“‘Lilliputians Were There’ — Chelsea Fans, You Need to Hear Me Out on This”
Srećko Šijaković I kindly and politely ask you to read it and consider it.
The situation was real. Chelsea chased every trophy available, yet they were unable to win a single one. And the manager is there to manage the resources and everything. That is said when you go to a dictionary and ask for the word manager: It is someone who manages the resources and is accountable.– I interpret it in my way; I will admit.
Enzo Maresca insisted that Chelsea could win the Champions League. However, when Bayern Munich dismantled Chelsea in the opening round of the competition, it became obvious that they were not capable of doing so. So Chelsea’s and Enzo Maresca’s ambitions were buried in the first match of the Champions League when Chelsea was outplayed and taught a lesson by Bayern in Munich.
“Enzo Maresca assured Chelsea’s owners that Champions League success was within reach. Yet the warning signs were already visible. Chelsea’s clash with Bayern Munich exposed the reality: Maresca’s side was nowhere near the level required to compete for Europe’s biggest prize.”
Kimmich (Bayern) and Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea) in a duel during a Champions League clash.
This was a return to Champions League football for Chelsea that was supposed to be something great for the Club, and something should have been built on that.
This was Chelsea’s return to the Premier League. The owners were very disappointed, and the long season had already begun. It was the hardest possible season for Chelsea and the longest season ever.
Enzo Maresca was not accountable, but the Board and the owners have been greatly disappointed. The relationship between to sides was damaged. Maresca started chasing Premier League great results but has failed there, and the goal was to compete for the title at least.
“Competing for the Premier League title was one of the objectives given to Enzo Maresca at the beginning of the season, or at the very least remaining in the title race for as long as possible. As those ambitions collapsed, the EFL Cup suddenly became a major target. It is not a particularly prestigious or highly respected trophy, but for Maresca it represented an opportunity to win something—anything. At that stage, silverware had become the priority, regardless of its significance.”
EFL Cup was a real chance for Enzo Maresca to win his third trophy in 18 months. Those are his words.
The Owners were extremely disappointed!
The Italian remained convinced that Chelsea could still win the Premier League, but once it became clear that it was beyond the team’s reach, he was dismissed.
His final match came in the EFL Cup quarter-final. After the game, Maresca said:
“The third semi-final in 18 months. We achieved a third semi-final since I have been at the club. Third semi-final.”
We returned to the important word manager. Since Enzo Maresca was managing and was accountable for that club since the 1st January.
The fundamental principle of managing is to focus on realistic objectives and sacrifice those that cannot be achieved.
Instead, after the Club World Cup, Maresca continued to claim that Chelsea could win everything and beat anyone.
By December, all hopes of a league title had disappeared, and he lost his job.
For instance, Villareal has finished the worst in the Champions League table of all teams involved, while having been the third option in Spain LA Liga and has finished right after Barcelona and Real Madrid and will again play the Champions League next season.
They were also eliminated early in the Copa del Rey since they did not have Enzo Maresca to run everywhere in attempts to win anything. T
This has happened to Chelsea.
His successor, Liam Rosenior, would eventually be dismissed as well after failing to secure Champions League qualification for the following season.
Rosenior arrived during that cold January and inherited the squad built by Enzo Maresca. His first matches came in the EFL Cup, the FA Cup, the Champions League, and the Premier League.
Four matches in four different competitions awaited him from the moment he took charge.
Competing on every front revealed the unrealistic and almost megalomaniacal ambitions of Maresca’s Chelsea. They dreamed of winning every trophy despite lacking the quality required to win even one.
That reality became evident in Paris against PSG and earlier in London against Arsenal in the EFL Cup, where Chelsea never had the slightest chance of succeeding.
Even reaching the FA Cup final offered no salvation against Manchester City. Chelsea could hardly have produced a worse performance in a final. They were never competitive for a single second with Manchester City.
Maresca sat there demanding trophies and pushed Chelsea into a race that nobody could have won. By the time Rosenior arrived in January, defeats were already waiting on every front. Meanwhile, Maresca, whose relationship with the board had already deteriorated, continued repeating:
“Third final in 18 months. It is what it is.”
In pursuit of personal success and immediate silverware, Maresca ultimately damaged Chelsea. His obsession with competing for trophies on every front exhausted the team. Rather than directing the club toward competitions it could realistically win, he spread its resources across objectives that were never achievable.
Those were trophies for him and his ego. He never cared for Chelsea. He used Chelsea to make the cause to achieve his goals and to win trophies.
“This kind of behaviour is known only to Enzo Maresca and José Mourinho.”
This is harmful behaviour, and we have seen how much harm he has caused Chelsea last season.
Simply travelling to matches consumes energy, time, and resources. Chelsea were beaten by Bayern Munich. They suffered further setbacks in December with Maresca. In January, they attempted to recover with Liam Rosenior, only to be brutally punished by PSG once again.
Before that, Arsenal had beaten them twice. They were struggling extremely during the Premier League campaign, with the manager struggling hard.
Following their collapse in the Premier League, they merely turned up against Manchester City and played the role of spectators.
The manager is the one who leads. The manager is the one who is responsible and accountable.
We salute you, Mr Rosenior, for accepting what was almost mission impossible.
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