On 22/11/2025 at 18:44, bisright1 said:

"Everything manager does is bad. Everything player does is good"

So tired of seeing these takes.

Maresca put out the right team, made the right subs, we won away from home in a game everyone said we'd find sticky.

Absolutely not a sticky game:

36 minutes ago, GarnachoCheese said:

Absolutely not a sticky game:

If it wasn't a sticky game why did you specifically say last week;

"Play our strongest team, can't afford another slip up like Brighton or Sunderland. Players can easily play twice a week"

Imagine if we'd done as you had asked? Maybe Caicedo would have got an injury, maybe Reece James?

Maresca rotated, it as the right decision to do that. The team won, let's celebrate and look forward to the next 2 big ones. I am happy to critcise Maresca, and if he'd started Caicedo I 100% would have been criticising him for that decision.

Edited November 24, 2025Nov 24 by bisright1

2 hours ago, bisright1 said:

If it wasn't a sticky game why did you specifically say last week;

Imagine if we'd done as you had asked? Maybe Caicedo would have got an injury, maybe Reece James?

Maresca rotated, it as the right decision to do that. The team won, let's celebrate and look forward to the next 2 big ones. I am happy to critcise Maresca, and if he'd started Caicedo I 100% would have been criticising him for that decision.

We can't afford one, however one is always expected with Maresca.

My post doesn't doesn't say Burnley are a tough team or potential banana skin.

2 hours ago, GarnachoCheese said:

We can't afford one, however one is always expected with Maresca.

My post doesn't doesn't say Burnley are a tough team or potential banana skin.

I think saying we need to put out our strongest team so we dont drop points is the definition of thinking its a banana skin.

Maresca didnt do that, we won the game. Clean sheet. But we continue on this "Everything bad is manager. Everything good is luck / player"

2 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

I think saying we need to put out our strongest team so we dont drop points is the definition of thinking its a banana skin.

Maresca didnt do that, we won the game. Clean sheet. But we continue on this "Everything bad is manager. Everything good is luck / player"

I think we should play our strongest XI every single game regardless of opposition.

Did you watch the game and were you honestly happy with what you saw? Ignore the result, do you not notice glaring red flags every match?

8 minutes ago, GarnachoCheese said:

I think we should play our strongest XI every single game regardless of opposition.

Did you watch the game and were you honestly happy with what you saw? Ignore the result, do you not notice glaring red flags every match?

In the modern game rotation is a fact. It's one of the reasons Arsenal are top at the moment. It's not an option when you are trying to win every competition.

Was it you who was banging on about playing Estavao last week instead of Neto? We played Neto, rested Estavao and now have him for our biggest two games of the season. Neto played well and as I've said in past he can hold that position down. He was probably the second best player on the pitch after Santos who wouldn't get a look in if you got your way.

2 hours ago, GarnachoCheese said:

I think we should play our strongest XI every single game regardless of opposition.

Did you watch the game and were you honestly happy with what you saw? Ignore the result, do you not notice glaring red flags every match?

Yes I watched it. I was happy. We won. We defended well. Santos played great. We were easily the better side for the entire game. Gave up very few genuine chances.

Could we have performed better? Sure. Id love to see us zip it around faster at times. But we got the job done, kept a clean sheet, had no injuries and we look like being the biggest challengers to Arsenal for the title and now move onto the bigger games this week.

Im all for criticising Maresca. But a 2 nil away win on a weekend when Liverpool, Man city and Tottenham lost is not the time for me to reach for the Maresca is sh*t button.

Looking at United tonight we really aren't that bad tbf 😂

5 hours ago, Andy North said:

In the modern game rotation is a fact. It's one of the reasons Arsenal are top at the moment. It's not an option when you are trying to win every competition.

Was it you who was banging on about playing Estavao last week instead of Neto? We played Neto, rested Estavao and now have him for our biggest two games of the season. Neto played well and as I've said in past he can hold that position down. He was probably the second best player on the pitch after Santos who wouldn't get a look in if you got your way.

Santos starts over Enzo, what do you mean he doesn’t get a look in if I get my way?

40 minutes ago, Drogba1 said:

Looking at United tonight we really aren't that bad tbf 😂

This dog sh*t Utd beat us

6 hours ago, bisright1 said:

I think saying we need to put out our strongest team so we dont drop points is the definition of thinking its a banana skin.

Maresca didnt do that, we won the game. Clean sheet. But we continue on this "Everything bad is manager. Everything good is luck / player"

Yet those that defend Maresca after poor performances simply argue the inverse - Every mistake is Sanchez/Chalobah/Tosin/Gittens/Garnacho/injuries/no striker/too many strikers/UEFA/FIFA's fault, and everything good is Maresca's understated genius

Shows what a managerial disasterclass that United game was. Everton are toss and played with 10 men for about the same amount of time as we did, David Moyes didn't hook all of his attackers and they ended up winning.

4 hours ago, timetowaste said:

Shows what a managerial disasterclass that United game was. Everton are toss and played with 10 men for about the same amount of time as we did, David Moyes didn't hook all of his attackers and they ended up winning.

Roman would have sacked Maresca after that Utd game for than nonsense

It is not a sticky game when you playing against a side 20th out of 20 in both attack and defence, 2nd bottom in the league with a complete novice manager and on a losing streak.

Also, last night Everton lost a player at old trafford early in the game, amazingly their manager didnt completely sh*t the bed and give up entirely on attacking a team that has obvious vulnerabilities, didnt just drag all the attackers off for defenders to completely balls up any cohesion.

They won.

10 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Yet those that defend Maresca after poor performances simply argue the inverse - Every mistake is Sanchez/Chalobah/Tosin/Gittens/Garnacho/injuries/no striker/too many strikers/UEFA/FIFA's fault, and everything good is Maresca's understated genius

I don't know many people who do that, I can't think of anyone on here who does that. I certainly don't. I think Maresca is a potentially great manager but he makes a lot of decisions that are frankly weird.

The truth with football is that sometimes we draw/lose and it's simply no one's fault. Great teams don't always win. Sometimes it's individual errors. Sometimes it's the personnel (typically our centre backs just not being good enough. But often it is Maresca and how he's been unable to turn us into a consistent attacking threat against a good team (as we now typically beat the bad ones) doing a low block .

But when we win, it's quite annoying to hear takes like "Maresca got lucky". And there's so many people on here who give me the impression they are almost disappointed when we win. That they are annoyed we are 2nd.

9 hours ago, timetowaste said:

Shows what a managerial disasterclass that United game was. Everton are toss and played with 10 men for about the same amount of time as we did, David Moyes didn't hook all of his attackers and they ended up winning.

United was one of the worst managerial performances I've seen in years. @SydneyChelsea

But I don't personally think the same about Qarabag.

44 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

I don't know many people who do that, I can't think of anyone on here who does that. I certainly don't. I think Maresca is a potentially great manager but he makes a lot of decisions that are frankly weird.

The truth with football is that sometimes we draw/lose and it's simply no one's fault. Great teams don't always win. Sometimes it's individual errors. Sometimes it's the personnel (typically our centre backs just not being good enough. But often it is Maresca and how he's been unable to turn us into a consistent attacking threat against a good team (as we now typically beat the bad ones) doing a low block .

But when we win, it's quite annoying to hear takes like "Maresca got lucky". And there's so many people on here who give me the impression they are almost disappointed when we win. That they are annoyed we are 2nd.

Us being 2nd makes me laugh a little. If you only read the comments on here and never watched the games/followed the league, you would assume Chelsea were bottom half.

I sort of think 2nd place is a false position at present - it's very tight and there are only 6 points seperating us from 12th. I know if I was in Liverpool's shoes right now I would be thinking ok, only 3 points away from 4th, trying to find the positives. But the fact of the matter is we are actually doing well enough. It could be better but what manager would be doing a better job?

Thomas Frank? Spurs are 9th, having just been demolished by Arsenal.

Amorim? A season in as manager and despite false dawns, they are 10th. Last night was a joy to watch for me, a truly abysmal performance.

Arne Slot? PL winning side which in essence has been greatly strengthened and they are languishing in 12th.

Big week ahead of us starting with Barcelona tonight and Arsenal Sunday. Truth be told I couldn't give a sh*t how we play provided we get results out of both games.

17 minutes ago, Shweaves said:

Us being 2nd makes me laugh a little. If you only read the comments on here and never watched the games/followed the league, you would assume Chelsea were bottom half.

I sort of think 2nd place is a false position at present - it's very tight and there are only 6 points seperating us from 12th. I know if I was in Liverpool's shoes right now I would be thinking ok, only 3 points away from 4th, trying to find the positives. But the fact of the matter is we are actually doing well enough. It could be better but what manager would be doing a better job?

Thomas Frank? Spurs are 9th, having just been demolished by Arsenal.

Amorim? A season in as manager and despite false dawns, they are 10th. Last night was a joy to watch for me, a truly abysmal performance.

Arne Slot? PL winning side which in essence has been greatly strengthened and they are languishing in 12th.

Big week ahead of us starting with Barcelona tonight and Arsenal Sunday. Truth be told I couldn't give a sh*t how we play provided we get results out of both games.

Glasner, is making a worse side Palace play more entertaining and better football than Maresca.

Iraola the same with Bournemouth, after selling their best players.

Emery at Villa.

Even Le Bris is doing a better job at Sunderland than Maresca with us.

Spurs are Spurs, they made Mourinho and Conte look like amateur coaches, and Utd. have been a sh*tshow club for a while, so no surprises there. Liverpool has players' problem, not only Slot.

Maresca is a very average manager, with the very bad attitude of thinking that he's better than he actually is, and he's not learning a single thing from his defeats. He is not improving any players and he's made Palmer (before the injury), a truly top player, look like an average one. He has to go, the sooner the better. But we know that the rot is with the board and SDs, so if he goes they'll bring another bang average coach without any personality.

38 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

I don't know many people who do that, I can't think of anyone on here who does that. I certainly don't. I think Maresca is a potentially great manager but he makes a lot of decisions that are frankly weird.

The truth with football is that sometimes we draw/lose and it's simply no one's fault. Great teams don't always win. Sometimes it's individual errors. Sometimes it's the personnel (typically our centre backs just not being good enough. But often it is Maresca and how he's been unable to turn us into a consistent attacking threat against a good team (as we now typically beat the bad ones) doing a low block .

But when we win, it's quite annoying to hear takes like "Maresca got lucky". And there's so many people on here who give me the impression they are almost disappointed when we win. That they are annoyed we are 2nd.

No one is upset about us winning, however a win shouldn't paint over a poor performance and glaring issues. In the same vein as a goal shouldn't paint over a poor individual performance.

52 minutes ago, Shweaves said:

Truth be told I couldn't give a sh*t how we play provided we get results out of both games.

This bit is interesting. I think we all like to ultimately see the team win, but I am of the mindset where being entertained is pretty important too. Football is a form of entertainment for me, not just a form of reflected glory.

6 minutes ago, Snedger said:

This bit is interesting. I think we all like to ultimately see the team win, but I am of the mindset where being entertained is pretty important too. Football is a form of entertainment for me, not just a form of reflected glory.

Yep, football is first and foremost entertainment. The most entertained i've ever been as a Chelsea fan is the nail biting counter attacking football we've played over the years. World class defenders soaking pressure and then bursting up field. I can find enjoyment in possession based football too, however it requires more individual genius from the likes of Hazard, Palmer and now possibly Estevao.

What i can't find entertaining is constant recycling of possession with zero emphasis on creative freedom. The Palmer we saw last season looked painfully drained for the most part, with him coming to life when he ignored the manager (as admitted post conference league final). Estevao and Palmer could make some of the most entertaining football we've watched at Chelsea if managed properly.

24 minutes ago, RMH said:

Glasner, is making a worse side Palace play more entertaining and better football than Maresca.

Iraola the same with Bournemouth, after selling their best players.

Emery at Villa.

Even Le Bris is doing a better job at Sunderland than Maresca with us.

Spurs are Spurs, they made Mourinho and Conte look like amateur coaches, and Utd. have been a sh*tshow club for a while, so no surprises there. Liverpool has players' problem, not only Slot.

Maresca is a very average manager, with the very bad attitude of thinking that he's better than he actually is, and he's not learning a single thing from his defeats. He is not improving any players and he's made Palmer (before the injury), a truly top player, look like an average one. He has to go, the sooner the better. But we know that the rot is with the board and SDs, so if he goes they'll bring another bang average coach without any personality.

Those are all managers doing a good job at small clubs. Who knows if they can handle the step up. We tried that with Potter, ended up badly. Emery tried at Arsenal, couldn't hack it.

I picked Spurs, Utd, Liverpool because they're meant to be our competition (historically). You could include Guardiola there too - also below us. Eddie Howe at Newcastle is at 14th, and they were our closest competition last year.

Are Slot, Amorim, Frank, Guardiola and Howe all average managers too? Obviously that's an inflammatory question, but if Maresca is such a terrible manager then he shouldn't be outperforming them when two of his best players have been injured nearly all season, we've been without a proper striker 90% of the time and our players are dealing with CWC exhaustion, coupled with Champions League and league cup.

OF COURSE Maresca could be doing better. But I think the vitriol sent his way is really just spilling over from anger at our board of directors. Managers are never perfect. Mourinho wasn't, Conte and Ancelotti weren't. Tuchel's football was more boring that ours is now. I remember a lot of 0-0s with him throughout his tenure. I also loved his attitude and energy.

Le Bris is doing a tremendous job. As is Glasner and Iraola. I don't think they're the right fit for Chelsea.

There’s quite a lot of issues with Maresca, not all down to the football.

Let’s start with the fact he isn’t very likeable as a bloke, in the same vein as FSW & AVB, just doesn’t seem to have any endearing qualities. He claims to be Italian but shows up to most matches looking like a Big Issue seller.

Couple that up with the fact he is trying to instil a system that has been slowly phased out across Europe, it’s essentially Pep-lite with even less risk and less attacking impetus.

Then you take into account the squad we have, it is built for fast free flowing football and instead is being shoehorned into slow monotonous recycling of possession.

Everyone remembers how electric we were when we had Chilwell & James overlapping and the threat we possessed every attack? Now we have Cucurella playing somewhere between an 8 & a 10 and just getting in the way of our creative players every attack and the other fullback becoming a CB (?!)

Estevao, Palmer, JP, Garnacho these are all quick thinking, quick footed players who thrive when the game is played at speed and direct. We nullify our biggest threats for the ‘good of the system’.

Now if we had a squad with less talented players and not as attack minded, maybe Maresca’s approach would be right, but we don’t and he isn’t.

We are one point better off this season, than we were after 12 games last season, whilst having one of the easiest starts to the season we could have asked for.

1 hour ago, Shweaves said:

Those are all managers doing a good job at small clubs. Who knows if they can handle the step up. We tried that with Potter, ended up badly. Emery tried at Arsenal, couldn't hack it.

I picked Spurs, Utd, Liverpool because they're meant to be our competition (historically). You could include Guardiola there too - also below us. Eddie Howe at Newcastle is at 14th, and they were our closest competition last year.

Are Slot, Amorim, Frank, Guardiola and Howe all average managers too? Obviously that's an inflammatory question, but if Maresca is such a terrible manager then he shouldn't be outperforming them when two of his best players have been injured nearly all season, we've been without a proper striker 90% of the time and our players are dealing with CWC exhaustion, coupled with Champions League and league cup.

OF COURSE Maresca could be doing better. But I think the vitriol sent his way is really just spilling over from anger at our board of directors. Managers are never perfect. Mourinho wasn't, Conte and Ancelotti weren't. Tuchel's football was more boring that ours is now. I remember a lot of 0-0s with him throughout his tenure. I also loved his attitude and energy.

Le Bris is doing a tremendous job. As is Glasner and Iraola. I don't think they're the right fit for Chelsea.

You say that all those managers doing a great job at smaller clubs and with worse teams maybe wouldn't work at Chelsea, which is true, but then you are ready to defend Maresca, a coach that jumped from the Championship to Chelsea, without having had any prove that he could make it at a bigger club than Leicester, and continues to fail at Chelsea. I'm sure, based on that, that either of those coaches mentioned would be doing a better job than Maresca, or at least we wouldn't be bored to death by the football played.

And you mention Mourinho, Conte, Ancelotti or Tuchel as not being perfect, right you are, but they were great coaches that delivered important trophies (and not only at Chelsea)! Maresca, other than absolute borefests, has delivered a save-by-the-bell top four, a glorified friendly Cup, and a champions of the farmers league trophy. And all that, saved by individual brilliancy and players deciding to ditch Maresca's tactics, e.g. Palmer words to the effect after beating Forest at their turf and the conference league final (except the final against PSG which was superb, have to admit).