Enzo Maresca’s first two weeks of preseason as Chelsea boss seem to be going swimmingly.
After total silence on the club’s social media channels for a month or so, they’re now flooding them with content from training, and Kieran Gill from the Daily Mail has information that the group are already loving the new gaffer.
“Enzo Maresca’s first week of taking Chelsea training had yielded only positivity with players telling their representatives how much they were enjoying his sessions,” Gill wrote today.
“Already there is a feeling that Maresca’s tactical instructions are much clearer than his predecessor’s, the most common words out of the 44-year-old Italian’s mouth over the week being ‘well done’ whenever he saw something he liked.”
That great atmosphere has surely been punctured by the racism scandal of the last 24 hours, but despite that the photos from training today showed the smiles continuing.
Pochettino is known as a coach that players love, but he doesn’t come from the same intensive, Guardiola-style coaching tree that Maresca does. Sessions always looked fun, but there was disappointment by Christmas about an apparent lack of progress tactically.
A big pinch of salt
This is all very positive, and it’s inevitable that we get caught up in it a little. However some perspective is important. Let’s not forget that there were similar words and sensations a year ago when Mauricio Pochettino was taking charge. The sessions were fresh and exciting, the sun was shining, Pochettino was smiling, everything went well and we looked great in the friendlies.
Yet despite that here we are with a new coach a year on. So while we’re certainly pleased to hear this all from a (supposedly) neutral sources, we’ve got to bear in mind the context, and who is passing these messages on.
just a reminder that pochettino was new to a jumble of newly acquired stars and an impossibly large squad to sift from.
I think that is the reason his effect manifest itself rather late, but he clearly was getting there.
but sometimes getting there is never enough in football, particularly at Chelsea where even big cup winners were summarily sacked ghe moment there was a bit of slack