprinter. Just trying to push up and give them that high and wide whip sort of thing. Bobby Vincent: I think overall his work rate is incredible because basically every manager that's had him at Chelsea has loved him even though he's not been able to win over the fans and to be fair it seemed like quite a big moment after the game on Saturday I saw a clip on Twitter of like the players pushing him towards the fans to have his moment because for whatever reason that he's not a perfect player but Chelsea fans have never sort of taken to him properly. like they have with some other players anyway. But yeah, it felt like a good moment for him to sort of have his moment in front of the fans. yeah, mean, again, his versatility is really good because he's played on both wings throughout his time at Chelsea as well. And now he's in this slightly different role, even though Alonso won't say that. Kieran Gill: I'm not going to ask Alonso again whether he's doing well as a wingback. Bobby Vincent: Well, I've been just thinking of questions randomly like you do for the press conference and I hadn't really looked at the post-match stuff. And I had something on Neto's role written down, so I'm probably just gonna get rid of that now. Kieran Gill: No, just ask it. It might give you a different... It might just like you better than me, so it might... It might answer it. Bobby Vincent: You know, maybe. Makes sense. peter: I I I vaguely remember asking him a question, maybe it was about Gittens before he was injured, just being like, where do these guys fit in as wingers? And he he's his answer was kind of similar to what he said to you, Kieran, I think, was just I'll play them where I think they're effective. And he has played, I suppose, with a four in possession with wingers in in the cup, which kind of brings us on to the next question. Because for Neto, it feels like now that he's playing in this role, he's more space in front of him, whereas maybe under Moreska. Where possession was bit slower, everything slowed down, and it means just just less space to do stuff. But looking forward Kieran Gill: Yeah, I think he'd like it. peter: sorry, go on, go on, jump in. Kieran Gill: I think he's a type of player who loves space to run into. that, know, Maresca, he had his style of play and it was kind of, know, sideways, sideways and, you know, slow build up. Whereas Net All strikes me as a type who would much rather even just play on the counter, you know, just eat up space and sprint and worry the opposition defenders essentially. I don't know if you agree. peter: That's what it was good at at Wolves as well, right? Like at Wolves, that's what that's why Chelsea signed it. Like he was playing for a team that was sort transitional and was always so effective. And now maybe we're seeing more of that because he's just got more space to to to run into. But then where does Esteval fit into this question? Because obviously Marco Palestra is coming back. He can play he played on the left at left wing back in pre season against Real Sociedad, didn't he? We just talked about how Hato and Guevario seem to be doing okay on that left side. Does he come in for Neto? That's a it's an interesting balance. Bobby Vincent: I- Kieran Gill: I'm going to have leave this to Bobby because he's the Estival... Aren't you the president of the Estival fan club? Bobby Vincent: I'm the only one who seems to care about him. I'm Kieran Gill: I'm Bobby Vincent: the only one asks questions about him. But I don't know, I can't remember if it was my question. I was just about to reference Alonso about probably about a month ago or a few weeks ago. He was asked about Estavale and pretty much what Pete just asked. And I'm pretty sure he said, and not in these words exactly, but he basically said that he sees him more as an inside forward rather than a wingback. Yeah, that was a bit strange because Alonso usually, like we said, usually would just say, there isn't really a set position. But he did hint he sees him more as where Cole Palmer is. peter: That's interesting, right? Because there's not really in this system, there's not really an inside forward role, is there? Because all the the wide players are whipped players, aren't they? You you've got to Bobby Vincent: Yeah. peter: be playing on sort of your stronger foot wide. Whereas with Esteval there isn't. And but I suppose that the the I always assumed with Alonso, you know, when Esteval was signed, part of the reason, you know, that was part of my understanding of why Chelsea were to beat so many teams was they basically said to to Esteval and his representative, look. there's a pathway for you to eventually play in the middle. And originally the discussion when Moreska was there was like, but that means he's competing with Cole Palmer. But now there's two two roles, right? If you take Morgan Rogers and and Cole Palmer, I I just assumed he would eventually play in that position, but we haven't we haven't really seen him play in there yet. Kieran Gill: I think it Bobby Vincent: No. Kieran Gill: just, depends how patient he is as well. You know, is, is Esther Vowell willing to wait around? And, you know, he was an unused sub at Everton. think every time he's come on as a sub, it's been after the 80th minute. Is he willing to wait or is he going to kick up a fuss? Cause I think Chelsea, Chelsea have kind of, they see him as one of their untouchables as far as I know. And, you know, they might want to reward him with a new. deal, think that's kind of in the works for a while, but he hasn't obviously hasn't been announced, so he hasn't signed it yet. You know, would he actually, is he happy with this role? Does he see a future? don't know. That's probably why there's so many reports back in Brazil questioning what he's thinking essentially now. peter: He's had such Bobby Vincent: What? peter: like an electric rise, hasn't he, Bob? Like it's for now, I mean he's still what, eighteen, nineteen is he nineteen yet? I think he's eighteen, nineteen. So he's Bobby Vincent: 19 is 19, yeah. Kieran Gill: Thank you. peter: nineteen, like and his his rise has been huge. So it's just always success, success, success. And now suddenly he's not playing every week. Like that's that's an adjustment. And yet we've still Bobby Vincent: Yep. peter: got Chelsea producing the documentary, right? I am Esteval, which just shows the the level of interest there is in him and how, you know, important he could be for the club. Bobby Vincent: Well, he's every matchday at Stanford Bridge, he gets one of the biggest cheers, doesn't he? Alongside Cole Palmer and now sort of Joe Pedro and Morgan Rogers, Touch on Kieran's point him and Josh Achenpong are the I think the two of the seven untouchables that haven't been given a new contract and I think they're probably them two are probably the most complicated ones because They're gonna they're gonna need assurances aren't they? mean Achenpong looks to be more First team now than a couple weeks ago but because you know there's no guarantee that he doesn't just bring Wessie Farner back in and but anyway, I imagine Estavelle and his representatives would be very keen to sort of find out the true extent of his role because at the moment it just feels like we're waiting for one of Palmer or Rogers to be injured and for him to get a real chance because obviously no European football either and lack of midweek games but yeah I mean last season was so good for him for well the first half of last season was very good for him and he became this sort of superstar very quickly which I guess in a way he's almost a victim of that because now he's not playing. I'm not saying he's arrogant for one second but he probably thinks he should be in the team or least get more minutes than he is right now. But he is only 19 and... With players like him, you hope he's advised by the right people. Because if he was, there was a report in Brazil, a couple months back now, he was growing frustrated, which is understandable, but then would be considering his future in January. That would seem too early to me. But then again, we don't know the talks he's having behind the scenes. peter: Yeah, absolutely. Well let's take a quick break and then we'll come back and chat more rubbish. Right, I'm back with Bobby, Kieran, talking about Chelsea, as we probably will always do now, since that is the name of the podcast. Yeah, that's it. obviously a clean sheet as well against Everton. achieved in pretty difficult circumstances, considering the serious injury suffered to Emiliano Martinez. he suffered a fractured jaw. still not completely sure on the time frame, are we? But I mean I've heard it could be four weeks, but I think that's quite soon and I I imagine he'd need a a mask as well. Obviously Martinez said he hopes to be back in a few weeks, but what that does mean is that Mike Penders who who came on at at Everton he's gonna get a run in the team, which is which is pretty interesting considering I think when Robert Sanchez threw his wobbly against Fulham on the opening day the season, I think a lot of us expected he would get that chance then. Martinez has come in and and now he's getting it now. So Kieran Gill: I think Penderz himself thought he was going to get that chance as well because I mentioned it in a piece last week or something that this was before Martinez's injury obviously. He wasn't too pleased when Sanchez was replaced by Martinez. I'm not saying that's because he doesn't like Martinez, he does and he thinks he can learn from him but it did kind of change the picture of his season. Cause he went into this season thinking, right, I'm competing with Robert Sanchez. I can take over his number one at some stage. mean, Liam Rossini preferred Phillip Jorgensen to Sanchez for a while. he start the season peter: Didn't work out well but Kieran Gill: near so start the season. fought. Penders for I can, I can do this. I can, become first choice. And then Sanchez had that game at Fulham and Martinez was signed and that pushed Penders away from the first team picture. until the injury is now given a miss. peter: It was really interesting, right? The whole keeper situation has been interesting for a long time because there's been a lot of focus on Robert Sanchez and whether he was good enough or not. And I I think I I think I wrote a piece after Fulham and bef just before they moved for Martinez, which is like the classic example of writing something and suddenly it being dated very quickly. But what I was what I was writing was that Chelsea hadn't made that move for a keeper. Like they hadn't decided to go out and buy another one on the basis that they would turn around and go, We've got my penders. And if we sign a keeper who's older, like the interested Mike Manual, so they have considered it, that was last summer. But if they do that, then you are blocking the pathway. That was the idea. And with Sanchez, it was like, okay, Sanchez is there. And if he throws a wobbly this season, Mike Penders is is in the room, isn't he? Obviously he spent his first season back around again, then went to Strasbourg and now now he's there. Like he's he's there. And as you said, Kieran, if you're Mike Penders, you're thinking, okay, if Robert Sanchez comes under scrutiny, then I'm gonna get a chance. And you do wonder That Robert Sanchez came under scrutiny so quickly that that actually hurt Mike Penders. You if if Robert Sanchez had just been able to hold off a little bit longer, then then Mike Penders may have got his chance. But as as has transpired, he's he's getting one he's getting one now. So what what do we make of Mike Penders, Bob? What what do we think he can do? What have you made of him when you've seen him? we've only seen him in the Carabael Cup, really, and obviously we saw him at the at the weekend as well. Bobby Vincent: Yeah, I thought, like you say, I haven't seen him too many times, but I think it leads in the Carabao Cup. For one of Leeds' goals, and I can't remember which one it was, the scorer, but he made a really good double save and then it went out for a corner. And then he sort of got lost in the... what's become so common in the Premier League to just be absolute mayhem inside the box, inside the six yard box. So that's something he's going to have to get used to in the Prem. But it was reassuring on Saturday to see him come for a couple of set pieces that could have been dangerous and for a defence that's not kept a clean sheet in however many months, that's the thing they want their goalkeepers to do the most to relieve some pressure. So that was reassuring. Perhaps something that's been spoken to the goalkeepers goalkeeping coach has been working with him over the last month or so. But yeah, I'm excited to see what he can do. obvious point, but he's just so tall. like, usually associate, obviously the Courtois comparison is very obvious because he's from Belgium and we've heard that over the last two, sort of two years since Chelsea, he's been on Chelsea's books. So yeah, interested to see. what all the hype is about but the whole Martinez thing is weird because like however long he's out for and like you say we don't know the timeline it feels almost impossible maybe I'm maybe this isn't right but I feel like it feels almost impossible that Pender's will do enough in that time for him to be number one so even if he has the best you know five or six games a goalkeeper's ever had you would expect Martinez to replace him Kieran Gill: Funny enough, I mean, obviously he always gets compared to Thibaut Courtois. I do actually think there's a few people inside Chelsea that don't really like those comparisons. They think it heaps unnecessary pressure on him. But there is, you know, we all know the connections. But there's one connection I don't think is very well known is Pender's dad, called Peter, is friends peter: Right now. Kieran Gill: with Gritton. his friends with Cote d'Irè, and Pender's when he was younger, like you said, Bobby, he's so tall, he had like, his shoe size is so large that he was struggling to get boots that like fit appropriately. And Cote d'Irè's dad heard about the problem and contacted Nike and got Nike to send him boots that actually fit him. So that's quite a nice little direct. What are you shaking your head for, Bobby? Bobby Vincent: No, no, no, no, I'm nodding my head. I'm like, that is good. Kieran Gill: Yeah, thank peter: Is he's Kieran Gill: you. But I mean, like Bobby... peter: in he's in awe of the story. That won't help the call to our comparisons, will it? Kieran Gill: No, it won't. But like Bobby said, coming for crosses. mean, at Everton, there was one where he ran, charged at the very back of his box to punch Kaleera cross. And Bobby Vincent: Yeah, that's the one I saw. Kieran Gill: the away end absolutely erupted. I reckon it was about 80 % in relief. But there was another long throw where he tried to catch it and he dropped it. Yeah. Bobby Vincent: i didn't see that one yeah peter: Selective viewing from you there, Bob. Kieran Gill: But... I mean, statistically, Spurs have actually produced more crosses than any other team in the Premier League this season. So I'm assuming they're going to test him that way. And, you know, you'd be silly not to, because we know he can make some great saves. We know he's good at passing. I think maybe, you know, his decision-making when to come and punch clear across or try and catch one. I think that's, we need to see more of him, how he handles that. And I think Spurs will test him that way. peter: He's tall, right? So like you said he was tall, but he is he's like deceptively tall? Like I I when you see him in person, y he is like you you see him with that stature, but bit like you, Bob, I thinking. You're are you six foot, Bob? You you you strike me as deceptively tall. Six one? He's not six one. That's absolute rubbish. Is that Bobby Vincent: he's six foot six foot six foot seven i've just googled it i'm about six one yeah i'm about six one i'm actually closer to Kieran Gill: Peace. No. Bobby Vincent: six two than i was six one Because, Kieran Gill: Liar. Bobby Vincent: no, no, no, I swear, right? Because I had a similar conversation in my uni flat years ago. And I went to the doctor's for an unrelated reason. And they had one of those measuring scales on the wall. So I asked the doctor to take a picture of me next to it so I could show my, just go and show my uni housemates. And I was about, I was 6'1 in a bit. So, unless I've shrunk, Kieran Gill: I'd like to see this picture please. peter: Yeah, we need evidence. Bobby Vincent: I was about 21 at the time, so. peter: Proof of sources, please. Bobby Vincent: I'll try a fun photo. Kieran Gill: But yeah, I mean, I'm looking forward to seeing Pender's in goal. I think it was weird at Everton because, I mean, Ben Roberts, the goalkeeper coach, he likes a bird eye view of games. So was actually in the Everton press box, like down the row from me. And then obviously, Martin has got injured and then Pender's is down there. He's getting a pep talk from Alonso, from James Russell, who I think is Robert's assistant, from Austin McPhee, the set piece guy. And he's just got all these people in his ear telling him, you know, trying to prepare him for his Premier League debut to become the youngest goalkeeper in Chelsea's history in the Premier League. But yeah, once you're on that pitch, he's on his own in the decisions he had to make, but he did all right in that little cameo, you know, helped Chelsea score in that second goal. Took, you know, 11 minutes of stoppage time. It was going to be hard for him to get through if it was still one nil. But he, you know... He contributed to Chelsea's first clean sheet since Bobby was six foot two. Shrunk since then. peter: But that that must be that must be useful psychologically as well, that he was part of this clean sheet because it means so much to for Chelsea to get this, right? We've every week we're sort of counting up the games. We you we've had this Brentford in January for for a long time. It ha as Xavi Alonso's been asked about it a lot because the longer it goes on, the more it's a problem. And we know that Chelsea still look vulnerable defensively, but Maybe as you say, Kiry, like him actually having even a small part in that makes it easier coming into the team because it Kieran Gill: Yeah. peter: just getting the clean sheet feels like a call in a turn. Kieran Gill: Yeah, I think so. If he'd come in cold against Tottenham, I mean, I've had to, I've written a piece on Pender's, which I think is going out tomorrow. And one of the things that everyone says is, he's, you know, he doesn't feel pressure. eats pressure. He, like one of his childhood mates said, I get more nervous than Mike does. So, so that's one of his attributes. doesn't really get, apparently he doesn't get nerves. But I don't know. We'll see when he's walking out of Stamford Bridge for Chelsea versus Tottenham, know, 40-odd thousand there and in front of all the cameras and it's his first ever Premier League start. We'll see if he really is impervious to nerves. But I do think coming on at Everton helped and not conceding any goal there. Bobby Vincent: I think the more nerve-racking test probably was the Everton one because of the way he came on and that crowd as well. Coming on with the team one and up at a time. I think that was probably, and I might be wrong, the more nerve-racking one of the two. yeah, the first Premier League start is obviously big thing, he has to do it for longer. yeah, it will just be open to Moises Caicedo and Koke can help him out so he's not having to do too much. peter: We've we've seen so many keepers sort of go in at at Stanford Bridge and and struggle, you know, like it it it's become a th a thing in its own right, really. So I guess him having a good start at Stanford Bridge on against Spurs is is going to be quite important. Even like where we talk about Robert Sanchez. Robert Sanchez is interesting 'cause we can all see that he was a great shot stopper, but it was a kind of like a h a head loss that sometimes he would have where he would make kind of almost they feel uncharacteristic 'cause you can't quite explain it, but he would do it and the crowd would it would feed off one and the other and felt like Philip Jorgensen kinda went that way a bit as well because there was a lot of from what I was hearing that he was pretty highly rated in training Philip Jorgensen. But then you put him in a match scenario and something changed. I mean I mean we saw that emphatically against PSG with the pressure. Kieran Gill: I do think, I think Chelsea fans will have patience with Mike Penders as well. If he happens to make a little mistake, you know, they'd seen enough of Sanchez, if he made a mistake, it was like, he goes again, sort of thing. But I think with Mike Penders, they know he's not completed package yet. They know he's got huge potential and they haven't really seen much of him yet apart from in the Carabao Cup games. So I think there'll be more patience with I think they'll be rooting for him. Whereas a lot of the time it felt like most people were rooting against Sanchez, if you get me. peter: Hm. Do we do we think Chelsea have turned the corner defensively? You know, obviously there are a lot of goals conceded. It is a first clean sheet, but and we talked about the impact of midfield before as well, like Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson together look good. is this the start of something different? Did it feel like that, Kieran? Did did the performance feel different enough or were they still conceding too many chances? Kieran Gill: He well yeah it's hard to tell because Everton just didn't really create much apart from one Anthony Barry header Anthony Barry what am I on about? He's the England assistant is he? England Bobby Vincent: Yeah, he's Thomas Tookell's assistant. Tiano Barry. Yeah, yeah. peter: They they could do with the striker though, evidence, Kieran Gill: assistant, Tiano Barry peter: so maybe get Anthony Barry in as well. Kieran Gill: Yeah, Tieno Barry, sorry. Apart from his one chance where he just headed straight at Martinez and that was after Martinez had given away a corner for holding onto the ball too long. don't know, referee, Paul Tini, was having a weird one. That was the only real chance I can recall of them threatening. Now, how much that is down to Everton just not being at it and Chelsea stifling them. mean, Quesedo helps. You know, massively, because he'd been indestructible for so long. It feels like so many times we saw him like, I don't know, turn his ankle or something. He'd be like, my God, Chelsea, you're to lose him now. And then he'd just get up and keep playing. But now then he picked up an injury to show he actually is human, but now he's come back. His influence on the team has been, has been massive when watching them, I think for the solidity. If you agree, Roberto? Bobby Vincent: Yeah, mean, yeah, it was obvious. It was obviously going to happen. I wasn't sure if it was. Just that and I still don't think it is. To go back to Pete's question, hard to say if they've turned a corner yet. I think you need a couple more. Even if they say don't keep a clean sheet against Spurs, as long as there's not conceding so many chances, it's building on something, isn't it? It's one of the most difficult places to go and get a clean sheet, I'd say Everton. It's something they haven't been able to do for ages. So that is a positive for Javi Alonso's definitely something to build on. peter: Tottenham up next. Tottenham aren't really scoring many goals. Obviously they did get the first their first win against Coventry, which felt huge. I mean I've I've seen a bit of Spurs, I haven't seen them in in the flesh. Obviously we saw them in in preseason and I guess they've kind of been similar to to what we saw in in Australia in that they they play some nice stuff and then they get to the final third and then suffer complete he head loss struggling to get those goals as as as I was saying. So What kind of challenge do you think they'll pose? I for me, I don't feel like Spurs have been as bad as maybe the league table has suggested. They've just got a lot of demons that they've got to overcover overcome, and I think getting that first win is is one of them, and obviously getting up for playing against Chelsea will be something that Roberto de Zerbi will use. Where where do you see this game being won and lost, guys? What what what'll be the difference? Bobby Vincent: I think the last couple of games Spurs have looked better. I I got caught bits of the Man United game when I was at the pub with Kieran actually. And they looked a lot better than United. I know that's not saying a lot at the moment but it was... It was a case of not being able to finish their chances. had loads and they should have been up in the game and they never actually got, they never actually went ahead in the game. So, but there was definitely signs there. And then I watched the Coventry game on Monday night and they were far from perfect, but there were signs. think James Madison helps a lot watching him. He was probably the best player on the pitch on Monday and obviously scored a wonderful goal. So. If they can get, I imagine he'll be starting at Stamford Bridge. If they can get him on the ball as much as possible, I think he's probably one of the most important attackers. So he helps, but there's definitely signs of improvement. I mean, it couldn't really go the other way much more, to be honest. yeah, Chelsea have to be wary, but you know, I mean, I think Chelsea should go in the game with the knowledge if they do their job, they should win quite comfortably. Kieran Gill: Chelsea to win, first goal, four minutes, 42 seconds. It's my prediction. peter: That's quite slow by Chelsea standards. Yeah, it should be an interesting game, obviously an important one for both teams. we'll wrap up the podcast there, I think, guys. we're gonna try and do this quite regularly, so you can see who we are and what we do and see that Bobby is a real person, which is reassuring, I think, for everyone. Kieran Gill: What shirt are you wearing? Germany. Bobby Vincent: Yeah, it's Germany retro one. Got it for peter: Do you do that deliberately? Bobby Vincent: my birthday. I just saw a photo Kieran Gill: Thanks. Bobby Vincent: of it and asked my girlfriend for it, so... It's quite nice though. peter: We didn't even last an episode without him mentioning his girlfriend. Amazing. Yeah, but y you still mentioned. Amazing. Bobby Vincent: I didn't say a name. peter: Did you put that shirt on deliberately because of the podcast? Like you thought I've got a look edgy. Bobby Vincent: No, you you text me with about 15 minutes notice and I just had to put something on. First thing I saw. Kieran Gill: Cool. peter: Nice one. Right. We'll try and do this weekly and yeah, we'll we'll see you all again. Thanks guys for joining me and yeah. See ya soon.