Chelsea departed today for their USA tour after an intense two weeks of preseason at Cobham. What did everyone make of it?
Well, the reaction so far has been utterly gushing and positive about Enzo Maresca’s first two weeks in charge.
Rahman Osman of London World covered the players reaction, and as always they were full of praise for the new man. He allowed the group to train with the ball from the first day of preseason, and his possession play ideas has been “well-received.”
The same players who were unhappy about the removal of Mauricio Pochettino, whom they had a great connection with, “have been impressed with [Maresca’s] training methods, and his “energetic attitude”. The style of football is “already impressive”.
Shade is being thrown on Pochettino now: he was “a bit hands off” and left the details to his assistants.
The reality behind gushing quotes
You never get a new manager go in to a club and then have all the leaks from behind the scenes complaining about their training sessions, do you? It’s always the other way around, and there are a few reasons for that.
Firstly, players are always going to get bored of one coach’s methods, and a fresh start is always going to feel good.
Secondly, if the previous guy has been sacked (and they usually have) the atmosphere and enthusiasm in the training sessions towards the end of their time there has usually dwindled, whereas the new guy comes in full of beans and with the explicit aim of engaging this new group.
Thirdly there’s the actual PR of the situation – it’s in everyone’s interest to put out positive propaganda about the new man and what a difference he’s making. It suits everyone to say it, and everyone to believe it.
There’s no doubt however that Maresca is a different type of coach to those we’ve had before, and we’re curious to see how the team plays in their first friendlies this week.
