Official: Enzo MARESCA announced as new Chelsea Head Coach

[Chelsea_Matt]

6 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Looking forward to seeing what Maresca can do. 

Was fond of him as a player at Juventus, and if he brings the attitude he held during that period of his career into the club at a coaching level, he'll instil some good traits into this group. 

I expect there to be a bit of a transition period in terms of players adapting to what he demands, so not anticipating us to pull up tress immediately but I can see this appointment being a step in the right direction with respects to ticking the boxes we need. 

Curious to see what we do in the market now to support him.

Yes, I have to say I liked him as a player. 

Support him in the market? The narrative is “you get what you’re given” at Chelsea! 🎯💯🫡

[Mark Kelly]

Just seen this interview with a Leicester player about Maresca and his way of playing on Reddit.

Kasey McAteer, who played for Leicester last season under Enzo Maresca, joined Alex Goldberg on his playback stream to talk about what it was like to play for our new Gaffer. Highly recommend you listen to this if you get a chance. Kasey was a great guest and very well spoken. Top guy.

Interview starts about 2 hours in: https://www.playback.tv/replay/cmSEFci3

• From day one he told the squad exactly how he wanted the team to play. They all knew exactly what was expected of them.
• They all learned a lot. Kasey felt like all players would say they learned a lot.
• They had a lot of fun playing under Maresca. Was a very enjoyable style of football to play.
• Enzo is very passionate, like most italian managers haha.
• Kasey and the squad have never played under a manager like Enzo. Absolutely lives and breathes football, extremely obsessed with attention to detail and learning. All about growth and getting better.
• Whenever they would lose, Enzo would always take the blame, and then they'd work on how to improve.
• Everyday he said they'd need to improve. They never rested on their laurels. Enzo is a very hard worker and would always try to be improving.
• The team prepares for each opponent and changes how the different positions move depending on how the opposition plays. It's not a one size fits all approach for everyone they face.
• They had many different ways of playing under the system Enzo implemented. Lots of different strategies and solutions for the opposition. Kasey said it was hard to describe but Enzo would tell the players how the game would go, and then the game would go exactly that way.
• Enzo believes in that strategy and the whole team believed in the strategy. They always believed it would work out in the end and never doubted.
• They felt like they had a great year, even with their second half dip in form. They view it as a great year, no asterisks.
• They felt like they were constantly improving and getting better with that style of football as the season progressed.
• The team wasn't worried during their down stretch the second half of the season.
• During that bad stretch they had a player meeting because they felt they needed to say some things to each other away from the staff. Enzo was very respectful and appreciative of that. Kasey made this sound like in a roundabout way they needed to call eachother out because it wasn't necessarily the managers fault for that dip in form.
• Enzo always let players speak their mind if they wanted to say something in a meeting or say something about tactics. The door was always open. He is very open, very honest.
• Enzo is very direct with players. He would always be honest because when Enzo was a player that's what he wanted. They all knew it wasn't personal, it's a job.
• Very good way of working, very unique way of working.
• Doesn't let young players get ahead of themselves. Good at managing players feelings.
• Very good at getting players to play his style of football. Vardy had never played this way before, but Enzo was able to get Vardy playing his style. Able to get the best out old and young players.
• Some players would swap position based on the opposition.
• On training: lots of little possession boxes. Enzo would get involved "in the fun" but also an element of seriousness. Training itself was tough at times. Fitness coach was always making sure players put in 100%. Never a relaxed training session. They'd do an hour and a half to two hours of training and then recovery.
• They were big on recovery. If players needed anything after games, they'd make sure the training ground was open so they could do an ice bath or anything else they'd need. Again, very big on recovery.
• Enzo could identify when players needed to recover more. Was very cognizant of that. Very good at managing players and what they needed.
• They did NOT have a one size fits all approach to fitness. Absolute breath of fresh air here.
• Enzo's fitness guy was very highly rated by players.
• Kasey says his time under Enzo was very enjoyable. Kasey himself had a couple of injuries, but Enzo never made him feel like he was out of the picture.
• Says Chelsea "have a very good one."
• Kasey scored against liverpool. Says he's so appreciative of Enzo for giving him that chance.
• The players went over to Enzo's house in the middle of the night after they got promoted. All the staff were there. Not a lot of managers that would do that. But they all had a strong bond and spent the night singing and shouting in Maresca's house.
• All the players really liked Maresca, and the young guys looked up to him.
• Kasey is childhood mates with Carney Chukwuemeka. Thinks Enzo will really appreciate Carney and that he'll flourish under him, but he's obviously biased as they're mates.

Kasey seemed to really like Enzo. The club seems very disappointed that he left, especially if you look at Leicesters statement today. Obviously this interview isn't club PR as it comes from a Leicester player, but seems as if the players really genuinely loved the football they were playing and loved playing under Maresca.

[CarefreeMuratcan]

27 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

 

• They had many different ways of playing under the system Enzo implemented. Lots of different strategies and solutions for the opposition. Kasey said it was hard to describe but Enzo would tell the players how the game would go, and then the game would go exactly that way.
• Enzo's fitness guy was very highly rated by players.

 

Perfect.

[Ham]

1 hour ago, Bison said:

Mbappe was a free agent to be fair.

As for Real Madrid, what a club. They follow up a Champions League win by signing Mbappe whilst we announce a Championship manager on a six year contract.

Standards have never been lower.

£100m signing on fee and £1m per week.  

Very "free". 

[RDCW]

1 hour ago, Bison said:

Mbappe was a free agent to be fair.

As for Real Madrid, what a club. They follow up a Champions League win by signing Mbappe whilst we announce a Championship manager on a six year contract.

Standards have never been lower.

You're either very young, or have a short memory.

[Mark Kelly]

17 minutes ago, CarefreeMuratcan said:

Perfect.

It does sound exactly what we need doesn't it? 

[ROTG]

1 hour ago, Mark Kelly said:

They had many different ways of playing under the system Enzo implemented. Lots of different strategies and solutions for the opposition. Kasey said it was hard to describe but Enzo would tell the players how the game would go, and then the game would go exactly that way.

So Enzo told the players they were going to loose games.

Let's hope Enzo did have a wager on those games

Edited June 4 by ROTG

[Mark Kelly]

Just now, ROTG said:

So Enzo told the players they were going to loose games.

Let's hope Enzo did have a wager on the game

What a surprise .

Said no-one ever. 

 

[My Blood Is Blue]

The more I hear about Enzo, the more excited I get, however, I have to remind myself some of it is just PR from the club.

I have a feeling this may just work out well for us.

[Bison]

36 minutes ago, Ham said:

£100m signing on fee and £1m per week.  

Very "free". 

So now free agent signings aren't free agent signings any more. Got it.

46 minutes ago, RDCW said:

You're either very young, or have a short memory.

Born in 86, didn't seriously start following Chelsea, football etc. until the late 90s.

[Bison]

Better players on far bigger wages will probably act sooner than those Leicester players. 

[Ham]

1 minute ago, Bison said:

So now free agent signings aren't free agent signings any more. Got it.

Born in 86, didn't seriously start following Chelsea, football etc. until the late 90s.

There are free agent signings but the signing on fee makes this one anything but.  

[Ham]

1 minute ago, Bison said:

Better players on far bigger wages will probably act sooner than those Leicester players. 

Or they will follow his instructions better and have better quality players off the bench if they don't.  

[Bison]

4 minutes ago, Ham said:

There are free agent signings but the signing on fee makes this one anything but.  

At what point does a free agent no longer count as a free agent? When they can command a 5m sign on bonus? 10m? 20m? 50m?

9 minutes ago, Ham said:

Or they will follow his instructions better and have better quality players off the bench if they don't.  

EnzoM hardly used his bench last season according to some stats I've seen (and Leicester had a strong squad compared to other Championship clubs so I wonder what the excuse for that was).

My only worry is that if following his instructions doesn't get results we don't have a core of senior players that can manage themselves and the rest like the old guard used to do when Roman gave them a rubbish manager (Avram, Boas, Rafa etc.). 

[martin1905]

17 minutes ago, Bison said:

Better players on far bigger wages will probably act sooner than those Leicester players. 

On the flip side, better players will be able to implement his philosophy to a better standard.

Possession based football isn't easy to get right, whilst it cam be very easy to keep the ball in the defensive and middle third, literally any team can do that, it's all about how good you are in the attacking third. It's what makes Pep's teams so good but a big part of it being successful is the players. Perhaps the Leicester just weren't good enough?

I think having Palmer, Nkunku, Madueke,  Enzo, Sterling(who was brilliant under Pep) will mean we have a much better chance of implementing this system to a higher level than Leicester. 

[Mark Kelly]

Just now, Bison said:

 

My only worry is that if following his instructions doesn't get results we don't have a core of senior players that can manage themselves and the rest like the old guard used to do when Roman gave them a rubbish manager (Avram, Boas, Rafa etc.). 

Well , they managed it last year didn't they?

 

[Miguelito07]

31 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

The more I hear about Enzo, the more excited I get, however, I have to remind myself some of it is just PR from the club.

I have a feeling this may just work out well for us.

I think all we want is for the team to be coached which wasnt last season (my opinion) - even when we had that good run at the end I never really felt we had control of the matches.

[Bison]

Just now, martin1905 said:

On the flip side, better players will be able to implement his philosophy to a better standard.

Possession based football isn't easy to get right, whilst it cam be very easy to keep the ball in the defensive and middle third, literally any team can do that, it's all about how good you are in the attacking third. It's what makes Pep's teams so good but a big part of it being successful is the players. Perhaps the Leicester just weren't good enough?

I think having Palmer, Nkunku, Madueke,  Enzo, Sterling(who was brilliant under Pep) will mean we have a much better chance of implementing this system to a higher level than Leicester. 

What happens when EnzoM tells the sporting directors that some players, like the future Ballon d'Or winner they signed for 60m, cannot keep the ball under pressure and is a turnover machine? How do we square that circle?

[Bison]

4 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Well , they managed it last year didn't they?

And how did that work out? 11 defeats (including some really embarrassing ones). And 63 goals conceded, which is the most we've ever conceded in a Premier League season if I'm not mistaken. 

[Mark Kelly]

Just now, Bison said:

And how did that work out? 11 defeats (including some really embarrassing ones). And 63 goals conceded, which is the most we've ever conceded in a Premier League season if I'm not mistaken. 

They still managed it .

They won't have to worry this time though as they actually have a manager who knows what he's doing by all accounts 

and if you read what an actual Leicester player and not the moronic agenda driven media say about the "Leicester players revolt" the issue was more one of them needing to get with the coaches ideas and not to kick back against them . 

Personally I think we're going to surprise a lot of people next season , we may well score less but we will also be much more balanced and difficult to score against .

I'd be looking to get your " I love Misha" T shirt out of hibernation if I were you too. 

[paulw66]

21 minutes ago, Bison said:

At what point does a free agent no longer count as a free agent? When they can command a 5m sign on bonus? 10m? 20m? 50m?

 

Difficult to pinpoint an exact amount, but suffice to say paying 100m is far from "free"

[martin1905]

13 minutes ago, Bison said:

What happens when EnzoM tells the sporting directors that some players, like the future Ballon d'Or winner they signed for 60m, cannot keep the ball under pressure and is a turnover machine? How do we square that circle?

Some players will work, others won't.

I don't think the system is going to be dependent on any one player although he does like his wingers to stay really high and wide so maybe we will see a different Mudryk,  a better Mudryk?

Maybe give it a chance before making any judgement?

[paulw66]

2 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

Just seen this interview with a Leicester player about Maresca and his way of playing on Reddit.

Kasey McAteer, who played for Leicester last season under Enzo Maresca, joined Alex Goldberg on his playback stream to talk about what it was like to play for our new Gaffer. Highly recommend you listen to this if you get a chance. Kasey was a great guest and very well spoken. Top guy.

Interview starts about 2 hours in: https://www.playback.tv/replay/cmSEFci3

• From day one he told the squad exactly how he wanted the team to play. They all knew exactly what was expected of them.
• They all learned a lot. Kasey felt like all players would say they learned a lot.
• They had a lot of fun playing under Maresca. Was a very enjoyable style of football to play.
• Enzo is very passionate, like most italian managers haha.
• Kasey and the squad have never played under a manager like Enzo. Absolutely lives and breathes football, extremely obsessed with attention to detail and learning. All about growth and getting better.
• Whenever they would lose, Enzo would always take the blame, and then they'd work on how to improve.
• Everyday he said they'd need to improve. They never rested on their laurels. Enzo is a very hard worker and would always try to be improving.
• The team prepares for each opponent and changes how the different positions move depending on how the opposition plays. It's not a one size fits all approach for everyone they face.
• They had many different ways of playing under the system Enzo implemented. Lots of different strategies and solutions for the opposition. Kasey said it was hard to describe but Enzo would tell the players how the game would go, and then the game would go exactly that way.
• Enzo believes in that strategy and the whole team believed in the strategy. They always believed it would work out in the end and never doubted.
• They felt like they had a great year, even with their second half dip in form. They view it as a great year, no asterisks.
• They felt like they were constantly improving and getting better with that style of football as the season progressed.
• The team wasn't worried during their down stretch the second half of the season.
• During that bad stretch they had a player meeting because they felt they needed to say some things to each other away from the staff. Enzo was very respectful and appreciative of that. Kasey made this sound like in a roundabout way they needed to call eachother out because it wasn't necessarily the managers fault for that dip in form.
• Enzo always let players speak their mind if they wanted to say something in a meeting or say something about tactics. The door was always open. He is very open, very honest.
• Enzo is very direct with players. He would always be honest because when Enzo was a player that's what he wanted. They all knew it wasn't personal, it's a job.
• Very good way of working, very unique way of working.
• Doesn't let young players get ahead of themselves. Good at managing players feelings.
• Very good at getting players to play his style of football. Vardy had never played this way before, but Enzo was able to get Vardy playing his style. Able to get the best out old and young players.
• Some players would swap position based on the opposition.
• On training: lots of little possession boxes. Enzo would get involved "in the fun" but also an element of seriousness. Training itself was tough at times. Fitness coach was always making sure players put in 100%. Never a relaxed training session. They'd do an hour and a half to two hours of training and then recovery.
• They were big on recovery. If players needed anything after games, they'd make sure the training ground was open so they could do an ice bath or anything else they'd need. Again, very big on recovery.
• Enzo could identify when players needed to recover more. Was very cognizant of that. Very good at managing players and what they needed.
• They did NOT have a one size fits all approach to fitness. Absolute breath of fresh air here.
• Enzo's fitness guy was very highly rated by players.
• Kasey says his time under Enzo was very enjoyable. Kasey himself had a couple of injuries, but Enzo never made him feel like he was out of the picture.
• Says Chelsea "have a very good one."
• Kasey scored against liverpool. Says he's so appreciative of Enzo for giving him that chance.
• The players went over to Enzo's house in the middle of the night after they got promoted. All the staff were there. Not a lot of managers that would do that. But they all had a strong bond and spent the night singing and shouting in Maresca's house.
• All the players really liked Maresca, and the young guys looked up to him.
• Kasey is childhood mates with Carney Chukwuemeka. Thinks Enzo will really appreciate Carney and that he'll flourish under him, but he's obviously biased as they're mates.

Kasey seemed to really like Enzo. The club seems very disappointed that he left, especially if you look at Leicesters statement today. Obviously this interview isn't club PR as it comes from a Leicester player, but seems as if the players really genuinely loved the football they were playing and loved playing under Maresca.

Thanks Mark, really helpful.

In some ways, the fact they have gone for an "unknown" manager I find encouraging. Any idiot can say, "let's go for Ancellotti or Pep"

[martin1905]

50 minutes ago, Bison said:

So now free agent signings aren't free agent signings any more. Got it.

There's no such thing as a free signing.

A free agent just means the transfer fee goes to the player, as a signing on fee, as opposed to the club.

 

[exiledblue]

1 hour ago, Mark Kelly said:

It does sound exactly what we need doesn't it? 

But he was teaching guys who hadnt yet made it, so willing to learn. The risk is our players think they have made it as Chelsea pay them an enourmous salary on a long contract. How hungry and motivated to learn are they? We will see!