This season was unquestionably a complete disaster for Chelsea. Considering the amount of money they have spent since BlueCo's takeover four years ago, as well as the quality of the players assembled in West London, ending up below Bournemouth, newly-promoted Sunderland, Brighton and Brentford, level on points with neighbours Fulham, should not be happening. Xabi Alonso arrives with the club at rock-bottom, which could actually be ideal timing.
On the final day of the season, Calum McFarlane's team were beaten 2-1 at the Stadium of Light, a result that booked Sunderland's place in the Europa League and saw the Blues miss out on UEFA competition entirely. They will therefore, ignominiously, face an EFL Cup tie in August, while all of England's European representatives get a bye into round three.
However, based on Chelsea's previous campaigns in which they have not had European competition to contend with, new manager Alonso will feel he can propel this team up the table.
Chelsea's previous seasons without Europe (1996-present)
Season | League finish | Other achievements |
|---|---|---|
2023/24 | 6th (up 6 places) | EFL Cup finalists |
2016/17 | Champions (up 9 places) | FA Cup finalists |
1996/97 | 6th (up 5 places) | FA Cup winners |
In the last 30 years, Chelsea have only not competed in UEFA competition three times; between '96 and 2023, they only ended up lower than sixth once. Well, each time, they have concluded such a campaign either with silverware or in a cup final or both.
First, the Blue beat Middlesbrough in the 1997 FA Cup final at Wembley, with Roberto Di Matteo breaking the deadlock after 43 seconds. This earned them a place in the following year's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, which they also won against Stuttgart at the Råsundastadion in Stockholm.
In the Roman Abramovich-era, Chelsea went only one season not in UEFA competition, finishing tenth as defending champions a decade ago after José Mourinho spectacularly flamed out. That's not like him. The following season, benefiting from free weeks on the training ground, Antonio Conte led the club to their most-recent Premier League title. They won 13 successive matches after Conte switched to his favoured back three, as well as reaching the FA Cup final, beaten 2-1 by Arsenal.
Lastly, most recently, the Blues plummeted down to 12th during the first season of Clearlake Capital's ownership, the club's lowest finish since 1994. The following year was Mauricio Pochettino's only season in charge, pushing Chelsea up to sixth, missing out on Champions League qualification by five points. They also reached the EFL Cup final and FA Cup semis, narrowly beaten 1-0 by Liverpool and Manchester City respectively at Wembley.
So, what is realistic for Alonso? Well, going all out to win the two domestic cups is a must, given that their rivals for those trophies will have the Champions League to contend with. This season, Manchester United were the big boys without Europe, playing only 40 matches in all competitions, the minimum a club can have, compared to Arsenal's 63 and Manchester City's 60.
Thus, not having mid-week games, especially with the expanded league phase format, will give Alonso all week to work at Cobham, as well as keeping his players fresh. Thus, a domestic cup final appearance alongside a top five finish has to be the minimum expectation, despite the mess Chelsea are in right now.
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