Jose Mourinho had just lost his anniversary game at Stamford Bridge.
It was the 100th time he had led Chelsea at home in the Premier League, and Crystal Palace were supposed to repeat their supporting role from May when they succumbed to defeat and Mourinho’s men sealed the Premier League title.
Only the script was different this time, as Joel Ward's late goal secured a shock 2-1 win for the visitors, ensuring the occasion would be remembered for far different reasons than we first thought.
In the press room after, the knives were out. The transfer window was closing, and with defeat compounding Chelsea's poor start to the defence of their Premier League title, someone had to be blamed.
Gathered journalists started with the players on the pitch, ending with the perceived lack of transfer activity in west London this summer.
Normally one not to mince his words or refuse an opportunity, Mourinho's reaction was unexpected. He didn't need anymore players. Or did he?
"I hope not, I don't like that," he responded when asked if we would see a knee-jerk reaction in the transfer market given there were still a few days left to strengthen.
"I gave my club the report of the season projection on 21 April and I think that now it's 29 August that I'm not going to say that 'I want this, this and that,' or that 'I want to try this, this and that.' No.
"We have to do better. Me and the players, we have to do better."
Had any manager other than Mourinho spoke those words, we'd be able to take them at face value. But this is Mourinho, and we're never quite sure if the Chelsea boss is being genuine or not.
Such is his reputation for the eccentric, Mourinho's words apparently always mean something else. The impression is that if he says it's blue, it's actually red; if he makes a substitution, it's to make a statement and isn't tactical.
Was he playing a transfer mind game with us? Actually, hold on for a moment. This is Mourinho, so he was probably playing a mind game of a mind game, right?
The message wasn't clear; Mourinho had said plenty, but he neither confirmed nor denied that his team was fine.
Despite all that we had seen from Manchester City this summer, despite Manchester United and Liverpool spending big in an attempt to usurp the champions, all we knew was that he wasn't demanding a last-minute spending spree to placate that.
Now we're into September, the Premier League table tells us Chelsea's transfer dealings haven't been helpful. And with few options outside of his failing starting XI, Mourinho has a big task to ensure things are going to get better.
The barometer for Chelsea is different for most clubs in England. Bournemouth sit above the champions by virtue of a superior goal difference, and should they remain 16th come May, then they'll be fine.
Fine for Chelsea means challenging for the title at the minimum. It's not flirting with the relegation places, regardless of whether it's the fifth game of the season or the 25th.
So what was in Mourinho's projection dating back to April? Well, it certainly wasn't what we've seen in the beginning stages of 2015/16.
And here's the thing. If we give Mourinho too much credit when it comes to his media persona, we have to attribute some trust in his judgement as well.
Here's a manager who has won every major honour he has competed for in Europe. His trophy cabinet is stocked with multiple titles from Portugal, England, Italy and Spain. He's won the Champions League and it's poorer cousin the Europa League. The FA Cup, League Cup and equivalents elsewhere have all had his teams' names etched on them at some point.
Mourinho didn't like the idea of a knee-jerk reaction to another defeat in late August because of what it would mean to his Chelsea squad. It was about something a whole lot different.
A late raid on the market would mean signing players Mourinho didn't want; players who were different from those he identified as far back as four months previous.
But other than Radamel Falcao, Chelsea haven't got them.
Maybe there was a reason for the Chelsea boss allowing so many of his young stars to leave on loan prematurely in the window. Perhaps Mourinho thought the Chelsea transfer committee would deliver his targets like they had a year before.
We all know how summer 2014 went. Before the World Cup had even started, Chelsea had "won" the Premier League with their capture of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa.
The impression was they would be just as efficient this time out. Only they haven't.
Bids for John Stones were made too late in the window to seriously tempt Everton into selling. Roberto Martinez put up a good facade when insisting the player wasn't for sale at any price, but would he have been so insistent in, let's say, early June?
As the Everton boss has been at pains to tell us in recent weeks, his problem isn't with Chelsea, but with a transfer window that spills over into the season and impacts the plans of managers.
Everton may have wanted the vast transfer fee on offer for Stones, but out of necessity, they had to keep him.
Why? Because they couldn't sign a good enough replacement in time.
And the theory stands to reason. Why cash a big cheque when you can't spend it and your No. 1 asset is nowhere to be seen?
Everton did the right thing. Stones will eventually leave Goodison Park but when Everton are ready and not Chelsea.
The way Chelsea's hierarchy have conducted themselves is mirrored in the team's current demise. Across the board, they're failing.
Indeed, had we not known any better, we may well have believed it was Ed Woodward being charged with the responsibility of following through on Mourinho's 2015/16 projection from way back in April.
Manchester United's executive vice-chairman has made a name for himself since he took over Old Trafford's top job from David Gill in 2013.
His bungling of transfers has made him a comic figure among football fans, and now it seems Chelsea have felt left out enough that they wanted to join the party.
Where Woodward has failed these past two summers—he couldn't even sell David De Gea to an overeager Real Madrid on transfer deadline day—Chelsea have followed suit.
Woodward's failures have been to react slowly in the market, dragging deals out over a period of weeks when they should have been sealed much quicker. If we believe the reports from the Daily Express' Joe Short, United's deal for Pedro was hijacked by Chelsea after Woodward wanted to pay in instalments to get him.
Chelsea may have shown more intent on that occasion, but they've lost out everywhere else. They've dillied and dallied, dallied and dillied; they've lost their way and don't know where to roam.
Mourinho can create all the season reports and transfer requests he likes, but if the Chelsea transfer tsar doesn't act upon them, the manager is resolved of blame.
Did a two-time European champion project Chelsea would retain the title without an extra defender and central midfielder? Did Mourinho expect to repeat his past success in Europe with a streamlined squad of just 18 capable players?
We buy into his brilliance so much that perhaps even we expect these things now. If there's someone else to blame, then maybe it's the person responsible for Chelsea's transfer dealings. In that case, step forward, Marina Granovskaia.
She's been dubbed Chelsea's "Iron Lady" in the past, but judging by this summer, that facade is beginning to rust.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566543-who-is-to-blame-for-chelseas-summer-transfer-window-troubles
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