Poch says flops are not in line with Chelsea's history, but mid-table is their level
An apologetic Mauricio Pochettino claims his shaky young side 'does not fit the history of our club'.
Which suggests the Chelsea boss may be one history lesson itself.
Because being mid-table and reaching a cup final is very much in line with the club's traditions – if you ignore the 19-year period during which they were bankrolled by Vladimir Putin's pal Roman Abramovich.
The Blues faithful sang for this friend of the warmongering Russian tyrant as their team slipped to the bottom half of the Premier League following Sunday's 4-2 home draw at the hands of Wolves.
That would hardly have felt wanted by their €88m Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk as Putin's missiles rain down on his homeland.
But while the Blues faithful long for the dirty days oil moneyChelsea have already reported themselves to the Premier League over FFP breaches over some of their funding under Abramovich.
While further allegations of financial misconduct have also been made during that time.
If you head to the Bridge on game day, you'll likely encounter much of the tourist brigade with selfie sticks, as well as some actors filming scenes for one of Todd Boehly's movies.
And there will be many self-proclaimed younger supporters spoiled by the success of the Abramovich era, when their side won two European Cups and five Premier Leagues.
The older, often more rational hardcore players remember Chelsea playing league games against teams like Shrewsbury in the early 1980s, with the hulking Micky Droy leading the fight against relegation to the third tier.
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It is not true, as Liverpool fans love to sing, that Chelsea 'has no history'.
Chelsea have a rich backstory with their own legends, from Roy Bentley and Jimmy Greaves, to Charlie Cooke and Peter Osgood, to Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli.
But before Abramovich they had only been champions of England once, in 1955.
Over the next four seasons, a young Greaves scored an astonishing 124 goals in 157 top-flight games for a Chelsea team that never finished higher than 11th.
There was a golden era in the early 1970s when the Blues won an FA Cup and a Cup Winners' Cup.
Ken Bates then oversaw six successful, progressive years during which Chelsea won four knockouts matchesbefore selling it to Abramovich.
That period around the turn of the millennium represented the peak of Chelsea's natural level.
Sure, Clearlake's current owners, led by Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, are very wealthy – but they're also robbers.
Spending a quarter of a billion on Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez when Jorginho, the man they swooped from Arsenal for £12 million, was in charge of the midfield against Liverpool on Sunday doesn't say much about their footballing talent.
The idea that Chelsea will naturally return to the elite is naive.
The current owners have spent £1 billion, but the Premier League have changed their rules to close the loophole that allowed them to do this: so-called 'amortisation', which allowed the cost of transfers to be spread over the life of a contract spread.
Now they are saddled with a number of mid-level players on very long deals, and a squad with no experience.
Last season Clearlake assured us they would be patient with Graham Potter, but then fired him after seven months.
This season they have claimed that Pochettino is a 'long-term project' again.
They say Chelsea is a different club now, that Abramovich's fire-and-fire regime is a thing of the past.
But perhaps firing managers every few months is the only way they can provide their supporters with a nostalgic fix.
Because Chelsea was only an elite club by Abramovich and has no divine right to be part of a built-in 'Big Six', which no longer exists.
Last season the Blues finished 12th after employing two very good managers, Thomas Tuchel and Potter.
This season they are eleventh under a very good manager in Pochettino.
During Wolves' turnaround, supporters also sang for Jose Mourinho's third coming.
Even Jesus only came twice, but what did the Christ man know about parking the bus at Anfield?
Yet the current Mourinho may be at Chelsea's natural level after being sacked by Roma, who are in the middle of Serie A.
Cheer up, Carra
ALLO, allo, allo, what do we have here?
It's Officer Jamie Carragher from the Celebration Policewho is concerned that Arsenal got too excited about beating his beloved Liverpool.
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The Sky Sports pundit instructed Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard to 'go through the tunnel' rather than enjoy a win over the league leaders as his side had just 'won a game, three points'.
However, it was okay for Jurgen Klopp to take the field after his team won three points in a Merseyside Derby, or to choreograph a mass celebration in front of the Kop after a 2-2 draw with West Brom.
Because that was Liverpool and, as we all know, for Liverpool 'This Means More'.
Fair to everyone, Erik
ERIK TEN HAG has complained about the profitability of the Premier League and Sustainability Regulations.
They prevented the Dutchman from doing so rush hour in January without having to “sell another good player” to balance the books books.
Yet these Financial Fair Play measures were specifically intended to protect the old elite such as Manchester United from the nouveau riche.
So if the manager of that club doesn't want them, who will?
Prem's top
WAS Newcastle 4 Luton 4 the most exciting game in the Premier League this season?
Or, given the drama of Wolves 3 Manchester United 4, was it even the most exciting of the week?
Was it the best game against Newcastle this season, or was that their 3-2 home defeat to Manchester City?
And was it the most dramatic one involving Luton, or was that the Hatters' 4-3 home loss to Arsenal?
I'd like to see the glorious chaos of Chelsea 4 Man City 4 as my match of the season, but I'm willing to listen to arguments for Liverpool 4 Fulham 3 or Man City 3 Tottenham 3.
In short, this competition is rarely boring.
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EARLIER in the season, when Wolves were being bamboozled by VAR every week, we thought all those dodgy decisions could see them relegated.
It turns out Gary O'Neil's side are so good they could be robbed of a place in Europe instead.
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ENGLAND will be sent to Euro 2024 with a Wembley friendly against Iceland in June.
The sound of the Viking 'Thunderclap' will ring in the ears of the Three Lions, reminding them of their last overseas euros campaign in 2016 – when Iceland humiliated them.
It certainly shows that Gareth Southgate is not concerned about bad history.
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SO during the 2026 World Cup, EVERY quarter-final, semi-final and final will be played in the USA.
This is despite the Yanks being largely immune to 'soccer', while Mexico – co-host with Canada – is football-mad.
Still, the Mexicans may withdraw if Trump is back in the White House by then and has built his great wall.