The Italian launched another attack on a disgruntled fanbase this week, but without a top-five place he is no longer beyond reproach
Chelsea's season is in serious danger of unravelling, if it hasn't already. Having managed to cling on to a top-five place despite some seriously uninspiring performances in recent months, consecutive, damaging draws with Brentford and Ipswich saw the Blues drop to sixth in the Premier League table – taking their Champions League qualification fate out of their own hands.
But it's not just on the pitch that Enzo Maresca's men have problems, with their turgid displays leading certain sections of a demanding fanbase to turn against the players and the head coach as their campaign veers off course at the worst possible moment.
However, rather than try to assuage the growing frustration, the head coach has instead fuelled the growing discontent by bullishly speaking out against the club's own supporters – the second time he has gone against them in recent weeks. Without the protection of a top-five place, the under-pressure Italian should be focusing his efforts on getting Chelsea's floundering season back on track rather than warring with those in the stands. His future may depend on it.
Getty Images SportNo signs of improvement
Any hope that Chelsea would be able to recapture their early-season form – when they were playing with freedom and surpassed expectation by soaring as high as second in the Premier League – has now dissipated as the end of the campaign draws into sight.
What was thought to be a blip at Christmas has become a drawn-out and often agonising downturn in form, as the Blues desperately search for some consistency and slog it out to try to secure a Champions League place having looked like potential title contenders a matter of months ago.
Since moving within two points of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League with a home victory over Brentford on December 15, Maresca's side have inexplicably slid to 14th in the form table, winning five, drawing five and losing of their 16 matches. That record is not dissimilar to the spell that cost Graham Potter his job back in 2023 (17 points from 14 games).
Unlike Potter, however, Maresca's position is still said to be safe for the time being as the hierarchy maintain their unwavering faith – but that could change very quickly if Chelsea fail to qualify for Europe's premier club competition.
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Ironically, patience among the supporters has worn thin with Maresca's patient, often slow style of play since the turn of the year, and the fans have not been shy in voicing their discontent at some incredibly laboured performances in games Chelsea were expected to win at a canter.
The atmosphere has been particularly hostile at Stamford Bridge, with the head coach unable to bite his tongue when he responded to the audible displeasure of the paying public back in March as his side were only able to edge past soon-to-be relegated Leicester City, pointedly insisting afterwards: "The people have to understand this is our way, our style, and this is the way we are going to play. If you think football is just a PlayStation [game] and you win easy, no way – every game is difficult."
At that stage, Maresca was able to lean on the fact that Chelsea were still in the top four, in control of their own destiny in terms of Champions League qualification and, therefore, "ahead of schedule" – a point that he has been keen to drive home all season long. However, consecutive, mightily underwhelming draws against Brentford and Ipswich – who sit 11th and 18th in the table, respectively – have seen the Blues slide out of the top five, and the mood has soured again.
Blaming 'the environment'
Chelsea's home has been no stranger to a toxic atmosphere in recent years amid the most tumultuous period in the club's modern history, but there has been a noticeable rise in hostility in recent weeks as the fans demand far more from an eye-wateringly expensive squad.
Emotions threatened to boil over again on Sunday, as the Blues found themselves 2-0 down to struggling Ipswich before half-time; large sections of the home support were enraged by their team's carelessness, turgid build-up play and lack of a cutting edge. Some backwards passes were even greeted with boos, as were touches for under-fire goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
A video from the stands that went viral following the game gave an insight into the negativity. Amid widespread murmurs of discontent, one fan shouts "F*cking sort it out, you f*cking useless c*nts", before another directs their anger at Sanchez, calling him a "f*cking piece of sh*t".
Following his barbed comments in March, Maresca once again took aim at those dissenting voices after his side managed to salvage a 2-2 draw in the second period – albeit a result that left them outside the Champions League places and reliant on their many rivals slipping up in what remains of the campaign.
"I think we lost a little bit of confidence, because we conceded, probably because of the environment," the Italian said. "In terms of fans, I said many times, we are stronger with our fans, we are a better team. It's up to them to decide the way. For sure today, probably, at 0-1, 0-2, it's normal to be the way they were. But it’s probably the moment the players need more support."
Getty Images Sport'No connection'
Maresca even went as far as to claim that Sanchez had been influenced by the disquiet in the stands when he chose to kick unusually long just before Chelsea went 2-0 down, as the ball was immediately lost in midfield and Ipswich broke on them.
"This is the moment that you have to continue doing the right things and don't change the plan," he said. "The second goal, we decide to play [the goal kick] long, because the environment is there, and we concede the second one. You have to be strong, you have to continue with the things that you are doing."
In his analysis on ' Monday Night Football, pundit Jamie Carragher suggested the incident spoke to a complete breakdown between the fans and the head coach. "Just listen to the noise in the crowd," he said. "You see the goalkeeper urging everybody up, and actually at one stage telling the crowd to calm down. So he's been really influenced by the crowd. So he's said push up, then another chance starts up from the crowd: 'attack, attack, attack'."
His conclusion was damning: "What it tells you is that there no connection between the Chelsea supporters and the man in the dugout."