One glance across the leading newspapers of England and you will find a popular opinion which seemingly grows with each passing day.
"My word, Chelsea are looking strong this year."
Backed by bookmakers and pundits alike - the Londoners' are heavy favorites to claim the Premier League this year. And for good reason too. After the initial 5 rounds of matches which have been played they sit at the top of the table being one of only 2 sides undefeated.
Having scored 16 goals to the good, and having come out of tough trips to Manchester City and Everton unscathed, they look pretty likely to continue their early season form. The end of the season may well come down to this: Whoever finishes above Chelsea may win the league.
So, what is it about this season's Chelsea team that have left opponents trailing in their wake? Is this success sudden? - No, I don't think so.
If you go through the last season, the title was there for Chelsea's taking till mid-April. They just couldn't get over the line when it mattered and it cost them. In games against Swansea and Stoke for example...where you would expect Chelsea to be comfortable winners, they uncharacteristically slipped up.
In the big games, Jose Mourinho has never failed to deliver. Only 1 defeat from 8 league games against other teams in the top 5 was a record that speaks for itself. Yet Chelsea as a team had built a reputation for grinding out results rather than win games playing football the "beautiful" way.
Mourinho argued that he played this way as his team lacked the flair and had better defenders than players going forward. He wasn't wrong. His attacking forwards were limited to Fernando Torres, Demba Ba, and Samuel Eto'o. For a team competing for the title, that's simply not good enough.
Torres never hit the peaks of what he achieved at Liverpool and was a shadow of his former self in his time at Chelsea. Eto'o could be excused for ageing for his record as a top striker and Demba Ba never really made an impact. The only exciting prospect of Chelsea's attack was Eden Hazard. He had a stellar season and picked up the PFA Young Players trophy at the end of the season.
Yet you could see that something was missing a final piece of the jigsaw needed to be addressed to in the summer transfer window. And boy, did Chelsea find that missing jigsaw piece in style. Chelsea and Mourinho in particular approached this summer's transfer window in ruthless fashion, getting rid of players not fitting his vision of a new and attacking Chelsea. He simply did not care for the magnitude of the player.
Perhaps the most shocking and honestly sad business Chelsea did was to not renew Frank Lampard's contract. For holding the record of being the club's top scorer many found the decision extremely harsh. Along with him out went Ashley Cole, David Luiz and Romelu Lukaku and Torres. Mourinho was ruthless.
He even sanctioned the return of Thibaut Courtois and add him to Petr Cech and Chelsea have strong keepers as well. Brilliant, eh?
Those three transfers bought in 78 million in the Chelsea coffers. And then they set about buying the players they needed. The most unexpected and shock transfer news came in when Cesc Fabregas once considered an Arsenal legend signed for Chelsea. Then came the striker- Diego Costa. The man lighting up the league now.
With Fabregas, Mourinho pulled off a coup. He knew he had to change the way Chelsea played and also replace the goals that Frank Lampard gave to the Chelsea team and he bought both those qualities in one player. Having already lighting up the Premier League in his Arsenal days, Fabregas already knew the league and his vision on the football pitch is second to none.
His arrival along with Diego Costa left Chelsea fans licking their lips in delight for the season to begin. They haven't disappointed anyone yet. Diego Costa holds a record of now scoring 7 league goals in his first 4 games - a feat unachieved by anybody.
And for all the attacking style to Chelsea, here's the catch as to why they may win the league: They still have the power needed to win games playing badly. They still can grind out results.
In Matic, Cahill, Terry, Ivanovic, Courtois, Azpilicueta -- The Blues still have perhaps the best defence in the league and going forward they are ruthless. One mistake from the opposition and they pounce in no time. Felipe Luis and Loic Remy bring in much needed squad depth and will keep the starting XI on their toes. Mourinho has a record of delivering in the second season.
And with this team at his disposal, he really has no excuses not to perform brilliantly on all fronts this season, let alone the Premier League. Last season, all along the title race Mourinho argued that Chelsea were little horses and not contenders.
Well guess what- The little horses are now the favorites to run away with the league this season.
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