Decent win over Spurs and, after a 2 week break, the players looked fresh and even lively. Pace was up everywhere and I swear I even saw Gusto and Cuccurella running towards our opponents goal !! Seriously, much better intent to try and use some pace and for the first time we look like the Team from early season with scoring being more important than just holding onto possession. Reason for optimism. Some good performances too, Casiedo, Chalobah, Gusto and Jackson were excellent, Fernandez gets better alongside Caseido too, everyone else did a good job, no poor performers really. Jackson makes a difference.Palmer was everywhere and had a much better game with the whole Team in attack mode.
Like this board, the signs of life in the Team lasted 3 days. Dreadful in every way against Brentford. Dreadful selections for starting line up, James out of position again, KDH and Nkunku ready for the Championship , lacklustre, timid slow walking display that came to life with the players subbed, but still not good enough to crack Brentford, who had the best player and a Goalkeeper who kept everything out. We looked like a nothing Team with all the power and skill of a rampaging Line Dancer..
The decision to rest both Jackson AND Palmer was utterly bafflling. Does Maresca not realise we are fighting for a Champions League spot? What are we resting them for? The Conference league? FFS our C Team should be annhilating Legia Warsaw. Why play the gimped team in the PL when we need points?!
Maresca is either under instructions or just not smart enough to know what to do next. After Spurs it was bloody obvious that energy and pace made a huge difference, but both were gone again. I just keep seeing a potentially very good team ruined by the ineptitude of their Manager. But always is the elephant in the room is the Owners and their dopey Football Managers. This "Plan" is at the core of everything bad, cause it's profit before performance every time. Hope I'm still around in 2035 to see who's right !!
I just dont get it! He knows we are toothless when both of them are out of the starting XI. Yes they both recently came back from injury but they had the international break ffs. The Conference against Legia is when you rest them ffs. Its over two legs! Even if we drew a blank at their place we would still have the return leg to win it back. Its not like we were playing Real Madrid in the CL like Arsenal ffs then I might have understood it somewhat. We need to be building up a buffer of points against City, Newcastle and Villa while we can because our last 4 fixtures are Home to Liverpool, away at Newcastle, Home to United and away at Forest and I dont see us getting much out of those, except maybe United. We really need 9 points out of our next three fixtures against Ipswich, Fulham and Everton otherwise we are ****ed!
Well lets see if he responds after the game in Poland. The 2 kids, Josh and Tyrique, added so much energy and drive it was obvious that is what we need in our "1st" Team most of all. He has to let our attacking talent attack, quickly and directly, and lose that "walking backwards" garbage he prefers. Fingers crossed it's not another dull as dishwater "Maresca special" coming up. Get the line up right, and let them play.
Thats it for me, top 5 hopes are over. Even if we beat Everton. Needed at least 7 points from Brentford, Ipswich and Everton imo. No way.....6th or 7th now for me.
Maresca needs shooting, he really is clueless in every aspect of his job, selections, positions, formations, style, intent, tactics, he fails in every one. He's ruined not only the Team, but individual players as well, James, Gusto, Palmer, Neto, Colwill, for starters. Cucurella is the only player in any kind of attacking form. We are a mid table dull boring clueless Team and will stay like that until Maresca is gone. And that's before the Clowns who created this situation are even talked about. Rotten with mediocracy from top to bottom is Chelsea today..
Well this board is slowly dying a death isn't it? Not like there isn't much to talk about with this team either! I'm beyond asking what happened against Ipswich. They are relegated (not quite but almost) and should have had absolutely no opportunity to put anything past us, let alone 2 and make it look like they could steal a win. We seem to be doing the opposite if what we did last year and getting worse as the season goes on. Sadly, the predictions of Leicester fans are coming true. Starts good, ends badly. Personally, I think Maresca has the end of the season and then a couple of months into the next and if there is no improvement he's a gonner.
The guy needs to go now. He is worse than AVB and Scolari combined. Absolute clown. 100% Agree. He has taken the team that Poch finished 6th with, spent another £250m, and somehow made it worse!
I Think you will be right, I can't see the Big Boys wanting to fire their 5 year ?? contracted coach just yet. I agree he'll get the off season to bring in and move out players, reduce the squad size and make what he can of more manageable numbers and hopefully better players in a few places. Will it make any difference?/ Nothing that I've seen suggests it will, he's a 1 dimensional Manager, not too sharp with tactics or judgement of Players and how to best use them. He'd already be sitting on a beach in Italy if Abramovich was still around.
He probably would have never even been given the job if Abramovic was still around. Our owners are clowns, yes. But even with this squad, we shouldnt be dropping points at home to Ipswich, thats down to the manager. I mean ffs Ipswich are, for all intents and purposes, already relegated. 14 points adrift with 7 games left, they are going down. They have 21 points, and 4 of them have come from us!! 20% of their seasons points tally has been given to them by Chelsea
We,ve been very generous to a few Teams, giving them points we really needed. We've given Ipswich their fair share of points, time they gave us something, like Liam Delap !! Meanwhile at Strasbourg, Andrey Santos is attracting interest fro Bayern and Barca. Hey Andrey, go to one of them, DONT come back to Chelsea if Maresca is here, your career will be wrecked !!
