Enzo Maresca should be fired by Chelsea whether or not they qualify for the Champions League
The Blues will finish fifth at worst with two victories over Manchester United, an embarrassment, and Nottingham Forest, a team that looks eager to snatch defeat from the jaws of triumph. Their chances are favorable.
No matter how obvious Maresca says the "improvement" is, his employment will be in grave danger if they don't qualify. How many times did Chelsea finish in the Champions League [places] over the last two years? And we have spent practically the entire season there this year. Is it better or worse? Already, things have improved.
He's not incorrect. With two games remaining, Chelsea has now tied the record set by Mauricio Pochettino last season, and the Italian is already feeling the effects of his quick start.
If Chelsea's bad play around Christmas and the beginning of the new year had occurred at the beginning of the season, the supporters would have accepted it as a transitional phase and looked forward to greater things in the future.
BlueCo is likely to remain with him regardless of the circumstances. They made it clear when they took over that they wanted to abandon the saloon door style of ownership at Stamford Bridge, which saw managers come and go with a mocking regularity under Roman Abramovich if they hadn't won trophies consistently during his ruthless reign. This is in spite of their actions since taking over.
Maresca can also legitimately assert that his actions are effective. For the first time since Thomas Tuchel's departure, Chelsea has a clear style. The players are aware of their roles and seem to follow them most of the time. Once more, since Tuchel, that has not been the case. He has also made a number of players better.
Prior to Maresca's arrival, Moises Caicedo was a shadow of his former Brighton self, but he is now once again one of the Premier League's top center midfielders. Although still somewhat absurd, Enzo Fernandez's £105 million price tag is no longer as ridiculous as it once was. This season, Marc Cucurella has maintained his Euro 2024 form. Noni Madueke has been doing well. Levi Colwill is getting better. Ahead of what looks to be yet another disgusting "pure profit" transaction, Trevoh Chalobah has been outstanding.
He has also brought Chelsea to a place where, not too far from where they were after winning the Champions League under Tuchel, you see them and believe that, with two or even three additions, they could contend for the championship. A striker, a goalie, and most likely a center-back are all gathered now.
There won't be any issues if Chelsea does a good job of recruiting and acquires three elite players for those positions in order to launch and maintain a title campaign. However, no Chelsea supporter will have any confidence that the directors will make the proper choices with such acquisitions.
Stamford Bridge's squad construction was always going to take longer than at any other elite club, mostly because of their poor transfer record and their commitment to signing young players who are unlikely to make an immediate impact.
Chelsea was a pleasure to watch prior to Maresca's philosophy being firmly established, as Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and others thrived in something akin to a "we'll score more than you" attitude to the game. However, they have been a difficult team to watch since Christmas if we're to assume that there won't be a title challenge under Maresca next season.
It was recently reported that there is now "division" among Chelsea decision-makers regarding Maresca's future, with some expressing "serious reservations over his style of play," citing the "slow build-up" and Cole Palmer's decline in form as concerns. The fans have often expressed their frustration with the style, leading Maresca to come out swinging in press conferences on a few occasions.
"A Champions League qualification and a Europa Conference League victory could help Maresca," according to that source, but it won't necessarily make a difference and shouldn't. Why should the future of the Chelsea manager be affected by Nottingham Forest's bed-shit? Football is dull, and there hasn't been any "improvement."
Additionally, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali ought to be asking themselves two questions in the absence of the qualification ultimatum: Will Chelsea compete for the championship the next season? And should we force the supporters to watch dull football in yet another stopgap season, risking more animosity? No, and most likely not.
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