Chelsea's struggles

A nightmare start to the domestic season has discarded the Blues as hopefuls to retain their crown, and everything suggests 620x350 www.timesofoman.com that even a Champions League place is out of reach

Another weekend, another humbling reverse. A repeat of 2014-15's celebrations is already looking like a distant dream for shell-shocked Chelsea, and if history proves a reliable guide even a Champions League place will be unattainable come the end of the campaign.

After the euphoria of winning the Premier League title in May, Chelsea have endured the roughest return to reality. Defending a crown is never easy, but even the pressures of being the team everybody wants to beat cannot explain the plummeting form of a side which at times looked invincible under Jose Mourinho's tutelage last season.

A 2-1 reverse at the hands of West Ham on Saturday marked the fifth defeat in just 10 league matches for the Blues - two more than the entire 2014-15 season. Having conceded just 32 times on their way to the title, a leaky defence this time around has already shipped 19.



As always, manager Mourinho is a perfect barometer for his side's health. As the pressure mounts, his actions become ever-more exaggerated and clown-like. Enigmatic interviews, constant barracking of match officials and games with the press were a hallmark of his final moments at Real Madrid, and are creeping back now with the Blues. But in such a crisis, not even the Special One's antics can distract focus from what is set to be a disastrous year.



At this point 12 months ago, the future champions had picked up 26 out of 30 available points, a rhythm sustained over the course of the campaign. With just 10 so far, Chelsea require 2.75 points per game to match the 87 sufficient to lift the title. That, needless to say, is if not impossible extremely improbable. Even a top-four finish is fading away with every game.



The average benchmark for Champions League qualification over the past five years has been 71.8 points. Chelsea would need to pick up 2.17 points per game from their remaining fixtures to reach that mark. That means turning the current duds into title contenders overnight, and from what the players have shown in the opening months of the season that will not be happening anytime soon.

Unless a miracle occurs, the Stamford Bridge faithful should get used to the idea that the ground will be a Champions League-free zone for 2016-17.



Every match becomes a six-pointer from this moment onwards. But it is possible to pinpoint several key encounters for the club before the end of January. It does not make for good reading. Chelsea will have to take on four fellow early contenders for the top four, and only one of those games will take place in the comparative safety of west London.



At their best, all of these fixtures would be winnable for Mourinho's men. But so far, and aside from an admirable victory to down Arsenal, the Blues' record against the early pace-setters in the Premier League gives no indication that they can compete against 2015-16's form teams.



The champions may still have a mathematical chance of turning round fortunes and making a charge for the top four. But all the cards are dealt against them. Mourinho has the look of a haunted man, staring failure in the face; and as the Champions League disappears over the horizon, pressure on the Portuguese manager will only build in the coming weeks. 

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