Is Enzo Maresca failing at Chelsea?

 

Enzo Maresca arrived at Chelsea on a high after leading Leicester back to Premier League. They started the season really well but it looks like the honeymoon period is over for the Italian. And as the season unfolds, we have seen Chelsea go out of both the domestic cups and struggling to make Top 4 once again. The conference league is their only chance of some silverware this season. So has Maresca’s tenure at Chelsea already started to unravel?

A RISKY APPOINTMENT FROM THE START?

Enzo Maresca arrived at Chelsea after only one season of being a first team manager. He was Pep Guardiola’s right hand man at Manchester City after the departure of Mikel Arteta but being the main man in the dugout is a different and more difficult task. Although Maresca showed his potential as a manager at Leicester, there is a huge difference between the championship and the Premier league. Many managers underestimate the level of the Premier league and Maresca might have done the same. Chelsea made the same mistake with the appointment of Frank Lampard and it does not look good for Maresca now.

AN ALARMING SLUMP

Since Christmas there has been an alarming slump in form for Chelsea. 6 wins in the last 14 games and those include wins against Morecambe and the two bottom sides in the league Leicester and Southampton. Chelsea are starting to struggle against any decent team and cracks have started to appear. While last season Pochettino had started to turn things around by the end of the season, this season has been the opposite. Maresca’s win percentage is now quite similar to Pochettino’s who left in the summer. Chelsea need to address the issues in the squad sooner rather than later if they are to get Top 4 and Champions league football.

LAZY PLAYERS AND AN OVERELIANCE ON COLE PALMER

Premier League is a highly demanding league. In modern football you can’t afford having players who are not working hard. You can’t have wingers who can’t defend unless they are generating the output someone like Mohammed Salah does. Chelsea have a big personnel problem at the club. Although Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho are talented players, their reluctance to track back or press constantly are big disadvantages for Chelsea. As the Premier league becomes more and more athletic, sale of players like Conor Gallagher just does not make sense. Cole Palmer has been one of the best players in the world at Chelsea. But his goals have started drying out and hence Chelsea have started to struggle. With Nicolas Jackson injured, they don’t have a player who will guarantee them goals in a game. The overreliance on Palmer was always going to bite them back and it has.

IS THIS THE NEW STANDARD?

Since Todd Boehly took over, life hasn’t been great at Stamford Bridge. No Champions League football for 3 seasons in a row, no silverware and continuous sacking of managers without results. During the Roman Abramovic era, fans were accustomed to short term success rather than long term projects. But those in charge clearly believe this season is a necessary stepping stone for Maresca and his squad. Time will tell if this is the right decision by the Chelsea hierarchy but one thing is for sure – The standards at Stamford Bridge are the lowest they have been in the last 20-25 years.

By Parth Gokhale