“Muddled thinking… bad decision-making” – Maresca and sporting directors questioned | OneFootball

Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian was in attendance at Enzo Maresca’s press conference today, and he’s walked away with about as many concerns as we have, as he explains in his piece.

There are a number of stinging criticisms of Enzo Maresca in there, most of which we agree with.

Steinberg points to Maresca’s communication, something we raised last week after the defeat to Brighton when he tried to look at the “positives” of being dumped out of both domestic cups, and also something we were frustrated by in today’s press conference, when he claimed that reaching the top 4 wasn’t the aim for this season.

Steinberg called the earlier comments “naive” and said “communication has to be better,” especially considering we’ve had 3 wins in 10 games.

In terms of practical decisions, Steinberg also claims it’s “fair to wonder” if allowing Nicolas Jackson to play until the 50th minute after he hurt his hamstring was “less back luck, more bad decision-making.”

Questions go all the way to the top of “curious” Chelsea project

Enzo Maresca in a photo montage with Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.

Like the rest of us, Steinberg also points to the sporting directors and the transfer policy as mystifying – and often disastrous.

“It is strange that Renato Veiga felt compelled to push for a loan to Juventus six months after moving to Stamford Bridge. The logic in loaning Trevoh Chalobah to Crystal Palace and then recalling the defender because of some mild injury difficulties was curious,” he wrote, echoing the thoughts we’ve elucidated many times.

“Then there was Félix joining from Atlético Madrid, enabling the Spanish club to sign Conor Gallagher. Félix barely featured before leaving. Why sign him?”

He also raises very valid questions about why Maresca had backed that move (as he himself claimed to have done) and the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

It’s not just Chelsea fans who are questioning the progress of this project now.