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English league table when Chelsea last started a season this badly

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To be fair to Mauricio Pochettino, he hasn't exactly been backed by those above him since he was appointed Chelsea boss. The Blues have barely spent a dime!

The former Tottenham manager has been tasked with overseeing a pretty monumental rebuild in west London given the club's woes since their 2021 Champions League triumph. They sunk to new depths in 2022/23 by enduring their worst-ever Premier League performance, but things haven't gotten much better at the start of Poch's reign.

While some of Chelsea's performances haven't been bad, their inability to put the ball in the back of the net has condemned them to their worst-ever Premier League start through six games. In fact, it's the Blues' worst start to an English league season since 1978.

Here's how the club's current fortunes compare to the last time they endured such early woes in a campaign.

Current 2023/24 Premier League table

Pos

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Points

1.

Man City

6

6

0

0

13

16:3

18

2.

Liverpool

6

5

1

0

10

15:5

16

3.

Brighton

6

5

0

1

10

18:8

15

4.

Tottenham

6

4

2

0

8

15:7

14

5.

Arsenal

6

4

2

0

5

11:6

14

6.

Aston Villa

6

4

0

2

2

12:10

12

7.

West Ham

6

3

1

2

1

11:10

10

8.

Newcastle

6

3

0

3

9

16:7

9

9.

Man Utd

6

3

0

3

-3

7:10

9

10.

Crystal Palace

6

2

2

2

-1

6:7

8

11.

Fulham

6

2

2

2

-5

5:10

8

12.

Nottingham Forest

6

2

1

3

-2

7:9

7

13.

Brentford

6

1

3

2

0

9:9

6

14.

Chelsea

6

1

2

3

-1

5:6

5

15.

Everton

6

1

1

4

-5

5:10

4

16.

Wolves

6

1

1

4

-6

6:12

4

17.

Bournemouth

6

0

3

3

-6

5:11

3

18.

Luton

5

0

1

4

-8

3:11

1

19.

Burnley

5

0

1

4

-9

4:13

1

20.

Sheffield United

6

0

1

5

-12

5:17

1

Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Bournemouth on Matchday 5 meant they'd started the season with their second-worst record through five games in the Premier League era. Their previous worst came under Jose Mourinho in 2015/16, but the Blues then scored a win over Arsenal on Matchday 6.

This time around, Aston Villa came to Stamford Bridge and picked up a 1-0 win after Malo Gusto was sent off. As a result, Chelsea's record through six games of the 2023/24 season is the club's worst in 45 years!

While the Blues have impressed from an xG perspective - suggesting the results will eventually come - Pochettino's side have been woeful in the final third, scoring just five times. As a result, they've collected only one win and five points. Their sole triumph arrived at home to a poor Luton side.

Chelsea remarkably recorded a draw against high-flying Liverpool on Matchday 1 and also notched a point away at Bournemouth. They've been beaten by Villa, Nottingham Forest and West Ham thus far.

1978/79 Division One table after Matchday 6

Pos

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Points*

1.

Liverpool

6

6

0

0

18

20:2

18

2.

Everton

6

4

2

0

5

8:3

14

3.

Coventry

6

4

1

1

6

11:5

13

4.

West Brom

6

3

2

1

5

11:6

11

5.

Aston Villa

6

3

2

1

5

9:4

11

6.

Bristol City

6

3

1

2

1

7:6

10

7.

Man City

6

2

3

1

3

11:8

9

8.

Norwich

6

2

3

1

3

12:9

9

9.

Man Utd

6

2

3

1

-1

7:8

9

10.

Nottingham Forest

6

1

5

0

1

4:3

8

11.

Arsenal

6

2

2

2

3

10:7

8

12.

Southampton

6

2

2

2

-2

10:12

8

13.

Tottenham

6

2

2

2

-8

7:15

8

14.

Leeds

6

2

1

3

1

11:10

7

15.

Ipswich

6

2

1

3

-1

7:8

7

16.

Derby

6

1

2

3

-3

7:10

5

17.

QPR

6

1

2

3

-4

5:9

5

18.

Bolton

6

1

2

3

-5

7:12

5

19.

Middlesbrough

6

1

1

4

-4

5:9

4

20.

Chelsea

6

1

1

4

-7

6:13

4

21.

Wolves

6

1

0

5

-6

5:11

3

22.

Birmingham

6

0

2

4

-10

4:14

2

*points have been converted to three for a win

To make it a fair comparison, we've converted what was then two points for a win into three to match the modern-day norm. In 1978/79, Chelsea started the Division One season with one win and a draw from their opening six games, amassing just four points.

The Blues had appointed a new boss in the summer in Ken Shellito, a former player, but his reign started even more miserably than Pochettino's. Chelsea's sole win through six Games came against Wolves, who opened the campaign with three points from six, and they drew to London rivals Tottenham away from home. Shellito's side were beaten by high-flyers Everton and Coventry, as well as fierce rivals Leeds.

However, they fared slightly better than the current iteration in front of goal, scoring six, although they did concede 13 times. Chelsea have only conceded six in 2023/24, with Poch's defence offering some resolve amid their issues in attack.

Final 1978/79 Division One table

Mickey Droy, Trevor Francis, Petar Borota
Chelsea suffered relegation in 1978/79 / Central Press/GettyImages
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Pos

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal difference

+/-

Points*

1.

Liverpool

42

30

8

4

69

85:16

68

2.

Nottingham Forest

42

21

18

3

35

61:26

60

3.

West Brom

42

24

11

7

37

72:35

59

4.

Everton

42

17

17

8

12

52:40

51

5.

Leeds

42

18

14

10

18

70:52

50

6.

Ipswich

42

20

9

13

14

63:49

49

7.

Arsenal

42

17

14

11

13

61:48

48

8.

Aston Villa

42

15

16

11

10

59:49

46

9.

Man Utd

42

15

15

12

-3

60:63

45

10.

Coventry

42

14

16

12

-10

58:68

44

11.

Tottenham

42

13

15

14

-13

48:61

41

12.

Middlesbrough

42

15

10

17

7

57:50

40

13.

Bristol City

42

15

10

17

-4

47:51

40

14.

Southampton

42

12

16

13

-6

47:53

40

15.

Man City

42

13

13

16

2

58:56

39

16.

Norwich

42

7

23

12

-6

51:57

37

17.

Bolton

42

12

11

19

-21

54:75

35

18.

Wolves

42

13

8

21

-24

44:68

34

19.

Derby

42

10

11

21

-27

44:71

31

20.

QPR

42

6

13

23

-28

45:73

25

21.

Birmingham

42

6

10

26

-27

37:64

22

22.

Chelsea

42

5

10

27

-48

44:92

20

*back to two points for a win.

It's worth noting that the expectations thrust upon Shellito's side weren't comparable to Poch's Chelsea considering the finances involved with the Argentine's rebuild. Chelsea returned to the top-flight in 1977 and finished 16th in 1977/78. Their primary aim in 1978/79 was survival.

However, they didn't come close to achieving that. This was a wretched campaign for the Blues. Shellito oversaw just two wins during the first half of the season and was sacked in December, but his successor, Danny Blanchflower, didn't fare much better.

Chelsea eventually sunk to the bottom of the table and were relegated having recorded just five wins from 42 Games. They were beaten 27 times and boasted the worst defensive record in the division by a country mile. The Blues conceded 92 goals - 17 more than Bolton's second-worst record.

As a result, Chelsea sunk to Division 2 again, and that's where they'd remain until the mid-80s. As poor as the Blues' results have been at the start of 2023/24, relegation isn't considered a legitimate possibility...or is it?

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