Crazy season finished, close to two major trophies, but fell short for different reasons.
I am glad Jose has been able to transform the squad the quickly into the style we had in his first run here. The past two seasons, not only was the team vulnerable or shaky at best at the back, but just seemed a lot softer than usual. I can only imagine what this team will be like with an actual striker up front, I suspect we will have that balance back that Mourinho strives for.
Season's best:
Hazard- Not many better players in the League right now, and seems to have potential for so much more if he can be more demanding of the ball and more of the focal point as his one weakness is tending to drift through some matches.
Azpilicueta-wouldn't take any Prem fullback over him, is an outstanding Rightback who was shifted to the left side out of the blue and was a rock. He also has an attitude and spirit that you see in so few players these days, easily a candidate for future captain of the club.
Matic-Where would we be with him playing the full season? Probably a lot better off, his addition to the team was a HUGE change to our midfield, which in many games was as shaky as the Striker situation. Very rarely do you see a Defensive midfielder with his size and strength be so technical and slick on the ball. The heavyweight duel he had against yaya told me all I needed to know about him. Highlights here:
http://youtu.be/CuoKa4_F34M playing the best centermid in the world(IMO) to a stand still was a huge feat. He has shown the ability to play an Anchor role or the more muarading centermid role when paired with someone like Mikel.
Cahill, Terry, Ivanovich: The rest of the defense and the makeup of the best defense in Europe(save for Atletico). Terry transforming his game to fit with Cahill could have only happened under Mourinho, and he still is one of the great's at Organizing the back 4. Ivan is as Ivan does. he doesn't play centerback anymore because of JT/Cahill being so immense, but continues to shut down our right flank defensively, and with a physicality that can be intimidating to many. For such a large defender, he is rarely beaten for pace and is quite comfortable with the ball at his feet(if only he could cross). Always been such a big game player for us, it's hard to imagine a team sheet without his name on it. As a side note; Chelsea aim all of their goal kicks at Ivan high up the right wing because he such a dominant player in the air, just a weird piece of strategy. Gary Cahill is easily one of the best buys of the Roman era. I figured he'd be a decent rotational guy, but he has improved every season. And I will always remember his double last ditch tackle in the dying seconds against benfica to save the Europa League final for us:
http://i.minus.com/iUB7JiRdtbgYt.gif
Next Tier:
Petr Cech-Still a top keeper, had a heck of a season but for me began showing cracks. Our set piece defense was a real problem midseason, and his lack of command in the box hurt. He also seems to get beat by positioning more than he used to, but when Chelsea play big games, we always get our best from Cech. There aren't very many I would trust on his level, but now I worry how much the shoulder injury affects, and also the footsteps of Courtois.
Oscar- What can be said really? When Jose decided it wasn't Oscar and Mata, it was Oscar OR Mata, I personally thought Mata was the guy for us, right now. In the end, I get with Jose's style he doesn't want a #10 who floats around and does what he wants> Oscar is a hard working, tough tackling playmaker so it makes sense, but it still sucks to see your favorites go. Once Oscar began to dip in form, and then ended up carrying a hip injury till the end of the season, our attack suffered greatly. I very much look forward to a full season with him starting and having a striker in front of him. He is one of the game's brightest at only 22, and despite an up and down season still produced double digit goals and assists.
David Luiz- Probably our most criticised player in terms of his ability. I think the stuff about him being completely unreliable in defense was always way overblown, but once JT and Cahill locked down the Centerback pairing Luiz was made into a utility man as their rotational option and a starting midfielder. Despite being injured twice, he made almost 40 appearances for Jose and started most of our big games this season. Which included his best efforts against City and the PSG comeback. Still unsure what his best role for us is, but having someone be able to play in defense and midfield at a high level is a rare thing, a with Luiz's wonderful team first attitude he seems invaluable.
Willian and Schurrle- Not sure which guy I would rather have in my lineup at this point. Jose has turned Willian into an attacking version of Essien. His work rate and running is phenomenal but it seems to have affected his creativity. He doesn't seem to take on players like he used to or shoot all that often. Still think he will only get better and hopefully offer more towards the attack next season. Schurrle is probably the guy who improved the most under Jose as the season went on. I wasn't a big fan at first of his game. He runs hard, tracks back, and has pace, but his touch and control on the ball seemed out of synch with the rest of the players. as he played more and gained in confidence, however, he really started playing more aggression and the goals followed. These two guys settling in and playing better will help almost as much as replacing the strikers up front.
Lampard- The old man still started 32 games for Chelsea this season, that blows my mind. He has obviously lost a few steps, but continues to adapt to any role given to him, partnering 5 other players in the pivot at different times. Maybe this was his last season, I certainly would keep him around another year, especially with Obi probably exiting, the experience and confidence to slot him into any game big or small is clearly still there.
Obi-Mikel/Cole- Two guys that Mourinho surprisingly buried at the end of the bench. Azpilicueta took Ashley's job and Mikel became 5th choice behind Matic, Ramires, Luiz, and Lampard. That said when the two were calle dupon out of necessity both stepped in and performed admirably. Mikel, on his 300th appearance for the club this season, wore the armband and scored a rare goal, a great way to celebrate someone who has been here for a long time and won many trophies. Seeing Ashley take the lap of honor in tears after our last home game was tough. It seems likely this is the end of his Chelsea career and what a great 9 years it was("This is why I came here.").
Ramires-His 4th season with the club, was his worst. I figured if anyone could take his game to the next level it was Jose, but his lack of game IQ really hurts him. He has always gotten by on athleticism, pace, energy etc. But I think he found less space to work in this season and his weaknesses on the ball were magnified. Then there are the temper issues. The bad tackle in the Villa game and the elbow to Larsson were just stupid and hurt a team already hurting with injuries. I still do not think he is good enough to start as a pivot for this team, and someone needs to be signed there.
The Bad:
The Strikers- yes there were some positives, but so many negatives to even count. I imagine we are stuck with one of them next season, and I can live with one to drop 2. The less said here the better.
All in all, I thought it was a commendable season and a great ride, that surely could have been better but also could have been far worse.
I definitely look forward to next season and what we can put together.