Ramires singing the Blues at Stamford Bridge

There have been many reasons for Chelsea's recent struggles both on English soil and, after last night's French humiliation at the hands of Marseille, on foreign soil too, with the Blues now slipping from their position as favourites on most odds comparison sites to win the league. However, perhaps one of the most unexpected problems the Blues have had to deal with has been the complete failure of Ramires to settle in at the club and adjust to life in English football.

One decent performance against Arsenal earlier this campaign aside, Ramires has flattered to deceive and, on the whole, failed to show to pundits, fans, or bookies even the slightest hint that he's capable of justifying the hefty £18 million price-tag attached to his name when Chelsea completed his move from Benfica.

Earlier this season, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti revealed that Ramires, although not the tallest of competitors in midfield, has the strength it takes to succeed against even the best opposition. Whilst conceding that the player is finding it tough to adapt to the Premier League, Ancelotti seemed confident that, in time, the Blues would see the best of Ramires, but so far that has clearly failed to materialise.

Last night against Marseille, the player looked lost in a midfield dominated by the French side, whilst a lack of creativity from him with the ball hampered Chelsea's play in the final third. Although Ramires is apparently finding it trickier to adjust to life at Chelsea since he's having to plug the gaping hole left by the injured Frank Lampard, with the anchor role in midfield thought to be more to his preference, a player worth the amount of money he apparently is should possess enough versatility to do at least a half-decent job in several other positions on the pitch.

Ancelotti has revealed his belief that Chelsea are playing with an unacceptable level of fear at the moment and no player seems to embody this physically as much as Ramires, who tends to look like a lost puppy on the numerous occasions he finds himself out muscled in the middle of the park and fails miserably to hide his lack of self-belief when a shot towards goal flies high and wide into the stands.

If Chelsea do want to get their campaign back on track this weekend against Tottenham, they'll just have to hope that Lampard's recovery continues well over the next couple of days.