Fran Kirby's Fight Club

Well 2024 did not start in the best way for Chelsea FCW. Maryam & André are here to talk about just how sad Sam Kerr's ACL rupture is (the football gods are the cruelest!), whether Chelsea should turn to the transfer market, and what changes we might see as the team faces the rest of an important season without their world class striker.

Then we welcome Nathalie Björn to Chelsea! We talk about her as a talent, her statistical profile, where she might fit in, and what we can expect when she makes her debut.

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Maryam is a bit under the weather so André welcomed Harry Edwards to the fight club! If you've seen an incredible stat about CFCW tumble across your timeline there's a good chance it came from Harry.

He joined to wrap up Chelsea's two big wins before the break against Paris FC and Leicester. Then they take a step back and use the international break to do an early season review, and spotlight some incredible performers, and players we're still waiting to see the best of.

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Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea

Chelsea earn one of the weirdest points you'll see, thanks in some part to some of the weirdest refereeing you'll see. André Carlisle and Mia Eriksson discuss lineup choices, cardapalooza, time wasting, and Chelsea crossing again and again and again and again and...you get the point.

In the end, a point from one of our most difficult fixtures of the season. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! #CFCW💙💙

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Maryam and Mia review the 2-1 win over Spurs on the opening day of the season, as well as delving into the depth of our squad, and a quick sneak peak of predictions for this Sunday’s clash with Manchester City!

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Maryam welcomes Mia Eriksson back to the fight club to review Chelsea's 3-2 preseason win over Roma!

We talk about formation tweaks, Sjoeke Nüsken's debut, Lauren James back with a bang, what it means to have Super Fran Kirby back on the pitch, and lots more.

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Maryam & André are back for a fourth (4th!) season and with a bunch of #CFCW news to react to. Emma Hayes has been busy in the transfer market (and might not be done) so we review every signing so far, and allow André to gush about Catarina Macario & Ashley Lawrence.

Then we move onto trying to make sense of the goalkeeper signings and situation (hint: we can't), and address the 'Chelsea are ruining women's football by signing so many players' conversation/complaint/hateration.

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C H A M P 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 O N S

Emma Hayes' Chelsea topped Reading 3-0 on the final day of the season to secure their FOURTH consecutive WSL title! It was a coronation more than a match, and the party got started eighteen minutes in, thanks to who else but Sam Kerr!

Maryam, Mia Eriksson and André react to the match, discuss what it means to win 4 consecutive league titles, and give our awards for Defender of the Year, Attacker of the Year, She Got That Dawg in Her of the Year, Goal of the Year, Assist of the Year and Player of the Year! It was a remarkable season, come celebrate it with us! #CFCW💙💙

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Chelsea turned London blue yet again with a 2-0 win over Arsenal, with Magdalena Eriksson scoring in her final appearance at Kingsmeadow!

André is joined by Mia Eriksson to discuss the match and the moment. They also talk about the Manchester Derby and rooting for Gareth Taylor to get a result for one (1) day, then look ahead to the final match of the season away at Reading. Plus, of course, predictions!

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Magdalena Eriksson and Pernille Harder's Chelsea exits became official so André had to bring in our resident Swedish football expert, Mia Eriksson, to talk about Magda's Chelsea legacy.

We discuss Magda's journey and growth with Chelsea, which coincided with Chelsea's growth to dominant team in England, to a force in the Champions league. We also look at her impact far beyond the pitch, and what makes her (and her partner, Pernille Harder) icons and role models who transcend sport and gender.

Then we look ahead to a big game that is a big game but doesn't feel as big as it probably should, Chelsea hosting Arsenal at Kingsmeadow. We discuss the stakes for each club, and of course, give our predictions! Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! #CFCW💙💙

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ONE TROPHY DOWN! Chelsea weather Manchester United then Pernille Harder and Sam Kerr deliver the winning goal to give us a third consecutive FA Cup trophy in front of 77,390!

Maryam & André grabbed the mics to immediately react to the win. We discuss our feelings coming in, coping with United's early intensity, waiting for the Pernille Harder sub, Maren Mjelde starting and winning and FA Cup Final, and loads more!

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André welcomes back Mia Eriksson to discuss all things Chelsea ahead of the FA Cup Final against Manchester United.

We talk about everyone somehow being surprised that Chelsea score lots of goals in the WSL, Pernille returning to the pitch with a vengeance, playing at Wembley, who has the psychological advantage, and how we want to see Chelsea play against the Red Devils.

Then we address the sad rumors about Magda and Pernille leaving and reportedly having already signed contracts with Bayern Munich. We take some time to remember Magda's Chelsea career and wallow in a bit of sorrow about never really getting to see the best of Pernille for a substantial amount of time in her short Chelsea career. Plus André reveals the only thing/player/person who can make it all better!

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A couple days after Chelsea's UWCL semifinal exit to Barcelona, Maryam & André chat to process the tie.

We begin the pod by exorcising frustrations about opportunities that could have reshaped one or both games, and therefore the tie, but then pull back to think about Chelsea's performances as a whole. We contextualize the effort across both legs to identify the progress being made, and why there's hope that – even though it'll have to wait at least another year – we'll win this thing yet.

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Maryam and Mia chat all things Barcelona, dissecting the 1-0 semi-final first leg loss at Stamford Bridge. They also look ahead to the second leg on Thursday with some interesting predictions...

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André & Mia (not Magda) Eriksson sit down to discuss Chelsea's patchwork squad getting by Aston Villa and booking a spot in another FA Cup Final!

We discuss some performers, including the appearance of Vintage Magda, address #TheDiscourse, and break down the winning goal. Then we turn our attention to the first leg of Chelsea's semifinal against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge this Saturday! We discuss the mindset the Blues need to have, plus Chelsea's best route to getting a result.

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André couldn't wait to talk about Chelsea's outrageous, insane, ridiculous, amazing escape over Lyon so he gets straight into it and brings Mia Eriksson along for the ride. We review an absolutely wild UWCL quarterfinal moment by moment to relive an iconic Chelsea win. We also spotlight some immense performances, and wonder just what the hell is flowing through Maren Mjelde's veins! Plus, we pass on Ann-Katrin Berger's very simple advice to goalkeepers and penalty takers around the world.

Then we look at Chelsea getting terrific performances from a heavily rotated side as they avoid the Aston Villa banana skin, 3-0.

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Well, that wasn't great. Maryam welcomes Fran Kirby's Fight Club's adopted cohost Mia Eriksson to the pod to discuss Chelsea's no good very bad day in Manchester.

CFCW suffered their second loss of the season in a 2-0 match versus Manchester City. Maryam & Mia discuss what went wrong, how Emma tried to cope, and what it means for the title race. They also do their best to convince you to forget about Sunday, there's a Champions League quarterfinal to get through this week!

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Maryam & André quickly review Chelsea's 3-1 win over Reading in the FA Cup before shifting focus to the return of the UEFA Women's Champions League!

Chelsea have been given the task of getting by Lyon in the quarterfinal round, so we preview the first leg, which will be played in Lyon on Wednesday, March 22. We look at Lyon's history of dominance, but put it in a bit of perspective due to the current landscape of women's football. Then we look at the injury situation at both clubs (hint: improving for Lyon, not so much at Chelsea), and pick out key players in the tie.

Of course, because Maryam is here, we also give our predictions! Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! #CFCW💙💙

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Chelsea FCW took six points from Brighton and Manchester United to put themselves two points clear at the top of the table and with a game in hand!

André welcomes Mia Eriksson back to the fight club to talk about it all. First they get into the midweek Brighton match, the loads of rotation, getting over a difficult opponent, and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd's first Chelsea goal! Then we get into the matchup with Manchester United. We talk about all of Chelsea's injuries, Emma Hayes' tactics that gave us the edge, spotlight incredible performances, THAT Lauren James and Sam Kerr connection, and more!

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Well that sucked. Chelsea play a weird, annoying, bad and frustrating match versus Arsenal, having a considerable hand in all three of their goals after going 1-0 up in the second minute.

It was a shock and not at all what we're used to from this team. So Maryam & André do their best to talk through it. We give our theories on why this might have happened, whether it's good or bad that it happened at the beginning of a brutal month, and how Chelsea can bounce back. We also address some Emma Hayes slander that has popped off in the wake of this frustrating loss.

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Our brutal stretch of games began with a 2-0 win over Arsenal. That's 1 down, 6 to go!

Maryam & André turn on the mics to discuss clinical Chelsea defeating toothless Arsenal just days after the end of a major international break. We discuss Lauren James' impact, Ève Périsset and Niamh Charles, Jelena Čanković's player of the match performance, and also we cannot stop talking about Sam Kerr!

We also discuss the GK merry-go-round and preview next weekend's match when we do it all over again but this time for a trophy. And of course, because Maryam is back, we give our predictions. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! #CFCW💙💙

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MARYAM'S BACK! The OG pod returns with André welcoming back Maryam, who shares some exciting life updates before we get on with our Q&A episode!

We asked for questions on Twitter and got a range of good ones! Thank you to Theo, Mülla, Vince, Carl, Mary an Randy for sending in questions. We discuss a possible minutes restriction for Lauren James, the soon to be very crowded GK situation, psychology between club and international play, our preferred backlines, (gulp) replacing Magda Eriksson and Pernille Harder but only if we HAVE to, and the start of Chelsea's upcoming BRUTAL schedule.

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André & Mia Eriksson review Chelsea scoring three goals against Spurs (again), conceding silly goals (again), but coming away with the 3-2 win and all three points. We get into Magdalena Eriksson, who's suddenly gone missing from the Chelsea backline, and it shows.

We also discuss Jess Carter's Sam Kerr impression, Lauren James in God Mode and us loving every bit of it, Jessie Fleming at the #10, plus Guro Reiten's much needed goal. Then we look ahead to upcoming matches, the UWCL Draw, and discuss Chelsea's main title rivals failing to score a single goal over the weekend, putting the Blues two points clear at the top of the table.

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Aaaaaaand we're back! Maryam is deep in NBA coverage so André welcomed the great Mia Eriksson back to the fight club!

We get into the debacle of the 6-minute match versus Liverpool, Chelsea's 3-1 Conti Cup win versus Tottenham (plus Kirby's "shhhhhh") and the 3-2 Chelsea win over Liverpool in the FA Cup.

We dive into all the sudden competition within the squad (Zećira Mušović/AKB; Niamh Charles/Ève Périsset; Jess Carter/Madga Eriksson), Chelsea's 'tap tap boom' approach, Melanie Leupolz's return, plus Mia gives us insight on what she's seen and what to expect from new Chelsea signing Maika Hamano at Hammarby.

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Maryam and André stepped to the mics minutes after #CFCW's 1-1 draw at the Emirates!

While the result keeps the table as you were for Chelsea – three points clear but having played a game more than Arsenal and Manchester United – the match was full of highlights and lowlights, a poor (and costly) refereeing decision, a dramatic late equalizer, and a LOT more. So we react to and discuss it all!

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Maryam and André are back with another episode as they prepare for Chelsea FCW to get back to action for the first time in 2023.

They start off by discussing Arsenal's recent transactions and whether they think Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall's midfield gamble will pay off in the second half of the season. Then they get into Chelsea, what's been working, what tweaks manager Emma Hayes might be working on, the Spain training camp (and apparent grand prix??), and Melly's return!

Then they, of course, give their very specific predictions and let's just say the two are on polar opposite sides of what to expect from Sunday's clash!

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Maryam & André are back with the last pod of 2022! In this New Year's episode we review Chelsea's final match of the year, the 3-0 win over Paris St. Germain, give a shoutout to the first half MVPs, discuss recent contract renewals, share tearful goodbyes to Bethany England, discuss who we'd like to see the club bring in as a second striker, and give our New Year's Resolutions for the second half of Chelsea's season!

Please listen, subscribe, rate and review, and we'll see you in 2023! #CFCW💙💙

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Maryam is under the weather so André welcomed the great Mia Eriksson back to the fight club!

André gets the HIGHEST praise Mia can offer before they get into Chelsea's 1-1 UWCL draw against Real Madrid, and a cozy then anything but 3-2 win over Reading in their final league game of the year.

We discuss Chelsea's inability to secure three points in Madrid, and ask if it should take away from the team taking four points from away games in Paris and Madrid. We also look at the lineup, and Guro Reiten's continued excellence.

Then we get into Chelsea's brilliant first half against Reading, in which fellow Swede, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, seems to love terrible weather. We also discuss Jelena Cankovic's brace in her first start, and discuss why she's such an interesting (and potentially amazing) prospect for Chelsea.

Then we look ahead to Chelsea's final matches of the 2022, away versus Vllaznia and at home versus PSG. Mia and André predict the scores and goalscorers for the match in Albania and give our predictions on where the group will stand after the final matchday.

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Maryam & André keep the guests coming as the great Mia Eriksson joins the fight club! Mia, Maryam and André discuss Chelsea's comfy cozy 3-0 win over Spurs at Stamford Bridge. We chat Emma's return, a surprisingly somewhat standard 343, the Sophie Ingle + Erin Cuthbert midfield partnership, Magdalena Eriksson at LCB vs. LB, Stamford Bridge vs. Kingsmeadow, and of course Erin Cuthbert's GotY contender!

Then we look ahead to Chelsea welcoming Real Madrid to Kingsmeadow for the first time. Maryam provides a full scouting report, Mia picks out players to watch, and we all give our VERY SPECIFIC predictions for the match (#octopus).

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Maryam & André decided to try something new this episode, so instead of us droning on about what to expect from Spurs in our upcoming match, we called in some real experts! N17 Women, a fan podcast dedicated to Tottenham Hotspur Women, joined us for an in-depth look at next weekend's opponent.

Caroline, Sian, Abbie and Rachel graciously allowed us to pepper them with questions about their club's history, recent investments, current squad and approach, what they're expecting from Chelsea, and of course, Maryam forces them to give predictions!

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Maryam & André react to Chelsea FCW's 3-1 win over Manchester United WFC at Leigh Sports Village!

We discuss Chelsea's rather curious approach in the first half, formation shifts, and Sam Kerr & Lauren James breaking the deadlock and Erin Cuthbert securing the win with a third. We also assess Magdalena Eriksson's progression at left back and discuss the selection of Niamh Charles over Ève Périsset.

Then we look ahead to a tough string of matches in two weeks, starting with Tottenham Hotspur on 20 Nov and Real Madrid three days later.

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Maryam & André hop on the mics to discuss Chelsea FCW's 3-1 over Aston Villa. We discuss Lauren James' continued ascent and how important it is, particularly in matches like these. We also discuss Magdalena Eriksson at left back, and what it costs us to play her there, and if there are any solutions to getting the best out of all three starting caliber center backs.

We also look ahead to next week's clash with Manchester United, who still haven't conceded a goal in the WSL. Though we expect that to change, do we expect Chelsea to bag all three points? (Spoiler alert: obvs!)

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HELLO WE'RE BACK! Maryam & André return to discuss a slew of CFCW wins, including the 2-1 breaking of the Brighton curse!

We discuss the different ways in which Chelsea have won their last three matches. We pick out some top performers versus Brighton, including Johanna Kaneryd, Lauren James and Erin Cuthbert, and note why it was so much more than three points.

We also chat about the gameplan against PSG midweek and discuss why it's important that Chelsea are finding new ways to collect three points. And of course, Maryam forces André to make a prediction for next weekend's matchup with Aston Villa.

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Maryam & André jump on the mics to react to Chelsea's 3-1 win over West Ham. We talk about the fear that crept in after conceding an early goal, then the delight of dominating the match from then until the final whistle.

We highlight SUPER FRAN KIRBY, Sam Kerr's confidence, Katerina Svitkova and Eve Perisset's first starts, Erin Cuthbert excelling in midfield, Magda at LB, and the greatness of Lauren James reminding West Ham supporters of the scoreline.

We also do an impromptu peek at the upcoming England vs. USWNT friendly at Wembley where Maryam doesn't want to see any more fake tea sipped and André is concerned that revenge is forthcoming.

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Maryam & André react to a much needed 2-0 win over Manchester City!

It was a bit of a frustrating watch at times, but a Fran Kirby goal and a penalty from Maren Mjelde sealed our first three points of the season. We react to the lineup including the surprise welcoming back of Ann-Katrin Berger, the gameplan of tactical suffering, and it all working in the end. We also highlight brilliant performances from Lauren James and Kadeisha Buchanan.

Then we look ahead to Wednesday versus West Ham by giving predictions, and giving the one new player we most want to see get substantial minutes against the Hammers.

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Well that wasn't supposed to happen. Maryam & André talk about Chelsea FCW's season opener away at Liverpool, that turned into a bit of a nightmare after an early penalty. Liverpool were awarded two penalties of their own to beat the champions 2-1 so we're here to wonder just what the hell went wrong.

It wasn't all bad though, we also pick out some encouraging performances that stood out even amongst all the bad. Plus, the return of Maryam pressuring André into a prediction for the next match.

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Maryam & André do a deep dive on Chelsea's newest and most intriguing signing yet, Jelena Čanković (and apologize for our suss pronunciations)! Then we review Chelsea's preseason results before both getting extremely giddy at the prospect of Grace Geyoro joining Chelsea.

We do some heard vs heart analysis and ask if she's really the 6 we need (hint: it depends!). We also review the fit of two other names that were linked this summer, including Amandine Henry and Keira Walsh.

After all that we discuss the 22/23 WSL season overall and ask if we've done enough to get through the group stage this season. We also discuss why Chelsea's UWCL campaign beyond the groups is contingent upon what happens before the transfer window shuts.

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