After over 20 years of consistently winning trophies, there is no doubt that Chelsea has faltered of late. It has now been over three years since the Blues won the Club World Cup halfway through a season that began with beating Villareal to claim the UEFA Super Cup. Fans and players alike have had to wait even longer for domestic success, with the 2018 FA Cup the last trophy held aloft on home soil.
The last three years have seen the club fall further behind at the top of the league and in Europe. Last season saw no European involvement at all for only the second time since 1998. New owners were supposed to have brought back the glory years but things have been a little gloomy at the Bridge instead.
Chelsea fans have had to accept that the club has been involved in a rebuilding exercise but is there now light at the end of the tunnel? If you take a look at all the best soccer bet apps, Chelsea is favourite to win the Conference League and a Champions League spot for next year seems to be on the cards. Is this season going to be considered a success after all?
Historically Speaking
Everything is relative, of course, and we have already touched upon the reason why many Chelsea fans may have been looking at this season as something of a failure a few months ago. Champions League success and league titles have been more common for supporters over the last 20 years, so the chance of winning a third-tier continental title may not have hit in quite the same way.
Any Chelsea fan a little bit older can immediately tell you about the trophy drought from the beginning of the 1970s until the end of the 1990s, however. These ups and downs have to be taken into consideration when deciding whether a current level of success is appropriate or not.
League Form Improved
With the millions poured into the club by the new owners, there is an expectation that Chelsea should be doing better though. Not qualifying for Europe at all in the first season of the new ownership was a major disappointment but there have been signs of success in the last few seasons.
League form this season dipped sharply after Christmas and there were concerns that the club would fall away again. But results have picked up since then and now there is renewed optimism of earning a place in next season’s Champions League. With the top five potentially qualifying, Chelsea is in a good place to capitalize on the poor form of teams like Manchester City.
Cup Disappointment
Football fans will always want their clubs to put effort into winning every competition they enter. However, there has been a significant drop in interest in the two domestic cups over the last 30 years. There are various reasons for this and, even though a cup run can do wonders, exiting in the early rounds is not deemed as devastating as it once was,
Chelsea limped out of both the EFL Cup and FA Cup at the fourth round stage this season and it could be argued that an early exit is actually better than going further but not booking a trip to Wembley. It allowed the players the chance to concentrate on the league and the European campaign – by far the two biggest priorities.
European Glory
Speaking of Europe, Chelsea has a bit of history when it comes to the third continental competition. Triumphs in the Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1970s and 1990s had been the highlight for many fans before the Champions League victories more recently and now there is another excellent chance of European silverware.
The Blues have been the favourites to win the Conference League all season and now, as the campaign reaches the later knockout rounds, Chelsea is still looking like the best team in the competition. Nothing can be taken for granted, of course, but the run to the final looks straightforward and another trophy could be making its way to West London this May.
Club World Cup
There will be some fans who still think the expanded Club World Cup is a massive waste of time and not much more than a self-serving piece of showmanship from FIFA. But, thanks to our 2021 Champions League triumph, Chelsea will be extending the season in June, travelling to the US to initially play Flamengo, Espérance, and León in the opening group stage.
This competition should probably be seen as a bonus and not one to be too disappointed about if there is an earlier exit than hoped. Progressing to the later rounds would obviously be good, however, as long as the extra games don’t take their toll on the players ahead of next season.
True Success
With most of the media’s attention fixated on the failure of Manchester City and the way Liverpool have dominated the EPL this season, Chelsea’s exploits have gone a little under the radar. The press seemed much more interested when the club was losing games a few seasons ago, but this campaign should definitely be considered a success.
The way Enzo Maresca has improved the squad this season has been enjoyable to watch and the players seem to understand the way he wants the team to play now. That upward trajectory means this campaign has already been a success – and a trophy and a top-five finish would be proof of a club on the up.
