Chelsea's reinvention is falling flat. A team who had hoped to sweep all before them this term with a new-found swagger are labouring in an early-season lull, with each spluttering display darkening Jose Mourinho's mood further. A trip to Old Trafford awaits on Sunday.
The quest for style may have to be replaced by an appreciation of substance if the stutter is not to be turned into a slump.
There was entertainment to be had in Tuesday's embarrassing home draw with Rosenborg - a side who arrived at Stamford Bridge with a solitary win in their past 16 away games in the Champions League group stage - but it was largely at Chelsea's expense. The home side had plenty of invention and incision on approach to the final third, conjuring a succession of opportunities, but they are so gummy at present as to render the build-up play irrelevant. There were 29 Chelsea attempts to score at a sparsely occupied Stamford Bridge but only five found the target. That in itself is demoralising.
"We could have played three days and we'd never have scored more than one goal, but we'll need that killer instinct at Manchester United," admitted Petr Cech, who has watched the wastefulness with a certain disbelief from the other end of the pitch. "We need a good result there to give us a boost at this stage of the season and we'll need character to come through.
"It's easy to play when you win every week and score five goals whoever you're up against. But it's harder when things are going against you and you're not getting great results. We have to pick ourselves up. But you can't just keep missing these chances. At the moment we're creating lots, but the day will come when we create only one or two against a top-quality team and we'll have to put them away."
United, stingy in winning their past three league games 1-0, will fling down that barrier on Sunday, and Chelsea, without the injured Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, both of them doubtful for Old Trafford, have been stripped of potency.
The pair contributed a staggering 33 and 21 goals respectively in all competitions last season. The Londoners were scoreless at Aston Villa and Blackburn in their previous two league games and will be aware that the last time they went three Premier League matches without plunder was back in 1998, in the days when Tore Andre Flo led the blue line.
Salomon Kalou and Andriy Shevchenko, the only fit forwards in the absence of Claudio Pizarro, managed nine and 14 last year, with only four of the Ukrainian's tally coming in the Premier League. The three-times Golden Boot winner registered his first of the season against Rosenborg, but in truth much of the visitors' defending was laced with panic. Drogba would have run riot. Mourinho's problem extends further into midfield where profligacy is just as rife - Joe Cole, Florent Malouda and Michael Essien were all culpable against the Norwegians. How he must crave a player of Lampard's calibre, capable of plucking a timely goal from nothing.
But, as the manager was quick to point out in the aftermath, there has yet to be any "good news from the medical department". The demand laid down from on high for a more free-flowing, penetrative style of football this term is already pursuing the Portuguese. Injuries have robbed him of the key personnel to ensure such a shift in emphasis can be implemented and Arjen Robben's defection to Real Madrid stripped him of one of his obvious flair performers from the outset.
Chelsea's solidity has also been eroded this season. At first it seemed this resulted from the more gung-ho approach, but the frailty is not born of that alone. Ricardo Carvalho's absence through injury has been crucial, with Alex and Tal Ben Haim still adjusting to life in new surroundings.
Six goals have been shipped in the Premier League and the Norwegians' coach, Knut Torum, suggested deficiencies at one end were affecting players at the other. "If the top players are a little bit down," he said, "it sometimes shows at set pieces."
Rosenborg scored with an unmarked volley from a free-kick and Zat Knight's debut goal for Villa in their 2-0 win in the Premier League this month came from a corner.
For the moment, the swagger is surely irrelevant. Chelsea used to grind the life out of games and secure success through strength of will. Mourinho, and even Roman Abramovich, would surely rejoice in a stifling 1-0 win at United to thrust their side back on track.
