CHELSEA
If you'd told me twelve months ago that I'd be analysing the Premier League from the bottom up and that my eleventh entry in this list, I'd laugh in your face. How on earth could Chelsea finish 10th? They were favourites to win the title for goodness sake! Fourteen months ago they were lifting the Premier League trophy. Chelsea's demise was high-profile, shocking and the story of the opening few months of the season. It's easy to forget, amongst the incredible shock that was Leicester in the back half of the season, that six months previously, the big story was Mourinho's downfall. His first major high profile failure. He lost the dressing room, lost the supporters, it was an absolutely mad start to the season for Chelsea.
Much had been made in 2014/15 of Chelsea's incredible defence, how Mourinho was a defensive manager, and how well organised Chelsea were. But right from the off this wasn't the case in 15/16. Chelsea's defence got off to a bad start, dropping points at home to Swansea on the opening day, with Thibaut Courtois getting sent off. But the real danger signs, that were present in this result, came when fellow title challengers (if we can even call Chelsea that since they were never in the title race once the season actually began) Man City battered them 3-0, a game in which City were utterly dominant.
Things didn't improve for Chelsea. It was a case of one step forward, two steps back. They were very lucky to beat West Brom away, only to lose to Palace at the Bridge (it seems weird to think now that there was such a long time where Chelsea just didn't lose at home) and then away at Everton. At this point, with one win in five games, Chelsea were 16th, and the relegation jokes were out in force. An inevitable win against Arsenal failed to stem Chelsea's problems, as they drew with Newcastle, and then in October lost to West Ham, Southampton and Liverpool (but did manage to beat the awful Villa because Villa). At this point, Chelsea were in serious trouble, struggling to string together two wins and sliding dangerous (and hilariously) down the table. They beat Norwich in November, but also lost to Stoke and things were showing no signs of improving. Back to back defeats to Bournemouth and Leicester were the final straw, and just before Christmas, Mourinho was gone.
There's not a lot to say about Chelsea post-Mourinho. They improved significantly, as expected, but they were never anywhere near European football, scraping their way to an inevitable mid-table finish, They didn't lose a game under replacement temporary manager Guus Hiddink until 9th April, winning seven and drawing seven to climb to 10th. They were then promptly thumped by City for the second time, and finished mediocrely, high profile draws to Spurs, Leicester and Liverpool, as well as a win over Bournemouth and a similarly high profile defeat to Sunderland.
With Chelsea's season effectively over by October, with their defeats to Southampton and Liverpool that month seen as two of the major nails in the coffin, there really was nothing for Chelsea fans to celebrate this season. A high profile capitulation, fueled by players who were in open revolt against their manager: as the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, all key individuals in the attacking sense as Chelsea stormed to the title, were all utterly dreadful before Christmas. Defensively, Chelsea were a shambles, as Terry, Cahill and Ivanovic, the latter in particular fell apart.
There were of course, other major high profile Mourinho tantrums, including the infamous Eva Carneiro case, but as far as I'm concerned, the brunt of the blame has to go to the various players who decided that they wanted Mourinho out. I'd have sold most of them in January to be honest, Chelsea have the money and pulling power to replace them.
Looking at this season? Chelsea have an excellent new manager in Conte, and have made some excellent acquisitions. Batshuayi will be a good option up front and Kante in central midfielder is pretty much the perfect signing for Chelsea. They will definitely be top four contenders again.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Three wickets each for Jimmy and Moeen.
- Losing Stokes is a big blow though.
- The Russian Rio fallout continues.
- Konta wins her first trophy!
- Big Sam's first interview fills me with quiet confidence.
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