Chelsea: YPOTY, MOTY nominations show progress and work to be done

Chelsea has had Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, and Frank Lampard nominated for end of season awards. The nominations are nice but show work is to be done.

When the season began, few believed Chelsea could achieve top four. There were also doubts about the Blues having to rely on youth players, mostly from the Championship, to bolster the squad. In addition, the signing of Christian Pulisic was met with a shrug of the shoulders at best and hands thrown in the air in disgust at worst.

How quickly things change. Mount and Pulisic have been nominated for young player of the season. Frank Lampard has been nominated for manager of the season. It is cliche, but to be nominated is itself an honor. But none of the three have a real chance at winning and there were other awards the Blues were not even nominated for. The nominations show progress, but there is still much work to be done.

Mount is a testament to the youth revolution, stepping up from Derby County to become one of the Premier League’s best young players. Pulisic also developed wildly beyond anyone’s expectations to become a Premier League star. The award though will almost certainly go to Trent Alexander-Arnold. Losing out to him is hardly a shock or a disappointment though. The bigger disappointment is that Chelsea’s youth revolution only yielded two (really one because Pulisic was a transfer and a well known player beforehand) nominations.

Tammy Abraham will feel hard done by not to make it in. Reece James, for all his talent, never quite settled enough to earn the nomination. Fikayo Tomori, had he continued to play after New Year’s, would surely have had a nomination.

Lampard getting the manager of the season nomination shows how hard his task really was. Losing Eden Hazard and only being able to reinforce with youth and Pulisic, few expected Chelsea to make the Champions League again. It was not easy, but the Blues got across the line when it mattered.

But when it comes to the award, Lampard obviously has no chance. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool has been far too dominate for the German not to win it. Even still, the work that Brendan Rodgers and Chris Wilder did with so few resources trumps even Lampard’s transfer ban and youth revolution. Lampard’s impressed, but there is still much to be done for him to be truly in contention.

Beyond all of that, Chelsea had no player nominated for player of the season. Often times, players that cannot make that short list are kicked down to the young player of the season shortlist, but it would be hard to say even Pulisic would have earned a spot. If Chelsea is to be a club challenging for the title, they have to have a player than can earn a nomination for player of the season. At current, the Blues lack that.

The nominations themselves are great and signal that Chelsea has progressed to a point few thought possible when the season began. But the omissions and the fact that the Blues will not take any of these awards shows the work to be done. The Blues are moving in a positive direction, but they are not where they want to be or need to be yet.

Lampard’s continued work with the squad can get them there. It is just a matter of time.