Chelsea Ban Player Banter After Dismal Start to the Season

Nobody is smiling at Chelsea after their poor start to the Premier League season.

That’s especially the case now that player banter has been banned in a bid to halt their worrying slide—starting in the Champions League against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday night.

As per Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph:

"

Jose Mourinho and his Chelsea players have banned all banter as they attempt to arrest the club’s worst start to a top-flight season for 29 years.

[...]

While Mourinho has so far decided against ranting and raving at his underperforming players, there has been no attempt to lighten the dark mood at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.

Mourinho and his players have mixed hard work with plenty of laughs since his return in 2013, but the jokes have now completely stopped as Chelsea desperately try to find their form.

"

With disputed reports of player fallouts (per talkSPORT's Stan Collymore) and three domestic defeats already to their name, it's nothing but glum faces in Cobham.

[H/T Daily Telegraph]