Post-season review - Chelsea 2013/14

[Jase 43,479]

Lets see what Mourinho thinks about it. He said Arsenal are failure specialist, Benitez was a loser because we end up in 3th last season.

Failure.

You can't call another manager a specialist in failure and then in the same season, fail to win anything with your own club.

Sometimes I just wonder if people actually comprehend what Mourinho said rather than just taking his words literally and as it is. Mourinho called Wenger a "specialist in failure" because he has gone 8 years (EIGHT YEARS!) without winning a trophy and is only ever building a squad and building one that has gone nowhere. To even sound us or Mourinho as a "specialist in failure" because we could well win nothing this season (just after one season) is ridiculous. In the last 8 years, we have won 9 trophies (excluding Community Shield) and at the same time, Mourinho won 9 trophies across 3 different countries. What did Arsenal and Wenger win since 2006? Nothing. In fact, we (and Mourinho) have won more trophies in the last 8 years than Wenger in his 18 years at the club; just 7!

To address Henrique's point on Mourinho saying last season was a failure under Benitez, well, it is true isn't it? Yes we won a trophy, had great moments along the way, we all enjoyed the craziness of it but looking at the bigger picture, it wasn't not good enough for a club like us where we want to compete at the highest level and set high standards for ourselves (something we have struggled A LOT in the last 3 seasons). We crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage(!), only just squeezed in to finish 3rd within the last 2 weeks of the season, lost countless of chances to win trophies and struggled with inconsistencies throughout the season.

This time around, as many have said, we look to have a direction and plan to move forward as team and Mourinho is laying the foundations in which we can challenge consistently for major honours in the upcoming years. We are more consistent (since December at least) and are in the Champions League quarter finals with a good chance of progressing to the semi finals. And not to mention, we would be finishing in the Top 4 without any trouble and drama like we experienced in the past 2 seasons AND actually challenging for the title till the end, something we have failed to do since the 2009/10 season.

You can judge a season whether it is success or failure by the number of trophies won but honestly, that is really a myopic way of thinking. The REAL failure of a season would be say the 2010/11 or even 2007/08 season. No trophies won in those seasons and worse of all like in the 10/11 season, there was no progression, no development and not even anything positive to take or did that season to put us in a good stead for the subsequent seasons. Never mind not winning trophies then, we were just awful and uninspiring throughout the season. If this is the case next season where after we (hopefully) get rid of the deadwoods and have a proper, strong squad going but win nothing, then you might have a good case of it being a failure. But this season, no, not even if we don't anything in the end. We are fixing the mess we had for the past few season and set the foundation to get us going next season and beyond.

[Henrique 9,133]

Sometimes I just wonder if people actually comprehend what Mourinho said rather than just taking his words literally and as it is. Mourinho called Wenger a "specialist in failure" because he has gone 8 years (EIGHT YEARS!) without winning a trophy and is only ever building a squad and building one that has gone nowhere. To even sound us or Mourinho as a "specialist in failure" because we could well win nothing this season (just after one season) is ridiculous. In the last 8 years, we have won 9 trophies (excluding Community Shield) and at the same time, Mourinho won 9 trophies across 3 different countries. What did Arsenal and Wenger win since 2006? Nothing. In fact, we (and Mourinho) have won more trophies in the last 8 years than Wenger in his 18 years at the club; just 7!

To address Henrique's point on Mourinho saying last season was a failure under Benitez, well, it is true isn't it? Yes we won a trophy, had great moments along the way, we all enjoyed the craziness of it but looking at the bigger picture, it wasn't not good enough for a club like us where we want to compete at the highest level and set high standards for ourselves (something we have struggled A LOT in the last 3 seasons). We crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage(!), only just squeezed in to finish 3rd within the last 2 weeks of the season, lost countless of chances to win trophies and struggled with inconsistencies throughout the season.

This time around, as many have said, we look to have a direction and plan to move forward as team and Mourinho is laying the foundations in which we can challenge consistently for major honours in the upcoming years. We are more consistent (since December at least) and are in the Champions League quarter finals with a good chance of progressing to the semi finals. And not to mention, we would be finishing in the Top 4 without any trouble and drama like we experienced in the past 2 seasons AND actually challenging for the title till the end, something we have failed to do since the 2009/10 season.

You can judge a season whether it is success or failure by the number of trophies won but honestly, that is really a myopic way of thinking. The REAL failure of a season would be say the 2010/11 or even 2007/08 season. No trophies won in those seasons and worse of all like in the 10/11 season, there was no progression, no development and not even anything positive to take or did that season to put us in a good stead for the subsequent seasons. Never mind not winning trophies then, we were just awful and uninspiring throughout the season. If this is the case next season where after we (hopefully) get rid of the deadwoods and have a proper, strong squad going but win nothing, then you might have a good case of it being a failure. But this season, no, not even if we don't anything in the end. We are fixing the mess we had for the past few season and set the foundation to get us going next season and beyond.

Arsenal 8 trophyless seasons. Thats why they are specialist. 8 seasons. This season is just one season.

About the consistence, I dont think we are more consistent. Since december we dropped points to Villa, West Ham and Crystal Palace. Outplayed City at Etihad, just to play like shit days later against the same team.

[Henrique 9,133]

Brilliant point. Over the last 2/3 seasons we've sacrificed our long term success by spunking out millions on hiring and firing managers because there was no immediate success. Now the powers at the club seem to have matured. In two-three years they will have reaped the rewards of their patience. I can't promise how many trophies we'll win between now and then because City will only keep improving, Arsenal will one day eventually get there and Liverpool will attract big names against with CL football. But we're doing our long-term prospects the world of good by filling the cracks with heavy investment in young talent, rather than merely papering them over by chopping and changing the management and playing personnel in the slim hope it'll inspire a trophy return.

Nice words, but Mourinho is not looking for long terme here...is Ivanovic our long term RB? Is Azi our long term LB?

Is a long term plan having no clue about how we play against defensive sides?

Mourinho record shows he is always concerned about instant success.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Nice words, but Mourinho is not looking for long terme here.

Is that what's on the grapevine in Brazil?

Everything he's said is focussed on the long-term. But 'fans' like you simply like to moan.

I hope you view this season as a failure because maybe you'll latch on to some other club instead.

[nadavTKL 1,787]

We've done in one year what Wenger has so far spent eight years merely trying to do. That thing is called transition. Winning the European Cup and FA Cup in 2012, and the Europa League in 2013 papered over some incredibly large cracks.

We've signed some incredible young talent in that time - Hazard, Willian, Oscar, Azpilicueta, Courtois, Lukaku, Zouma, Schurrle, Salah and Matic just to name a few - and we will no doubt add to that contingent in the summer when we bring in one, or maybe even two strikers, along with players like Shaw, for instance.

Us not winning the league this year is a blessing in disguise. We're nowhere near the finished article, but if we were to somehow win the league that feat would suggest otherwise. Think about it logically - if we win it, we'll spend less. That's because we'd be the best team in the country, right? Fail to win the league and we have to be a little more rational and actually strengthen the squad.

But the main thing about this season is that we've shown we're incredibly close to City. In fact, we're probably as good as they are, as our matches against them have demonstrated. Our issue this season is a lack of consistency, particularly against the younger sides. One thing about this Chelsea side is we're nowhere near as physical as we once were. Sometimes pace and guile will win you matches, other times you just need a catapult and a battering ram. Remember when we had Drogba, Ballack, Alex and company at the spine of the side? We've lost a lot of our brute power. We've addressed that by bringing Matic back, and with Lukaku set to return and Mourinho quite likely looking to bring in a powerful box-to-box midfielder to play in the pivot, we can strengthen in that sense as well.

This has been a season of many positives. Eden Hazard has emerged as one of the very best players in world football, behind only Messi, Ronaldo and Bale and on a par with the likes of Ribery, Zlatan and Suarez. Nemanja Matic has asserted himself as one of the best centre midfielders we've seen in a very long time (have we finally replaced Makelele?). Gary Cahill and John Terry have formed the best centre-back pairing in Premier League (and European?) football. Cesar Azpilicueta has emerged from the shadows to become one of our most important players. We've seen glimpses of brilliance from Oscar, Willian, Schurrle and company, and they will only improve with age and experience. But most importantly - we've seen Mourinho come back.

The sole reason people thought we had a chance of league success this season is the return of the Special One. If Rafa, or even King Robbie were in charge of this side, I'd have to be bluntly honest and say we'd have had no chance. We'd probably have struggled to finish in the top three. The man is a tactical magician, but what he has also done is disrupt every other goddamn club in England. He's piled pressure on City to such an extent they've underachieved (with their squad, they should probably be half a dozen points clear already...), he's sabotaged Arsenal's season by offering them Ba and then when it was too late to sign anyone else pulling the plug and making them suffer with Giroud and Bendtner up front, he's undercut David Moyes at every possible turn to pile the pressure on him. The bloke is a genius whether we're playing or not. Sometimes, like Saturday, he gets it wrong, but with him in charge again we will be a force to be reckoned with.

If City win their two games in hand, we'll be four points behind them, and I can't see that gap being extended by much at all between now and May. That is negligible, when you consider how far we finished behind the leaders in 2012 and 2013, it denotes an obvious improvement from Chelsea Football Club. If this is a team in transition, then I am very excited to see the final product.

The future is Blue.

Great post, I agree with most. But what would it say about our season if Liverpool will win the title?

They finished 7th last season, they spend much less money and have a lesser squad. I think it won't look good for us and for City if Liverpool wins it. It would look like we failed to create that gap between teams that spend so much, and a team that doesn't. A lot of credit goes to Liverpool and what they did, but still.

[diskoviolente 425]

It is a step in the right direction I think. José has a clear vision what he wants in the team and for once the board and the owner are happy to support him and finally push on with the transition that we so desperately need. I think it is a success. I never saw us as genuine contenders anyway but given our position and the way this season developed in general, I am surprised in how well we did against the big teams. Next season, with a proper striker on board, we care genuine contenders.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Great post, I agree with most. But what would it say about our season if Liverpool will win the title?

They finished 7th last season, they spend much less money and have a lesser squad. I think it won't look good for us and for City if Liverpool wins it. It would look like we failed to create that gap between teams that spend so much, and a team that doesn't. A lot of credit goes to Liverpool and what they did, but still.

Managerial stability, and believing in their manager's plan and philosophy.

[Styles 9,790]

We've been more competitive than we have been in YEARS so it's a success. We still have issues but compared to recent years we're comfortably better so that's an improvement.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Forget success or failure. We should be looking for improvement. We won the CL in 2012 but actually regressed as a team. We had turned into a cup team these last few years. I personally think the league is the best barometer of success because it's a much larger sample size and the cream eventually rises to the top. Unlike in cup competitions where a bad draw, a bad bounce or an off day can result in a trophy-less season or the opposite.

In that sense, we have improved considerably. I still want trophies, everyone does but I can live with a year without one because I see the improvement and can see trophies on the horizon in the near future.

[Beirut_Blues 306]

i think its too early to be talking abt failure...

still fighting for the league and didnt even start the QF of the champions league so i see no point of discussing failure.

[Fulham Broadway 17,299]

There seems to be a lot of resignation that its all over.

As far as the league is concerned you have to keep fighting and hoping, what are we arsenal ?

We win our 6 games - 87 points. Liverpool win 5 including againt City, and lose to us -86 points

Out of Citys 8 games they lose to Liverpool and draw against Everton -86 points. Carefree. Champions.

The CL is a knockout, and by its very nature totally unpredictable. Potentially English and European Champions.

Stranger things have happened.

[GodZola 630]

Not sure if success is the correct word but more so improvement, fans with short term impatient thinking will see this season as a failure if we don't end the season with any silverware - therefore no success.

The balanced long term patient fans will see this season as an improvement because we are exactly where we wanted us to be - closing the gap in the PL (& that's not over by a long chalk yet) decent run in CL all with a young squad that are still learning their trade, all this with some obvious deficiencies in the squad that will be addressed during the summer.

Then we also have the best goalkeeper in the world (imho!) returning, José will virtually have his own squad to choose from, looks like he is still learning about some of the personalities this season, so all the foundations are being laid now for a very bright successful future. I said before I think there has been long term objectives set out and agreed by Roman and José, this years has already been met, next year it goes up another notch and I think eventually you will see the shackles come off with a style of football that Roman craves.

Every Chelsea fan should be excited about the future because we are without question heading the right way.