BPL 2015: Can Chelsea extend "Blue period"?

Winning the title is one thing. Defending it, entirely another. What has Chelsea done in the wake of its 2015 Premiership title  to keep the team at the top of the table? Find out with TSN.ca's 2014-15 team preview.

Who's In?: GK Asmir Begovic (Stoke, ENG), FW Radamel Falcao (Monaco, FRA - loan).

Who's Out?: Christian Atsu (Bournemouth - loan), Patrick Bamford (Crystal Palace, ENG – loan), Petr Cech (Arsenal, ENG), Andreas Christensen (Borussia Moenchengladbach, GER – loan), Didier Drogba (Montreal, MLS), Felipe Luis (Atletico Madrid, ESP) and Marco van Ginkel (Stoke, ENG – loan).

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The Blues celebrated their fourth Premier League title by once again bidding adieu to one of the team’s all-time legends.

Just one season after the team cut tied with all-time leading scorer Frank Lampard, Chelsea once again bid farewell to striker Didier Drogba. While this farewell was not as dramatic as when the Ivorian left for China after clinching the club’s first-ever Champions League title, Drogba will call Montreal home in the very near future and has likely seen the last of Stamford Bridge.

Also gone from the long-time favourites list is goaltender Petr Cech, who crossed London to man the Arsenal net. While the 33-year-old Czech netminder was limited to just seven matches last season, he has seen the lion’s share of net time for the Blues for the past decade.

But don’t let the departures fool you. The team opens the season as defending champions for the fourth time in over a decade and took home some additional hardware last season in the form of the League Cup.

There are always concerns about Diego Costa’s fitness up front. The Premiership’s third-leading scorer was limited to 26 League appearances last season but this year should be less taxing on the Spaniard given the absence of a World Cup or Euro in 2015 to add to his games-played tally.

He’ll be helped up front by Colombian Radamel Falcao, who joins the club on a one-year loan spell from Monaco. The good news with Falcao is that he possesses game-breaking talent and can score at will when properly utilized and motivated. The bad news is that he was not properly utilized in England last season during his one-year tenure with Manchester United and tallied just four goals in 26 appearances. His most productive moments, though, seemed to come when he was partnered with Juan Mata, so perhaps another Spaniard (Costa) can promote a return to 2012-13 form.

Jose Mourinho’s tenure has meant a spike in the team’s success and last year’s title was a marked improvement on the 2013-14 campaign they could have won if not for underperforming against League minnows. He remains one of the most shrewd sideline tacticians and in a League that has become a four- or five-team annual race, Chelsea has proven to be one of the teams that can consistently produce winning football.

The team’s formidable midfield of Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Oscar and Ramires is one of the most dangerous in the Premiership and should help the team keep its form and composure to stay near, if not at, the top for much of the coming campaign.