I'm expecting an avalanche of club PR waffle in the next couple of days to try and spin Maresca out of the hole he dug for himself last night.

Talk about disappointing. To challenge for the league you need to be up for every single game and last night we lacked intensity from the first whistle. So frustrating to undo all the good work of the week just been with that weak performance.

Would love to be a journo who hits in the post match interview and fire a few uncomfortable questions at him.

"So Enzo, lots of changes tonight and it ended up a bit of a disaster. What was the need to make so many changes (and please don't say the fixture congestion as ALL teams have it)? I know a lot of Chelsea supporters really rate young Acheampong and yet he hardly ever figures and you decide to start with Badiashille and Tosin, two players who have made countless mistakes in the past and never look comfortable". And you play Fernandez EVERY game and never take him off, regardless of how badly he is playing. So why is that exactly?"

"WHY, YOU BALD c**t, WHY?!!!"

Edited December 4, 2025Dec 4 by Nibs

I think there is a pattern developing here we win about 4 matches in all competitions and then we will lose one, normally the league as we play these matches most often. Of course players being rested or injured has an impact.

I thought he might have played Acheompong with Badashiel as earlier they played well together.

When I saw DLC starting for them (that transfer passed me by) with our CBs thought it might be a long evening.

I thought we had turned a corner with the defensive performances against Barcelona and Arsenal.

We probably had turned a corner until that performance... Not helped by changing the backline.

TBH - Im sick of seeing our defenders f**king up five yard passes that lead to chances for the opposition. It happens 2 or 3 times per game. It happens because there are no alternative passes on and the players are told to keep recycling the ball at the back.

Its been 12 months of it, its got to stop

Recycling the ball , or more accurately f**king around at the back again. We completed 630 passes last night our most ever this season, that's the " control" that he wants . It's f**king infuriating that we are so often still stuck with his system in games when we know how it could be so much better.

So, can't play against low blocks, can't cope with blistering , energetic starts from the opposite either.

Leeds had something that we didn't last night.

Passion and desire.

Edited December 4, 2025Dec 4 by The Rising Sun
Info

I think the time has come for those in authority to start looking into match fixing. How can anybody be this thick, and have the power to continue breathing.

1 hour ago, Sexyfootball said:

I'm expecting an avalanche of club PR waffle in the next couple of days to try and spin Maresca out of the hole he dug for himself last night.

Yep, 100%.

Simon Johnson, Nizzar Kinsella and the like talking about red zones and managing playing time incoming…

Even though loads of us have given examples of how we could have protected our most vulnerable players and still picked a competitive team against Leeds.

33 minutes ago, The Rising Sun said:

Recycling the ball , or more accurately f**king around at the back again. We completed 630 passes last night our most ever this season, that's the " control" that he wants . It's f**king infuriating that we are so often still stuck with his system in games when we know how it could be so much better.

So, can't play against low blocks, can't cope with blistering , energetic starts from the opposite either.

Leeds had something that we didn't last night.

Passion and desire.

Yeah, they simply wanted it more. Ive not seen us play with that desire and hunger under Maresca. The two games before Leeds showed me there was a better way and standard of football under him, then all that hard work is undone against Leeds. Last night was a deeply flawed and troubling performance really.

the convo around here is delap isnt good enough, neither is Pedro... Delap i have no worries with at all, he'll come good and we'll work out how to play with him leading the line. Pedro is a disaster signing for me. He just looks disinterested and well off the pace.

I think its Marescas system, get another manager in and all these players probably start to look like attackers again.

I think he's just really weak and wants to please everyone. Give everyone minutes like its Sunday league and be nicey nicey with all the players. When have we ever seen him rip into a player? He should have dragged Tosin off after that mistake to make him learn. Give him no more minutes, but he'll only do that if the board tell him to.

Weak, bald worm.

4 hours ago, RMH said:

Yes, but if he plays at RB, he is going to play Tosin or Badiashile as CBs, and that's not very safe. Play Chalobah-Acheampong as CBs. Gusto doesn't need a rest, just like Cucu. And if Gusto needs rotation, play Josh as RB next game at Bournemouth and bring on Fofana as CB. We've got plenty of players to rotate one position at a time, no need to change the whole defensive line and even less to play Badiashile and Tosin.

My point was that when you have three right backs in your squad, all fit, it is so f**king dumb to pick a centre back at right back LOL

If he wanted to rest Gusto and James (and the only reason he had to consider that was because he previously played a second right back in midfield instead of a specialist midfielder), then the obvious choice surely is Acheampong as the third right back option, leaving Trev free to play at centre back where he's been doing well in his, you know, specialist position LOL. Why do that though when you can maximise your square pegs in round holes !

Last time I defend Maresca in rotation. Just when I thought we couldn't have a CB play more than 2 games, Chalobah proves me wrong. So here's me thinking, we may actually see some consistency. Nope. Chalobah plays his 3rd straight game, but needlessly at RB so the chuckle brothers can get some minutes.

It's on Maresca. It's only on Maresca.

Edited December 4, 2025Dec 4 by Sconnie Blue

I watched some of the Arsenal game last night and thought some of thier play very predictable and safe. It's not that entertaining and this is backed up by some of thier fans. However, they are steady, organised and have a consistency the Chelsea team do not have. Arteta has been there since 2019 and started with a degree of success and then faded with many fans wanting him out. The board stuck with him and they are on the best run of results they have seen for a long time.

Is this a trajectory that could happen at Chelsea with Maresca?

3 minutes ago, Andy North said:

I watched some of the Arsenal game last night and thought some of thier play very predictable and safe. It's not that entertaining and this is backed up by some of thier fans. However, they are steady, organised and have a consistency the Chelsea team do not have. Arteta has been there since 2019 and started with a degree of success and then faded with many fans wanting him out. The board stuck with him and they are on the best run of results they have seen for a long time.

Is this a trajectory that could happen at Chelsea with Maresca?

No.

I know Tosin is to blame for that 3rd goal, but that passage of play was full of f**king danger anyway, why do we think it's ok to pass around a couple of yards in front of our goal anyway?? . Players are frightened to launch it because we might give away control, instead we giveaway a goal. This will happen again eventually, no matter who the player is, it's an unnecessary and pointless risk.

The attitude stinks from top to bottom.

From Maresca and the team it stinks of arrogance. Can get up for big games but matches against Brentford, Brighton, Sunderland and Leeds is beneath them.

That funnels on to the fans and content creators who gaslit others that a draw at home to Arsenal is like a win.

Terrible standards of attitude.

Not finishing in Top 4/5 is sackable with these SDs.

Finishing below Villa or Newcastle should also be sackable with these SDs, regardless of where we finish.

Difference between us and Arsenal is that Arsenal's rotation players still bring a lot of physicality to the team, so they can still grind out wins when they aren't at their best

Once Caicedo and James (and Lavia) aren't in our midfield we become extremely fragile

Disgrace he’s still in a job.

Rotation is definitely needed, but you should change 1 or 2 players, not 5! For example, Gittens coming in for Neto, and Santos for Caicedo, that would have been more than enough without disrupting the teams chemistry and momentum. You especially shouldn't mess around the defence like he does. The defence was pathetic yesterday. I don't care if Maresca feels like he does need to give Tosin and Badiashile minutes, Tosin has been sh*t all season and I don't see how Badiashile can be labelled a defender at all.

1 minute ago, Scott Harris said:

Rotation is definitely needed, but you should change 1 or 2 players, not 5! For example, Gittens coming in for Neto, and Santos for Caicedo, that would have been more than enough without disrupting the teams chemistry and momentum. You especially shouldn't mess around the defence like he does. The defence was pathetic yesterday. I don't care if Maresca feels like he does need to give Tosin and Badiashile minutes, Tosin has been sh*t all season and I don't see how Badiashile can be labelled a defender at all.

I haven't seen one suggested rotated defence lineup in the matchday thread that was any worse than Maresca's.

He needs to go.

4 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I haven't seen one suggested rotated defence lineup in the matchday thread that was any worse than Maresca's.

He needs to go.

I know why he did it too. He wants Gusto at RB and James in midfield against Atalanta. He needs to deal with the immediate before thinking about the future though, but he never will. He'll never change.

I am still fuming 😡 I honestly haven’t been this mad at a lost in a long time because every single Chelsea fan that knows Leeds knew exactly what was coming last night except the one person who actually should know the freaking Manager.

I said I would give him 10 games and I gave him a few more to see if he’s learnt anything but he hasn’t.

f**king 🤡 show I am so f**king annoyed about last night.

Also anyone listening to the Skysports commentary Gary Neville was calling him out on the stupidity of having defenders passing the ball between them constantly and moving the ball slow. You could here the frustration in Gary’s voice with how slow we were moving the ball.

5 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Rotation is definitely needed, but you should change 1 or 2 players, not 5! For example, Gittens coming in for Neto, and Santos for Caicedo, that would have been more than enough without disrupting the teams chemistry and momentum. You especially shouldn't mess around the defence like he does. The defence was pathetic yesterday. I don't care if Maresca feels like he does need to give Tosin and Badiashile minutes, Tosin has been sh*t all season and I don't see how Badiashile can be labelled a defender at all.

4 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I haven't seen one suggested rotated defence lineup in the matchday thread that was any worse than Maresca's.

He needs to go.

Rotation is needed, we all know it.

What i believe plenty also know, at least I hope they do, is that you do not rotate your spine unless you absolutely have to.

So let's take Leeds game and look at who our spine has been before that:

Sanchez

Chalobah

Fofana

Caicedo

James

Enzo

Ok so you have no choice about Caicedo, you also are seriously concerned about fofana playing this one and getting injured.

Ok so make just make 1 change to your back 4 to rest fofana and one change for Moi being banned. Have James see out at least the first half to keep your midfield a bit more stable.

None of our strikers have been good enough so rotate there. Rotate your wide attackers ok, rest your fullback when you can play your first choice center back pairing.

You absolutely DO NOT pair tosin with chalobah and Badiashile, we all knew we would lose seeing that.

Is not about making 4 or 5 changes being too much, if you do it in that right positions it can work.

For example, captain letter players rotated in:

Sanchez

Gusto

ACHEAMPONG

Chalobah

Cucurella

James

SANTOS

GITTENS

Enzo

GARNACHO

DELAP

5 rotations in but limited impact to our spine.

1 hour ago, axman2526 said:

The attitude stinks from top to bottom.

From Maresca and the team it stinks of arrogance. Can get up for big games but matches against Brentford, Brighton, Sunderland and Leeds is beneath them.

That funnels on to the fans and content creators who gaslit others that a draw at home to Arsenal is like a win.

Terrible standards of attitude.

I do think there is a level of unearned arrogance in our team. After every big game where we don't lose, I see a few players speak out like we can suddenly beat anybody, then they get humbled the next game by a team fighting to stay in the league. Don't talk a big game if you're suddenly going to go cold against teams you consider to be beneath you, it just makes you look like a loser.