Dear Chelsea Fans, Don't Ruin This Season For Me

Ugh! Willian signed a deal that will keep him at Stamford Bridge for two more years. I encourage everyone to go and search that on twitter then look at the replies. Good god is it gold.

I've been a Chelsea fan since about 2014 which is when I started watching soccer. What have I learned since then? That Chelsea fans are the worst. Yes, I said it. I honestly can't stand my counterparts.

Chelsea loses a pre-season friendly and the wolves are the door as #LampardOut is trending on Twitter.

I completely understand why Maurizio Sarri left Chelsea after only one year. I mean the way the media and fans treated him who would want to be under that constant pressure? In a single season, Sarri saw Chelsea return to the top four while winning Europa League as they dominated Arsenal in a 4-1 win.

So what's wrong with the fan-base? Is the constant managerial turnover led them to an aggressive demeanor? Or do they just know nothing about football? Let's discuss!

Imagine thinking that the sale of Willian is a good idea right now. Did he underperform last season? Absolutely. But Chelsea just lost Eden Hazard to Real Madrid and with a transfer ban in place, THEY CANT SIGN ANYONE.

So Chelsea would see two of their wingers leave with little compensation other than Christian Pulisic. Pulisic is a great addition to the team but filling Hazard AND Willian's shoes… well, have fun with that!

But we have Callum Hudson- Odoi and Pulisic! Yes! We are saved! Forget that the best player in the Premier League just left, or that Hudson-Odoi is recovering from a torn achilles. This thought process has the makings of something that I fear.

What is that fear? It's that Chelsea fans place crazy high expectations on Pulisic and he flames out due to the amount of pressure. Don't believe that this will happen? Well… just don't say I told you so.

So who can help Pulisic?

Chelsea is going to need to lean heavily on their youth as well as players formally on loan to stage a successful season. I already wrote a piece on who I think will be named in Chelsea's Starting XI when they travel to Old Trafford for their season opener on August 11th.

For starters, Pedro and Willian both need to step up. Their poor campaigns last season were partially shielded behind Hazard's brillance but that will be no more. Both players should have at least 10 goals and 10 assists in Premier League play.

But what about the unsung heroes? By that, I mean players that were loaned out. Let's start with the most interesting one.

Is this the season in which Abraham breaks through into Chelsea's first-team?. The 21-year-old spent last season at Aston Villa on loan in which he scored 26 goals. Abraham played a big role in Aston Villa returning to the Premier League. Now, not only has he gotten the attention of Frank Lampard, he will most likely wear the #9 shirt for Chelsea.

What's great for Abraham? He doesn't have a mountain to climb. Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi are his competition. Not only is the pool not very deep, both players, in my opinion, have reached their ceiling. Abraham has not reached that threshold. He's a player with tremendous potential. If Abraham isn't loaned out again, and he does indeed wear the #9 shirt for the Blues, it sure will a sight to see. Finally, we may have a homegrown, #9. I'd take that over Gonzalo Higuain on loan any day.

Despite a transfer ban, Chelsea has a deep pool of talented players. Making the 18-man squad will be no easy task for players like Abraham and Mason Mount. Even with Antonio Rudiger, Hudson-Odoi, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek out injured at the start of the season, it will still be very competitive.

Here's who I think will make up the 18-man squad at the end of pre-season.

Starting XI

Kepa Arrizabalaga

David Luiz

Andres Christensen

Cesar Azpilicueta

Emerson Palmieri

Jorginho

N'golo Kante

Mateo Kovacic

Willian

Pedro

Olivier Giroud

Bench

Willy Caballero

Kurt Zouma

Marcos Alonso

Ross Barkley

Christian Pulisic

Michy Batshuayi

Tiemoue Bakayoko

Ok, so there's my prediction. The crazy thing is that three of those players will have to make way for Loftus-Cheek, Rudiger, and Hudson-Odoi once they return.

Are those the ideal players for Chelsea? Some are. Players like Marcos Alonso and Zouma are necessities in case a defender in the starting XI picks up and injury. Barkley and Bakayoko are two players that will most likely feature off the bench quite frequently as well as Batshuayi and Pulisic.

In my opinion, this is the safest lineup Chelsea can run with. You pretty much know exactly what you're getting from each player in this squad. Whether or not Lampard wants some fresh blood in the squad remains to be seen.

My prediction is that Abraham and Mount will be featured in the earlier rounds of the FA Cup and against the weaker teams in Chelsea's Champions League Group (if there are any). I also wouldn't be surprised if they feature against some of the Premier League's weaker sides.

Imagine Mount and Abraham being regulars by the end of the season. And this very well could happen. This is a huge season for Barkley who needs to prove he's consistent enough to remain at Stamford Bridge. If he fails to meet expectations, perhaps that will open up an avenue for Mount.

On the other hand, it's not like Abraham is competing with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus for playing time. Giroud and Batshuayi are good players but they're not quite world-class.

Sarri was an excellent manager but his reluctance to pivot and bring in young competition when things got rough at the Bridge will be something Lampard will have to avoid. With a pool of such talented young players, Chelsea will have an array of attacking options that will be hungry to make impacts.

Do I think Chelsea will truly challenge for the Premier League title or the Champions League trophy this year? No. But their young players certainly have them in position to do so in the future.

As a Chelsea fan, I beg other fans to have patience this season. Going up on the side and down the other of teenagers trying to make impacts is not going to help at all. We all know it will be hard to compete for trophies this season so don't get mad when Chelsea is in 4th or 6th come December.

Look at this season as one of tremendous promise and development. Chelsea has a handful of world-class youngsters. Don't show them the door by degrading them.

And at the end of the day, at least we aren't in the same predictament as Arsenal (hehe).