re: Chelsea 2023/24 Season-Long Thread: We’re Toast

No Jose, no care

I’m assuming United is trying to lock up McKenna before Chelsea.

There’s zero reason we should get rid of Conor. Guy was the glue to the squad and can play so many positions. Oh, and he’s stupid young still.

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Selling Gallagher and Chalibah provides vital financial relief for the club as well.

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I'll never understand a setup that incentivizes teams selling off their homegrown talent. It's so antithetical to how it should be. So of course it's the way it is.

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Gallagher doesn’t fit the style the Board wants to play.

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I don’t want to play the style Poch likes either. There is lots of pointless possession, and then a lot of individual attacking.

I love a Gallagher’s work rate, but in the attacking third, he is really poor. Worse yet, he isn’t improving in that area.

He would be an amazing holding mid IF he could find some positional discipline. Given how young he is, I believe that he will. However, Caicedo showed his class at the end, so he won’t displace him. As such, with a manager utilizing the talent on hand, I don’t see CG getting as much PT. His value is on the high end right now. So I can understand him being sold.

As for Enzo, time will tell.
I will wait until:
-he is healthy
-he has time with Caicedo
-he has a manager that has a plan that works with those two
-he has an attacker that fully knows how to play the position (Nkuku?)

As for Chalobah, I don’t want to see him go either. That being said, I get him being sold.

I’m not sure whom they bring in as a manager, but whoever it is will have quite a bit of talent to work with.

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I'll never understand a setup that incentivizes teams selling off their homegrown talent. It's so antithetical to how it should be. So of course it's the way it is.

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It drives up the value of English / academy trained players (at least some of them). As such, it keeps the “English” premiership stocked with English players. Otherwise, that number would easily be cut in half.

Saw that. I guess I’m ok with it? Did a good job with Leicester but it’s only been a year. I hope Chelsea isn’t falling in love with him just because he’s from Pep’s tree.

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Did a good job with Leicester but it’s only been a year.

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It was a Leicester squad that lost its best players, was in shambles in terms of form (despite still being a fairly talented squad), and saddled with high expectations (win the Championship).

Outside of a poor run of form at the end (which they were able to overcome), they exceeded expectations.

I think that he was the best hire possible.

Young players need direction.

He seemingly knows the team very well (Asperger’s?), and already knows how he wants to play them.

That being said, his hiring means CG is all but gone.

Such is life.

I expect us to be top three next year, and win at least one trophy (a domestic cup) and perhaps two (Conference League).

Poch, despite the strong finish, was never going to get us to the top. His style is too laissez-faire for such a young team.

Picking up Tosin on a free from Fulham helps at CB.

Now…to get a top shelf keeper (Sanchez and Petrovich will not do, and selling both is plausible), and an experienced forward (does Vardy show up for a year or two with a loan to Leicester allowing for Jackson to get some more experience?). Nkuku is the guy, but we need a quality backup that can be a supersub against tired legs.

Seeing who comes back fully fit from pretty bad injuries is also something to keep an eye on.

stolen from reddit

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Some key points:

Maresca did his homework - he watched every single game of Leicester’s relegation season so he could see for himself what he was working with. His preparation for every game also consisted of hours of footage of the opposition, studying their approach.

He lived at the Seagrave training base during preseason where he held double training sessions and watched footage on repeat to immerse himself in the club.

Quote from Dewsbury-Hall: “A lot of the things he was saying, the lads hadn’t seen before. The way he explained it made it look so simple and we were telling ourselves, ‘How did we not know this?’ We felt out of our depth! The more you do it, the more it feels second nature. That’s why the top teams are so good: they’re all on the same wavelength.”

Brief note on tactics: a 4-3-3 that becomes a 4-5-1 out of possession but a 3-2-5 in possession. Leicester are very dominant in possession (which is one of the board’s criteria)

He won’t change his approach. He does have subtle variations, but there will also be one main striker, one holding midfielder with a full-back playing inside and two wingers. It is his way and he believes in it wholly. (He has a plan A and will stick to it stubbornly. When it worked it led to 31 league wins, when it didn’t work due to opposition sitting deep it really frustrated the older fans in particular who were used to a direct style of play)

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one main striker: Nkunku
one holding midfielder: Enzo
defensive midfielder: caicedo
fullback playing inside: Reece or Gusto
two wingers: Mudryk or Jackson, Palmer

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Opposition Managers' Perspective

Opposition managers consistently praised Leicester City as being very well-coached under Enzo Maresca last season, regardless of the result.

Leicester's Decision

After relegation, Leicester owner wanted a new modern style of play and an ambitious young manager to change the team's identity

Maresca fit this criteria, despite being seen as a risk for a destabilized club due to his limited managerial experience

Maresca's Limited Experience

Had only 14 games as head coach at Parma in 2021, another relegated club trying to bounce back. Was sacked after 6 months at Parma

Preparation for life at new club and matches

Maresca is extremely committed and hungry to succeed, leaving no doubt about his dedication

He is meticulous and could be described as a workaholic

Before joining Leicester, he watched every game of their relegation season, sometimes multiple times, to analyze the team

His preparation involves extensive video analysis of upcoming opponents, studying their tactics

Maresca is a tactically-focused manager who emphasizes tactical training regimens

At Leicester, they did double training sessions on the field coupled with video analysis indoors

During pre-season, he lived at the training ground to fully immerse himself in the club. Instead of leisure activities, he spent evenings watching footage of his new team repeatedly

Training Methodology

He believes training must be dynamic and never boring to keep players engaged and curious

He aims to teach something new every day, regardless of the players' ages or experience

Video analysis sessions are limited to 50 minutes to maintain focus

Players must understand the rationale behind tactics, not just instructions

Tactical Preparation

Would identify the challenges created by a particular opponent and how his team could counter them, playing them out alone before presenting them to his staff and players.

Players Embracing Maresca's Style

Initially some fans were hesitant about Maresca's patient, possession-based approach

However, the players seemed to embrace and enjoy having more of the ball

Tactical System

Leicester played a 4-3-3 that became a 4-5-1 out of possession and 3-2-5 in possession

They dominated possession in most games this season

A fullback, usually Ricardo Pereira or Hamza Choudhury, would tuck into midfield

The two attacking midfielders pushed high to form a front five

Man-Management Style

He has an open-door policy and is friendly/jovial with his players

However, doesn't tolerate bad behavior or lack of respect towards him or staff

Likes being open and discussing general matters with players

Voicing Frustrations

He has publicly expressed frustrations at Leicester over financial rules, potential points deductions

Open about his dissatisfaction with the lack of January transfer activity

Doesn't hold back when expressing himself to the hierarchy or media

Can be sensitive and will need to grow a thick skin, especially with the intense scrutiny in the PL

Committed to own philosophy

Will be fully committed to preparing his team according to his tactical philosophy

He threatened to quit at Leicester if anyone questioned his "idea" after fans groaned during a patient win

Will not change his core approach, though he has subtle variations

His system features one main striker, one holding midfielder, a fullback tucking into midfield, and two wingers

This is "his way" and he believes in it wholeheartedly

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He has a plan A and will stick to it stubbornly.

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This has to be the lamest critique of soccer coaches. As if you can just signal in new tactics from the sidelines like it’s basketball or football. Potter was famous for having many different systems and look how that worked out.

Any time we ever lost under Bielsa “He HaS nO pLaN B!”