Just as Chelsea’s season appeared to be heading in the right direction once more, this weekend’s shock defeat to AFC Bournemouth has reopened old wounds and placed Jose Mourinho under intense scrutiny once more.
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The Portuguese manager may be the most successful in the club’s history, but with Chelsea languishing just above the bottom three at present and facing a crucial game to qualify for the Champions League knockout stage in midweek, Mourinho’s future is the cause for much discussion.
The West Londoners have had the worst start of any Premier League defending champion and, as a result, lie 14 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United with the season fast approaching its halfway point.
Today’s #360debate is: Is a top-four Premier League finish still possible for Chelsea?
James Piercy, deputy editor, says YES
It’s got so bleak for Chelsea the theory doing the rounds is that it will be easier for them to lose to Porto, drop into the Europa League, win that and reach the Champions League, then finish inside the top four in England.
The Europa League is a tough competition to win, the sheer weight of games coupled with a taxing Thursday-Sunday schedule.
This season’s Premier League, by contrast, is a more manageable climb. The points Chelsea technically need to make up is severe but context is everything and they have two major factors in their favour: the weakness of England’s top flight and the strength of their squad.
As awful as they have been, a team featuring Eden Hazard, Willian, Oscar, Cesc Fabregas (the worst of the lot), Nemanja Matic and Diego Costa cannot go on much longer playing this poorly. Call that wishful thinking but they are all just too talented as individuals, and too proud to allow standards to slip much further.
With or without Mourinho, and it’s looking increasingly like the latter, they will get better and before the Bournemouth loss there had been signs of life. The structure and discipline was also returning in defence.
Mourinho has not been given an ultimatum or anything of the sort, but is aware that Wednesday could be a defining game. (Independent) #CFC
— ChelsTransfer (@ChelsTransfer) December 6, 2015
Despite what Mourinho says, if the transfer window opened tomorrow, Chelsea would be recruiting. There would be some serious reinforcements coming through the door. Not many others are capable of such squad surgery.
Their points haul of 15 leaves them 14 off fourth-placed Manchester United. It’s a big deficit but when you look at their competition for that final spot, realistically other than Liverpool and United maybe, who else can improve? Plus, with teams all beating each other, the required points total is likely to be lower than normal.
Making up five wins on an unconvincing United and erratic Liverpool is possible for a Blues side who surely can’t get much worse.
Matt Monaghan, reporter, says NO
When even a boss who anointed himself as ‘The Special One’ has admitted Chelsea are no hopers in the race for a hallowed top-four finish, then you know their Champions League qualification dreams are doomed.
The Blues’ nightmare title defence reached its nadir on Saturday. It feels like a new low is reached every weekend, Jose Mourinho seemingly incapable of correcting a ship which has gone so badly off course.
The statistics make awful reading for the men who lifted Europe’s premier club competition in 2011-12. They prove without any doubt even the weekend resetting of their targets to a top-six finish would require his team to make history. They sit an almost-unreachable 14 points and 10 places off fourth-placed Manchester United.
The depth of their fall exemplified by the fact they sit only three points clear of the relegation zone, 18th-placed Sunderland on 12 points breathing down their necks.
No reigning EPL champion has won fewer (four) or lost more (eight) after 15 games than Chelsea this season. Even David Moyes’ ridiculed Manchester United in 2013-14 were doing far better.
Chelsea fans should really look away now. No EPL team has ever finished higher than eighth after having 15 points from their first 15 games. Their prospects are the equivalent of West Brom recovering from a shaky start to claim a commendable mid-table berth.
You would never back them for the Champions League, so why Chelsea? In the last five seasons, fourth place has required an average total of 72 points. The Blues therefore require an improbable average of 2.5 points per game from their remaining 23 fixtures to reach this mark.
Roman Abramovich should not waste time. He must plan for a season outside the elite and the ramifications this would have for Mourinho’s employment.
