5 Things Learned from Chelsea's 2015/16 Season
Where did it all go wrong for Chelsea in 2015/16?
From Premier League champions the previous season, the Blues were spectacularly dethroned. Indeed, rather than challenging for the title again, Chelsea were involved more with a relegation scrap at the bottom of the table at one point.
Chelsea fans lost their manager in Jose Mourinho for a second time and came close to watching John Terry join him through the exit door. A contract offer at the 11th hour saved the day, with the 35-year-old signing a new deal a few days after the season ended to keep him in west London for another year.
The past season proved to be one of incident and intrigue, but what did we learn from it all? Join Bleacher Report as we take a closer look.
Chelsea Rely Too Much on Eden Hazard
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It wasn't until Eden Hazard picked up form at the end of 2015/16 that we saw some of Chelsea's best football in the entire season.
The circumstances were very different. Chelsea had nothing to play for, so the pressure was off, and it allowed the Blues to be a bit more free flowing. But Hazard's form in the last few weeks was still a major bonus for the Stamford Bridge club as they plan ahead for the next campaign.
Hazard reminded Chelsea of what a fine talent he is with some excellent goals against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Incoming head coach Antonio Conte will surely be relishing the opportunity of working with him when he is in that sort of form.
Equally, though, Hazard's strong performances showed how much Chelsea rely on him. Without the Belgium international, Chelsea lacked a sustained threat throughout 2015/16. They lacked a creative edge and it allowed opponents to target other areas—notably cutting off the supply line to Diego Costa from Cesc Fabregas.
We saw how Hazard competes in the final third, and Chelsea have a completely different dynamic with him on top form.
They can't rely so heavily on him next season. Conte needs a back-up plan to avoid the same problems coming back to haunt Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho's 'Little Horse' Comment Remains Relevant
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It was in the 2013/14 title race that Jose Mourinho labelled his side the "little horse" of the Premier League's biggest sides.
The comment drew plenty of chuckles in media rooms across the country, which meant the sentiment behind Mourinho's point was lost. It wasn't the club as a whole the Portuguese was labelling as immature in that sense but more the mentality of his players.
Mourinho was stressing that this current generation of Blues stars needs to mature more to enter the realms of greatness. There's no doubting they have the talent, but the mentality is lacking; the killer instinct of old just isn't there.
We thought Chelsea had overcome that in 2014/15, but the struggles of the past year saw them regress to the habits of old. There was a lack of leadership when things got tough and too many players disappeared.
Chelsea didn't play like reigning champions—quite the contrary—and we saw how the little-horse tag remains in certain parts of the squad, which was ruthlessly laid bare in 2015/16.
Nothing Has Changed with the Managers
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If a manager of Jose Mourinho's reputation and standing at Chelsea can't survive a crisis, then nobody can.
It was admirable that the Blues kept the manager on for as long as they did, but watching him depart in the circumstances he did just confirmed that Chelsea's hire-and-fire policy continues to ring true.
All the talk had been about legacies and dynasties under Mourinho, so should the club have been so willing to sack him when they did? Surely to create something comparable to Sir Alex Ferguson's stint at Manchester United, the board needed to show more patience and belief than they did.
Things hit crisis point just before Christmas, but the club needed to look at the situation as a whole to figure out where it all went wrong. As Guus Hiddink showed when he took interim charge of the team, simply replacing the manager isn't the magic fix it is made out to be.
Chelsea have bigger, underlying problems than who sits in the hot seat and they need to be addressed. Judging by this season at least, it doesn't appear they will be, though, with managers remaining the fall guy whenever failure strikes.
Chelsea Were Very Good in 2014/15
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When Chelsea won the Premier League title in 2014/15, they did it in style. From the opening weekend right through to the last, they were the league leaders.
When we look at how 2015/16 went as a whole, there's a case to suggest we didn't appreciate just how good that Chelsea team was the previous year.
Before Leicester City eventually took control in 2016, the league leaders were changing places almost weekly. Manchester City, Arsenal and others all called top spot home at some point in the campaign.
It made for an entertaining title race, but there was a lack of quality compared to what Chelsea did.
The Blues were completely dominant in 2014/15 and came away convincing champions. They sucked the life out of the entire Premier League and looked imperious.
The trends of 2015/16 confirmed it all the more.
The Premier League Landscape Is Changing Dramatically
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It's not because Leicester were the surprise Premier League champions that we can point to a shift in power in English football's top flight. It's more what happened beneath them that confirms the impact of new television deals and an influx of riches.
In years gone by, Chelsea were able to overcome prolonged spells of poor form to at least salvage something from their season.
When things went awry in 2011/12, they were still able to qualify for the UEFA Europa League via a top-six finish. Of course, winning the UEFA Champions League a few weeks later meant that was all irrelevant, but they did achieve a respectable finish in the table.
This season, teams like West Ham United, Stoke City and Southampton made it extremely difficult for Chelsea to do that. Suddenly these so-called lesser sides were able to compete over the course of a 38-game season, with squads that mean they have the strength to not fall away.
The Hammers pushed Manchester United and Manchester City all the way in the hunt for Champions League qualification, while Stoke and Southampton were always in the reckoning for European football.
Their prolonged good form made it difficult for Chelsea to make up ground, confirming how teams used to having it all their own way need to rethink their approach and combat the rise of others.
It's always been a competitive division, but this season has upped the ante in the Premier League, and Chelsea proved to be the biggest casualties of it.
The concern now is how they overcome the problems that saw them finish 10th.
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