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LONDON. — Are the wheels falling off at Chelsea? Jose Mourinho’s side haven’t won a football match since their post-season tour clash against Sydney FC on June 2. Their winless pre-season raised a few eyebrows. Their toothless Community Shield defeat to Arsenal raised the alarm bells. The opening day home draw against Swansea underlined the club’s issues. Now, after Sunday’s pummelling at Manchester City, the champions are on the brink of a crisis.

The good news for Mourinho is that there’s still 36 league games to go.

But are the mounting problems at Stamford Bridge that easily fixed?

Patching up internal conflicts
You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out Chelsea isn’t a happy ship at the moment. Mourinho hasn’t been his usual charming self this summer, it’s certainly not gone unnoticed by the players.

Something is troubling him, and he’s making sure those around him know about it.

Lack of first-rate signings
The old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” can’t always be applied to football. Not standing still is the key.

Chelsea were comfortable winners of the Barclays Premier League last season — so, in theory, their squad doesn’t need major work. It’s not as easy as that, though.

Mourinho knows that more than most. Swap Cech for Asmir Begovic and Didier Drogba for Radamel Falcao and you’ve got pretty much the same level of squad.

The problem is, having the same level isn’t good enough for a club with Chelsea’s aspirations; particularly when those around them have strengthened significantly.

With two weeks of the transfer window left, Mourinho know he needs significant investment. The £21million acquisition of Baba Rahman from Augsburg is a start.

If Mourinho can complete a £30million move for Everton defender John Stones, then the Portuguese will be much happier with his options.

Ensuring John Terry doesn’t become growing sub-plot
The assumption among Chelsea fans at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday was that their skipper was injured. No way would Terry be hooked off at half-time for anything other than an injury. So when Mourinho confirmed the substitution was tactical, ears rightly pricked up. Is this the beginning of the end for their Captain. Leader. Legend? Not if Terry has anything to do with it. But Mourinho has to be careful not to turn Terry’s future into a long-running saga.

Terry’s been a regular for Mourinho since his return to Stamford Bridge, but his time is coming to an end. The move for Stones is testament to that.

In Terry, the Special One has an ally. It’s in Mourinho’s interests to keep it that way.

Getting Branislav Ivanovic back up to speed… or replacing him?

No-one has embodied Chelsea’s slow start to the season quite like the Serbian.

The right-back has been incredible in recent seasons – a rock in Chelsea’s back-four. But he has started this season way off the pace, quite literally.

On the opening day of the Premier League season he was given a torrid afternoon by Swansea’s Jefferson Montero, the winger causing him all world of problems with his pace.

Things didn’t get much better for Ivanovic against City on Sunday; this time it was £49million Raheem Sterling who gave him the run around.

It’s too early to suggest that Ivanovic has turned into the weak link in Chelsea’s defence overnight, but more performances like his last two and Mourinho will have a question to answer.

Make a decision on Diego Costa’s hamstring
It’s an issue that continues to reoccur at Chelsea; the problem of their star striker’s tight hamstrings. It’s been an issue since last season, and understood to be one Mourinho and Carneiro haven’t seen eye-to-eye on.

You could sense the frustration in Mourinho’s voice as he revealed further complications with Costa’s hamstring after the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal. Despite Mourinho’s claims to the contrary, Costa has looked far from 100 per cent fit at the start of the season, his troublesome hamstrings likely to be the cause.

There are those at Stamford Bridge who believe Costa must undergo hamstring surgery to clear-up the issue once and for all. That would, of course, mean a lengthy spell on the sidelines – something Mourinho could ill-afford. Either way, the Blues’ medical team must find a solution, or the team – as well as Costa – could find themselves hamstrung. — Mailonline.