Chelsea's End of 2014/15 Season Awards
Football's awards season is all but over, but Bleacher Report couldn't let things pass without dishing out a few gongs of our own.
OK, so we haven't hired a swanky hotel for our ceremony, nor have we spent lavishly on invitations to get the rich and famous along. There aren't any actual trophies to be given out—just the power of our words.
What we have done, though, is revisit every Chelsea match this season to bring you the Bleacher Report Chelsea End of 2014/15 Season Awards.
We've created eight categories, studying the campaign meticulously. We start off with the most improved player at Stamford Bridge through to the coveted Player of the Year award.
So sit back and enjoy. If you disagree with our selections, let us know in the comments section.
Are you comfortable? Well then, let's get this show on the road.
Most Improved Player: Kurt Zouma
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When Chelsea signed Kurt Zouma, he was a raw talent.
Big things were still expected of him, but very few predicted he would emerge as a key player at Chelsea so soon.
This season, the Frenchman went from young pretender to the real deal. He's shown himself to be an exceptional defender and an equally talented defensive midfielder.
From nowhere, Chelsea have unearthed a gem. Jose Mourinho has a star on his hands.
Biggest Disappointment of the Season: Oscar
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We say this so often about Oscar.
The Brazilian is that good, when he's bad, he disappoints considerably.
The trend for Oscar is that he performs before Christmas and disappears after. It happened this season. Again.
We're not being needlessly negative by labelling Oscar as the biggest disappointment of Chelsea's 2014/15 campaign. It's just that we know he can achieve so much more than he did.
No other player frustrates as much as the Brazilian.
Best Team Performance: Swansea City 0-5 Chelsea
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Ironically, while Oscar may have been Chelsea's biggest disappointment of 2014/15, he was a big part of the best performance we saw from the Chelsea team.
We saw plenty, but the 5-0 thrashing of Swansea City in January was breathtaking at times.
Against Manchester United in April, Chelsea worked together to overcome the Red Devils 1-0, yet the Swansea victory edges that for being so memorable.
When critics talk of Chelsea being boring, they certainly weren't against the Swans.
They blew them away, working together to have the game out of sight within the first 36 minutes.
From the off, the Chelsea players executed Jose Mourinho's game plan to perfection, exploiting Swansea's weaknesses to record one of the displays of the season by any team.
Best Indivdual Performance: Didier Drogba (vs. Manchester United)
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As time caught up with Didier Drogba toward the end of 2014/15, there were plenty of calls for him to be dropped from Jose Mourinho's starting line-ups.
When Diego Costa and Loic Remy were both injured, the feeling was that the fans wanted to see a youngster given a go over Drogba.
It was perhaps harsh, but it was understandable given he wasn't as effective as he had been.
Rewind a few months, and Drogba seemed to have been drinking from the fountain of youth.
When a similar injury crisis threatened Chelsea's campaign in October, Drogba was on hand to lead the line with aplomb.
Indeed, he looked like he had never gone away.
His best performance of the season came at Old Trafford against Manchester United. He bullied the back line for the entire game and—as if it was 2008 all over again—he scored a bullet header to silence the Old Trafford crowd.
Had it not been for Robin van Persie's fortunate last-minute equaliser, it would have been the winner, too.
Drogba appeared a man possessed that day. He was every bit the warrior that English football had fallen in love with during his first stint at Chelsea.
Best Goal: Andre Schurrle
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Oscar's strike against QPR in November was awarded the Goal of the Season gong at Chelsea's own awards ceremony only last week.
We've opted for Andre Schurrle's effort here, however.
While Oscar's goal was exquisite, outlining his individual brilliance, Schurrle's was a sublime team effort.
The passing and movement that led up to him finishing off the move was exceptional.
Chelsea were free-flowing against Burnley, giving us a sign of the dominance they would exert throughout the campaign.
Arguably better than Schurrle's first-time finish was the vision and pass from Cesc Fabregas to pick out his late run into the box, too.
Everything about this goal exuded class.
Worst Signing: Juan Cuadrado
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He still has next season to redeem himself, but seriously, what was Jose Mourinho thinking when he signed Juan Cuadrado in January?
The Colombian was Andre Schurrle's replacement, and he was supposed to put pressure on Willian for a starting place on the right.
Well, he hasn't come close to replacing Schurrle, and as for challenging Willian, the Brazilian has hardly been forced to break a sweat.
Right now, Cuadrado looks like a disaster—an expensive one who somehow has a Premier League winners' medal.
Best Signing: Cesc Fabregas
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What an exceptional player Cesc Fabregas has been for Chelsea this season.
Such has been his impact at Stamford Bridge, it's left many wondering why Arsene Wenger passed on the opportunity of bringing him back to Arsenal.
The Gunners' loss has most certainly been Chelsea's gain.
Fabregas has been the missing link in midfield for the Blues. He's got them moving again, and it's no coincidence that with him in the team, Eden Hazard has looked an even better player.
Chelsea used to struggle to break teams down—not anymore.
Fabregas has the vision and execution to pick out his team-mates and their runs off the ball, which has meant defences have to work overtime to keep them out.
More often than not, that never happened, and it was all because of Fabregas.
Unsing Player of the Year: Cesar Azpilicueta
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It makes you wonder why Cesar Azpilicueta doesn't have a higher profile at Chelsea.
Again, the Spaniard was one of Chelsea's most reliable players this season, but his importance gets lost among the bigger names in the Stamford Bridge dressing room.
We hear all about Eden Hazard, John Terry and the rest, but Azpilicueta's name always seems to sit further down the list.
He's a right-back, but Azpilicueta has made the left-back position his own at Stamford Bridge, and his excellent form throughout 2014/15 was a big reason for Chelsea having the Premier League's No. 1 defensive record.
We need to hear more about Azpilicueta, Chelsea's quiet man.
Player(s) of the Year: Eden Hazard and John Terry
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OK, we've sold ourselves out slightly with this one.
But like they are in our picture above, John Terry and Eden Hazard have been laughing together all season at Chelsea.
There have been so many contributors to the success Jose Mourinho's team enjoyed, but without this duo, it wouldn't have been possible.
Terry kept the goals out at the back, while Hazard was either scoring them or setting them up at the other end.
They're the lynchpins of this Chelsea team, and after a fine year, we can barely put a cigarette paper between them when it comes to importance.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.
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