01 Mar 2026 20:04:01
We have some very good players but need a very good manager to sort things out. Maresca was a rookie but came in and slowly started to improve things, won 2 pots and got top 4. Instead of binning him off we should of managed any differences and reviewed things in the summer when some big hitters will possibly be available after the world cup. Grass greener with Liam? of course not and never will be, he is so far out of his depth and will surely be sacked mid way through next season and we go rinse and repeat.
Bring a proper manager in and we can challenge as the difference between us and Arsenal is wafer thin. The quality in this league is so poor. Europa league next season and hopefully our next manager can deliver.
01 Mar 2026 20:43:07
Greenaway, Maresca would have been judged at the end of the season anyway, but it was becoming clear he wanted out, maybe for good reason. Who knows? I will give LR time, as I do with all managers or players, before making a decision on their abilities.
I think I will give him a pre season and a chance to influence our SDs on the signings needed, maybe this time next season!
01 Mar 2026 21:04:11
Tom, I'm just so bitterly disappointed that the club didn't just patch things up until the end of the season, and then make a call on Maresca. Love him or hate him, he was learning and doing a decent enough job. He won the 2 pots, got us back into the Champions League, and asked for an experienced centre back, which we all know was needed. I said at the time that the grass is not always greener, and I believe that is being played out with Liam. It has happened now, and I would love to think he is the answer, but I'm afraid I will be proved right, and he will be gone next season, hence my comment of rinse and repeat.
Our starting 11 is right up there with the best in the league, and add 2 or 3 top players, and we have a chance to go toe to toe with Arsenal, Liverpool, City and United next season, but only with a top level manager. Maresca was getting there, maybe slowly, but he was getting there. Liam is a step behind, in fact, a whole flight of stairs behind; we have gone backwards. It is painful, but until we bring a replacement manager, things will not improve. I hope I'm wrong, and usually am, but just my take on it. Enjoy your JD, mate, and I might have one as well to drown my sorrows when I get home.
01 Mar 2026 21:20:32
Greenaway, I wouldn't have changed the manager, and LR wasn't my first choice to replace him. Like you, I used "the grass isn't always greener" analogy to support my argument about keeping EM, but if that argument was valid, then it should be valid now.
I lost a very close friend yesterday who was also a Chelsea ST holder. I'm raising more than one glass of JD tonight, mate.
01 Mar 2026 21:30:05
I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Tom. I see Martin has also left this world. A warrior.
01 Mar 2026 22:14:27
Very sorry for your loss, Tom. Greenawaty, I didn't want Maresca to go, but it seems it was as much his decision as CFC's, and he had been talking to both Juventus and City.
To be fair to LR, our form in the EPL had dipped badly in the last set of games under EM. But both have also had squads with some obvious weaknesses that have been pointed out many times.
02 Mar 2026 06:13:06
Tom,
Sorry to hear about your friend.
Greenaway, you correctly said that Maresca started slowly, but grew into the role.
Let's give LR a chance. Give him a pre-season, and maybe, just maybe, he will also grow into the role, and we can see a lot of green grass around.
02 Mar 2026 11:03:11
In honesty, Greenaway. You kept slating people for their opinion on Maresca, and saying time needs to be given. The boot is now on the other foot.
So, I think you also need to use time as you prescribed to people on here with Maresca.
The grass may not be greener again!
02 Mar 2026 15:13:35
That's what makes the site so good, Finchy, we can all have views, all challenge views, all have agendas, all challenge agendas, all slate the owners, all defend the owners, the list goes on mate. Enjoy it.
02 Mar 2026 19:35:50
Tom, sorry to hear about your friend. Losing someone close is always hard to accept.
02 Mar 2026 22:06:24
Jimbo, thanks for your kind words. It is hard when you lose friends and family.
My mate was diagnosed with Alzheimer's some time ago, and although we had moments of recognition together, we had some fantastic memories to share, but sadly that dreadful disease denied us that pleasure.
I haven't been well myself for some time, but I wouldn't wish that disease on any person, that person's family, or friends. I hope that science can find some sort of cure soon.