What should be the realistic targets for the upcoming season?

The new season, 2013/14 is set to start in a matter of two weeks and now, it’s time to analyze what should be our realistic targets for a season as anticipated for the blues’ fans as this season. Jose Mourinho has returned to his beloved home in 6 years since he was here the last time around and we have waved good bye to the most unpopular manager we ever had(alongside Avram Grant) Rafael Benitez. I remember how I feared for the future of our club when last year in November everything starting from the loss to Man Utd at Stamford bridge up to the 3-0 away loss to Juventus in the UCL all the way to Rafael Benitez taking over from RDM.
But, now we look back at last season as a season of transition with the style of football and our philosophies. We ended up winning the Europa League and finished in the top 4. Then Jose Mourinho returned at the end of the season, bringing in much excitement for the upcoming season ahead.
In the next few weeks, we might conclude the transfer of Wayne Rooney from Manchester United as Caughtoffside.com has reportedly claimed a move ‘in principle’ had been agreed between the clubs. If we sign Wayne Rooney that would strike fear into our title rivals and it might be the kind of impact the RvP transfer to United have had last summer on them winning the league.
So, I would very much think that we will have an excellent season with the young players we have at the moment. Jose Mourinho said he will give this young players the stability they need to reach the next level. And we have added much needed depth to the squad with 3 signings and some players returning from loan. So, everything is well in place for us to push for all the trophies that are available to us.
It is a well known fact that a top club as Chelsea should challenging to succeed in every tournament we enter but, the real question is what should be the minimum expectancy for the upcoming season?
I would say winning the league should the main target first and foremost as dominance in domestic league is important. Then I would take at least reaching the semi-finals as the LEAST expectancy in the Champions League. That’s because clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich have a stability they have built for far long and those teams have been at that stage winning the tournaments for the last 4 years or so. But, last season we couldn’t advance from the group stage as Shaktar and Juventus went through instead.
So, since the young players have matured and gelled together now, which wasn’t the case last summer, we should expect them to deliver higher than what we expect from them this upcoming season. We have a world-class coach in Jose Mourinho, who according to myself and many Blues’ fans is The Best manager in the world to lead them and take us to top of European football dominance.
As Mourinho said recently,

“If one player is great, they should do more than the others if they are to be considered great. I don’t give this kind of player an easy time, because you can praise any player because he is good, but if some players are special than the others they should do more.”

That quote echoes what all of us expect from Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, David Luiz, Ramires and Oscar. Players who have been adapting well to the league this past seasons but, now, there can’t be no more excuses to deliver and be big time players that players like Gianfranco Zola, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard have been for us since the new millennium. Successes in FA Cup and League cup will be expected also as we have strong depth and versatility in our squad to achieve that. Winning a treble like Bayern did last season won’t be a rule out, but we would expect that to happen in 2014/15 perhaps. But, I wouldn’t rule that out this season also as I have full confidence in this squad and how they can perform under Jose Mourinho.
Lets hope the season 2013/14 will be a resounding success and let us know what your expectations for the season are through comments. Thanks for reading and KTBFFH!!!