For the third time in the past four years, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have lifted the FA Cup title. This time they defeated Chelsea 1-0. It wasn’t a final for the ages in any sense of the term. The two teams combined for only five shots on target, but it’s a fitting end to Chelsea’s season, which is coming to a close with a whimper instead of a bang.
The Blues do have two remaining Premier League games to try and break their seven-match winless streak in league play, but with European play being very unlikely at this point, this wasn’t where things were supposed to be at this stage of the season. When the Premier League began it seemed like Chelsea were announcing their return to the upper echelons of the game after qualifying for Champions League play and winning the FIFA Club World Cup under Enzo Maresca, but as the Blues limp to the finish line under their third manager of the season, with Calum McFarlane overseeing the squad, their search for direction continues.
Now they’ve hired Xabi Alonso, the highly-rated Spanish boss last seen getting fired by Real Madrid. It’s a move that could get the Blues back to where they want to be, but unlike Real Madrid, they’d need to give the manager control to construct the squad in his image. Considering the money that Chelsea spent to construct this squad, yet another overhaul could get them in hot water with Profit and Sustainability Rules, especially if they reverse the trend of recent years and bring in established top-tier talent, rather than baby-faced young prospects. While having anyone else be responsible for squad decisions could be a good thing, given the results of the last year, it would also be a stark departure from how the club has operated under the control of owners BlueCo.
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James Benge
Just the appointment of Liam Rosenior, who joined from BlueCo-owned club Strausburg in France, showed the flawed direction of the squad. While Rosenier might have been a promising manager, he hadn’t overseen a club at the stature or with the pressure that comes with Chelsea, and when losses started piling up, it was impossible to right the ship.
It’s no surprise that Chelsea’s downward spiral continued in the FA Cup final. The Blues have appeared in four FA Cup finals since 2020, losing all four. Since then, there have been some bright spots, but since Thomas Tuchel’s departure following winning the 2021 Champions League final, this has been a club searching for a direction. Even winning this FA Cup wouldn’t be enough to make Chelsea’s season a success when they wanted to qualify for the Champions League, and change will be coming to the squad for yet another summer.
Only one team has won every major European competition, and that’s Chelsea, but if the Blues are looking to get back to the dominance that saw them win the Premier League five times in 12 years between 2005 and 2017, something has to change. Alonso could be a step in the right direction, joining on a four-year deal, but the issues run much deeper than that, as there has been no consistent plan laid out for how to repeat success. It seemed like that may be coming under Maresca, but potential links between him and Manchester City were enough for the Blues to rip up their foundation when a good plan should be able to survive manager upheaval. It’s a critical summer ahead, and if the right buttons aren’t pushed, more seasons without European soccer could be ahead.
