Despite hugely promising displays against Tottenham and Manchester City in November, the penultimate month of the year was capped off with a result that is indicative of Chelsea’s capitulation in 2023. As they succumbed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle, one eagle-eyed X (formerly Twitter) user unearthed a stat regarding Chelsea’s substitutes that underpins all that has gone wrong so far.
Chelsea’s Substitutes Against Newcastle Cost £233 Million
By the time Maurico Pochettino had made a triple change on 69 minutes, Chelsea’s acquiescent approach in the second-half saw them crack under the fervour and zeal of a throbbing St James’s Park.
At 3-1, their woes were further compounded by the dismissal of captain Reece James, which prompted Pochettino to use all five of his substitutes by the close of play, although fresh personnel did little to prevent a fourth Newcastle goal.
After a string of assured, and surprisingly mature performances against early title challengers Manchester City and Tottenham, this latest chapter in a higgledy-piggledy 18 months at Stamford Bridge condemns them to another week in mid-table.
The five substitutes used by Pochettino – three of whom arrived under the ownership of Todd Boehly – cost a combined total of £233 million.
Granted their opponents Newcastle have spent vast sums over the past three years, but the Magpies entered week 13 of the season with as many as 10 first team players sidelined through injury.
For context, the five substitutes used by Eddie Howe combined for a total cost of £12 million, all of which appears to have been spent on Matt Ritchie.
Chelsea’s used subs today: Caicedo, Mudryk, Madueke, Broja & Colwill. Total spend = £233 million
Newcastle’s used subs today: Ritchie, Diallo, A Murphy, Ndiweni & Dummett. Total spend = £12 million. #NUFC
— Aaron Stokes (@AaronJStokes) November 25, 2023
This is but a snippet of the wider issues at play for Chelsea, which is best reflected by the 2023 table below.
Chelsea Record in 2023
It is difficult to remember a time when Chelsea‘s league position carried less than two digits.
Occupying the lower half of the table has been the story for much of a forgettable calendar year for the Blues, who have averaged just a point-per-game across 36 Premier League matches.
Of those 36, they have won just eight, losing 16 and drawing the remaining 12. This puts them behind the likes of Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Fulham.
2023 Record
- Goals Scored – 41
- Goals Conceded – 50
- Wins – 8
- Draws – 12
- Defeats – 12
Having decimated the January window record at the start of the year, Boehly bumped up his 2023 transfer expenditure by £435.5m in the summer, bringing their sum for 2023 to over £758.5m.
That translates to £21,069,444 spent for every point won in 2023.
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