What constitutes success for Chelsea this season?

Chelsea are one of the most successful teams in Premier League history having won the competition 5 times. But unless they are gluttons for punishment, Chelsea fans wont need reminding that last season saw them receive their lowest points total since the EPL’s inception in 1992. So where does that leave them coming into the new season? It isn’t completely new territory for the Blues, who experienced a somewhat similarly disastrous campaign back in the 2015/16 season which saw them finish 10th in the league, only to bounce back the following season and blitz the league once they adopted Conte’s 3-4-3 formation. But is that a realistic aim for this year? 

Competition is a lot stronger this season, if last year is anything to go by. Everything that needs to be said about City has already been said, and Pep has created a machine that doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon. Arsenal have had their best season in years, and have responded in an un-Arsenal like fashion by aggressively manoeuvring in the transfer market. While both Newcastle and Manchester United will be heading into the new season another year along in their own respective projects, with both sides sanctioning big money moves in positions that needed strengthening. That only covers the top 4. But it is a top 4 that contains solid teams that have come off the back of strong seasons and have a real sense of stability surrounding them. Liverpool finished the season very strong, and Aston Villa and Brighton will be looking to maintain their European places next season. So where does that leave chelsea? Despite finishing 12th last year, it can’t be ignored that this is a team that has cost vast sums of money to assemble, but as seen last season, money doesn’t necessarily buy success. Wholesale changes have been made to this Chelsea side this summer, big names such as Havertz and Local boy Mason Mount have made the jump to rival clubs, while experienced pros such as Kante and Azpilicueta have also moved on. In isolation, you can easily make a case as to why these players should and did need to move on, however it does create a lack of stability in a club that desperately needs it, when so many big changes are made in one go. 

Up step, Mauricio Pochetinno. Spurs fans’ nightmare has become Chelsea’s reality. There aren’t too many options in world football that offer you Premier league experience, exciting attacking football, history with improving young players and availability. Poch has all of the above and there is a real sense of excitement as to what he can achieve with this team that has some of the best young players in world football. But, although football is extremely unpredictable, next season will surely come slightly too soon for a realistic Chelsea title charge. So it leads us back to the original question, what is success this year? Patience is not a trait that the Blues have needed to adopt in the Abramovich era, but this is a new era, the Boehly era, and patience may be key to success in future seasons. Although money is still no obstacle, there is a sense that the right manager will be given an appropriate amount of time to achieve his goals. If that is the case, then this year’s league position may only be relevant up to a point. Of course, pre season objectives would be to at a minimum qualify for the Europa league, but with everything we have mentioned it will not be an easy task. Comparisons can be made to the job that Arteta has accomplished at Arsenal, who recorded back to back 8th placed finishes in his first year and a half at the club, before seeing his rebuild start to show fruition with back to back improvements of 5th and 2nd respectively. That’s not to say Chelsea should expect to follow a similar time scale, but if they can record a top 8 finish, but build a foundation of attacking positive football that is clearly going in the right direction that would be a huge success for a team in transition coming off the back of such a disastrous campaign last year. 

Ultimately, success for every fan will be held to different barometers, but one thing that most fans can agree on is that this Chelsea side has an exciting future ahead so long as they keep navigating themselves in the right direction. The 23/24 season certainly cannot come soon enough and it will be interesting to see how the Chelsea project has progressed even in 6 months time from now.