IT was another season of turmoil for Chelsea with two managers leaving the club, no trophies and a collapse in form that cost them a place in Europe for 2026-27. On top of that, the Stamford Bridge loyalists are unhappy and disillusioned with the ownership that succceded Roman Abramovich. In 10 seasons, Chelsea have won five major trophies (excluding the FIFA World Club Cup) compared to twice that figure in the previous 10-year period. And for only the third time since 2003, Chelsea finished in the mid-table zone.
It is becoming clear that Chelsea’s recent transfer activity has been flawed and the current squad increasingly looks like a collection of expensive mistakes and ill-equipped to be title contenders. Another £ 311 million was spent in 2025-26 (the same figure was received from sales), including Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Garnacho, all of which have failed to convince.
Enzo Maresca left at the start of 2026 after publicly hinted at some disconnect with the ownership. In hindsight this looks like a poor decision on the part of Chelsea’s management, Maresca is poised succeed Pep Gardiola at Manchester City. Liam Rosenior, who was doing well at another BlueCo club, Strasbourg, was appointed as manager, but at the end of April, he was sacked. Rosenior was too inexperienced to manage a club as big as Chelsea, but the club’s board should have been aware of that.
Despite the problems around team management, Chelsea were not far off achieving something in 2025-26. For most of the campaign, they sat in the Champions League qualifying places, but in the last nine games, they lost seven and dropped to 10th. They were beaten seven times at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
They reached the FA Cup final but were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in a very poor game at Wembley and in the EFL Cup, they went out in the semi-final to Arsenal. Their Champions League run ended in the round of 16 at the hands of eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.
After Rosenior’s sacking, Chelsea appointed Callum McFarlane as interim coach, but by this time, the end of the season could not come quick enough. Since then, Xabi Alonso, formerly of Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid, has been offered the job. When he starts his new role, he may have some player issues to deal with; Enzo Fernández has made noises about moving on and a number of clubs are looking at Marc Cucurella. Alonso has his work cut out if he is to make Chelsea into title contenders once more.
There is still plenty of talent for him to work with. Estêvao, who made an impressive impact, is only going to get better and Cole Palmer – if he stays – should continue maturing, but he needs a better year than 2025-26. Reece James, when fully fit, is a key player and can be the leader on the pitch the club needs. At the same time, Chelsea need a decent, consistent goalkeeper and another forward who can score goals.
The lack of European football next season could work to Chelsea’s advantage if they use their time productively to work on a new side. The glory days may be over for the time being, but Chelsea still have the resources to be very competitive in the transfer market, what they do need, rather urgently, is a patient approach to team-building and player development.
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)