Fran Kirby's Fight Club

Maryam & André return for season THREE of Fran Kirby's Fight Club! It's been a hectic summer full of int'l tournaments and, of course, IT COMING HOME! But it's also been a hectic summer for Chelsea FCW, who've signed Kadeisha Buchanan, Ève Périsset, Kateřina Svitková, Johanna Kaneryd and Lucy Watson! We review each and every signing, where they might fit into the team and whether we think we'r...

OFFICIALLY THE ONLY TEAM TO WIN THE FA CUP TWICE IN THE SAME SEASON! CHELSEA 3 - 2 MANCHESTER CITY GIVE. US. OUR. TROPHY. RIGHT. NOW. OH. AND. SOME. CAKE. TOO PLS. THANKS! Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! #CFCW💙💙 Follow us: Twitter - @FranKirbyFC !

CHELSEA FCW ARE BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK WSL CHAMPIONS!!! THREE CONSECUTIVE LEAGUE TITLES!!! THREE!!! LEAGUE TITLES!!! CONSECUTIVELY!!! Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! #CFCW💙💙 Follow us: Twitter - @FranKirbyFC !

André & Maryam are back to discuss the nerve shredding match versus Birmingham City. We chat about our reactions to the starting XI, the first 10-15 minutes that looked like Chelsea were gonna go on a rampage, then how the last ~80 minutes took years off our lives. Thankfully, Pernille Harder has ice in her veins and dispatched a vital penalty to put us ahead. We talk about Pernille's performa...

The Blues suffered an absurd deflected own goal and red card dismissal all in the first half, but survived to battle back to claim all three points in their first of two matches versus Spurs this week! It was an intense and eventful match, so André was delighted to welcome Maryam back to talk about it all! We relive our thoughts during the bad times, then heap praise on Guro Reiten, Zecira Musovic...

Chelsea faced Arsenal for the second time in the FA Cup during this season (time is a flat circle) and for the second time they beat their London rivals without allowing a shot on target. Maryam is away so André welcomes Chloe from @TheCFCWSocial to the fight club to talk all about it! They talk lineups, Chelsea's depth, our response to a scary first forty minutes, brilliant defensive performances...

The international break means no Chelsea match to review so Maryam & André take a different approach and get into major storylines/things to watch ahead of the EUROS + key World Cup Qualifiers! If you weren't ready for the EUROS now, you will be after this episode! We dive into England, including Bethany England's no good very bad luck and the prospect of a devastating English attack if Fran K...

Naturally, we think Fran Kirby said all that needed to be said about Chelsea's 5-0 brushing aside of Reading. However, we have a pod to do! Maryam will return next week so André welcomed Jessy Parker Humphreys to the fight club! The two discuss the dominant win over Reading, if any nerves were felt before the match (and 39 minutes in), Erin Cuthbert emulating The Terminator, Sam Kerr's outrageous...

CHELSEA FCW SCORED NINE GOALS, THREE IN UNDER TEN MINUTES AND SIX BY HALFTIME!!! '3 - Reiten '5 - Kerr '7 - England '11 - Nouwen '28 - England '45+5 - Reiten '47 - Kerr '88 - James '90 - Fleming Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! Thank you for listening! #CFCW💙💙 Follow us on Twitter @FranKirbyFC !

Maryam & André were buzzing after a 5-0 win over Birmingham City in the FA Cup quarterfinals. We discuss CAPTAIN MAGDA's return and what her goal meant to the team, and the rest of the match. We also analyze the performances of Bethany England, Niamh Charles, Drew Spence and Ji So-yun, and freak out all over again about THAT goal (you know the one). After that we look ahead to a return to leag...

Chelsea pulled out a heroic last gasp goal versus Aston Villa to steal all three points and Maryam & Rob from @TheCFCWSocial witnessed it LIVE! André, sadly, was not, so he decides to pepper the other two with questions about what they saw and heard during and after the match! We get into the formation and how it shifted, Emma Hayes throwing the proverbial kitchen sink, who was missed more: Fr...

Settle in for a tactical deep dive episode as Maryam & André welcome their first guest, author of Pressing Matters and Chelsea FC Women: Europe's Next Powerhouse , Abdullah Abdullah to the fight club! We pepper Abdullah with questions about Chelsea's evolving structures, formations and personnel this season. We dive into the back 3 versus the back 4, getting the best out of Pernille Harder, Er...

Maryam & André revel in a necessary three points collected over Manchester City! We discuss the new formation, Jess Carter's dominance, Erin Cuthbert's omnipresence, Jess Fleming's versatility, and of course Goal Machine Guro! Then we talk about why Emma Hayes' tactical changes had us scared and uncertain about the result, even though we dominated the majority of the match. Maryam then, having...

Maryam and André react to Chelsea's second and third matches of a full week's slate! We begin with the 2-0 win over West Ham and dive into the main question: Why didn't Bethany England start? We get into the Hammer's defensive approach and what changed once England joined the fray at halftime. Then we chat about Guro Reiten's day versus Aston Villa, and how her performance his what was actually a...

Maryam & André react to the joy of seeing CFCW back on the pitch, the happiness of a Harder hat trick versus West Ham, the concern of conceding two, and the sadness that our end of 2021 league form carried over against Brighton. We talk missed chances, lineup decisions, and what we think is behind the lack of clinical finishing. We also look bigger picture to see what may need to be adjusted i...

Well, another CFCW match was postponed due to positive results plus injuries. Maryam & André discuss the continuation of the outbreak we'd hoped we'd left in the last days of 2021, what we hope for the team, plus air some frustrations about this whole pandemic thing as the globe enters a third year of this mess. Then we, with hope and crossed fingers, turn our attention to Everton. We discuss...

Chelsea FCW desperately needed a break, but we have missed them, and finally they're back! The new year for the Blues starts off with a major test against surprisingly 3rd place Spurs. Maryam looks into what our London rivals have been doing well and how they've earned their spot, surprisingly, one point below Chelsea (though the Blues have a game in hand). She delivers a deep dive on what their m...

Chelsea ended 2021 in a very unfamiliar and uncharacteristic way, and Maryam & André chat about the various factors that led to a run of unprecedented results. We then look ahead to 2022, and the team responding as we know Chelsea can and, under Emma Hayes, always do. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! Thank you for listening! #CFCW💙💙 Follow us on Twitter @FranKirbyFC !

Maryam & André try to figure out what on earth has happened to Chelsea in their last two matches. We discuss any potential patterns, ways to solve some of the problems that crept up, and ask if perhaps it was just too much of a swing from the high of a dominant FA Cup Final win over a London rival straight into midseason grind mode. But don't worry, we also take some time to sift through our h...

OH! MY! GOD! Maryam & André react to Chelsea's 3-0 battering of Arsenal in the FA Cup Final. The Blues didn't allow a single shot on target and the scoreline could have genuinely been far worse for the north Londoners. We talk Super Fran Kirby getting it all started, Chelsea's ravenous press, Sam Kerr doing Sam Kerr things, Jess Carter handling Miedema, and more! What a performance, what a win...

Scheduling issues prevented us from dropping an episode immediately after the 5-0 win over Birmingham so Maryam & André are making it up to you! In this episode we revisit the dominant win over Birmingham and spotlight some key performers including Sam Kerr, Drew Spence, Lauren James and (obvs) SUPER FRAN KIRBY. Then we shift our attention to the 2020/21 FA Cup Final versus Arsenal. We dive in...

Maryam & André rushed to their microphones after the final whistle of Chelsea's 4-0 smashing of Manchester City at the Academy Stadium! They get into how fun the match was, discuss Emma Hayes' gameplan (which she hinted at on a live podcast), Gareth Taylor being out of his depth, and which of the goals were our favorite. Plus, André continues the Jess Fleming Propaganda Campaign! Please listen...

Maryam & André review Chelsea FCW's 1-0 win away at Aston Villa! We talk Emma Hayes surprising us with a formation, Carla Ward sticking with the same formation that frustrated Arsenal for the first half, key individual performances, plus JESS FLEMING PROPAGANDA! They both also take a broader view of the packed schedule ahead and discuss upcoming fixtures with Servette in the UWCL and Mancheste...

Hello again listeners, sorry to have left you for two weeks, life be life'in! No worries though, because Maryam & André are back with a fresh episode and PLENTY to talk about! First we review Chelsea's narrow 2-1 win away at Juventus prior to the international break, including Emma Hayes shifting the team out of the 343 for the first time this season. Then we discuss the 3-0 win over Mancheste...

Maryam & André survived CFCW's recent attacks on their fragile hearts and are back to discuss two matches that were wild and scary in two very different ways. First, we look back on the 3-3 draw versus Wolfsburg. We discuss Pernille Harder's Revenge Tour, and how she's suddenly the player stepping up when Chelsea need a goal. We also dissect what was a beautiful and well-controlled start to th...