Chelsea's Champions League future was taken out of their own hands after a bleak night in Turin.
Roman Abramovich wasted no time in sacking Roberto Di Matteo after the Blues slumped to a 3-0 defeat in the Juventus Stadium against Juventus.
Rafa Benitez has been brought in as manager on an interim basis but what he needs is some leaders to emerge from the talented squad and pull the team together.
Terry is badly missed
Last season whenever the Londoners struggled, they could count on the services of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
This year, they haven't been able to and recent results suggests that at least Terry and Drogba are badly missed.
Lampard is injured and although his experience is vital on European occasions, the pairing of Ramires and John Obi Mikel in midfield, plus the goalscoring talents of Oscar and Eden Hazard mean his days at Stamford Bridge could well be numbered.
The England midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season and it is looking doubtful whether he will be offered a new deal.
However, the injury to Terry recently against Liverpool - along with Drogba's summer move to the Chinese Super League have hurt Chelsea more than what they have let on.
It is no coincidence that since Terry started his FA ban for racist abuse in mid-October, 21 goals have been conceded in 10 games.
The lack of communication between central defenders David Luiz and Gary Cahill is startling, not just in Turin but throughout the period they have played together.
Cahill (pictured covering his hands with his face) is developing into a reliable centre back but he looks far more comfortable when partnered with former England international Terry.
Luiz is just an accident waiting to happen
Luiz is just an accident waiting to happen. He might pop up with some goals and has a venomous free-kick about him, like former Blues defender Alex but the Brazilian is just far too error-prone.
Neither took charge of the situation in Italy on Tuesday and once Fabio Quagilarella deflected in Andrea Pirlo's wayward shot just before half-time, the Blues always looked like second favourites.
Mikel said after the game: "We were very good going forward. We're playing the way we want to play but we aren't playing well defensively."
He might be stating the obvious but the first job Benitez has to do is to tighten up the backline because at the moment, a leaky defence could well be derailing their season.
The Spaniard's second job is reignite the career of Fernando Torres. In his final game, Di Matteo decided to drop the out-of-form striker and not replace him with Daniel Sturridge but Hazard instead, who is not a natural striker.
It was a poor tactical choice but Torres can have few complaints. ITV News revealed on Wednesday night the frightening statistics of Torres's Chelsea career.
He has only scored 19 goals for Chelsea since moving for a British transfer record £50m from Liverpool in January 2011.
That means his strikerate is working out at around £2.6m a goal. Abramovich might have all the money at his disposal but this was a move that seriously backfired.
Torres looking disinterested
If Benitez, who worked wonders for Torres at Anfield can't get him playing again, you have to wonder whether the player they used to call 'El Nino,' has completely lost it.
With David Villa back and the likes of Fernando Llorente, Roberto Soldado and Pedro as potential striking options, Torres might even be struggling to make future Spanish squads if he doesn't shape up.
In Turin, there was no penetration going forward. Oscar, Hazard and Juan Mata did have a creative influence but they only rarely threatened the strong Italian backline.
When Torres came off the bench with the score at 2-0 and 20 minutes to go, he looked totally disinterested. I can't even remember his name being mentioned in the ITV commentary.
Liverpool fans might be wishing for another striker but some still probably think: "Thanks for the money."
There is talk that Drogba might be coming back to the club on a loan deal until the African Nations Cup starts in January. The benefits of his leadership could be massive but that would only be a short-term impact.
Expect either Falcao or Edinson Cavani to be targeted by the west London side in the January transfer window. However without Drogba and Terry, there is a clear lack of leadership quality at Chelsea.
Benitez has got a big job on his hands, not just to keep the club in the Champions League but to inspire some team spirit back into the dressing room which has been evidently missing of late.
By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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