Five Big Questions For Your Club: Has Enzo Maresca been able to instil his style of play? Can he handle Chelsea’s bloated squad? And will the ownership show some patience with the new boss?
The Premier League season is just days away and fans of all 20 clubs, and indeed the entire football community, are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2024-25 season.
For Chelsea, it is another season in which they are under a new manager, with Enzo Maresca taking over from Mauricio Pochettino at the end of 2023-24.
Maresca was of course the driving force behind Leicester’s thrilling return to the promised land last season and he comes with a whole new philosophy and a whole host of new players to help him put it into practice.
But how have the Blues fared in pre-season? Are they showing signs of adapting to the manager’s new style? How has Maresca coped with the growing numbers at Stamford Bridge?
Mail Sport’s KIERAN GILL answers your burning questions about Chelsea ahead of their season opener against Manchester City.
Enzo Maresca arrives at Chelsea bringing a whole new philosophy to the Blues
He faces a tough task: coaching Chelsea in his new style while also training their new players.
Pedro Neto is the latest of a number of players brought in during the summer transfer window
Has Enzo Maresca had enough time to implement his playing style at Chelsea?
It didn’t help that Chelsea spent so much time in the United States, as the pitches there were not ideal for perfecting a passing style. Moises Caicedo was one of the players who complained to journalists about the dryness of the pitch.
With all their coast-to-coast travel, Enzo Maresca had to rely entirely on video sessions for even a single friendly match. That may be why they struggled at times.
Expect extensive training sessions on Cobham’s pristine pitches as Maresca ensures his philosophy is fully understood ahead of the start of the Premier League season.
It may not be ready for that first big home game against Manchester City, but I’m confident it will improve as the season progresses.
Extensive training sessions at Cobham are expected to help the team embrace Maresca’s style
Pep Guardiola and Man City pose major obstacle for first game of Maresca’s reign
Will Chelsea management be patient with Maresca?
That’s the plan. There’s a reason Chelsea signed Maresca on a five-year deal with the option of a sixth. That was much longer than Mauricio Pochettino’s two-year deal with a third.
Chelsea’s board, led by Behdad Eghbali and his fellow sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, carried out a thorough process to determine who their next manager should be.
Maresca was chosen over Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna because he fit their long-term vision for aggressive football, so you hope he gets time to oversee things.
But it only takes one disappointing run to cause panic among the supporters. Sometimes that same fear strikes in the boardroom.
But if I were a betting man, I’d say Maresca will still be Chelsea manager by this time next year, at least.
Behdad Eghbali (right) and his co-directors conducted a thorough process to determine who their next manager should be
Maresca beat the likes of Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna to take the hot seat at Chelsea
Is Chelsea’s injury crisis finally over?
Pochettino has been talking about Chelsea’s injury crisis on a weekly basis. It was a clear statement on his press conference bingo card, as was the plea for time to oversee the project.
The club investigated why they were experiencing so many problems, but could not find a solution.
Adjustments have been made, however, as this season Maresca will be working with fitness coaches to ensure the players don’t collapse until the pressure of the workload kicks in. Thankfully, Chelsea have come through their tour of the United States unscathed.
Reece James, Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia were the only three players to play in all five of their friendlies, and they were also the ones who suffered the most injuries last season.
Christopher Nkunku (pictured), Reece James and Romeo Lavia were the only three players to start all five pre-season friendlies
How does Maresca deal with such a bloated team?
There will likely be plenty of minutes yet to be played, given the horrendously long season Chelsea have ahead of them.
They have the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup, the Conference League and then next summer the Club World Cup in the United States.
If Chelsea can be competitive in all those competitions – and that is the aim – then Maresca is looking forward to a season of more than 75 games.
Chelsea are ridiculed for having so many players – they even had four goalkeepers in the squad for the friendly win over Club America – but don’t forget that most of their players are in fact youngsters signed for the future.
They are expected to be the youngest team in the Premier League in 2024-25.
Chelsea currently have a bloated squad, but they could play around 75 games this season
How can Chelsea ensure that they are no longer so leaky at the back?
Chelsea conceded a club record number of goals in the Premier League last season under Pochettino – 63 in total – when they parted ways with the Argentine in the summer.
Maresca wants to introduce an attacking style of play, but also needs to fix the leaky defense.
In the run-up to the season, that was a problem as they conceded an average of more than two goals per game in the United States.
Under Pochettino, Chelsea conceded a club record 63 goals in the Premier League last season
It was interesting to hear Maresca tell us after their fifth and final friendly of that tour – a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid – that he is still trying to get the Pochettino out of his players.
He specifically said they still have a high defensive line, which he doesn’t like, describing it as a “habit from last year.”