Waking up at 11am, with a splitting headache from overindulgence in New Years Eve antics, the last thing I wanted or needed to see was the official club confirmation of Enzo Maresca’s departure from Chelsea Football Club.
When Mauricio Pochettino left in May 2024, I contemplated writing a similar piece to this one, but eventually opted not to. I simply didn’t have the energy to put something together. However, given what Enzo Maresca achieved in his 18 months at the football club, I feel it would be wrong and unfair not to provide some sort of commentary on it.
I’d be lying if I said I felt particularly inspired by the list of names on the table. Whilst Maresca had come off the back of a good season at Leicester, there were still doubts about his tactical flexibility and ultimately managing a club of Chelsea’s size is an entirely different proposition to that environment.
His first game, a 2-0 loss to a Manchester City side we were powerless to do anything against, wasn’t exactly inspiring, but things got better quickly. Fast forward four months and a win at Goodison Park on a wet and blustery winters day would’ve put us top of the league for at least a couple of hours. The all too familiar winter Chelsea slump set in after this point however, and a winless run of five games ensured that qualification for the Champions League was the most we could expect from the league campaign.
Form continued to be hit and miss. Losses in the 4th round of both the League and FA Cup did little to build a connection between Maresca and the Stamford Bridge faithful but the team thankfully rallied when it mattered most, five wins in the final six league games of the season ensured a third place finish whilst we claimed the Conference League trophy in Wrocław to ensure we can continue to be the only club who have truly won it all.
The highlight of his time was undoubtedly a sunny Sunday afternoon at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Chelsea absolutely blew Paris Saint-Germain away to win the Club World Cup in a first-half performance that is one of the finest I’ve ever seen. Watching Reece James lift that golden trophy, it really felt like the 2025/2026 season could be a platform for us to launch something great.
A poor summer transfer window, signing 6 players all of whom were aged 23 and under, ensured that there was little chance to build on the wonderful end to the season. It left a squad still sorely lacking experience, a proven goalscorer and an elite centre back. We saw glimpses of brilliance, a 3-0 demolition of Barcelona another highlight of his reign but unfortunately the side never really kicked on.
His time at the club was certainly not perfect. An average of 1.74 points a game in the Premier League is simply not good enough for a club of Chelsea’s stature, and the fact only two permanent managers have seen a lower average in the 21st century is pretty damning.
What I find truly incredible and most frustrating is the seemingly untouchable positions that Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley hold as co-sporting directors at the club. Across the board, it’s almost impossible to find a single good decision they’ve made. Last week, a list of their 42 signings for the football club was trending on X. Of those 42 it’s totally fair to say that just three have been unanimous hits. Given the sheer volume of transfers, it’s hard to give them any praise for even those three being good.
I don’t have a particularly strong opinion on who or what should come next. Liam Rosenior seems a likely choice, already within the BlueCo sphere of influence. For the record, what I’ve seen and read of him impresses me, however I do not see him as a solution to the multitude of issues which currently plague this football club.
As fans, we deserve so much better than the mess we now find ourselves in from what this ownership has done in their three and a half years at the club. When the going is ‘good’, we’re subjected to arrogant quotes on their vision for the club. When it’s tough, they’re nowhere to be seen. The very least we now need is to hear their plan on exactly where they’re taking the football club.
Once again, I find myself feeling totally apathetic to everything that’s happening at the football club. I doubt we’ll ever find out exactly what happened between Enzo Maresca and the hierarchy at Chelsea. Every five minutes today another hit piece has emerged, dissecting something he did or didn’t do during his time here, but fans aren’t stupid. We’ve seen this pattern before. We saw it with Tuchel, and we saw it with Pochettino.
I’ll finish this by saying whoever is next in the dugout, I wish you the very best of luck. You are going to need it…
The Shed Diaries 