Bold predictions for Chelsea and the Premier League in 2020/21

What is considered a success for Frank Lampard’s second season?

Vansh Ambashta: Chelsea HAS  to finish in the top three in Premier League and this must be done in convincing fashion. A solid Champions League run is also a must and a domestic trophy could be the icing on the cake.

Scott Brant: Chelsea and Frankie Lampard need to finish with more point than last season, and they should arguably be less than seven points behind second place with the additions Chelsea have added already. There is no reason to think we can’t play with the big boys this season. Might not be ready to surpass them, but third place and nipping at their heels will definitely suffice.

Varun Dani: Top three finish plus silverware. People will look at the 200 million+ outlay and say that Frank Lampard should be winning the league but that is highly unrealistic. He inherited the weakest Chelsea squad since 2004 and is rebuilding a fallen giant. Chelsea will not be on par with Liverpool or City but will have to close the gap considerably. The club’s closest rival will be United and the objective should be to finish ahead of them. A cup win in either of the other three competitions is also a realistic target.

Matthew Hancock-Bruce: The minimum requirement for any manager should be to fair better than the season before. With the investments made over the summer there is no reason to believe Frank Lampard will fail to achieve that. Chelsea should aim to pose a serious threat to Liverpool and City’s title hopes and do what they failed to last year: win some silverware. It may yet be another year or so until the Blues are truly considered Premier and Champions League title contenders but an FA Cup or League Cup could definitely be on the cards this season. Trophies aside it should also be imperative for Lampard to continue his trust in the academy. Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Billy Gilmour all flourished last season and Lampard should reward that in spite of the new additions.

Gabe Henderson: First and foremost, Frank Lampard and Chelsea have to close the gargantuan gap between themselves and Liverpool. It’s something everybody expects and as such, is discussing. The gaffer himself touched on it towards the end of last season. With all of the new signings coming in, simply qualifying for top four and being content is not an option anymore. This squad is too talented to settle for mediocrity. Although the new signings and emerging youth players will need some time to settle in and get used to playing with one another, the Blues should still finish inside the top three. Manchester United is a very good team, but the additions of players like Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz make Chelsea significant favorites to finish above the Red Devils. Therefore, in order for this season to be deemed a success, the Blues need to close the gap, finish inside the top three and probably win a trophy or make a deep cup run.

Nate Hofmann: Third place and a significantly higher points total than last season’s paltry 66 is a realistic goal. It would be modest progress, but progress nonetheless. What matters more, however, is the incremental improvements to the pain points from the previous campaign. Namely, the defense. If Lampard can piece together a backline that is even slightly above average, my blood pressure and EKG readings will be far less problematic. The additions of Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell are steps in the right direction, but a new goalkeeper is still needed and another center back would be greatly appreciated. In addition to an improvement in results, a shored-up backline would reflect well on Lampard’s development as a manager.

Setting up a defense was always going to be Lampard’s biggest weakness coming into this job, so last season’s struggles were pretty predictable. This season will be a test of what he learned, how he processes those experiences, and what adaptations he makes going forward. It doesn’t have to be mid-2000’s Mourinho stuff, but the degree of improvement in this area will say a lot about his viability as a long-term manager at Chelsea. Likewise, this is a defining season for players like Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma, who should both be entering their primes as center backs. Continued struggles could doom them to mediocre careers elsewhere, while noticeable improvements could vault them into the conversation as some of the world’s most valuable defenders. It’s a make or break season for all parties.

Nathaniel Kay: Lampard now has no excuses in terms of squad strength as it is easily one of the best in the league, let alone in Europe. Therefore, a top three four finish is the minimum, but in far more convincing style than last campaign. A trophy also seems a must to at least put pedigree behind the managers small CV. The Champions League still seems too far in the distance for now, but a domestic cup is more than achievable. Fall short of either of these, and question marks will certainly be raised over his position. If he can get all his star-studded individuals working in tangent, this shouldn’t be an issue.

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Wilfred Laurence: Anything less than a serious title challenge must be deemed a disappointment at this stage. That doesn’t mean winning the league is the be-all and end-all but, with this squad at his disposal, a genuine challenge must be (Mason) mounted for Lampard to retain the goodwill factor he currently has. Having not progressed passed the last 16 since 2013/14, going deep in the Champions League is equally important, if only to curtail this Arsenal-ish run.

Michael Malley: I know last year was all about the youth, but I want to see the stars shine this season. Roman Abramovic spent so much money this summer, let’s see how well Frank Lampard can use it. Timo Werner could, and probably should, be challenging for the golden boot, considering he has Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, and Kai Havertz feeding him chances. In terms of table and trophy success, a top three or four finish in the Premier League and some trophy, whether it be a domestic cup or, although very unlikely, the Champions League, are attainable. Chelsea will probably be playing a very attacking style of football, but I would like to see the team’s young defenders, a la Reece James, Fikayo Tomori, and the newly-acquired Ben Chilwell, take a step in their respective developments as well.

Olaoluwa Nwobodo: There were 15 points between Chelsea and Manchester City last season. Chelsea has added six new signings and may still add more. While it is true that all these new signings would not be integrated flawlessly within a very short period of time, Chelsea should be able to hit the 80 point mark this season. Frank Lampard has had enough time to evaluate his squad and he has seemingly gotten players that will suit his system. 80 points should not be unrealistic and should in fact be expected, because in the past three seasons, the English champions have had 100,98 and 99 points respectively. Therefore, any team aspiring to win the title would be looking in the family of 95-100 points depending on how the other teams perform. Chelsea can challenge for the title, but integrating 6+ players into a team is easier said than done, however clear progress should be seen. So, 80 points.

Abhishek Pancholi: Chelsea scraped into the top four places last season, but that won’t be enough to keep Roman Abramovich happy this time around. Considering the vast amounts of money Chelsea has spent, it would not be unreasonable to expect more than just a top four finish. Chelsea needs to challenge for the title till the bitter end, or until VAR hands Manchester United a controversial penalty in the final game, leaving us two points short of first place. Actually, a second place finish would be a great success for Frank Lampard. Combined with a domestic cup win and a deep run in the Champions League, it should be enough to keep him in the job for another season, at the very least.

Kevin Peacock: It was never really about where Sir Frank finished in the league in season one, however, getting Champions League football was a massive bonus. The appointment of Lampard was about building for the future and that invariably takes time. He knows and understands the club like Maurizio Sarri knows a packet of Marlboro’s. Of course, having spent big this summer, expectation shifts up a level. Before the four new signings, I would have said that again trophies don’t really matter. Roman Abramovich clearly has other ideas. With that in mind, a place in the top three of the league along with one of the other trophies will see Lampard happily off on his holes in a year’s time. We all know that to rival fans it will nothing to do with Lampard but whatever is achieved will be because of Roman’s rubles.

Charlie Pizey: Some pundits and rival fans are claiming that after Chelsea’s summer spending spree anything other than a serious title challenge is a failure for Lampard in his second season. However, the gap to Liverpool and Manchester City was so substantial that managing to close this chasm and breaking away from the chasing pack would represent another important step in the club’s development. As long as Chelsea are comfortably top four at the business end of next season Lampard will have done enough to be satisfied with the season. A highly successful season would combine this with a good run in Europe. Excluding Bayern Munich none of the traditional superpowers are as strong as usual meaning there’s no reason that the Blues shouldn’t be looking at reaching the quarter finals as a bare minimum. Frankly any success in the Carabao or FA Cup would be welcome but they shouldn’t be prioritized due to the packed schedule, so progress in these shouldn’t have a massive effect on how fans rate Lampard’s second season.

Vishnu Raj: In the Premier League, a repeat of last season won’t be enough this time around. It would be naive to expect them to challenge for the title straight out. The main aim should be to close the gap to Manchester City and Liverpool. The team finished with 66 points. So, with the changes, the team should at least score 80 points. Impotence in front of goal caused Lampard many points. Chelsea lost too many points to teams like Newcastle, Everton, Southampton, Bournemouth, Sheffield, Leicester. Those are the fixtures where an improvement is needed as soon as possible. A strong home form is also important in taking them back to top. A good cup run with success at the end will be a good bonus. Advance to knockout stages of UCL should be repeated, but this time with better showing even if some big team knocks them out.

Barrett Rouen: Success in Lampard’s season will be measured by an improvement in play and competitiveness with the top two. Liverpool and City are still so far ahead and steady in terms of their success that catching them is unrealistic until either one suffers some sort of internal change. That said Chelsea will need to solidify third and close the gap in terms of points.

Oliver Smith: If last season was one of growth and youth integration, this season has to be one where Frank Lampard pushes the Blues onto new heights, specifically third place in the Premier League and some silverware. Chelsea showed some sparkles last season but a lot of inconsistencies too; the massive outlay in the summer transfer window and the quality of players brought in demands a response. It is no longer a season where Chelsea can lose to mid-table teams or suffer defeats like the opening day defeat at Old Trafford last season. The kids are growing but now they have a supporting cast of some world-class talent and that will help immensely. The club is a few steps and likely at least two seasons (and a defense) away from Champions League glory but making it count in the domestic cups is a must for the 2020/21 season.

Tan Yi Hao: In part due to the transfer ban and in part due to the departure of Chelsea’s best player in Eden Hazard, the fact is that Frank Lampard’s Chelsea has been largely inconsistent this season and at times, astonishingly bad. Apart from crashing out rather embarrassingly to Bayern Munich in the Champions League by a 7-1 scoreline over two legs, the Blues also got to a FA Cup final, only the fall at the final hurdle to London-rivals Arsenal.

These are end of season outcomes that have seen ex-managers axed without a second thought and Frank Lampard himself knows that a similar report card at the end of the 2020/21 season would see him given the sack, legend or not. With so many quality new faces coming into the club this window across the defense and the attack, Lampard knows that he must not only secure top four but also close the gap between Chelsea and the top dogs of the league significantly. Winning a cup or two along the way would also certainly do no harm to the club’s ethos of consistent success. This is going to be a hugely exciting season for the Blues and the pressure is certainly on Lampard to show the board and fans alike if he is indeed good enough to herald in a new era at SW6.

Travis Tyler: Qualifying for Champions League comfortably and getting out of the Champions League group comfortably should be plenty. The new signings won’t all click or gel right away and the gap to Liverpool and Manchester City is simply too large to close with one transfer window. Then just playing up to expectations in the cups depending on the opponent that day.