Jamie Carragher says manager Enzo Maresca’s recent cryptic comments have caused a “huge problem” and he does not expect the head coach to remain at Chelsea next season.
Maresca sparked confusion on Saturday when he said the two days leading up to the win against Everton had been the “worst 48 hours” since joining the club last summer.
The incident comes as Chelsea are now without a win in four games after losing to Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Italian gave little explanation live on Sky Sports on Monday ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Cardiff, saying he had nothing to add and was focused on the next game.
This has fueled further speculation that he is targeting the club’s owner or sporting director, which Sky Sports pundit Carragher believes, but adds that there is usually only one outcome from such situations.
“I’m a big fan of Maresca, but it looks like we’re starting to see a bit of a power play, which never bodes well, especially for a manager,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football.
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Enzo Maresca confirms his commitment to Chelsea after saying he had spent the ‘worst 48 hours’ at the club
“I don’t think Maresca will be Chelsea manager next season. Talking about his ownership like that in public is a big problem.”
“And there’s no doubt (who he’s talking about), he’s talking about the owner and the sporting director.
“I think this is a classic case that you see in a lot of clubs where you have a head coach and a sporting director rather than a manager.
“The coach comes first and agrees to the terms of the contract, but after that he feels that he has done a really good job, that he did a great job last season, being in the Champions League, winning European competitions, winning the Club World Cup.”
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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca surprised the media in his post-match press conference by describing the last 48 hours as the worst in the club’s history, despite a 2-0 home victory over Everton.
“The manager gradually feels he needs to step up and do more. He will be really disappointed that Chelsea didn’t sign a centre-back in the summer when Levi Colwill was seriously injured.”
“So the results of the last few weeks have been a little bit more in Maresca’s favor. He’s been shouting something, he wants something in public, and I don’t agree with that.”
“Last week we talked about Mo Salah. It’s not as extreme, but it’s a similar situation. I don’t like people to come forward, whether they’re managers or players. It’s an internal decision.”
“But the problem for Maresca is that if things continue like this there will only be one winner and that won’t be him.”
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The Sunday Supplement takes a closer look at Enzo Maresca’s puzzling post-match comments after Chelsea’s 2-0 home win over Everton and how they could be the start of a story to come.
Asked whether Maresca or Chelsea would stand to lose more in this situation, Carragher added: “We’re talking about Chelsea, one of the coveted jobs in European football, so it would just be Maresca.”
“But what you cannot throw at Maresca is that he is not capable at this level.
“We’re talking about Man United and Ruben Amorim, but there’s still a question mark over whether he can coach at the highest level against the best managers in the Premier League. I wouldn’t say that about Maresca.”
“For Maresca, the fact that he’s done what he’s done so far makes him feel confident enough to take on the owners and sporting directors because he feels he’s done enough.”
“I don’t know if he can do more with the team he’s in now, but can Maresca go anywhere better than Chelsea in the future? I don’t know.
“Chelsea as a club would feel they could get another manager. But could they get a better manager than Maresca? Probably, but if you look at what’s happened with Spurs and Man United in recent years, it would be easy to get a manager who isn’t at that level.”
“Maresca can play against any manager, as he has proven, whether it’s Pep Guardiola, Arne Slott or Barcelona in the Champions League. He is more than capable tactically and as a top coach.”
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All is not well behind the scenes at Chelsea
Enzo Maresca has been critical in recent days, but he has not said who his comments are aimed at.
Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports News:
“It is now clear that all is not well behind the scenes at Chelsea. Maresca was given multiple opportunities on Monday to deny that there were any problems between himself and the club’s men, but he said nothing meaningful.”
“What he didn’t say was just as important as what he said Saturday night.
“Maresca is clear that he still stands by his claim that ‘many people did not support him and the team’ after last Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat against Atalanta.
“Maresca has refused countless opportunities to reveal who these ‘many people’ are, but he admitted he was not talking about Chelsea fans.
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Free to watch: Highlights of Chelsea vs. Everton’s Premier League victory
“This will only make the media and Chelsea leadership a target for his incomprehensible comments.
“With a basic process of elimination, it’s clear that Maresca is talking about people inside the club because he has a good relationship with the media, especially with the reporters for the Chelsea game.
“Maresca is clearly unhappy with what happened after Chelsea’s loss to Atalanta. It is common for Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart to give a full report after every game.”
“The loss to Atalanta was Chelsea’s fourth game without a win and Maresca obviously had questions to answer about his performance and his decisions before and during the game.
“The bottom line is that Maresca happily accepted Chelsea’s management structure when he took over 18 months ago, but now he feels he doesn’t get the support and respect he deserves.
“But by making his concerns public, even remotely, he is playing a dangerous game. There is usually only one winner in these situations, and it is often not the manager or head coach.”
