Can Chelsea rise from the ashes next season? | OneFootball

If you’re a Chelsea fan, last season was not pretty. And even if you’re not a fan of the club, it was a stark reminder that even the most successful of clubs can experience a dramatic fall from grace. From a revolving door of manager to inconsistent play to a lack of innovation and creativity, last season simply saw Chelsea stagnate, becoming but a shadow of their former selves.

Fortunately, a new season offers new opportunities. Meaning that Chelsea now has the opportunity to show us—once again—why they are one of the most well known teams in the world.

But how could they do it? Let’s take a look.

Reflecting on a Dismal Season

First things first, Chelsea need to be frank. Last season went wrong for them. There’s no hiding from that fact. The reason for this was multifaceted. From key players Reece James and Ben Chilwell being injured to an influx of new big-money signings to the departure of club legends, there are a lot of reasons why things fell apart.

But now’s the time to reflect on those shortcomings and figure out how the club can get around them. It may sound cliché, but the first part of the solution is understanding the problem.

Building a Cohesive Unit

With some of the key issues identified, perhaps the core issue which needs to be addressed is the lack of cohesion and chemistry in the current squad. In this way, Chelsea needs to focus on acquiring new players who are not necessarily stars, but excellent playmakers and team-players. This will help to glue the squad back together, providing a foundation for individual players to shine. After all, a good squad is great from back to front—it’s not just a few big names.

Finding the Right Manager

Since the team lost Jose Mourinho, the team has been quite shaky. Meaning a key part of building their squad will be by finding the right manager who can carve a new path for the team. While Chelsea legend Frank Lampard stepped in to steady the ship in the middle of last season, he didn’t exactly solve the problems the team was having. In other words, it’s unclear whether Lampard will provide the team with a long-term winning culture in the squad. So questions of finding a new and suitable manager still loom.

Finding the Finishing Touch

Looking at the pitch, Chelsea have been struggling in a variety of areas but attacking is one of the most important. After all, football is a game of goals. Of course, those goals can be facilitated by control or good defending, but they cannot be scored through those facets. In other word, Chelsea needs to solve its finishing problem. Last season Lukaku and Werner simply didn’t deliver the belters the team needed.

Whether this problem is solved through new talent, new tactics or bolstering the playmaking will be up to the manager, but Chelsea really needs to focus on getting balls in the back of the net.

Embracing Their Incubated Talent

While Chelsea’s reputation has shifted around over the years, they have always been a club who has produced top-tier talent from their academy. We’re talking Mason Mount, Reece James, Trevor Chalobah and more. It may be time for Chelsea to once again dip into their youthful talent pool in order to find new players and direction for the club. After all, bringing up new talent not only injects new strategy, but it does so with the long-term in mind.

Rebuilding Trust and Fan Engagement

Beyond the pitch, it’s worth acknowledging that support for the club has taken a hit in the wake of last season’s performance. With fans losing faith in every aspect of the club from the players to the managers. This is understandable, as fans are simply disappointed to see their squad fail.

Taken on another level, fans who play FC24 feel Chelsea’s losses twice as hard as they see the reduction in their Ultimate Team’s ability. That hurts even the most hardcore Chelsea fan, forcing some to find FC accounts for sale to bolster their squad with players from other teams.

Repairing relations with fans is very important for a whole variety of reasons. Not only will greater support help the players, but on a very pragmatic level fan money is a huge stimulus for the club to keep investing in players and infrastructure. Chelsea needs to keep their fans on their side in order to thrive once again.

While the above methods will all help to fix the squad, all of these aspects will need to be communicated with fans to keep them passionate, involved and, ultimately, supportive of the club.

A Long Climb Awaits

Let’s be frank for a second, nothing happens overnight. It’s going to take a lot of time and tough decisions for Chelsea to its find new direction. But if those decisions are made carefully, the club may well see itself rising from the ashes of last season in order to once again dominate the tables.