Chelsea FC’s Premier League Record Is Poor During Abramovich Era

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 03: Eden Hazard of Chelsea and Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea show their dejection after conceding the third goal to Southampton during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge on October 3, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 03: Eden Hazard of Chelsea and Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea show their dejection after conceding the third goal to Southampton during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge on October 3, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Four league titles in thirteen seasons and two in the last ten highlight how short Chelsea FC have come up in the Premier League under Roman Abramovich’s ownership.

On the tube back from work I picked up my Evening Standard newspaper and immediately flicked to the back pages to read the sports news. There, I found an article about John Mikel Obi heading to China this summer in order to double his £70,000-a-week wages. Towards the end of the story, the author spoke about Mikel’s accomplishments at Chelsea. Two bits of what I read immediately hit me.

The first was that Mikel has been at Chelsea for 10 years. That fact always surprises is me. The second, and most important one, was that during that decade he has only won two Premier League titles.

Looking back at the evolution of Chelsea since the Abramovich takeover, it is clear that the West London club has become one of Europe’s leading football teams. However, despite the success and trophies, Chelsea have simply not won as many league titles as they should have.

Four league victories in thirteen seasons (including this ill-fated one) and two in ten is incredibly poor for the amount of money spent and quality of player that has put on a blue shirt.

Now this is not to say that winning England’s top division is a cake-walk. It is one of the most competitive leagues and Chelsea had to deal with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. They also had to contend with Manchester City’s emergence.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 29: Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea looks dejected after Joel Ward of Crystal Palace scored Crystal Palace's 2nd goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace on August 29, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 29: Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea looks dejected after Joel Ward of Crystal Palace scored Crystal Palace’s 2nd goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace on August 29, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Yet perhaps what is most disappointing is that in many Premier League seasons over the past decade, Chelsea simply haven’t contended at all. Over the past ten years we have seen two wonderful triumphs (under Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti respectively), two close races (06/07 under Mourinho and 07/08 under Avram Grant), but then a distant 2nd place finish, three 3rd place finishes, a 6th place finish and well, who knows this year.

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Looking at how much money has been pumped into the club, the outcome is not good enough. Chelsea have underperformed in the Premier League. Furthermore, the reason as to why not much is made of this issue is because our cup triumphs, that have been sprinkled across good and bad seasons, have shielded the poor league form.

Personally, I have always felt Chelsea should be the favourite for the title purely based on the quality in the squad. From Michael Essien, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba to Juan Mata, Ramires, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas, Tthe Blues have always had strong teams with star players whether it was 2007, 2011 or 2016. Four league titles in thirteen seasons is nowhere near the potential of the club.

Now, some may argue that given the amount of other trophies we win, this record does not matter. However, winning the league title is always the first priority and measures the greatness of a team. When Jose Mourinho returned he took an underperforming bunch and converted them into champions for the first time in five years.

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It was hoped that Chelsea would begin to play at their true potential and win the league consistently. Unfortunately that has clearly not happened and this season, like many others since 2003, will be characterised by disappointment in the top flight once again.