Chelsea have lost their last two Premier League games after red cards, and while Enzo Maresca can only do so much to stop his players making bad decisions which get them sent off, his response in the two games has been widely criticised.
In his press conference today ahead of the game against Benfica in the Champions League tomorrow, Maresca held up his hands and admitted to having got things wrong.
Maresca admits he “could have done better”
“First of all, for sure, I think after reviewing the last two games, I could have done better in terms of decisions. No doubt,” the manager said.
“But also for me, it is like a learning process to play with 10 players. For any manager it is not something normal but it happens sometimes. In almost six months, we lost five games and four of them had red cards. The only game we lost eleven versus eleven was Bayern Munich away.
“Compared to last season, we all improved, the players have more experience. Me personally as a manager, I feel better than last year because I am learning. There are things for me to learn, like playing with 10 players. It is all part of the process.”
We hope that’s all true – and we hope to see it reflected in some improved performances soon.
Defender decision stands out as an error
It’s an interesting confession from a man who sometimes can be pretty intransigent. His decision to take off a defender as well as bring on a replacement goalkeeper in the game against Manchester United was particularly egregious.
Now he’s thought about it and learned from it, we hope he makes a different decision next time. But first, let’s try and keep eleven players on the pitch for a while please.
He has to go. The best form of defence is attack. Every man and his dog knows that, but a coach on 6 million a year dosent. Give the Ladies team manager his job. She said publicly, on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, she wants 4 trophies this season, including Champions leauge. What does Marcessa say,”im here to inprove the team.” Well, you are doing a sh£t job of it. Go now, please. !!
“The best form of defence is attack.†What a load of rubbish. Some of Chelsea’s most successful years EVER were built upon a fortress-like defence where we scarcely conceded a goal. Throwing out tired (and easily falsifiable) old adages that never held any water to begin with (because the exact inverse has also been used) is just plain lazy.
I give Maresca loads of credit for publicly taking responsibility for mistakes and admitting that he is learning just like the players and must continue to improve. He’s certainly got his work cut out for him with so many injuries to key players, but the #1 priority has to be maintaining belief and mental resilience within the squad. If we can weather these next couple of weeks and get to the international break (when, hopefully, Palmer can return) then there’s every reason to think we can get the season back on track. We’re still only a few points outside the top 4 with everything still to play for. Now would be the absolute WORST moment to sack a manager who has done nothing but show consistent gains over his time in charge.