I think with Lavia and James back assuming they play in thier best positions then we will get points until the next injury. 

3 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Let's do my annual defend our manager post. 

Imo Maresca has done a good job. We expect to improve this season compare to last because the squad is simply better. The word raw was used a lot last season, this season that word is gone. The squad is no longer full of player playing role way above their level. 

And we are definitely better. As @Jezz said we are 6 pts better than last. We finished with 0.44xgd and we are currently on 0.55xgd. So result and performance wise, we have definitely improved. 

If we look at the team from tactical pov, unlike last year vanilla fluid tactic (player move around) , Maresca tactic is more varied but more rigid. 

There many times I thought Maresca tactic make a difference. You can tell it is hard for most teams to find a way to stop Maresca middle overload as a result some of the football that we have played this season is brilliant. 

This kind of thing matter but it matter if your player not doing crazy stuff. If your player make crazy decision on the ball, not tracking runner, lose the ball easily, none of this matter. Why do you think Maresca don't play Mudyrk, Veiga and Guiu more? 

This is a screenshot of Palmer's goal. The difference between this resulting as Palmer goal vs bournemouth having good chance is Jackson ability to hold of a player who is all over him plus two other players who are coming to crowd him. If you have Guiu here, he will lose the ball and look at the space behind Caicedo. It will be similar situation as semenyo goal. 

There are stuff that I don't like (Sterling treatment, felix/Nkunku not playing, subbbbb). But all in all, Maresca is fine 

 

Far too simplistic to say Maresca is fine. The recent dip in performances and results would suggest things aren't fine.

We might be better off than this stage last season but that's because things didn't start great and we had a lot of injuries last season. Only real way to judge is at the end of the season and see how much better we have or haven't done. Right now, I don't really see any real improvement.

 

 

Edited January 16, 20251 yr by Nibs

5 hours ago, WhiteWall said:

I'd have him there over Gusto. 

I do hope James can come back and start matches, would benefit Lavia and Caicedo a lot.

Just as a good run doesn't immediately make Maresca a great " challenging for the title" manager , neither does a bad run make him a "useless , doesn't know what he's doing"  manager either.   He's got a long contract, personally I didn't expect great things halfway through his first season anyway. Disappointing results lately for sure , but I can't stand the thought of another manager, another reset, another start of a new " trust the process" season.

Come on you BLUES!

5 hours ago, WhiteWall said:

What happens if we end up 8th. Yes the league is stronger this year, yes Poch got a decent run of results eventually to drag himself to 6th, but still 8th now would represent regression.

Then Marescas done a poor season but it still won't make Poch any better.

Just like Amorims struggles doesn't make Ten Hags league record good.

Edited January 16, 20251 yr by Argo

47 minutes ago, Argo said:

Then Marescas done a poor season but it still won't make Poch any better.

Just like Amorims struggles doesn't make Ten Hags league record good.

It objectively makes Pochettino's better. 

Pochettino would have loved to have Lavia play more games for us and more options in attack. 

I think we should've just given him another season at this rate. Maresca is undoing a lot of good work he did earlier in the season, I'm still not convinced with him at the moment but he was winning me over with the performances. 

If he doesn't make European football he needs to go, unacceptable. But I think he will be out the door before then if he doesn't turn it around come Feb. 

Regardless of his current results, going into the season top 4 and a cup (most likely conference) was always the minimum expected of him. If he fails to achieve this then serious questions need to be asked. 

7 minutes ago, Remodez said:

Regardless of his current results, going into the season top 4 and a cup (most likely conference) was always the minimum expected of him. If he fails to achieve this then serious questions need to be asked. 

This. 
 

Clearlake would need to reassess their entire strategy. 

Nah, they'd just sign more teenagers.

8 minutes ago, Zeta said:

Nah, they'd just sign more teenagers.

Hopefully not. Last season was mental, luckily Palmer was so good from get go. 

If we don't make Top 4 then we've definitely gone backwards, seeing as we were Top 4 for the second half of last season (and for 2024 as a whole).

I think we'll get there, but having made a good start, Maresca now seems to be making it a lot harder than it ought to be. Some very strange decisions in the last month, mostly at odds with what he was doing well before that.

 

37 minutes ago, Victor90 said:

It objectively makes Pochettino's better. 

Pochettino would have loved to have Lavia play more games for us and more options in attack. 

I think we should've just given him another season at this rate. Maresca is undoing a lot of good work he did earlier in the season, I'm still not convinced with him at the moment but he was winning me over with the performances. 

If he doesn't make European football he needs to go, unacceptable. But I think he will be out the door before then if he doesn't turn it around come Feb. 

I'll give him credit for is bringing a better atmosphere in the camp (thankgod because i hate to think how we'd have looked if the players did down tools playing that system), but tactically I didn't see anything that gave me confidence he could have eventually had us challenging and no low Maresca hits can change my mind on that.

Best case, we'd have had a couple of seasons of Solskjaer esque vibes, but as Ole himself shown in the end it would have still eventually come crashing down.

I'll will cut him some slack for the FA Cup exit though as he did for once "coach a win" there, but given their respective track records in such events do you have any confidence he'd have outdone Ten Hag in the final?

1 hour ago, Argo said:

Then Marescas done a poor season but it still won't make Poch any better.

Just like Amorims struggles doesn't make Ten Hags league record good.

Again you're missing the point. Its not a comparison against Poch. Its a comparison against the team's performance.  If we end up 8th this season Maresca's position surely has to be under scrutiny as it must surely be seen as regression, with a larger pool of players available to him as well.

35 minutes ago, Remodez said:

Regardless of his current results, going into the season top 4 and a cup (most likely conference) was always the minimum expected of him. If he fails to achieve this then serious questions need to be asked. 

This

11 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Hopefully not. Last season was mental, luckily Palmer was so good from get go. 

But at least you found out who was feeding Mudryk......allegedly! 

44 minutes ago, Remodez said:

Regardless of his current results, going into the season top 4 and a cup (most likely conference) was always the minimum expected of him. If he fails to achieve this then serious questions need to be asked. 

Who said that? 

We have the youngest team in the league, top 4 and winning a cup sounds like Roman's requirements, not the new owners vision, Maresca can only get the max out of this current squad in some ways but in most ways we're just getting started.

13 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Who said that? 

We have the youngest team in the league, top 4 and winning a cup sounds like Roman's requirements, not the new owners vision, Maresca can only get the max out of this current squad in some ways but in most ways we're just getting started.

I'm talking from a fan perspective, I'm sure the new owners would be perfectly happy with 6th or 7th as long as the values of their players increased. 

Top 4 and a cup is entirely possible with this team. To be expected even. If Enzo doesn't achieve it then his hiring was a waste of time. 

You don't spend £1.2 billion and be content with 6th or 7th.

I don't care who the owners are. 

Given we still don't have a front of shirt sponsor I would imagine that, if we dont make the CL next season, we won't get offers for that sponsorship for next season to the ownerships liking, much like this season.

25 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Given we still don't have a front of shirt sponsor I would imagine that, if we dont make the CL next season, we won't get offers for that sponsorship for next season to the ownerships liking, much like this season.

But but..the American part of the ownership are geniuses at maximising commercial revenue..... aren't they? 

It:s impossible for us to be the ONLY club without a front of shirt sponsor isn't it ?

😜

Edited January 16, 20251 yr by The Rising Sun

38 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Given we still don't have a front of shirt sponsor I would imagine that, if we dont make the CL next season, we won't get offers for that sponsorship for next season to the ownerships liking, much like this season.

And you know what would better our chances to get Top 4?

- Getting a striker to compete with Jackson at the start of the season instead of relying on an 18 year old. 

- Not betting our entire season on three players who are incredibly injury prone (Fofana, James, & Lavia). 

- Getting a better GK that isn't a total liability in Sanchez. 

- Having some form of leadership in the backline instead of having it led by a 21 year old. 

 

The owners and co-directors are responsible for their own mistakes. 

 

 

44 minutes ago, Remodez said:

I'm talking from a fan perspective, I'm sure the new owners would be perfectly happy with 6th or 7th as long as the values of their players increased. 

Top 4 and a cup is entirely possible with this team. To be expected even. If Enzo doesn't achieve it then his hiring was a waste of time. 

Enzo hiring isn't a waste of time if we finish top 6.

He worked with Palmer before and now Palmer is one of the best players in the league so what he did already it wasn't a waste of time.

He just needs to continue to develop the squad, I would be happy seeing Madueke play every match possible and finishing top 6 because the investment in the younger players will only make sense in the future if the plan is done properly today.

We are supposed to take care of our squad, winning a cup and finishing top 4 is not expected nor was it appreciated when we were doing it in the past so it's not a make or break for Maresca.

Pep, Klopp didn't win anything in their first season why would the appointment of Maresca have higher expectations?

18 minutes ago, The Rising Sun said:

But but..the American part of the ownership are geniuses at maximising commercial revenue..... aren't they? 

It:s impossible for us to be the ONLY club without a front of shirt sponsor isn't it ?

😜

To be honest, screw the financial side (especially if they'll revert that money on duds), I absolutely love our sponsorless kits. Would rather we go full American and just go straight with CHELSEA proudly stamped on the front.

6 minutes ago, Brigadeiro Mk II said:

To be honest, screw the financial side (especially if they'll revert that money on duds), I absolutely love our sponsorless kits. Would rather we go full American and just go straight with CHELSEA proudly stamped on the front.

Nah, just the badge like in the sixties, royal blue shirts and shorts, no logos anywhere f**k that American sh*te. 😂

27 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

And you know what would better our chances to get Top 4?

- Getting a striker to compete with Jackson at the start of the season instead of relying on an 18 year old. 

- Not betting our entire season on three players who are incredibly injury prone (Fofana, James, & Lavia). 

- Getting a better GK that isn't a total liability in Sanchez. 

- Having some form of leadership in the backline instead of having it led by a 21 year old. 

 

The owners and co-directors are responsible for their own mistakes. 

 

 

Indeed they are. 

As someone who has been against them from the beginning I am glad to see more and more people are now seeing these guys are bad for our club.

They are stripping away everything that made us Chelsea.