Chelsea really didn't have such serious problems under the last owner, but I doubt he ran the club so well that things would start to crumble to such proportions after he left. Who knows, maybe he can still make a comeback. I hope in the new season to see a less chipper Chelsea that can fight for the top 5 in the table
Your wish seems unreal after Chelsea's horrific performance against Manchester City's young squad. I'd rather take 10th as the possible for Chelsea to finish in the current season. Chelsea played poorly in the pre-season games. The match against City showed Chelsea's weak defense and poor form. These are their main problems.
They never really replaced Thiago Silva and Rüdiger. Signing an elite CB needs to be their priority this window; none of the ones they have are good enough.
Also, Chelsea conceded four goals against Manchester City. This was due to their failure to transition back to defense after losing the ball in the buildup. This is a drawback of the inverted fullback system.
in the match against manchester city proves chelsea has not shown significant development. chelsea's defense looks weak, we know this match is just a trial for coaches to mature strategies for readiness in the real competition, but yes I doubt if you look at the preparations made by chelsea at this time, what they show with a bad appearance, then it is clear that for now chelsea is not ready to be a competitor to compete for the premier league trophy.
yes the weakness in chelsea's back line must be overcome immediately by buying good CB players and chelsea should be able to if you look at stable finances.