Full-time Fletch... on Chelsea's slump

Before this season started most pundits tipped Chelsea to win the league and retain their Premier League crown, so it’s truly shocking to see how far they have fallen.

Chelsea’s poor form is not just a bumpy patch — it’s a full-blown slump. It’s only the start of November and you can already rule them out of the title race. There is no chance they will pull back the points deficit on the top teams. A Champions League place might still be possible but it’s going to take a massive effort for them to achieve that.

You need some evidence that they have the capability to put a run together of, say, 10 wins on the trot.

But there is none. When Chelsea have been successful they are difficult to beat. Yes, they had a little bit of magic with players like Hazard and Oscar, but they didn’t concede goals.

That’s not the case now and it’s hard to see how they can arrest the slide.

Feuds​

It’s not just a case that five or six players aren’t performing to their expected level. There seems to be other factors at play; rumours of friction between senior players and management, and a lack of activity in the transfer market during the summer.

And Jose Mourinho’s recent conduct doesn’t give the impression of a man in control of the situation, what with the constant feuds with officials and the media.

I’ve said in the past it takes a long time to build a team and a club up, but very little time to tear it down. Clubs that have seemingly been built on solid foundations can crumble if a key person leaves or key relationships break down.

Things can go very wrong, very quickly.  Look at what happened at Manchester United with the managerial transition from Alex Ferguson to David Moyes in 2013.

Fracturing​

Will Jose still be in charge next season? I’m not even sure he will still be there at Christmas! Would anyone really be shocked if he leaves Chelsea before the end of the season?

I can’t see it ending well. He’s at a football club where previously, his relationship with the owner broke down to such an extent he got sacked. Somehow it got rebuilt, but is it that far away from fracturing again?

The strength of the bond between Jose and owner Roman Abramovich will dictate how long the manager stays and whether he can get through this. If a chairman has sacked a manager before, he’s not going to be afraid to do it again.

So it’s difficult to make a logical case for anything other than the fact Jose will be leaving.