‘Chelsea hand inexperienced Enzo Maresca more leeway than Mauricio Pochettino’
Chelsea have endured an increasingly difficult first season following the appointment of Enzo Maresca as their new manager.
Prior to the start of the campaign, the Italian had never taken on a senior managerial role in the Premier League, although he had just guided Leicester City to the Championship title.
Maresca’s appointment came after Chelsea had sacked Mauricio Pochettino after just a single season in charge at Stamford Bridge.
The club had failed to win any silverware under the Argentine during that campaign, losing the Carabao Cup to Liverpool after extra time, and finished sixth in the Premier League, meaning they had to settle for Conference League qualification in Europe.
This time round under their new boss, the Conference League is the Blues’ only hope of silverware, and they are facing a fight to qualify for the Champions League.
Chelsea fans have therefore already called for Maresca to be sacked, although it appears they may be disappointed with their hopes for further managerial change.
Enzo Maresca in line to remain at Stamford Bridge
According to a report from The Telegraph, Maresca is currently being judged differently to Pochettino by the club’s board as they weigh up his future, suggesting the Italian could be set to stay.
It is stated that one of the reasons for that is his lack of experience in the Premier League when compared to Pochettino.
While Chelsea is Maresca’s first job at this level, Pochettino had already spent several years in the English top-flight with Tottenham.
There has apparently therefore been an acceptance that the Italian would be learning on the job at Stamford Bridge this season.
| Premier League position | Played | Points |
| 3. Manchester City | 34 | 61 |
| 4. Nottingham Forest | 33 | 60 |
| 5. Newcastle United | 33 | 59 |
| 6. Chelsea | 33 | 57 |
| 7. Aston Villa | 34 | 57 |
The board are therefore said to be aware that some mistakes would be made by Maresca, and that he has reportedly therefore been given more leeway than Pochettino.
It is also noted that Chelsea are taking their participation in the Club World Cup this summer seriously, with their first game due to take place just 22 days after the end of the Premier League season, and ending around a month before the new campaign kicks off.
As a result there are concerns at Stamford Bridge about whether they would even have time to change managers effectively and efficiently between those two competitions.
Chelsea fans to be frustrated by manager update
Football Insider Verdict
There is an argument that this stance on Maresca is unlikely to go down all that well among the Blues’ fanbase.
It could be seen as though Chelsea have been willing to write this season off by getting a weaker manager than they previously had, in order to give him time to learn on the job, while excusing themselves for potentially getting the appointment wrong.
The Stamford Bridge fanbase have become well accustomed to success in recent years, and so giving up a better chance on that through this approach may not be a popular one.
It is also a gamble for the future, since the club may be left playing catch-up in the transfer market if they miss out on the footballing and financial boost of qualifying for the Champions League.
With that in mind, there will surely still be pressure on Maresca in these final league games of the season to meet the exceptations of the fanbase.
If he then fails to do that, it may be the case that those aforementioned issues coupled with the sentiment from the stands, may force the Chelsea board into action.