Chelsea are ‘bunch of spoilt brats’ with two culprits named

Editor F365 27 Apr 2026 11:00 AM

Chief Chelsea wind-up man Marc Cucurella

Chelsea beat Leeds on Sunday but nobody is impressed with the play-acting and the time-wasting.

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Why Man City have no fans

Whilst one sympathises with individual City fans priced out of repeated trips to Wembley, this defence rather misses the point.

Manchester United enjoyed similar success for a longer period, but never struggled to sell their allocation. They have millions of UK-based fans and scores from Ireland and Scandinavia, not to mention tourists from around the world. The demand is overwhelming, as befitting a global monster club, so if the regulars choose to stay home, their seats are snapped up immediately.

By contrast Manchester City are the second club in a mid-sized city dominated by its giant neighbour. Their support is small and highly localised. Similar sized clubs could expect to reach a semi final once a decade at best, and in most cases significantly less, so there is no problem generating local enthusiasm for the occasion and selling the seats to the excited townsfolk.

A small club might grow organically and accumulate supporters or friendly neutrals, either expanding its local catchment area or establishing itself globally. But such is the ill-feeling surrounding City and its ownership this has not happened. The club is reliant on its modest band of fans to turn out at Wembley again and again, and many are understandably feeling the financial pinch.

20 years of financial doping has meant City are in violation of the rules of football nature, and like other juiced-up athletes, everything looks and feels rather unnatural, artificial, and out of kilter.
Dave Jackson, Macclesfield

Do you want cholera or diphtheria?

So, English football’s former flagship competition has once again thrown up a final between two reprehensible/awful/shameful/repugnant teams.

Do you want Cholera or Diphtheria?

Another big occasion, another defeat for Leeds. I’m not so annoyed by it. Didn’t expect a win, but expected a performance, but it’s difficult to get momentum when your opposition are well versed in the dark arts.

Imagine spending hundreds and hundreds of millions on your squad and the only way you can beat your lowly opposition is to try and take the sting out of it by feigning injury.

It reminds me of Mighty Ducks, where Gordon Bombay instructs his team to fall over and claim fouls for everything. It must be absolute dirge to watch week in, week out knowing the your squad is never the sum total of its parts, but wins because it shit-houses the team you’re playing.

I’d be, frankly, embarrassed being a Man City or Chelsea fan this season, needing a well-timed keeper break to talk tactics against a newly promoted team.

But it is time for a rule change. Keeper goes down? Two choices: accept a play on and risk your keeper being down, or accept a stop in play and an enforced substitution. Enough is enough.
Mat, Leeds

READ: McFarlane set for six-year Chelsea deal as Fernandez votes with his feet vs Leeds

…Pretend hair-pulling, fake eye-pokes, diving before contact made, goalie viciously pulling a calf muscle by walking backwards in his area, screaming at the ref at every decision, refusing to play for the manager.

Is this really football or just the modern toy for the nouveaux riches?

Why don’t they use VAR to get rid of all of this nonsense, instead of taking 5 minutes to decide a handball?

I get that Enzo Fernández is the archetypal streetfighter from a dodgy part of Buenos Aires and has learnt to combine talent with cheating to get by. But Cucurella is from a posh town in Catalonia, famous for cava and perfume, so what’s his excuse?

It looked to me on Sunday that Chelsea’s players are just a bunch of spoilt brats.

If I were on the ‘spend-a-month-as-Chelsea’s-manager’ scheme, I’d get rid of them all and bring in some players with real ‘huevos’ (as members of the Spanish-speaking dressing-room clique would say).
Simon, Disgruntled, Hong Kong

READ: BlueCo should get out of Chelsea now; surely even they recognise disaster

Leeds froze

Now that…is what you call stage fright.

I was really disappointed in Leeds.

It’s not often you get to play at Wembley. Those players might not get another chance. They should be full of regret.
Jonno McSchmonno

Penalty decisions going against Spurs, is it?

Last week, it was Bournemouth being denied a clear penalty against Leeds, Tottenham’s relegation rivals, which I wrote in about.

On Saturday, a West Ham player punched the ball while physically restraining an Everton player in the area and a penalty was not awarded.

If I were De Zerbi, I’d tell the Spurs squad not to worry about rules next game. Apparently, no-one else is.
Sam

Arsenal fans have no nails left

Another nerve wrecking display by Arsenal. I appreciate how neutral fans don’t want to watch us but for Arsenal supporters who are supposedly obliged to do so anxiety tablets are a necessity!

However, if we can scrape wins, that could be all that counts. I’ve been thinking for a while, when will our evil notorious corner scoring tactic reignite? Well, love it or loathe it, a different method was used to breakdown opposition defences that have been disciplined to nullify our usual routine. I, like what appeared to be the majority of the rest of the crowd, was a bit frustrated with the initial short corners but it paid off on the third attempt thanks to good off the ball movement, a good ball in that was knocked on resulting in a cracking finish by Eze

Good start by Arsenal but once again things seemed to go a little stale. I’ll give Newcastle their due as they took charge of the game for long periods. No fellow Arsenal fans I know feel comfortable watching us at the moment.

Another issue regarding the game, I disagree with Arteta regarding his opinion that Pope should have been sent off. I feel the defender was close enough to prevent it being a definite goal opportunity. Arteta’s irrelevant comments relating to the result and regarding the decision will of course put another black mark against his grumpy reputation and of course the dislike of Arsenal but ho hum! I must say I honestly believe in general he had been beginning, in general, to mature.

I know that might seem rich from me to say after my ‘tongue in cheek’, wayward mail last week attacking the World and his wife. I’ll admit, honestly speaking, Gabriel was lucky to stay in the pitch v City and I do take my hat off to Haaland and also the ref for allowing them to have their ‘old school ‘ scrap. So advantage Arsenal for now.

A last word for RHS/TS X if published. I could be wrong but a bit of research suggests you’re a Northampton Town fan. Good for you. I may live in Croydon but never assume anything. My dad was from Broadstairs and my mum is from Tipperary but they met in North London and that’s where the story began. I’ve plenty of relatives in Barnet and also some who have moved to Wellingborough (maybe your neck of the woods?). Nearly all of them are Gooners. If I hadn’t been brought up a Gooner, considering I’ve spent a lot of time growing up in the Croydon vicinity I would be a Palace fan (who I have a soft spot for).

Anyway, truce.
Chris, Croydon

No joy in Spurs relegation

Spurs being relegated would be hilarious?

An already impoverished part of town loses a Premiership club.

Fewer match days. Fewer fans through the turnstiles adversely affecting the pubs, bars and restaurants serving these fans.

Then there’s the rank and file employees who will be let go due to the club having to cut its cloth accordingly. The sort of people who have been working their dream job for years with families who rely on their monthly wage.

I don’t care about the players. They’ll be fine, but this schadenfreude that exists in football is just annoying.

And it all comes from hate driving clicks because hate is good for business.

I’m not buying into it. I love Arsenal, but I don’t hate Spurs.

This is one gooner who hopes they stay up. Not for the players. Not for the management. But for the long suffering fans and every single employee who is worried about losing their job right now.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London