Saturday's loss at Crystal Palace looks to have repercussions far beyond just three points dropped and the huge dent in any title hopes we may have been harboring. Things are about to get surgical. Heads will roll.

"I don't think it's the moment to speak about next season and the market but it's clear to everybody that Chelsea next year wants to bring a striker." "What's the future for the other strikers? The ones who are staying are competing with the striker we are bringing [in]. And normally, at the end of the season, players that are not playing a lot or players who are not happy may prefer a change. That is also part of the market. We want to improve the team and the players and make some surgical movements in the transfer window." -Jose Mourinho; source: Guardian

The "striker we are bringing in" presumably refers to someone other than Romelu Lukaku, though hopefully the big guy will get to compete with said new face.

After criticizing in broad terms everyone except the four defenders, it's easy to speculate that others may be on the chopping block as well. The likes of Ashley Cole, John Obi Mikel, and Demba Ba all fit under the category of "players that are not playing a lot." David Luiz doesn't, though apparently many believe that won't matter too much in the end.

"I don't think it's courage. It's personality qualities." "You have some players for everything but others who are better at Stamford Bridge than away, can do it at Arsenal or City or United or Liverpool but find it another thing at Crystal Palace, West Brom or Stoke. "If they are at Chelsea, they should have the ability to play in every type of match." -Jose Mourinho; source: Mirror

From day one, Mourinho has talked about instilling that hard-to-find and hard-to-define winning mentality into this team. The improved points return and overall league performance is a testament to his work, but it's clear that the Project Mk.II is still in progress. We're close, but not quite there yet.

A bit of precise, impactful summer surgery is just what the doctor ordered then.