With a young, charismatic, Portuguese manager in charge, Chelsea fans could have been forgiven for thinking they had woken up seven years in the past.

This time though, it was Andre Villas-Boas and not Jose Mourinho at the helm at Stamford Bridge. However, the 34-year-old has not enjoyed as successful a start as his mentor did in his first season of English football.

Here is Sports Mole's assessment of how the Blues have fared so far this campaign.

August

It was a case of a steady, yet unspectacular start to life at the Bridge for Villas-Boas and company. His long pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Luka Modric reached an unsuccessful end and instead, Raul Meireles made a transfer deadline day switch from Liverpool.

Juan Mata was the marquee signing in a comparatively quiet transfer window for the Roman Abramovich reign, but much of the attention was on January's £50m record buy, Fernando Torres.

In terms of results, they followed a stalemate against Stoke City with victories over West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City. Two wins and a draw during their first three games was a satisfying start for AVB.

September

September began with another victory, this time a 2-1 triumph over Sunderland before they faced Manchester United in the Blues' first real test of their possible title credentials.

Despite what would prove to be a rare Fernando Torres goal, it was a test they would fail, as United ran out 3-1 winners. The Spaniard would be on the score-sheet again in their 4-1 victory over Swansea, which is to date his last Premier League goal.

Carling Cup progression on penalties and an away draw to Valencia in Villas-Boas's Champions League bow meant the Portuguese had enjoyed a mixed start to his English managerial career.

October

Chelsea seemed to be finding their feet when October came around. A 5-1 thrashing of Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge preceded a 5-0 hammering of Genk in Europe.

In between those two convincing victories came another win over Everton, whom they also beat, albeit in extra time, to progress to the Carling Cup fifth round.

However the month did not end as promisingly as it started. After a defeat at Queens Park Rangers, the Blues were once again found out when they faced another of their potential title rivals, Arsenal, who were the 5-3 winners at Stamford Bridge. Robin Van Persie netted a hat-trick as Chelsea's defensive woes continued to be exploited.

November

Defeats to Liverpool in both league and Carling Cup action were the low points of a disappointing November.

In Europe, the London side did not fare much better as they suffered defeat at Bayer Leverkusen and were held to an embarrassing draw by Genk in Belgium.

Premier League victories over Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers did little to nullify rumours that Villas-Boas's job was under threat just four months into his reign.

December

It was widely thought that exit from the Champions League would prompt the infamously impatient Abramovich into another sacking. Chelsea got the result when it mattered though, as they beat Valencia 3-0 to secure passage into the knockout stages.

Consecutive league wins over Newcastle United and previously-unbeaten Manchester City brought with them talk of a turn in fortunes. Torres was still struggling for form, or even a place in the side, but Didier Drogba and Daniel Sturridge were making up for it with fine performances in front of goal.

However three straight 1-1 draws against Wigan Athletic, Spurs and Fulham left them 11 points adrift of the Manchester pair approaching the New Year, with Villas-Boas conceding that the title may now be beyond their reach.