Two cup finals, the end of the Abramovich era and much more made for a memorable season at Stamford Bridge
The transition from the Roman Abramovich era into the Todd Boehly regime in West London now seems to be complete. With the Russian oligarch forced to sell the club after being sanctioned by the UK government over his close ties to Vladimir Putin, the departure of his most trusted allies Marina Granovskaia and Bruce Buck in recent weeks marks the final curtain pull on what has been a very successful period in the club's history. American billionnaire and part-owner of the LA Dodgers franchise, Boehly now takes the reigns and will seemingly be taking care of transfer matters in the short term.
All of the off-field drama at Chelsea during the final months of the season took the attention away from the pitch but there were plenty of football talking points to be discussed too. The return of Romelu Lukaku didn't quite go to plan and he has since been allowed to rejoin his old club Inter on loan. Thomas Tuchel's side did themselves proud in their Champions League quarter final second leg against Real Madrid but missed out on a place in the semis after an extra time goal from Karim Benzema. To add insult to injury, they brutally lost both the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup final to Liverpool on penalties.
It was far from a boring season at Stamford Bridge, with plenty of positives and negatives to take away. Considering the tumultous time the club went through in the second half of the season, not being allowed to sell tickets, facing all manner of logistical challenges, and trying to stay focused on football while a whirlwind of geopolticial controversy surrounded them, you could say that two cup finals and a UCL quarter final isn't the worst thing. Some fans will be more pleased than others, but it's fair to say that the campaign wasn't a complete disaster.
Now it's time to turn our attention to the new Chelsea. Todd Boehly has arrived and seems to be quite hands-on. We'll have to wait and see whether that will prove to be a good thing or a bad thing for the club in the coming months. There's mountains of speculation about who the club might try to sign in this summer transfer window and how the side may shape up under Tuchel next season. It must be an exciting time to be a Chelsea fan.
We wanted to catch up with a couple of ardent fans and commentators on the club to get their perspectives on the season just passed and the one on the horizon. What do they make of the new order at the club? How do they sum up the season as a whole now it's finished? Who do they think could be joining the squad in the coming weeks and months? To answer all of these questions, we caught up with Dávid Pásztor from We Ain't Got No History (WAGNH), an SB Nation blog dedicated to Chelsea, and Gabe Henderson, co-site expert at the Fansided Chelsea blog The Pride of London, to get their takes on all things Chelsea.
Here's what they had to say:
Q. Now that the dust has settled, what do you make of Chelsea's 2021/22 campaign overall?
Dávid: Overall, amid all the distractions and drama and controversy, a good campaign that felt slightly less good as all the successes came relatively early and all of the big disappointments came relatively late in the season. Third place finish matches our highest in the last five years, with the most points since our last title win. We won a trophy we had never won before, the Club World Cup, completing the set for the Abramovich Era, just before its unexpected end.
Q. Would you describe this past season as a drop-off when compared to the previous? If so, what went wrong to cause that?
Gabe: I wouldn't describe it as a drop-off to be completely honest. If you think about it, Chelsea was a handful of penalties/penalty saves away from four trophies. The Blues won two major trophies (UEFA Super League and FIFA Club World Cup), and while it may sound silly to call them major, they can be viewed as such considering the prerequisite is winning the Champions League. I think it's obvious what went wrong though, Chelsea had too many costly injuries or absences throughout the year and that killed the consistency. A 63-game season is no joke, you need everyone fit for the entirety of that campaign in order to succeed.
Q. Why were Chelsea ultimately unable to win either cup final against Liverpool? What did they lack?
Dávid: There was practically nothing to separate the two teams in either Cup final - nor in the head-to-head matchups in the league for that matter - so it's tough to really fault the team for lacking something against one of the very best teams in Europe. Depending on how generous you want to be, I'd say we lacked a bit of luck, or a bit of killer instinct.
Q. How do you see the club improving in the summer transfer window? Are there any particular areas of the squad which need reinforcement, from your perspective?
Gabe: I think, given the outgoings, the club needs reinforcements in every area of the pitch. That may seem like a cop out, but it's the truth. Defense is the real area of concern due to the departures of Christensen and Rudiger. The midfield and attack also showed last year that they're still one or two very talented players away from being consistently great. I think this summer will see the Blues lay the foundation of a successful return to the pinnacle of English football, but it's impossible to expect them to compete with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool again after one transfer window. This small-scale rebuild—or the retooling of the team to Thomas Tuchel's liking—will take a few years.
Q. There is a lot of excitement about returning loanees Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja, but do you see them playing? Do you think they should be given the chance? What do you predict for their season to come?
Dávid: Yes, they should be given the chance to play. And it would be surprising to not see at least Gallagher given that chance. Broja's a tougher situation to call, and right now, it could go any direction - from a transfer, to another loan, to a first-team chance. I'd guess Broja sees another loan while Gallagher stays with the first-team since we already freed up a spot with Saúl going back to Atlético Madrid.
Q. Are there any other youngsters, who perhaps we are less familiar with, who might get the chance to shine in this upcoming campaign?
Gabe: That's a really tough question for multiple reasons. First, the youth exodus (as some like to call it) over the last few years has seen some really talented Chelsea youth or loan army stars depart in favor of game time. Second, many of the Blues' most talented youngsters will be familiar to Premier League fans (i.e. Conor Gallagher or Armando Broja). Aside from Gallagher—who I believe will have a huge part to play next season—keep an eye on the likes of Levi Colwill, Dujon Sterling and Ian Maatsen. I'm not saying they'll all stay, but there's a possibility that each one gets called up to the senior team next season. Colwill has the best chance to start given Chelsea's lack of depth in defense. Sterling and Maatsen are potential role players behind Reece James and Ben Chilwell, but they're both talented, young wingbacks.
Q. What do you make of Thomas Tuchel's reign in charge so far? Do you see him bringing more success to Stamford Bridge in the coming years?
Dávid: Other than our recent habit of losing domestic cup finals, it's been a wonderful 18 months under Thomas Tuchel and hopefully that continues for the foreseeable future. He's been a fantastic fit for the club, on and off the pitch. The new ownership group seems to be fully invested and fully behind him, giving Tuchel more power than any manager we've had in decades. There seems to be an unerring desire to mold the team to his specifications, with the obvious expectation of even greater and more consistent successes on the pitch in return.
Q. With the transition into a new ownership and executive structure seemingly complete, in the light of Buck and Granovskaia's exits, how do you see the club changing in the coming seasons, for better or worse?
Gabe: I think narrowing it down to simply "better or worse" is a bit unfair to both regimes. The old guard did a fantastic job for nearly two decades and took Chelsea to previously unimaginable heights. That being said, change is sometimes a good thing and I think that's the case here. The Blues needed to kick the "chop and change" ways if they wanted to establish some consistency to compete with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool over a 38-game campaign. I believe Todd Boehly and Co. are going to back Thomas Tuchel and truly let one of the best managers in the world work his magic with a squad comprised of his players. This will mean there will be a bit of a transitional period as everyone involved experiences some growing pains, but it's for the best in the grand scheme of things.
Q. What are your realistic expectations for next season, given everything that's going on off-the-pitch at the club right now?
Dávid: The competition is only getting tougher in the league, but I still expect us to be challenging for the title, and this time well into the second half of the season as well. It's harder to attach expectations to cup competitions since anything can happen in single- or two-legged elimination games, but a deep run in both domestic cups and the Champions League would be welcome, hopefully with a trophy or two at the end, even!
Q. What would represent a successful campaign for Chelsea next season, in your eyes?
Gabe: At the end of the day, this is still Chelsea we're talking about. I think the Blues need to comfortably finish in the top four. They need to make deep runs in each domestic cup and at least reach the Round of 16—perhaps even the quarterfinals—of the Champions League. It's going to be a tough season, but the Blues still have enough star-power in its ranks to field a competitive squad in all competitions.
As the seemingly never-ending football train rattles on, Chelsea fans won't have to wait too long to see their team again. They play a series of frendlies stateside across July against Club America, Charlotte and Arsenal, before kicking off their Premier League campaign on August 6 away at Everton. There may be a few new faces on the pitch by the time that first competitive fixture comes around. Fans will certainly hope so.
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