Chelsea have begun life in enthralling fashion under new boss Xabi Alonso. The Blues ran awya 3-2 winners at Craven Cottage in their Premier League opener against Fulham, before seeing off Brighton 4-3 at home last weekend.
In between, Xabi’s men also registered a 2-0 win over Luton Town in the second round of the EFL Cup. The winning start is a stark turnaround from the end of last season, where the club experienced a massive slump to end up 10th in the league.
Xabi’s brand of high-octane football has come as a welcome change for Stamford Bridge. The Spaniard has employed a high line and quick counter-presses to put relentless pressure on the opposition, resulting in goal fests.
Most importantly, Xabi seems to be on his way to unlocking the powers of Cole Palmer again. The Englishman has operated wonderfully alongside Joao Pedro up-front and recent arrival Morgan Rogers on the left in a highly fluid front-three.
The early success, combined with Xabi’s repute as a Premier League legend, has revived famous chants from decades ago at Anfield. However, the Blues have made sure to add a particularly London flavour in embracing the manager.
The famous Shed End at Stamford Bridge displayed a huge tifo dedicated to Xabi against Brighton ahead of the encounter. It read “Not too Xabi, Alonso is a Blue”.
“Not too Xabi: Alonso is a blue.” pic.twitter.com/NmUW0qmJIg
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) August 30, 2026
For the unitiated, those words together may come off as nonsensical. Yet, a closer inspection reveals the true punny nature of classic British pub banter.
In Spanish, the alphabet ‘x’ has a starkly different phonetic sound compared to English. How the letter sounds in a word depends on its placement, most often taking the form of an ‘s’ or ‘sh’.
In Xabi’s case, it is the latter, meaning his name is pronounced ‘Shabi’. Or as it translates to in the banner displayed at Stamford Bridge, shabby.
The ‘not too shabby’ phrasing is a classic trademark of British understatement. The saying dates back over two centuries and quickly became colloquial for its rhetoric undertones.
The litote has especially found a home in sporting circles for its sense of praise, without being overbearing.
Commentators often use the remark tongue-in-cheek when unwilling to pay a player their respects yet, without being willfully ignorant.
Chelsea fans have undoubtedly adapted the phrasing with a similar agenda to temper expectations. The fans at this point are used to instant successes eventually crashing and burning, and will be wary on judging their new manager too soon.
Thus, ‘Not too Xabi’ is essentiailly a round-about way of lauding the 46-year-old’s work at the club.
Having spent his time in cities such as Madrid, Munich, and Leverkusen, Xabi would no doubt appreciate the dose of British humour. The Spaniard speaks the language fluently courtesy of his early years in Liverpool.
However, Xabi cannot afford to test on his laurels. His biggest test yet awaits next in the form of defending champions Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday evening.
