Can't believe there are folk who are standing up for Maresca and actually have the belief he is doing a better job than Poch. The bloke is a one-tricky pony and has CFC playing the worst style of football I have ever witnessed. I actually now detest him more than any manager / coach in our history and that includeds the likes of Avram Grant, Rafa and AVB. He is the absolute pits and I want him gone.

50 + years a Chelsea supporter and for the first time EVER, I didn't bother watching the game today when I could have. Had family over for a roast and that would have always meant an argument with the Mrs in telling her she would have to time it around the game. But couldn't be bothered today and that is 100% down to Maresca-Ball.

Seeing the bar-codes just go 2-0 up, if only we had Eddie Howe.

Edited March 16, 20251 yr by Nibs

5 minutes ago, RMH said:

No, it wasn’t. Embarrassing against many teams (Wolves at home was shocking for example), 5-0 drubbing at the emirates (I left as they were scoring the fourth to avoid the Arsenal fans on my way back home), losing a final that we should have won if it wasn’t for his spursiness, and I can keep going on. Embarrassing the lack of discipline when players were fighting to take a penalty, not once but multiple times! We had a good last quarter of the season, but I miss Pochettino as much as I miss Morata as a striker. I tell you who I miss, Tuchel, Ancelotti or prime Mourinho, Pochettino? Definitely no. Let’s stop with this rewriting of Poch’s history at Chelsea, he was mostly sh*t.

Of course I miss managers like Ancelotti, Tuchel, and Mourinho.

I'm talking about our recent mistakes under the board. We were under a heavy transition season under Pochettino, trying to play a different style of football. It was far from perfect but it was at least going somewhere and I was really looking forward to the next season to see what progress we could make. It's all good pointing out the negatives, but we had some very talented attackers in the team, our counter attacking football was lethal and we took that into the start of this season until it was coached out of them. Now... What are we actually good at? Please tell me, I would love to know.

Comparing this season to last is just ridiculous, we SHOULD be doing better. The players have more experience, we've 'allegedly' bolstered certain positions with more options, yet they all look worse. We've made a terrible decision to hire a Championship manager who's too pragmatic, way out of his depth, and took us back to playing possession-obsessed rigid football. That's just a massive f**k you to the process, why waste an entire season if we're going to revert back anyway...

5 minutes ago, Nibs said:

Can't believe there are folk who are standing up for Maresca and actually have the belief he is doing a better job than Poch. The bloke is a one-tricky pony and has CFC playing the worst style of football I have ever witnessed. I actually now detest him more than any manager / coach in our history and that includeds the likes of Avram Grant, Rafa and AVB. He is the absolute pits and I want him gone.

50 + years a Chelsea supporter and for the first time EVER, I didn't bother watching the game today when I could have. Had family over for a roast and that would have always meant an argument with the Mrs in telling her she would have to time it around the game. But couldn't be bothered today and that is 100% down to Maresca-Ball.

Seeing the bar-codes just go 2-0 up, if only we had Eddie Howe.

Or just a modicum of the same effort, belief and energy. This fking idiot hates the football the Newcastle are playing. For sure it's like a basketball game. Cretin.

We could have gone for Luis Enrique, Flick or Howe, the idiots went for Poch and then Maresca. Even Emery or Iraola are more competent than our last three coaches (not counting Lampard in it).

The only reason we were doing well at the start of the season was because he hadn't managed to implement his ideas yet.

9 minutes ago, RMH said:

We could have gone for Luis Enrique, Flick or Howe, the idiots went for Poch and then Maresca. Even Emery or Iraola are more competent than our last three coaches (not counting Lampard in it).

They don't go for the best available, they go for the bracket below that level. I apply this to a lot of the young players they have signed too. Fofana, Badiashile, Enzo, Madueke, Mudryk, Jackson, and many more. These players were not the best young players of their position, there are many out there that are better.

2 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

Enough of this stupid tika taka bo**ocks.

Get the best target man out there and play 433 with Madueke and Neto on the wings.

It’s really that simple, we’d be much more effective.

It isn't even tika taka bollox, it yawn yawn gone bollox.

I still watched every game of boring Sarriball. I watched every game of Potter flirting with relegation and Lampard full on failing every game. This. I have started not watching.

7 defeats in 14 games now against the other sides in the top 10.

That's one more than we had in the full season last year.

#progress

Lots of possession with no end product today.

Everyone wins!

Arsenal win without having to play well or use up any energy and Maresca wins because our board just follows the data rather than the reality or the result so they will see having 59% possession away to Arsenal as progress.

He is literally no closer to getting the sack despite this feeble attempt today in a London derby against one of our rivals.

Slow non-progressive passing is what this coach is about.

Make no mistake Maresca would of written off todays game as a defeat and probably the games against Liverpool and Newcastle already as defeats as long as we get good numbers in possession and will probably see a draw at home against Man Utd or Spurs as a great result.

Saying that Arsenal have been together for 5 years before the match has even started is virtually admitting defeat before a ball has been kicked - Arsenal have no strikers left and he threw in the towel before the match!

The reality is we've got about 5 league matches left where he might, or might not install belief into the players that we could get a positive result.

We have a manager with a quitters mentality when it comes to certain opposition.

Welcome to Maresca ball.

Edited March 16, 20251 yr by 2211

Maresca also has the worst away form in the PL.

5 defeats and a draw from the last 6 away games. Worse than Ipswich. Worse than Leicester. Worse than Southampton.

Edited March 16, 20251 yr by Sexyfootball

What does the data/stats driven approach say about this, Blueco?

Didn’t even watch it today. Not worth wasting my Sunday on. I’ll always support and follow them, but with limited free time I want something entertaining, not our sorry excuse for football.

What can I say that I haven’t already.

This team is good enough for top 4 but this manager will have you thinking we are plucky underdogs. Look at any of the managers in the top 10 teams and try to tell me that not one of them would be doing a better job than Enzo.

His style of play goes in direct contradiction with the players we have at our disposal and also the ones we have signed coming in the summer.

I’m just tired. We have wasted yet another season. This one probably worse than last as we had the chance to really kick on had we got things right in the summer.

The sad thing is that no-one ever expected us to win at Arsenal. That says it all.

5 minutes ago, JM7 said:

The sad thing is that no-one ever expected us to win at Arsenal. That says it all.

I had written this game off weeks ago. Part of me was actually relieved it was only 1-0, especially considering how we played in the first 30 minutes.

We are completely helpless against Liverpool, Arsenal and City. Feels like we'll never beat them again. It's only about keeping a respectable scoreline or hoping for a miraculous draw.

2 hours ago, RMH said:

We could have gone for Luis Enrique, Flick or Howe, the idiots went for Poch and then Maresca. Even Emery or Iraola are more competent than our last three coaches (not counting Lampard in it).

Pretty sure we interviewed Henrique but he wanted nothing to do with us given the requirements to be a Yes man and work under the orders of owners/SD's

3 hours ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Can one of the mods pin this to come back to at the end of the season.

I think the only reason we are 4th is because Maresca initially inherited some confidence from the way we ended last season. We've been in freefall since mid-December. The games we've managed to win have been struggles. And the football has become harder and harder to watch.

13 minutes ago, forbzy said:

I think the only reason we are 4th is because Maresca initially inherited some confidence from the way we ended last season. We've been in freefall since mid-December. The games we've managed to win have been struggles. And the football has become harder and harder to watch.

I remember the game where we beat Brighton and Palmer scored all 4 goals, we were playing counter attack that day. Back then, I was thinking that maybe Maresca has added something new to his coaching, but no, he was just giving the team time until he forced his own system on to them. Since he's done that, we have been abysmal.

If we were playing Maresca-ball since day 1, I don't even think we would be in the top 10 right now.

It’s depressing that WinStewart really think that Maresca is the man to take us to the top and all he needs is “time”. Remember he’s less than one season into a two season review.

They need to realise that elite managers are very rare. There’s a lot of very average/semi decent managers out there - but if you want an elite team, you need to have an elite manager.

3 hours ago, KonaKai Blue said:

The only reason we were doing well at the start of the season was because he hadn't managed to implement his ideas yet.

Am starting to realise that the longer he gets with the players the worst they look.

Looking at the squad we are looking to have next season, surely it is built more towards a traditional 433?

Gk(anyone but sanchez)

Petrovic, Jorgenson

Right back

James Gusto

Left Back

Cucurella

(New left back, Kerkez would be great)

Centre back

Fofana, Colwill, Badiashille, Sarr, Anselmino

Centre Midfield

Lavia, Caicedo, Enzo, Santos, Essugo, Paez

Right wing

Palmer, Estavao, Madueke

Left wing

Neto, Sancho

Striker

(new starting striker Osimhen ideally) Jackson

Sanchez, Chalobah, Tosin, Ugochukwu, Felix, Nkunku all sold.

No more square pegs in round holes. Powerful athletic and technical midfield. A big target man to aim for. Flair players out wide with overlapping full backs that offer attacking threat. Squad depth in midfield.

Only questions marks would be gk and Centre back, but I feel we have brought in so many bodies in those positions, we have to try and find something that works.

5 hours ago, Nibs said:

50 + years a Chelsea supporter and for the first time EVER, I didn't bother watching the game today when I could have. Had family over for a roast and that would have always meant an argument with the Mrs in telling her she would have to time it around the game. But couldn't be bothered today and that is 100% down to Maresca-Ball.

Enzo Maresca makes peace in the family and saves marriages

Maresca IN

I'm apathetic to the whole situation now and that's amazing given we're still somehow in a top 4 race.

Maresca's turgid football has made me emotionally check out this season. What the owners and sporting directors see in this guy I will never understand.

I preferred watching us under Pochettino despite its chaotic and inconsistent performances. At least he had a record of developing young players and coaching in Europe's top leagues, and the style of football was attacking in nature despite our defensive problems.

The Arsenal match played out exactly how I expected. Didn't lay a glove on them whatsoever.

Mathematically, we are doing pretty well in the top 4 chase. But with the run of tough games coming up, could be down to 6th or 8th if we don't improve. The last 2 teams we beat are going to get relegated, so it's not like we really improved in recent weeks. The Arsenal game was basically a no-show, Arsenal walked through the whole game, probably wondered why we never tried to land a punch on them. Their player even got a handsake from Maresca with a minute to go in the game 🤐