The last time Chelsea started a season this poorly, Jose Mourinho was sacked in December and they ended up a lowly 10th in the Premier League.
Thomas Tuchel doesn't strike you as someone who pays too much attention to omens but he can't deny the problems are swiftly piling up at Stamford Bridge.
Despite an enormous summer outlay on new players, Chelsea have lost their last two games on the road - collapsing 3-0 at Leeds and then throwing away a lead to go down 2-1 at Southampton on Tuesday night.
They looked pretty good in the home game with Tottenham, but Harry Kane's 96th-minute equaliser saw them drop two points, while even last Saturday's 2-1 win over Leicester was a struggle with 10 men for over an hour.
Now the transfer window has closed and the Champions League starts next week, with Chelsea looking far from the finished article.
So what is going wrong at Chelsea and how much pressure is Tuchel under?
OVER £200M SPENT... BUT NOT IN THE AREAS OF NEED
Todd Boehly's first summer as owner has certainly seen no shortage of squad investment - more than £270million following the completion of the deal to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona.
Chelsea have now exceeded their own record for a single window of £230m, set in summer 2020. They have eclipsed everyone else in the Premier League by some distance.
They have strengthened in attack with Raheem Sterling and Aubameyang, at left-back with Marc Cucurella and centre-half with Kalidou Koulibaly, but arguably not in the areas of greatest need.
The departures of Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan and the return of Timo Werner to RB Leipzig left them short up front.
The lack of a quality striker was underlined when wide man Sterling started as a false nine at St Mary's, while Tuchel paired him with Kai Havertz in the front line against Leicester last weekend.
To Sterling's credit, he is finding the net, but others aren't. Indeed the England man is the only forward player to have scored for Chelsea so far this season.
There were presentable chances against Southampton but nobody reliable to put them away. While Manchester City have signed Erling Haaland and Liverpool got Darwin Nunez, Chelsea have been left behind in this area.
Aubameyang does offer Premier League experience but it's believed he suffered a broken jaw during his family's armed robbery ordeal earlier this week and may need surgery, meaning he won't be a quick fix.
The midfield requires an upgrade in both quality and quantity.
Tuchel has insisted all summer he doesn't need a new one, believing Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, N'Golo Kante, Conor Gallagher and new boy Carney Chukwuemeka to be an adequate pool of talent.
But that has quickly unravelled - Tuchel had only two of these available for the Southampton game because of injuries and suspensions - and admitted to having a 'headache' over the midfield position.
Chelsea finally landed a midfielder on deadline day as they brought in Denis Zakaria on loan from Juventus, but only after moves for Ajax's Edson Alvarez and PSV's Ibrahim Sangare.
It stems from an unfocused transfer strategy this summer that Gary Neville likened to Boehly 'wandering round like a kid in a sweet shop' on Twitter and compared him to Ed Woodward's scattergun recruitment at Man United.
The new owner has flexed his financial muscle, it's just the cash has not been targeted on the areas of most urgent need - and now time has run out until January.
CREATIVITY HAS DRIED UP
Of the Chelsea goals that have come from open play so far this season, Cucurella has supplied the assist for two of them, Sterling one and Reece James one.
But others relied upon to supply the ammunition haven't really got started and it's leading to a real dearth in creativity going forward.
Mason Mount has started all five games but doesn't have an assist yet, nor do the likes of Havertz, Christian Pulisic or Jorginho.
Last season, Chelsea depended heavily on Mount, who supplied 16 assists, and James, whose crossing set up nine goals.
They found it tough to carve out chances against Southampton and lacked a spark in attack. Tuchel said afterwards they only played decent football for 25 minutes of the 90.
He tried to inject some urgency by bringing on Pulisic for Havertz and Armando Broja for Cesar Azpilicueta in an attacking sub with 24 minutes left, but a breakthrough couldn't be found.
Too many of Chelsea's forward players have failed to hit the ground running and are under-performing when they need to step up in games.
TUCHEL DOESN'T KNOW HIS BEST SYSTEM
The average positions map for Chelsea's players in the Southampton game graphically illustrated that Tuchel isn't sure how best to set his team up.
It showed all 10 outfield players clustered in an area 10 yards either side of the half-way line, with the supposed attackers not far enough forward and an imbalance between the left and right sides.
As club legend John Terry observed on Twitter: 'We look very unbalanced at the minute. I can't wait for the window to close and get our settled squad, team and formation.'
The positioning of the players suggested Tuchel had not adequately explained their roles as he changed the formation to a 4-2-2-2 from the 4-4-2 seen in the Leicester game.
That's unusual for the German coach, who prides himself on being meticulous with his tactics and drilling into his players an adaptability.
So far this season, Tuchel has played a 3-4-3 against Everton then a 3-5-2 against Tottenham and Leeds, before reverting to four in defence as a reaction to that dismal 3-0 loss at Elland Road.
That worked against Leicester as they held on following Gallagher's first-half red card but Cesar Azpilicueta was exposed on the right side of the back line against the Saints.
Could that defeat lead to further tactical tweaks for the West Ham game on Saturday? At some point, Tuchel will have to settle on the formation he likes best.
At the moment, it's hard to escape the impression that the German doesn't know what his best system is.
TOO EASY TO BULLY
Tuchel criticised his players for being 'too easy to beat' after the loss on Tuesday and suggested that Chelsea lack resilience in away matches.
'Obviously we are not tough enough to win these matches away. It was the same as Leeds away,' the manager fumed.
'It is too easy to put us off balance, to beat us, to confuse us. It is too easy. We lose concentration, we lose our plan and we lose consistency.'
He went on to say that a 'pure defending mentality' was needed and it's certainly something they seem to have lost overnight.
Chelsea conceded only 33 goals in the Premier League last season - only Man City and Liverpool, the two sides who finished above them, had stingier defences - but now they look leaky.
Romeo Lavia was afforded far too much space and time to lash home Southampton's equaliser after nobody rushed out to close him down.
For the winner, Adam Armstrong was simply left in a pocket of space in a prime penalty box position after Romain Perraud stole a march down the left.
The lack of presence was seen in the six aerial duels Che Adams managed to win against Thiago Silva, but he was far from the only culprit.
Tuchel urgently needs to put his finger on where that resilience has gone otherwise plenty more opponents are going to bully them this season now they smell weakness.
WHERE IS THE LEADERSHIP?
It's been a familiar problem and it certainly hasn't been solved by the money Chelsea have spent in the market this summer: Players who should be leaders within the side letting them down.
Azpilicueta captained the team but struggled under the high balls and failed to pick up Armstrong for the goal that proved to be the winner.
The Spaniard probably expected to be at Barcelona but that move was shut down by Tuchel before he agreed to a two-year contract extension.
Jorginho, another player who should be leading, couldn't get into the game at all, sauntering around in midfield and was easily beaten by Lavia in the lead-up to the second goal.
Without the industry of Kante to cover for him, the Italian looked out of his depth.
Such players need to step up for Chelsea in their hour of need.
HAS BOEHLY GIVEN TUCHEL TOO MUCH CONTROL?
New to football when he bought Chelsea, Boehly has willingly leaned on Tuchel and carried out his instructions in the transfer market all summer.
Targets have been brought in and troublesome players like Lukaku have been got rid of.
But the problem for the coach is that this is very much a team in his image and if they are underperforming, the blame lies firmly at his door.
Likewise, the trust Boehly has placed in Tuchel only makes it harder to apply pressure when results start going against them.
Some fans have suggested that Roman Abramovich, who ruthlessly dispensed with under-performing managers, would already have been turning up the heat on Tuchel if he was still around.
Boehly is likely to be more patient - but at what cost to the season?
Joetopasky
0
TT is a confused man
Zoylmpstyz
0
thomas make something
Zoylmpstyz
0
pulling
nauanosuz
1
TT need strong attacking that can use ball very well and sharp strike that can score.... moreover Chelsea should sell jegior and give galager space so that he can improve him slf.....
BeRaw
0
TT deserve to be sacked today. I said it but all stupid Chelsea or Regal fans are abusing me and accusing me wrongly. with all the money you spent you loosed again shame on you TT
Hey 👋 hey 👋 Wake up from your dream 🛌
nuscelptyz
0
can defenders score goals? that's the question
kill yourself then
Herve2
2
leave this Man alone is 1 of us ever forget we chelsea fans love him
iffy1985
2
TT deserve to be sacked today. I said it but all stupid Chelsea or Regal fans are abusing me and accusing me wrongly. with all the money you spent you loosed again shame on you TT
Juncenort
0
can help
Venadeipsy
0
Chelsea will sack him this season and hire poch
Chelsea should hire you as coach.
Wangnao_Wangnaolim
0
We need to bring in Gordon next transfer window.
what is the difference between Gordon and Odoi???? Odoi will also look like a great player if he plays for Everton
Fanabstz
0
sack the stupid coach
Rotablnoy
0
it will not happen this is a new era Todd is not roman I believe in him
Veybdimnpu
1
he should be sack he has lost his good tatics
Ceacdloprt
0
We need to bring in Gordon next transfer window.
Numadlmnu
1
very hard squad
Donelosy
4
Tuchel has to take blame but sacking is not the answer now but the player we have is not to the highest standards especially the front men But I everyone is an expert but I will wait and see
BeRaw
3
Fellow blues! If you don’t believe in your own who else will you believe in??? The media have finally turned chelsea fans’ complaining ability back on speed dial 💯 I’m marking all of you complaining impatient goal diggers…pls Keep the same energy on tuchel when we start winning again
Donelosy
0
Tuchel is going nowhere so sorry who maybe wishing for that
Dikbenosyz
5
you all complaining like it's t t fault,all the players he field are Chelsea players that are supposed to be delivering,but when they don't deliver,it automatically becomes tuchels fault,and you guys calls for his head,but when they deliver you guys single out players to praise,bunch of Hippocrates that can't deal with realities,our midfield is weak, Kante is injured,kovacich is just returning from injury,re enforcement has been made and they need time to blend and have a good fluid chemistry among each other,you guy rather exercise patience or join clubs that are doing well for the moment and leave tuchel alone,thank God its now a different owner,unlike ibramovich.
zebedeezebz
1
azpilicueta just made an error as any other normal player. l don't understand why people are making him like he does these errors regularly
misabcdenp
0
Tuchel is the most useless and overrated coach I've ever seen
Adamsvictor
0
can defenders score goals? that's the question
fedabenprt
1
TT is overrated, but aren’t shit🥲
sitbceimnp
0
Mark my words here, Chelsea is going to be very difficult to play against. The last time we signed former Arsenal player from Barcelona magic happened
Sosst
0
Tuchel will be sacked with another loss💡
wobimnotuy
1
T.T must sackd👊
ifadac
2
All Football, you mean what happened to Mourinho will happen to Tuchel ...!!!??? This is doom prophecy ....😭😭😭
Lobciosty
0
just shut the f up....and giv the man time....like pep n klop
how many of them are left....the so called u ucl winning team....how many are they up to 11? u pple have to get it in to ur head...stick with this man and see, dis is not the old regime his not going anywhere
dubklmryz
1
For me, Tuchel is all words and no brains. Tuchel is not a good coach. He is best a theoretician.
Patacdmruy
0
Robert De Matteo please please in T.T out
jakbtuyz
2
Serious problem that Chelsea faced with was weakness in midfield, that's why we can't blame attackers. I think this is the area that TT should reinforce as quickly as possible, otherwise Chelsea is falling in relegation zone.
Nino_Luxury
0
This Man does not change his tactics or X1, but he’s waiting for change of results, so unprofessional.
yeackmuz
1
goodbye blues
Nino_Luxury
1
just shut the f up....and giv the man time....like pep n klop
Does Chelsea look like a rebuilding team to you? We still have the squad that won the Champion League and we just splash almost 300m to add to it, what time are you talking about?
Etilomi0147
4
Pochetino will replace him💯
Kaubdnpyz
1
Lobciosty
1
just shut the f up....and giv the man time....like pep n klop
danpablo
1
T.T OUT
Nazdilmpr
3
Chelsea will sack him this season and hire poch