Chelsea: Tale of the tape 2012-13

Story of the Season

What a tumultuous season for Chelsea. They entered it as European Champions under the management of Roberto Di Matteo with realistic aims of winning the Premier League which was just one of 7 competitions they were a part of. As it turned out, they finished 3rd in the league with no challenge for the win, lost the Charity Shield, lost the European Super Cup, lost in the League Cup semi final, lost in the FA Cup semi-final, went out of the Champions League and lost the World Club Cup final. Amazingly, the only trophy they did win, the Europa League, is the one competition that they weren’t a part of at the start of the season. Also, the man that lifted that trophy was ex-Liverpool manager and Chelsea hater Rafa Benitez. John Terry is now a peripheral figure and despite the mocking he received for turning up in full kit to lift the Champions League after getting sent-off in the semi-final, he repeated the trick this year to similar bemusement. Oh, and Frank Lampard broke the club goal scoring record. What do you know? Football, aye!

Major Signings

Eden Hazard (Lille, £32m) – Hazard was a major success in his first season in English football. He made an incredible start, laying on 6 goals in his first two league games and continued to plunder goals and assists all season which won him nominations for Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year. His partnership with Juan Mata looked telepathic almost instantly and at times looked unstoppable. There is only more to come next year, especially when Chelsea bring in a proper striker for him to supply.Grade: A+ They beat City and United to his signature and he showed that he was worth the money and the fuss.

Oscar (Internacional, £20m) – The young Brazilian established himself alongside Mata and Hazard as one of the ‘three amigos’ which is no mean feat considering he was initially going to be loaned out. He showed elegant feet and scored some spectacular goals early on but was blighted by inconsistency. However, over the last couple of months of the season he was one of Chelsea’s best players. He turned his pretty play in to goals and assists at important times. Still more to come.Grade: A- Some inconsistency but flashed extreme promise at times.

Cesar Azpilicueta (Marseille, £12m) – Despite the fee, Azpilicueta arrived somewhat under the Chelsea radar but he had an excellent first season, particularly after Rafa Benitez arrived after which he was a near enough ever present. He initially looked a little flimsy in defence, with Di Matteo preferring the more rugged Ivanovic, but as he adapted to English football he flourished. Excellent moving forwards in support, he offered width and pace.Grade: A- This would be higher if he’d played more to start with but he looks a cornerstone of the new Chelsea.

Demba Ba (Newcastle, £7m) – Ba arrived in January to compete with and push Fernando Torres after a goal filled early season at Newcastle. However, things didn’t work out for him. His style didn’t really suit being the link up man for the three amigos. Will surely fall down the pecking order with Lukaku returning and a new man too.Grade: D He scored the odd goal, including an important one against Man United but it was a bit of a waste of time.

Overall Grade: A The new boys made key contributions and addressed areas of weakness as they were perceived at the start of the season. Good stuff.

The Good

The style of football that they played was as good as any manager has achieved in the Abramovich era, and this was true of Di Matteo and almost more so, Rafa Benitez. The Mata, Hazard, Oscar triumvirate created a blur of movement and invention. The loping elegance of Ramires and passing range of David Luiz gave something new to the midfield and the attacking full back play brought great width. They passed the ball quickly and at times were a devastating force which teased a title challenge for next year.

The Bad

Big game failure was a recurring theme all year long. I’ve already listed all of the big matches that they failed in and in the end it defined the season. They spent so much energy chasing all of these trophies which hindered their chances in the Premier League, and yet only won one. They really should have added the Club World Cup and League Cup and then they’d be looking at a three cup season which would be a resounding success. They couldn’t get it done in the Champions League when they needed it most and couldn’t hold on to United in the league. At times this was because of a lack of leadership which was helped by Benitez selecting Lampard consistently at the end of the season.

Key Moment

Chelsea 5-4 Man United (AET) – League Cup Fourth Round 31st October Not necessarily the most obvious turning point, but this was the game that ended Chelsea’s Premier League title challenge. Chelsea played a full strength team against United’s second string, and still took 120 minutes to win. This was from 3-2 down courtesy of a 90th minute penalty taking it to extra time. The game took a lot out of Chelsea who exerted a lot of effort. And let’s face it, this was in the League Cup fourth round.

The context is important in understanding Di Matteo’s ridiculous decision to pick a full team. Just 3 days earlier Chelsea had lost at home to United in the league straight after an away defeat to Shakhtar in the Champions League. The pressure was right on Di Matteo and he wanted a win to ease it. It was too early in the season and too minor a competition to push so hard at and it cost Chelsea big time. In the league they then drew 4 and lost 1 of their next 5 and lost away at Juventus to end their Champions League defence. If Di Matteo had not had to think about protecting himself rather than chasing the league it wouldn’t have happened. Incorrectly prioritising the League Cup shattered the players and within a month they were out of Europe and the Premier League title chase and Di Matteo had been sacked. All of that for a competition they didn’t even win!

Star Man

Juan Mata had a really good first year in the league, but his second year was exceptional. Mata touched 20 goals and 20 assists in all competitions and did so without really going through an explosive spell of form. He was just relentlessly consistent all season.

What needs to be done in the summer?

Not much. In fact, really not much. But this is the problem, Chelsea seem to do a lot even when it’s not needed. First things first is securing Jose Mourinho as manager as expected. Secondly, they need to make a decision on their striker. Ba and Torres aren’t good enough. They have the potentially dominant Romelu Lukaku returning but Mourinho hasn’t historically trusted youth. They could sign a Falcao or Cavani, or really go for it by pushing for Cristiano Ronaldo. They also have decisions to make at centre back. Does Mourinho trust David Luiz there? Ivanovic and Cahill are decent but limited so an upgrade could be pursued. But it needs to be a coherent policy, not just star chasing.

Season Grade: B

They won a European trophy and went deep in every single competition they entered with a young team playing vibrant football. However, they spread themselves too thin and this cost them a Premier League tilt and early Champions League exit. They went after too much and this cost them more. However, it’s another important trophy in the bank, the transfer policy is working superbly, and the Special One is on the way back.