Typical of the Roman Abramovich era, Chelsea began the season with a new manager. Yet, this time when Chelsea announced the return of Jose Mourinho, the coveted Portuguese manager who gave Chelsea the modern reputation that they currently possess, fans were enthralled. In Mourinho’s first term as manager at Chelsea (2004-2007), the coach won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, a Community Shield and Premier League Manager of the Year twice in that time. Mourinho also picked up pivotal players, such as Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho, that would go on to define Chelsea for years to come. But despite all the success that Mourinho achieved in during his time in London, he never achieved the European success that many Chelsea fans have come to expect. 

Now in his second term at Chelsea, Mourinho returns to European competition in a very different position. After Wednesday's shocking loss to Swiss Super League champions Basel FC, the club’s first home loss in the group stage of the Champions League in ten years, Chelsea finds themselves amidst the worst start in club history in Abramovich's 10-year tenure. 

Poor performances, from a managerial point of view, don’t normally end well at Chelsea since Abramovich is quick to cut ties with managers at any hint of failure. The Russian owner has employed nine managers in his 10-year stint at the club, and this has led not only media, but also fans to jump the gun at declaring crisis at Stamford Bridge. 

Yes, Chelsea haven’t won in their last four games. Still, the team is only three points out of first place in the Premier League and left with five games to play in a very manageable Champions League group. While there are flaws in Chelsea’s current team and still a long journey before Mourinho has made this team his own again, there is no reason to yell fire quite yet. 

In Mourinho’s post-game interview yesterday, he placed the blame on himself but mentioned what his team is missing. "Of course [it hurts],” Mourinho said about the loss. But I think the team probably is not a team with such maturity and personality to face the difficult moments of the game." What Mourinho is saying is true: Chelsea this season has not played well as the losing team and struggles once things stop going their way (as seen in both the Everton and Basel games).

The current Chelsea team, while it does have a number of skillful and quick attacking midfielders, does in fact lack the characteristics of a typical Mourinho team. Looking back historically at the teams Mourinho has had success with, there lies a reoccurring theme of a solid hard-nosed defensive midfielder and a work-horse striker capable of taking the game over when it does become difficult. 

During his first term at Chelsea, Mourinho had Drogba, who completely dominated any defensive back line that he played, scoring 33 goals in a season for Mourinho at the height of his career. The Chelsea midfield from 2004-2007 also saw the likes of great defensive midfielders such as French international Claude Makelele and Ghanaian international Michael Essien. 

With Inter Milan, where Mourinho won the Champions League, he had Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito, who scored 47 goals between them in that Champions League-winning year. Javier Zanetti, the legendary Argentine holding midfielder, commanded the center of the pitch during Mourinho’s time in Italy, allowing Wesley Sneijder and other offensive players more flexibility going forward. 

Finally, in his most recent time at Real Madrid, Mourinho was blessed with the offensive threat of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored an absurd 215 goals in only 201 games with Madrid. The Spaniard Xabi Alonso and German Sami Khedira solidified a defensive midfield that took any offensive responsibility off of Ronaldo. 

In the current Chelsea team, Mourinho is lacking both a true striker capable of taking the game over and a solid defensive midfielder, with the current midfield being composed of flair-driven attacking players. So while it is relatively concerning that Chelsea have dropped points in four consecutive matches, it is quite promising for Blues fans to know that Mourinho has still not added his “special” touch to this side yet. 

With a Premier League season poised to be one of the tightest title races in recent memory, a scary start to European competition and an impatient owner, there is only one thing we know for sure: At the end of it all we will really see how special Mourinho is. 

Reach Staff Writer Gabe Quintela here.