Power Ranking Every Chelsea Player from the 2015/16 Premier League Season
The Premier League season is over, and Chelsea dare not look back. From champions last seasons to also-rans this term, 2015/16 was a massive disappointment for the Blues.
They lost their manager, Jose Mourinho; they lost their direction as a club; they lost their status among the elite.
There will be no European football for incoming boss Antonio Conte next season, outlining how spectacularly things have unraveled at Stamford Bridge. Not since the mid-1990s have Chelsea failed to qualify for Europe.
So in this season of all seasons, of all the Chelsea players, who topped the list and didn't let his teammates down? Which players need to improve? Who should be fretting over their Stamford Bridge future?
It's all here as Bleacher Report power ranks the Chelsea squad.
Honourable Mentions
1 of 5
Of all the players who started the season as part of Chelsea's first-team squad in some capacity, 10 of them made two appearances or fewer, so they do not feature in these rankings.
That said, we have made an exception for Juan Cuadrado, whose loan spell with Juventus may have earned him a future at Chelsea, especially with Antonio Conte coming in as Chelsea's new manager. More will follow on that in our rankings.
The other nine players not featured are:
Marco Amelia: Reserve goalkeeper who didn't make a single appearance.
Tammy Abraham: The up-and-coming youth-team striker appeared in Chelsea's final two Premier League matches of 2015/16.
Jake Clarke-Salter: Big things are expected of the young centre-back, but he played just once this season.
Fikayo Tomori: Made his Chelsea debut on the final day of the season against Leicester City.
Papy Djilobodji: Played two minutes as a substitute in the League Cup before joining Werder Bremen on loan.
Matt Miazga: A January signing, the American appeared just twice this term.
Alexandre Pato: A loan signing from Corinthians, Chelsea's Brazilian striker scored on his debut, but he featured just once more after that.
Victor Moses: spent the season on loan after making a substitute appearance against Arsenal in the Community Shield at Wembley.
Ramires: departed Stamford Bridge in January after five-and-a-half years at the club, joining Chinese side Jiangsu Suning.
22-16
2 of 5
22. Radamel Falcao
What were Chelsea thinking when they signed the Colombian on loan last summer? Not only did it mean starting the new season with three injury-prone strikers, Falcao had endured a dismal season at Manchester United, where he scored just three goals.
He was supposed to restore his reputation at Stamford Bridge; instead he confirmed that he's no longer the player he was. Falcao scored just once, and since the turn of the year he made one appearance as he struggled with fitness.
21. Loic Remy
After a promising debut season with Chelsea, the French striker disappeared in 2015/16. Like Falcao before him, Remy struggled for fitness, seeming to always pick up an injury at crucial moments when he was supposed to be covering for Diego Costa.
He scored just three goals all season, with his last coming in the 2-1 away defeat to Leicester City that saw Jose Mourinho lose his job.
20. Oscar
The Brazilian continues to flatter to deceive. His biggest problem is that he's still trading on the performance from his Chelsea debut in September 2012 when he scored twice against Juventus. That night, he showed some moments of magic that come back every once in a while.
For him to last at Chelsea, though, Oscar has to do it consistently and put simply, he doesn't. This year was another frustrating season from him.
19. Nemanja Matic
Where did the Serb go this season? Wherever it was, it wasn't Stamford Bridge, that's for sure. He's been missing for much of the campaign, looking a shadow of the player who dominated midfield in Chelsea's title-winning season. He was weak defensively and looked off the pace.
It's shattered his confidence, and quite how he recovers depends on where Antonio Conte sees him in this Chelsea side. If he's going to be a back-up next season, Chelsea will be better off letting him go, as Matic can't take another blow to his fragile ego.
18. Baba Rahman
The Ghanaian is still only 21 so has his career ahead of him. Where he spends those future years of his career remains to be seen, however. He has plenty to do if he's to establish himself at Chelsea, as his debut campaign proved a nightmare.
He was supposed to challenge Cesar Azpilicueta on the left, which he didn't, owing to his poor performances defensively. Conte has big job on his hands to make Rahman a world-class defender.
17. Juan Cuadrado
Our wild card. The best option is to forget what Cuadrado did in his first six months at Chelsea. He was woeful from January 2015 onwards, arguably weakening the Chelsea squad in that period given they sold Andre Schurrle at the same time.
On loan at Juventus this year, Cuadrado has gone some way to re-establishing himself, playing his part in the Old Lady winning Serie A for a fifth year running. Now, will Conte deploy him as a wing-back or an out-and-out winger if he remains at Chelsea?
One thing is for sure: His performances at Juventus have been encouraging. Cuadrado may well prove a few people wrong next season, including this writer.
16. Gary Cahill
Normally an assured presence at the back, the Englishman suffered plenty this season. It didn't help that Branislav Ivanovic was struggling at right-back, and it meant Cahill was getting exposed far more. He lost his place to Kurt Zouma, too, so has arguably dropped down the pecking order.
The hope is that next season Cahill can restore his reputation in west London, as he is a fine defender when at his top level.
15-11
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15. Kenedy
What is his best position? Is Kenedy a left-winger or a left-back? Until we find that out, we're not going to see him play consistently enough to become a Chelsea regular.
We saw glimpses of Kenedy's talent throughout the season, notably with his goal against Norwich City. He has plenty of raw talent, and that must be nurtured for him to start challenging others more regularly. Still, his debut season was encouraging given he came in relatively under the radar.
14. Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Like Kenedy, Loftus-Cheek has been played in different positions this seasons. He's more used to playing deeper in midfield, which is where he featured regularly for the academy. Playing as a No. 10 hasn't helped him develop enough this season, although he has scored two goals and been a positive feature at times. Loftus-Cheek is gradually building up momentum and needs to improve next season to show he can become a regular.
13. Branislav Ivanovic
A few eyebrows will be raised here as he features rather high in our rankings. Ivanovic's position is more to do with his performances at centre-back, though. He struggled massively on the right, with wingers using their pace to exploit. When John Terry got injured in February, Ivanovic played more centrally and looked a better player for it. He was assured, and that lack of pace wasn't as much of an issue.
12. John Obi Mikel
The renaissance man. Mikel's season was a tale of two halves. In the first, he featured rarely under Jose Mourinho. Then Guus Hiddink came in and restored Mikel to the midfield, where he had a positive influence. The jury is still out as to whether he's what Chelsea need for the long term, but as a squad player, he's proved he offers plenty and shouldn't be overlooked by the new manager.
11. Bertrand Traore
Of all the young Chelsea players who were given their chance this season, Traore made the most impact. He's a striker, and the currency he trades in is goals, so he needs to improve his return to become a more established name.
Outscoring Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao is a good start, with Traore's four goals equaling the combined return of his senior team-mates. Traore took a huge leap forward this year and has a bright future ahead of him.
10-6
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10. Thibaut Courtois
Two red cards and a three-month injury lay-off mean, among other things, that this season wasn't the best for the Belgian stopper. When he was fit and playing, Courtois didn't look as sharp as we would expect, either. Mistakes have crept into his game and he needs to iron them out quickly.
Comparisons with Petr Cech are natural since Courtois replaced him as Chelsea's first-choice, but looking at the Belgian's development, it's not clear whether Chelsea made the right choice or not.
9. Asmir Begovic
We didn't expect to see much of him this season, but Begovic benefited massively from Courtois' problems. He proved he's more than a back-up goalkeeper at Chelsea and can be a No. 1.
He flapped at a cross for Liverpool's equaliser in Chelsea's recent 1-1 draw at Anfield, but overall the mistakes were few from Begovic this season, and he did a good job as Courtois' deputy.
8. Pedro
It's more to do with the shortcomings of others that Pedro makes the top 10. Overall, he would have wanted more from his first season in English football. He didn't look like the Pedro of Barcelona, but then joining a club after the season has started doesn't always help. When said club is entering meltdown, it makes it even harder to settle.
Pedro has shown signs in the latter stages of the season that he will be better next term, which is what Chelsea need from him. He needs to be a regular goal threat and create more for those around him.
7. Cesar Azpilicueta
He's still Chelsea's best left-back, but he's a right-back. It was another solid season from the Spaniard. He's one of those players who brings consistency to the defence, putting in a seven-out-of-10 performance every week.
The problem with him on the left is that as an attacking option, he's limited. He likes to play on his right, and playing on his left side can slow things down with his crossing ability. There were times he was caught out this season as Chelsea crumbled, but overall he can be happy with his performances.
One of the many players to benefit from a second-half boost this season. Fabregas struggled pre-Christmas he was getting dragged into a defensive side of the game that isn't his strength. It was exposing him, and it knocked his confidence significantly.
When Guus Hiddink played John Obi Mikel alongside him, Fabregas regained his freedom and impacted things moving forward, not back. That's when we saw the best of him. Antonio Conte can build his midfield around a player of Fabregas' quality.
5-1
5 of 5
5. John Terry
He remains Chelsea's best defender, and with a lack of leaders in the dressing room, he has qualities no other player has in this side. Terry's also got what he wants with Chelsea offering him a new contract, too, which gives him the chance to play out the remaining days of his career with the Blues.
It wasn't an ideal season for Terry, not least because of injuries plaguing him in 2016. He is still capable of offering the club something and the hope now—for fans at least—is that he signs his contract and remains at the club.
4. Kurt Zouma
The Frenchman's rise has been a privilege to observe over the past two seasons. He came to Chelsea looking very raw, but with a willingness to learn and improve, he is now a big part of the future. No player wants to spend time on the sidelines like Zouma has since the injury he sustained against Manchester United in February.
In a strange way, he has benefited, though. Without Zouma, Chelsea's frailties at the back have been exposed, making his return next season anticipated even further.
3. Diego Costa
Like a few players in this list, anything pre-Christmas would have seen Diego Costa placed way down our list. From Boxing Day on, though, he was the Costa of old. He netted 16 goals in total this season, with 12 of them coming in the second half of the season.
He really is a special striker when the team is playing to his strengths, and witnessing his form in 2016, he has saved Antonio Conte a major headache in deciding whether he's good enough to lead the line or not—Costa undoubtedly is.
2. Eden Hazard
Remember, these are power rankings, and the nature of the title means we're ranking players on, well, their position of power and influence. Many aspects can play a part in that, such as form over a season and what a player offers. It's because of his late-season renaissance that Hazard comes in second.
We've seen the Belgian performing close to his best since April, a fact supported by his contribution. He's back influencing matches again, like he did when he scored twice against Bournemouth, not to mention that late equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur that sealed the title for Leicester City. Then there was that solo goal against Liverpool.
It's all proof that a fit Hazard is an exceptional hazard. It's to Chelsea's detriment that it took him much of the season to shake off a hip injury. As we look ahead to 2016/17, any fans feeling positive will be on the back of what Hazard has produced in these remaining few matches.
1. Willian
Despite a dip in form as the end of the season approached, few can deny Willian deserves to be ranked top dog in the Chelsea squad. He was voted Player of the Year by Chelsea fans, and it was fully deserved. When Chelsea struggled this season, Willian seemed to excel. From nowhere, he's become a free-kick specialist and has won Chelsea some vital matches on the back of that. He's a big player for the Blues and has shown this season that he's about so much more than endeavour. Behind the work rate is a highly talented player.
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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