The start of the English Premier League has been a whirlwind. Now eight games into the season, the drastic change in odds offered by the UK betting companies indicates the uncertainty of professional soccer in England. On day one, Chelsea was 6-5 to retain the title. Today, they’re 22-1.

Chelsea has indeed made their worst start in 37 years — and the worst ever by a reigning Premier League champion. Defeats to Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Everton and Southampton as well as unrest in the dressing room have rocked José Mourinho’s team.

Long-standing captain John Terry’s removal against Manchester City at halftime and absence against Arsenal, Newcastle and most recently Porto midweek, has angered the fans. Terry’s omission not only had an influence on those games, but also impacted his later performance against Southampton, where his mistake cost Chelsea dearly. In typical Mourinho fashion, he has tried to shift the blame. His criticism of the referee on Saturday led to an FA charge of misconduct. He attacked the press in interviews with the BBC and has been critical over the decision to suspend Diego Costa. He even went far enough to criticize the team doctors for players remaining unfit to play.

Mourinho, in his second spell at the club, is in the worst period of his career. During his first spell, he led the Blues to the title, retained it, settled for second best and left. At Inter Milan, Mourinho won two domestic titles in as many years, and a UEFA Champions League title to go along with it. At Real Madrid he won La Liga and a Copa Del Rey title, and then he faded. And with Chelsea, this trend in Mourinho’s career seems to be continuing.

Other big clubs are also struggling. Despite sitting in 10th, Liverpool is only three points from being tied for fourth, which should not spell a crisis for them just yet. That being said, they just sacked their manager Brendan Rodgers, and they have won just four of their 11 games this season. A pathetic performance against Manchester United and two lackluster performances in the Europa Cup had the fans calling for Rodgers to go. After a slew of expensive signings to accompany the loss of key players Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling, the rebuilding period former manager Brendan Rodgers constantly promised appears non-existent.

Despite the betting odds, it is still early in the season and there are 30 games left to play. Chelsea has time to improve but they need to pick up points quickly if they are to have any chance of catching Manchester City, who currently looks to be running away with the title. City’s brief blip — which included consecutive losses to West Ham and Tottenham — looked to be continuing at halftime on Saturday. With Newcastle only a goal to the good after wasting a hatful of opportunities, City responded with an extraordinary six goals, five from Sergio Aguero, sending a resounding message to the chasing pack.

Manchester United lasted only six minutes at the Emirates before being shell-shocked by an Arsenal side that appeared a very different outfit to the one beaten by Olympiakos on Wednesday. The result took Arsenal above Manchester United in the table and they sit in second, hard on the chase of City. The tables at the beginning and end of the season are not going to be carbon copies, but it can be a good indicator. It is unthinkable that Chelsea will still be stagnating in the middle of the pack by Christmas, but if they do not turn their fortunes around they will become restless and look to strengthen all areas of the club by unnecessarily replacing players. If Arsenal play every game as they did yesterday, they will undoubtedly challenge for the title. Tottenham and Everton will look to join the hunt for the top four but with so few positions for so many teams, they may again fall just short.

As always, lots of ifs and buts surround a Premier League season. If Sergio Aguero had been injured over the weekend, Manchester City may sit atop the Premier League solely because of goal difference. But the fact remains that Manchester City are the team to beat. Unfortunately for them, the October break for international games could take away their momentum. But for Chelsea, the break could not have come soon enough.

There will certainly be more movement among the big-money clubs in the table, but the beginning of the season has set a tone that will be hard to overcome for some.

Email Marshall Winfield at [email protected].