‘Chelsea will rediscover form and finish third’

Chelsea have made their worst start to a season in 37 years and head into the international break fearing for the long-term future of Jose Mourinho.

The players and club alike have spoken out in support of the Portuguese boss, but he himself admits Chelsea’s current slump is the worst period in his career to date.

The Blues sit 16th in the Premier League, with eight points from as many games, and attention has now turned to securing a top four spot after Mourinho conceded their title defence is over following defeat to Southampton.

So – with the domestic calendar again making way for another dose of international football – what better time to take stock?

Standard Sport spoke to The Podding Shed to get the Chelsea supporters’ perspective after a solid if unspectacular start to the new

What is your revised target for this season?

My pre-season prediction had been 2nd, simply because I was

sure City would come back all guns blazing and back-to-back titles is a hard thing to achieve as finances and spending power equal out across the major teams. After this start I’ll downgrade it to 3rd on the basis that form will click back into place sooner rather than later starting with a thumping of Villa and we’ll go on a run. That and an overdue FA Cup win and I’d be satisfied. In the Champions league I can see a semi-final at best.

What one player do you need to sign in January?

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It’s a tough call this one looking at current form across the team. Matic will come good and needs to in order to become the midfield general we need, and as he looked last season. I’d love Pogba though to boss midfield. Pace at the back is missing with Terry and Ivanovic. I’m convinced both are in their last seasons with us. The game has moved on and football intelligence alone isn’t enough for defenders. Zouma has pace by the bucket load, so for me it would be getting Stones in to pair with Zouma and/or Cahill or any combination of 2 from the 3. With this I’d see Terry’s role becoming a mentor. Weirdly enough I’d replace Terry with Costa as captain.  It might have a calming influence on him. Then Azpilicueta can go to his natural right back and Baba Rahman can come into left back.

Best moment…

Best moment this season is without doubt beating Arsenal. It was our best performance and we looked like the side from last season. In that sense a unique performance! It shows the players can play and makes our performances before and after even more mystifying. In each game, City aside we have shown glimpses of last seasons dominant team but the consistency we had and ability to control the tempo of the game has gone.

… worst moment

Worst moment was the retrospective conviction of Costa and Gabriel’s red card being rescinded. You won’t find a Chelsea fan who thinks the FA were right and justice was done. In my mind Costa did no more than push boundaries and be ‘uber’ competitive. Nothing he did in my view warranted a red card and had the ref issued a yellow at some earlier point then maybe the rest wouldn’t have happened

Standout performer?

There hasn’t been one in my view; such is the inconsistency across the squad in every game. No single player has been regularly outstanding. Having said that, change it to most consistent and reliable and I’d say Cesar Azpilicueta. He’s an outstanding player who should be in his natural right back position such is the dreadful form of Ivanovic. Most Chelsea fans can see this and it’s worrying that Mourinho can’t or won’t. Azpilicueta is a quiet and unassuming player who runs miles and busts a gut for the team every game. He is being badly let down at the moment.

Which player doesn’t have a future?

My earlier comments on JT and Ivanovic aside, which is just them coming to a natural career end then I’m thinking Oscar is toast under Mourinho. He’s been inconsistent despite a proper pre-season, has a worrying fear of shooting when it’s the best option and is a bit lightweight. In a team of ‘creative herberts’ as we call them on The Podding Shed podcast he is a luxury. I think he’ll be used as bait in an exchange for the far more resilient and tougher Pogba…or is that me just hoping it’s the case?