Thanksgiving came and went and it has led many to reflect on what they are thankful for. You know, as that is the point of this particular holiday. It applies to the soccer world as well. Right now in the English Premier League, Chelsea is a team struggling to see the light at the moment, and it's been that way for a few years now. You can only appreciate having tons of money for so long. Instead, a new face must be installed, one who will bring a fresh look and fresh hope to a squad with astronomical expectations. Those expectations bring pressure, lots of pressure, and few have proven they are up to the task. Only one really, and he was quite ... special. Replacing Mr. Carlo was the young, the brash, the handsome Andre Villas-Boas of FC Porto fame. The ‘trendy’ choice for the job, Villas-Boas, a former assistant of the Special One, Jose Mourinho, was supposed to revitalize an aging Chelsea squad and tactically evolve it to the standards that saw his Portuguese side run the table in 2010-11. Now Chelsea has had its high moments this season. Wins over Norwich and Swansea and Everton were good, right? It currently sits in fifth place. That’s not too bad, I guess? It's still in the League Cup! Realistically, though, not much else has gone right for AVB and company, at least not at the clip that is expected of the club. Losses to Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and most recently Bayer Leverkusen have left questions aplenty. Equally disappointing draws against Fulham, Valencia and Racing Genk have not made things any easier. The Blues have just struggled immensely to find an identity this season. AVB has struggled even more at determining what he wants that identity to be. The consistency hasn’t been there, the rhythm either and certainly not the drive to put it all together. I don’t even think Chelsea fans could argue that there has been as much bad and disappointing this season than good and uplifting. I won’t go as far as to say that the players aren’t playing for AVB, because apparently a number of them like him and were OK with his appointment. It does seem, though, that some of his in-game decisions and tactical decisions do nothing else but leave heads, everywhere from the field to the stands, scratching furiously. Against Bayer Leverkusen midweek, a match that Chelsea desperately needed to make its Champions League future a little more comfortable, the Portuguese decided to park the bus in hopes of a draw. By bringing on Jon Obi Mikel, Alex and Florent Malouda in the second half, his intentions were clear. Malouda is an attacker you say? Well he came on for Juan Mata and moments later Leverkusen scored to tie the match. Mikel came on last in the 80th minute ... while Fernando Torres and Salomon Kalou waited on the bench. With a win being the desired result, for a team of Chelsea’s stature, in a competition it usually excels in, why take the cautious route? Moments later, Leverkusen scored again and claimed all three vital points. With the Blues' last group stage match against Valencia, a team that destroyed Genk 7-0, it now needs to beat the Spanish team to ensure advancement, given its inferior goal differential. Both are on eight points, you see. Yeah, not the worst scenario as the match is at Stamford Bridge, but it really shouldn’t have been in it to begin with. It’s almost as though AVB has outcoached himself in situations that his players should be able to overcome.