21st May 2017, the day Chelsea lifted the famous Premier League trophy after a thumping 5-1 win over Sunderland.
It was a scintillating debut season for Blues boss, Antonio Conte. 30 wins, 85 goals scored, just 33 conceded and a fifth Premier League title added to the trophy cabinet at Stamford Bridge.
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However, this all now seems a fairly distant memory. A lacklustre 2017/18 campaign for Conte's men has left them well off the pace at the top of the table; recently culminating in an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth and a dire capitulation at Watford.
So, what has gone wrong at Chelsea this season?
A summer of rejection, mismanagement and missed opportunities has been the source of a lot of their subsequent woes.
Conte's decision to outcast, then sell, last season's top-scorer and fan's favourite Diego Costa seemed bold. Chelsea's boss identifed Romelu Lukaku as the ideal replacement but the Belgian opted for a move to Jose Mourinho's Manchester United instead.
Alvaro Morata was signed as an alternative but, despite making a decent start by scoring six goals in his first six league games, has flattered to deceive since; with his indecisiveness in front of goal costing the Blues on a few occasions.
Tiemoue Bakayoko joined from Monaco to provide Chelsea with a dynamic, tough-tackling upgrade on Nemanja Matic but has often aimlessly ambled around the middle of the park.
Bakayoko's struggles reached a new low against Watford, with the midfielder producing a woeful performance before being sent-off for a second-bookable offence in the 30th-minute.
To make matters worse, he was greeted with a tirade of expletives from Chelsea supporters as he trudged off the pitch for his early bath. Another evening to forget for the Blues' under-performing summer signing.
Morata and Bakayoko aren't alone either. None of the players brought to Stamford Bridge over the summer have made the desired impact. Danny Drinkwater, Antonio Rudiger and Davide Zappacosta haven't exactly conjured up many world-beating performances.
It seems ludicrous that with Chelsea's sizeable financial clout and huge academy, which regularly churns out young talent, that they could have an issue with their squad size - but it has been problematic for Conte and co this season. A problem that appears to be self-inflicted, also.
Chelsea currently have 34 players out on loan. Yes, 34.
Kurt Zouma, Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham are all promising footballers that Chelsea opted to loan out, rather than keep and develop themselves.
They also sold academy products Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Ake to Watford and Bournemouth, respectively.
It's left Chelsea short on numbers and lacking options from the bench, with youngsters sold or out on loan and flourishing in the meantime. Loftus-Cheek, in particular, has looked like the sort of player that Conte could have done with at times this season; performing well for Crystal Palace and England.
Chelsea's depth issues couldn't have arrived in a worse season either. The Blues' 16/17 title triumph meant a return to the Champions League this season, which has added more games to the fixture list an even more pressure to their strained squad.
Chelsea did invest in a few January recruits but failed to bring in anything that really rivalled their fellow top-four contenders' business.
Arsenal signed deadly duo Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Americk Aubameyang, whilst Manchester United snapped up Chile's all-time record-scorer Alexis Sanchez.
The Blues bolstered their attacking options with Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud. They both must be given a chance of course, but neither appear overly impressive from the surface.
Barkley recently endured a lengthy spell on the sidelines at Everton and Giroud had been on the peripheral of Arsenal's regular starting XI for a similar amount of time.
The reigning champions currently sit 14th in the Premier League form table, so Barkley, Giroud and fellow signing Emerson Palmieri will need to hit the ground running in order to turn things around at The Bridge.
Conte needs to rejuvenate his struggling squad but it looks as if he also needs new life breathing into him.
His passionate touchline antics and charming demeanor that entertained the nation last season, has slowly drained away as each damaging result has been inflicted upon his side.
It'll be intriguing to see whether ruthless Chelsea chairman Roman Abramovich will afford his Italian manager an opportunity to turn things around or wield the axe once more.
I fear that he will.
The Russian billionaire has always been after short-term fixes to problems since taking over in 2003 and sacking Conte may well provide them with just that. But how long will his replacement last? And the coach that replaces him? And so on and so forth.
I think it's time that Chelsea ride through this difficult period and implement a long-term plan, with Conte at the helm.
It was a scintillating debut season for Blues boss, Antonio Conte. 30 wins, 85 goals scored, just 33 conceded and a fifth Premier League title added to the trophy cabinet at Stamford Bridge.
Embed from Getty Images
However, this all now seems a fairly distant memory. A lacklustre 2017/18 campaign for Conte's men has left them well off the pace at the top of the table; recently culminating in an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth and a dire capitulation at Watford.
So, what has gone wrong at Chelsea this season?
A summer of rejection, mismanagement and missed opportunities has been the source of a lot of their subsequent woes.
Conte's decision to outcast, then sell, last season's top-scorer and fan's favourite Diego Costa seemed bold. Chelsea's boss identifed Romelu Lukaku as the ideal replacement but the Belgian opted for a move to Jose Mourinho's Manchester United instead.
Alvaro Morata was signed as an alternative but, despite making a decent start by scoring six goals in his first six league games, has flattered to deceive since; with his indecisiveness in front of goal costing the Blues on a few occasions.
Tiemoue Bakayoko joined from Monaco to provide Chelsea with a dynamic, tough-tackling upgrade on Nemanja Matic but has often aimlessly ambled around the middle of the park.
Bakayoko's struggles reached a new low against Watford, with the midfielder producing a woeful performance before being sent-off for a second-bookable offence in the 30th-minute.
To make matters worse, he was greeted with a tirade of expletives from Chelsea supporters as he trudged off the pitch for his early bath. Another evening to forget for the Blues' under-performing summer signing.
Morata and Bakayoko aren't alone either. None of the players brought to Stamford Bridge over the summer have made the desired impact. Danny Drinkwater, Antonio Rudiger and Davide Zappacosta haven't exactly conjured up many world-beating performances.
It seems ludicrous that with Chelsea's sizeable financial clout and huge academy, which regularly churns out young talent, that they could have an issue with their squad size - but it has been problematic for Conte and co this season. A problem that appears to be self-inflicted, also.
Chelsea currently have 34 players out on loan. Yes, 34.
Kurt Zouma, Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham are all promising footballers that Chelsea opted to loan out, rather than keep and develop themselves.
They also sold academy products Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Ake to Watford and Bournemouth, respectively.
It's left Chelsea short on numbers and lacking options from the bench, with youngsters sold or out on loan and flourishing in the meantime. Loftus-Cheek, in particular, has looked like the sort of player that Conte could have done with at times this season; performing well for Crystal Palace and England.
Chelsea's depth issues couldn't have arrived in a worse season either. The Blues' 16/17 title triumph meant a return to the Champions League this season, which has added more games to the fixture list an even more pressure to their strained squad.
Chelsea did invest in a few January recruits but failed to bring in anything that really rivalled their fellow top-four contenders' business.
Arsenal signed deadly duo Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Americk Aubameyang, whilst Manchester United snapped up Chile's all-time record-scorer Alexis Sanchez.
The Blues bolstered their attacking options with Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud. They both must be given a chance of course, but neither appear overly impressive from the surface.
Barkley recently endured a lengthy spell on the sidelines at Everton and Giroud had been on the peripheral of Arsenal's regular starting XI for a similar amount of time.
The reigning champions currently sit 14th in the Premier League form table, so Barkley, Giroud and fellow signing Emerson Palmieri will need to hit the ground running in order to turn things around at The Bridge.
Conte needs to rejuvenate his struggling squad but it looks as if he also needs new life breathing into him.
His passionate touchline antics and charming demeanor that entertained the nation last season, has slowly drained away as each damaging result has been inflicted upon his side.
It'll be intriguing to see whether ruthless Chelsea chairman Roman Abramovich will afford his Italian manager an opportunity to turn things around or wield the axe once more.
I fear that he will.
The Russian billionaire has always been after short-term fixes to problems since taking over in 2003 and sacking Conte may well provide them with just that. But how long will his replacement last? And the coach that replaces him? And so on and so forth.
I think it's time that Chelsea ride through this difficult period and implement a long-term plan, with Conte at the helm.
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