Last year marked the return of Jose Mourinho to the helm at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea ended the campaign third in Barclay’s Premier League, put out in the semifinals of the UEFA Champion’s League, and had a mediocre run in the FA Cup. Mourinho is hoping to do significantly better this time around and he might just be able to capitalize on multiple trophies this year. Let’s look at how the blues will do in each league next season.
Barclay’s Premier League
There has been a changing of the guard at the Bridge. After coming in third to money-powered club, Manchester City, and shock-turn-around, Liverpool, Chelsea are looking to power their way to the top during the 2014-15 season with their new, younger squad.
Chelsea will be looking at unleashing some new faces this season. Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis, Thibaut Courtois, and Marco Van Ginkel (injured last season) are looking to impose themselves among their English opponents this year. With the ability to potentially start any mixture of a possible eleven all-star midfielders, their depth and skill will be plenty enough to survive the harsh length and physical demand of the English Premier League.
Season Conclusion: A Little Silver, Maybe. Even though they have the squad to outplay any opponent, Manchester United or Manchester City will use their financial muscles to buy enough players to push their way to the top. Don’t expect Liverpool to make the same run they did last year; their small squad won’t be able to handle the added Champions League games.
UEFA Champion’s League
The continental tournament of the “best-of-the-best”. Anything but a Group of Death will most likely see Chelsea win their group: it’s that simple. The availability of Mohamed Salah and Nemanja Matic will prove vital this season as they weren’t available last year since they were bought in the January window from fellow Champions League opponents.
Their depth will prove vital once again, and the addition this season of Thibaut Courtois in the net for Chelsea might just be the most important addition this season. He allowed three goals the entire World Cup: a penalty kick, a wonder strike from USA’s Julian Green, and a redirected deflection from Gonzalo Higuain. Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, maybe even better than Petr Cech.
Take these ingredients and add Jose Mourinho’s tactical intelligence, and Chelsea could find themselves deep in the Champions League before they even have to stop and catch their breath.
Season Conclusion: Semi-Finals..maybe Finals, but no silverware. Injuries plague seasons and the team suffers, not to mention that luck always plays a factor for the winners (something Chelsea seems to run out of early on each campaign).
Remember when I said financial muscles would play a part in who wins? It’s true in this case too. Real Madrid are apparently running a counterfeit business with how much money they’re spending on transfers and Barcelona also seem to buy whoever they please, and let’s not forget about ever-so-dangerous Bayern Munich. The only silver lining: luckily Manchester City have not learned how to use their money to win the Champions League yet.
FA Cup
Much less prestigious than the other two, but still silverware that Chelsea care very much about. In fact, Chelsea are one of the best at winning the FA Cup. Chelsea’s biggest threat in this competition are the lower tier teams that they do not have much experience against. However, they do not need to worry about these inferior teams.
Season Conclusion: Possible Trophy? More like “Probable”. Chelsea have the depth this season in all areas of the pitch and have plenty of energy to go around for them to be a threat in this year’s FA Cup. In fact, the only team with a chance of beating Chelsea is Chelsea themselves.
Year Conclusion: Chelsea is Awesome. Chelsea has a squad full of players worth top-dollar, a genius at the head of the club, and enough depth to contest every competition this year. I expect Chelsea to come back to Stamford Bridge after the year is over with at least one piece of silverware, but I would not be surprised if they came home with multiple ornaments for the trophy case.
