Chelsea end of season review

Hi everyone 

I hope you are well and keeping safe during these unprecedented times. So the longest Premier League season in recent memory ended a week ago with Chelsea finishing 4th and qualifying for next year's Champions League. All things considered The Blues were written off at the beginning of the season with the transfer ban and the sale of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid so hats off to Frank Lampard and the boys for soldiering on. 

The FA Cup finam defeat left a bitter taste and yes we can blame Anthony Taylor for making poor decisions such as sending off  Kovacic or not giving a penalty when Martinez caught the ball outside of the box but once again the defence was poor after letting Aubameyang win a penalty then chip in his second after bypassing the centre backs. Lampard also could have made better substitutions in the second half. Kanté could have brought something despite not being 100%. Anyway whats done is done and its time to focus on Bayern Munich this Saturday night with Azpilicueta injured, along with Gilmour, Pulisic and Pedro. Jorginho and Alonso are suspended so Lampard will have to go with Loftus-Cheek, Barkley and will probably have no choice but to start Kanté. After all we're playing for pride in Germany. Chelsea will need a miracle to qualify for the last 8. Anyway we'll only know on saturday night.

Now back to reviewing the season as a whole. I'll start with the goalkeeper, followed by the defense, then midfield and attack. I'll also write about the manager towards the end.

Goalkeeper

When Kepa Arrizabalaga was signed in 2018 for £72 million, I had high expectations, but after watching him play this season I've lost all confidence in him. Granted its not all of his fault as the defence in front of him didnt help either but for most of the goals concedeed, he could've done a lot better. Willy Caballero has stepped in and done well when called upon but at 38 he's not a long term solution so hopefully Lampard will sign Jan Oblak or André Onana. Of course Oblak will be expensive (€120 million while Onana costs €40 million). Another possibility is Nick Pope of Burnley who kept 15 clean sheets so he would help the Chelsea defence a lot but not sure if he'll enjoying playing with the ball at his feet. That remains to be seen.

Worst case scenario Kepa stays for 1 more year to prove himself and justify his price tag as not many teams are willing to meet his wage demands so Lampard will have to think long and hard throughout the summer.

Rating : 4/10

Defence 

The less said  about it the better. This is the worst Chelsea defence I've seen in decades & is definitely a far cry from the era of Mourinho back in 2004/05.

Lets start with the full backs. While I appreciate our captain Cesar he's not an attacking full back and his crosses arent the best either so he's nowhere near the likes of Alexander Arnold or Wan Bissaka. Plus he's 30 so he's pretty much at the twilight of his career. In my personal opinion he needs to be slowly phased out of the team next year so that Reece James can slowly be intergrated into the team. He's younger, stronger, tall and can attack and defend. He just needs more minutes next season. He's definitely one for the future. 

Left back has been a problematic area since Ashley Cole left and none of the signings since have really convinced bar Marcos Alonso who's a better wing back than actual defender. Emerson hasnt been good either and looks likely to leave in the summer so Chelsea definitely need to sign someone like Ben Chilwell or Nicolás Tagliafico who can both attack and defend.Problem is Leicester want £70 million but Nicolas would cost way less at about £40 million. Alternatively Alex Telles would be a good addition as well but lets see how the saga will unfold.

Centre back has been our Achilles heel all season and one would think selling David Luiz would help. Boy was I wrong. While I appreciate Zouma, Christiansen,Rudiger and Tomori, each one has their own weaknesses such as physicality, rashness, pace,lack of PL experience or lack of defensive knowledge. Bar Tomori who was injured for most of the season, the rest are a downgrade from the likes of Terry, Cahill and Carvahlo so what I'd like to see next season is a strong centre back to help the likes of Rudiger, Zouma or Tomori. Christainsen defenitely needs to be sold as I consider him physically weak for the EPL. If Koulibally , Jose Maria Gimenez or any other strong powerful centre back arrives at Chelsea, I do think they'll be competing with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. For now this defence is weak. Lots of work to be done over the summer and autumn.

Rating: 2/10

Midfield

Hmm well this area Chelsea did alright all things considered but there's only 1 world class player Ngolo Kanté. Having him injured hasnt helped either as he's the only one who can protect this fragile defence but he was played out of position at times to acommodate Kovacic and Jorginho. Plus he's almost 30, could now be the opportunity to cash in? Anyway hopefully we'll see more of him next season. On his day he's unplayable. Billy Gilmour played well when given the chance but he's not a CDM & neither is Jorginho. The vice captain unfortunately isnt made for the EPL and could be sold in the summer so unless Kanté stay fit next season the midfield will definitely be over run and out muscled by better teams in the league.
 A bit forward I'd say Kovacic has been Chelsea's MVP this year. His energy and runs definitely made a difference in matches along with Mason Mount and they should definitely be in the starting line up going forward next year. Loftus-Cheek was unlucky with injuries so I cant criticise him just hope next year that he'll play more. Ross Barkley is too inconsistent for me so hoping for better performances next term.

Next year I'd like to see a midfield trio of Kovacic-Kanté-Mount.

Overall decent but hopefully will get better next season.

Rating: 6/10

Attack

Perhaps the only positive position this past season which scored a good number of goals. The standout was definitely Pulisic with his pace and trickery, as well as Willian with his set pieces but is inconsistent. Whether he signs another contract is yet to be seen and Pedro has been a loyal servant and we wish him a speedy recovery and all the best at AS Roma. 

Hudson-Odoi was also unlucky with injuries so we didnt get to see much of him this season. He'll have to work harder next term with Ziyech already arrived from Ajax and possibly Havertz as well .

With the centre forwards Tammy Abraham did well all things considered with 13 goals in the EPL which isnt too bad hey and Giroud also chipping in as well. Timo Werner arriving will definitely give Chelsea more depth as they compete in 4 competitions (EPL, UCL, FA Cup and Carabao Cup) but I know the World Cup winner wont give up his starting spot easily. Alternatively Werner could play on the left to accomodate either Abraham or Giroud but I think the German international is better suited through the middle. Lots of attacking options for Lampard to choose from next year.
My ideal front 3 would be Werner-Giroud-Ziyech or alternatively Pulisic-Werner-Ziyech depending on what the gaffer decides.

Overall a decent effort from the forwards this season. Take more chances next term please.

Rating:7/10

The Manager

Well I must give props to Frank Lampard for a difficult first season at Stamford Bridge. Being unable to sign players,losing your best player to Real Madrid and having to play the youngsters isnt easy but he did well and helped Chelsea finish in the top 4 and reach a cup final. There were some good moments such as beating Spurs twice, Man City, Man Utd in the FA Cup, Everton, Arsenal but also some terrible ones such as West Ham, Sheffield United, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Southampton so he'll have to do better next term against teams in the bottom 10.

Overall a good first season for the former legend. Now please sort out that defence and make better changes in matches. 

Rating: 8/10

So this is how I view the season. I'd rate it 7/10 and hoping for a better campaign next time around. Do you guys agree with me? Feel free to give your views as well, either here or through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Thank you very much for reading my articles throughout the season. Have a good Summer, be safe and expect more articles when the season starts september 12.

Keep The Blue Flag Flying High

Take care

Ciao

PS Here are the highlights of saturday's final in case you missed it