Chelsea hero Pat Nevin is optimistic about what 2019 will have to offer and believes that the club have positive things to look forward to this year. Although the Blues do not look like they will be title contenders this season, they have been playing an improved brand of football this season.
Obtaining a strong finish on the top four of the standings can be considered an improvement on last term, as they finished a disappointing fifth and missed out on Champions League qualification.
As things stand, the Blues are still in the League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League. It will be a step in the right direction if they finish the season with a strong finish in the top four as well as a trophy or two. 2019 is also likely to be a very interesting year for the club as the futures of many players such as Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard, Pedro, Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud is uncertain.
At least some of the above-mentioned players will leave the club this summer. This is not necessarily cause for concern as the Blues hierarchy will likely respond to their departures by bringing in world-class talents. Either way 2019 promises to be an interesting year for the Stamford Bridge giants. How the club performs on and off the field between now and the end of next summer will play a big role in whether they will be able to consider themselves as legitimate contenders for the Premier League title next season.
Nevin wrote for the club’s official website: “Obviously changing a manager is a stressful business, but rarely has that change looked so smooth than it has with the introduction of Maurizio Sarri.
“The football is as pleasing on the eye as you could hope for much of the time and the club certainly looks to have taken on board most of the modern technical and tactical football ideas out there.
“Maybe the best thing about where we are now at the end of the year is the excitement about the year to come. It will be interesting, enjoyable, entertaining and hopefully successful. It will of course have its ups and downs, but what would I wish for most in the year to come at Chelsea? Like many of us in 12 months’ time I hope once again to be saying the phrase, ‘Eden Hazard has had another great year for Chelsea’. If we can say that, then we will probably have some more silverware too.”
