There’s an exclusive interview with Marcos Alonso about the impressive start to the season that earned him a Premier League Player of the Month nomination, and he also discusses this team’s tactical versatility and Thomas Tuchel’s aim to make us a nightmare to play against.

‘From the beginning, since Thomas came, he said we had to be a team that nobody wanted to play against, and I think at the moment we are on the right path,’ he says.

‘I don’t think it’s that much about the system, I think it’s more about how we approach the game. We work on that approach during the week, depending on the opponents and on ourselves. I think it’s great work from the team and also from the manager to be able to adapt. The depth in the squad helps with that and it’s an extra good thing for us to be able to play in different ways depending on the opponent.’

Since our last home game, we also received the sad news of Sean Lock’s death. The comedian was a regular at Stamford Bridge, and his friend Johnny Vaughan – who attended games for many years – has written a touching tribute to Sean, filled with memories and photos from their Chelsea adventures.

‘After a chance meeting at Stamford Bridge, we became friends and Sean soon started to sit with my friends and me,’ Vaughan explains. ‘We just became close mates and the rest has become history – a history that is bound together by our love of Chelsea.

‘It was a great experience having Sean as my friend. Since he passed away, it’s been a very difficult and sad time for everyone. I just keep thinking about how privileged I was. I got to go and watch Chelsea every week for the best part of 28 years with the funniest man in the country. It was brilliant and I miss him so much.’

Elsewhere in the programme, we continue our 10-year anniversary feature on the historic 2011/12 season, while club historian Rick Glanvill profiles our first majorly successful youth product, Ron Greenwood, in his regular feature, Rising Sons.

There’s all the regular columns from Tuchel, Cesar Azpilicueta, Emma Hayes and Academy coaches Andy Myers and Ed Brand, as well as Pat Nevin’s always-insightful match preview.

Seek out a programme seller at the ground and pick up your copy for £3.50, or if you’d prefer to have it delivered to your door, you can order the programme online here.