Will Chelsea be relegated?

After Chelsea’s worst start to a Premier League season in history, could the defending champions feasibly be relegated?

What has happened at Stamford Bridge? The current saga with Chelsea is one of the most amazing stories from the Premier League since its inception in 1992. The defending champions, consisting of some of the world’s greatest players and led by arguably the greatest manager on the planet, currently sit only one point above the relegation zone after Monday’s loss to the high flying Leicester City.

Speaking of Leicester, the contrasting managers illustrates the differing seasons that both clubs are having. Current Leicester manager, Claudio Ranieri, used sit on the seat that Jose Mourinho currently keeps warm before the Portuguese’s first stint at the London club. ‘The Tinkerman’ was unpopular in Chelsea, and when fired his replacement, the Special One, was not friendly towards the man who proceeded him. Mourinho was critical of the infrastructure he inherited, the transfers made by Ranieri and also the latter’s managerial style as a man. Such criticism has come back to bite Mourinho.

While the now self titled Happy One flounders in 16th place, he must look up and see the man he was so critical about in his past tenure with Chelsea sitting atop the table, the place that he must so want to be himself. Ranieri has undoubtedly been the best manager in the year so far, and many would contend that Mourinho has been the worst. He has made it his duty to argue with all at Stamford Bridge, blaming all but himself for his side’s poor form.

Well, now he must look at himself for Chelsea’s poor performances, and must begin to fear the worst. Chelsea have had the worst succeeding season to winning the title since 1888, and it doesn’t look as though it may be get better. Could it really be possible, with all the talent on and off the field, all the money invested, and all the world class coaching, that Chelsea could see themselves playing Championship football come August 2016?

While the squad can boast players of the world class variety – Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic, among others – they are playing more like Conference level players right now. Hazard hasn’t scored this season, which is simply unacceptable for a player of his quality, Fabregas looks as though he has a bet on the opposition, and Matic has forgotten how to tackle. However, surely they’ll get their act together, right?

It may not be as far fetched as first thought, that the unspeakable could well happen. The poor form is bamboozling the whole football world. It is truly unfathomable that a team as good as Chelsea could struggle as much as they are. Nonetheless, they are, and that is something that cannot be ignored. They look like a club battling to stave off relegation, and come March time, that may be the case.

Mourninho’s teams are usually built upon defensive solidarity. This team is a shadow of its former self. They simply can’t defend. Former Chelsea great John Terry has been dropped, with a combination of his ever increasing age and lack of pace finally catching up with him; Branislav Ivanovic has looked lost all year; and only Cesar Azpilicueta has been able to hold his own. With goal keeper Thibaut Courtois out with injuries, the stability of old has been lost. Mourinho has chopped and changed to try and find a recipe that works, but as of yet, he’s still rummaging through his cupboards to find that missing ingredient.

And while Chelsea can’t stop the opposition from scoring, their defensive struggles are nothing when compared to what’s going on at the other end. Diego Costa would rather have a fight than kick a ball right now, Hazard has been more of a danger to his own team than the opposition and Pedro has not ignited the league like his ex-teammate Alexis Sanchez did last season.

Chelsea’s top scorer is Willian, who has played admirably this season. Their second? Own goals. More than anything, that perhaps illustrates the struggles that the defending champions have had in front goal.

So, in reference to the question of relegation, what we see before us is a team that can’t defend at one end and can’t score goals at the other. At this juncture, the team very well could be in trouble. If we were to disregard the names and simply look at the numbers, this team would be fancied for relegation. However, the names matter, and even in such times of trouble, Mourinho and his men have to be backed to find a way to climb the table. Chelsea won’t get relegated, but come back to me in March, and if they’re still in this position, then I could most certainly persuaded otherwise.