Chelsea's merciful Champions League exit finally ends a lost season
Chelsea's season died in the fall, with the losses piling up and Jose Mourinho on the way out of Stamford Bridge. When the manager finally got his walking papers in December, the Blues could have closed up shop, but the Champions League still sat there, tempting them to continue on playing for this campaign. On Wednesday, that dream finally died as Paris Saint-Germain sent them crashing out of European competition. Once and for all, Chelsea's season is dead, and probably for the better.
While the Blues kept their Champions League hopes alive, they never had a realistic chance at winning the competition. Even getting past PSG in the round of 16 always looked like a hill too steep for a club still hoping that Eden Hazard might score his first goal of the season, Cesc Fabregas might be as good as people want to believe he is and they have a single competent centerback. To go any further in Europe, and then far enough to salvage the season, was more unlikely than Radamel Falcao scoring another goal for the Blues.
Relegation, while an amusing insult for rival fans to throw Chelsea's way, was never really in play. The League Cup is long gone. The only thing left is the FA Cup, with Everton next up in the quarterfinals. But the Champions League was really it for the Blues, and to say it was ever really there is a bit disingenuous.
Chelsea had nothing to play for and now that's official. And it means they can get to work repairing what is a dreadfully broken club.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek can finally get the playing time they need, and Chelsea need from them.
There is no reason for Chelsea not to give their kids run outs anymore. They have preached the importance of their academy and poured tens of millions of dollars into it, but the only way it has paid off is in buying talented youth players and selling them for a profit. Few have made it to the first team in recent years and none have stuck. With nothing left to play for this season, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Bertrand Traore can get regular action in the Premier League. Kenedy might be able to play his natural position, instead of a cameo at left back, and Matt Miazga might even get a look. Whether it's a matter of getting the youngsters experience or finding out whether they're going to be Chelsea caliber players, there's little to be lost in playing them now.
That's especially true considering the impending turnover at Stamford Bridge. The senior players are all on trial at this point. Willian, in the midst of a terrific season, looks set for a new contract that will keep him at the club for the foreseeable future, but seemingly everyone else could be on the way out. Hazard has been linked with a move for months, although his poor play may take him out of any move; Oscar, Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa are also in the crosshairs of other teams. Cesc Fabregas, Kurt Zouma, Loic Remy and Pedro have all been disappointments, with the Blues potentially ready to sell them off in the summer. If any of those players have reason to play and perform, it's to avoid Chelsea dumping them in a few months.
All of this comes with a new manager set to take over. Antonio Conte has been the rumored favorite and the papers would have you believe that the Italy boss will sign a deal with the Blues any day now so he can take the reigns after the Euros. Max Allegri has also been rumored and Diego Simeone's name has been bandied about plenty. Regardless of who the Blues hire, he will want to sign players that fit his system and that means selling players to clear room.
Branislav Ivanovic and Chelsea saw what was left of their season end against Paris Saint-Germain.
At this point, all of the relevant Chelsea discussion is focused on next season. That's hardly new, as the conversation has been about 2016-17, when they won't even be in the Champions League, ever since Mourinho left. Speculation about new managers, sales, unhappy players and how the club will comply with Financial Fair Play without European money has dwarfed whatever their latest result, but the Champions League managed to trump it all. It was their last bastion of hope, however unlikely and far-fetched it might have been. And as every sports fan knows, hope only makes disappointment hurt more, even when that hope is faint.
No longer are Chelsea married to that hope. They don't have to feign competitiveness or even possibilities. The season is finally dead, and the club will be better off. The Blues can begin work on next year in earnest and without any reservations. The kids can play and they can give their veterans a chance to prove themselves one last time. Everyone is on audition. Finally, the painful charade of this season, hollow as it has been since December, is over.
