Enzo Maresca has the hardest job in elite level football this summer and going into the new season, and that statement would have come even before the Enzo Fernandez racism incident.
With that as well, he has an even tougher task to unite a group of players and get them ticking enough to challenge at the very top again. Make no mistake, Chelsea NEED and want Champions League qualification at the very least this season, that is the target set out.
Maresca not only has to implement a new style of play and get his ideas imbedded into every single player in his squad, he is now going to have to deal with an internal split.
Maresca has many huge tasks he must complete at Chelsea, and the below are just some of them.
Get fans onside
This is arguably the most important thing to do. We have a diverse fan base from all around the globe, everyone has different opinions and ideas, and we are all different age groups.
We saw with Maurizio Sarri that many of the fans inside the stadium did not enjoy his style of football, which actually can be described as being similar to Maresca at least in terms of possession play, yet with some big differences too. But Sarri didn’t manage to get many of the stadium fans on side, and part of that is what led to his demise. It also created yet another social media civil war amongst Chelsea fans, which is never healthy but unfortunately will always happen.
It’s so important that the fans universally buy into Maresca’s football and what he is trying to do, but also that he creates a strong connection with the fans, something that Mauricio Pochettino failed to do. If you do this, then you have a better chance of the fans buying into your football and even though many of us football fans can be fickle or impatient at times, if the fans like you as a person and like your persona and mentality, then they will naturally give you more time and patience.
Stay on par with owners/SDs
Again, this was something that Pochettino did not do. However you want to see this, Pochettino and the owners/SDs were not in-sync at all, and this was part of the reason that they mutually parted ways in the end. Pochettino wasn’t happy with many of the squad and transfer decisions, and in the end this was part of the reason things did not work out.
I think Maresca is going to need to stay onside and believe in the owners and sporting directors plans for the squad, because if he gets annoyed like Pochettino did, then it only ever goes one way. A lot of people joked that Chelsea wanted a yes man, and even if that’s a little unfair, they DO want a head coach and not a manager, and that says it all.
I have already heard from sources that Maresca is keen to know his final squad that he will be working with this pre-season as soon as physically possible, especially in terms of which players he will be losing and any more new arrivals. This is because he spends a lot of time individually with players and it could be a waste of his time if those players are leaving. It’s imperative that Maresca and the SD’s stay in-sync.
Unite players
This is going to be THE toughest task of his career so far, and this really is going from water into the fire. After what has gone on with Enzo Fernandez and the French players in the squad, there is clearly now a bit of a divide. How on earth does Maresca get on top of that? Is it even possible to get on top of? I feel it’s very much a case of damage done and the players who are rightfully offended by what Fernandez and his Argentine team mates have done, will never look at Fernandez in the same way again, and there is always going to be that tension there now. This is a real problem. Chelsea are still investigating to see what course of action they will take. But what I have mentioned above is why we heard about such serious potential punishments and conclusions for Fernandez. But lets see what happens with that one, the reports are saying just a fine and educating at the moment.
I feel so sorry for Maresca for having to deal with this on top of everything else now, and this is actually probably going to now be an impossible task. Even if things get publicly thrown under the rug and players say that all is forgiven, I don’t think the damage done will ever truly be fixed. Sigh.
Manage a large squad
As mentioned above, Maresca is keen to see and work with his final squad now. But his squad is going to be large regardless due to loan restrictions. They can’t all be loaned out, and at the minute we don’t seem to be progressing with too many outgoings. It will be tough to manage the morale and happiness of such a big squad.
Sources say Chelsea have the extra competitions in mind (Club World Cup & Conference League) as well as the injury issues they faced last season. This is why they want a bigger squad. But this is going to be hard to manage for any head coach, some players will feel unrest as a result of not playing as much as they feel they should be.
Manage a huge club with expectations
Chelsea have to challenge at the very top, it’s just part of the expectations of the fan base and the media now.
“Chelsea comes with an expectation of winning things and competing season after season after season, nor should that change,” said Gary Cahill this week. And he is absolutely spot on, this is just how it is.
Maresca has made a huge jump from the clubs he has managed so far, and we know he has very little senior managerial experience anyway. He now has to make the big step up to managing a huge club like Chelsea who need to win trophies and need to qualify for Champions League football. This is another big task.
Implement his system
So far, this is going very well. As reported, we have heard that the players are tuning into his ideas already and really enjoying the sessions. But some players are always going to find it more difficult to follow and take instructions in that others, and Maresca’s style of play will take some learning.
I’m not worried at all about this one though, but it is another thing that Maresca and his staff need to get spot on.
Face up against worlds best
This is a problem. Sometimes, no matter how good Chelsea might be on the day, there are other teams in the league who will be better. The Premier League consists of some of the worlds best, and Chelsea will be facing hugely tough games every single week.
The likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, and now Arsenal have experienced and established teams. Chelsea have a young and inexperienced team with a young and experienced manager. It doesn’t mean they cannot succeed. But coming up against seasoned pros and managers such as Pep Guardiola, is going to present a hugely difficult task for Maresca. Even the ‘lesser’ teams make themselves really hard to beat.
Can he do it?
Of course he can. And I will be there fully backing him and the team to do so. We must all get behind them now regardless of our opinions on whether he is the right man for the job, or whether we think the squad build is good enough or not. We must give them every chance to succeed.
The early signs are good with Maresca, and although he has THE toughest tasks in football ahead of him, he may well surprise many and of course, I truly hope he does.
Me personally, I’m staying grounded, I’m not hyping anyone up yet or getting too excited. I’m staying cautiously optimistic for now, yet with many concerns still. But as I always say, I will form more of an opinion when I have seen the rest of our transfer business come the end of the window.
