Chelsea slammed for 'UNDERWHELMING' Maresca appointment

Cameron Smith

• 31 May 2024 16:00 BST
• 4 min read

Former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore believes Chelsea made a mistake by allowing Mauricio Pochettino to leave.

Pochettino, 52, was appointed as Chelsea manager last summer, but he lasted just 11 months in charge and departed the club by mutual consent last week.

The Argentine guided the Blues to a sixth-place finish in the 2023-24 Premier League season, while they also reached the Carabao Cup final, but it wasn’t enough to impress Chelsea’s ownership group.

READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024 - All the Done Deals

As a result, Pochettino left the club and Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca is on the verge of being appointed as his replacement.

The Italian has agreed to join Chelsea and the move is simply awaiting official confirmation from the Blues.

However, Collymore believes the west London club were foolish for getting rid of Pochettino and appointing Maresca as his successor.

READ MORE: What Chelsea fans can expect from Enzo Maresca

What has been said?

Collymore told CaughtOffside: “Enzo Maresca worked with the Man City development squad before going to Parma and then onto Leicester, and with the greatest respect to Parma and Leicester, it’s a very, very, very different beast to Chelsea.

“He knows England – let’s not forget as a player he actually started his professional career at West Bromwich Albion – and he’s played at Sevilla, Fiorentina, Bologna, Juventus, Malaga, Sampdoria and Olympiacos, so he’s got a really good CV, but Chelsea is a beast that will eat great managers up.

“It ate [Jose] Mourinho up twice, Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Frank Lampard…

“Although there are some seasoned winners in that Chelsea dressing room, it’s very much a young squad, and that’s what Todd Boehly will be hoping to tap into,” Collymore continued.

“There isn’t a John Terry or a Didier Drogba to question things, but a group of young players that will marvel at Maresca’s work on the training pitch with all his Pep-type drills.

“Unfortunately for him, Chelsea had a poor season in the Premier League and it’s a results-based business.

“I would be absolutely astounded if, when we get to Christmas, there aren’t rumblings about Maresca’s position already because it’s a young, fickle, rookie group.”

Collymore concluded: “For me, it’s an underwhelming appointment, the club should have stuck with Poch, and I get the feeling that come November/December time, we’ll be having another conversation about Chelsea changing their manager again.”