Joe Cole urges Chelsea fans to be 'patient' with manager Enzo Maresca - 'Toughest job in the Premier League'
Updated 21/09/2024 at 13:34 GMT+1
Joe Cole has urged Chelsea fans to be "patient" with new manager Enzo Maresca, saying the former Leicester City boss has the "toughest job in the Premier League". It has been a period of instability for the club despite heavy investment under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, and Cole believes the expectations of owners and fans alike makes for a tough gig in the Stamford Bridge dug-out.
Maresca has ‘toughest job in Premier League’ because of ‘expectations’ and squad size, says Cole
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TNT Sports football expert Joe Cole has said Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has "the toughest job in the Premier League" and has urged patience from the club's fanbase to form much-needed stability at the club.
Chelsea have endured a difficult start to the ownership reign of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital - who acquired the club in 2022 - in a period which has seen much-change in the managerial hot-seat with Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino all departing the club.
Heavy investment in the squad has not only raised expectations from the fanbase but ownership alike, and Cole feels that pressure makes for difficult conditions for Maresca - who was appointed as head coach in the summer after winning promotion to the top-flight with Leicester City.
"I think he's got the toughest job in the Premier League," Cole said. "I think the expectations of the fans, and the expectations of the owners and how they're going about it. I think it's the most skew-whiff out of all the Premier League managers.
"Coupled with the 40-odd players that are playing under contract professionally at Chelsea. That is so difficult to deal with, so I think he's got a really, really tough job. And I would urge the Chelsea fans to be patient with him because there's been a real turnover of managers.
"The difference between the turnovers of managers these years as opposed to the [Roman] Abramovic years, is under the Abramovic years, a manager would come, a manager would go, Chelsea would win trophies. Now there's a transitional period. I think you need to have somebody with a bit of time to implement what they're doing."
Chelsea's bloated squad of over 40 players has seen several players fall to the wayside in favour of new signings, and Maresca has previously spoken about utilising a core group, which has seen certain squad members fall out of favour - most notably Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell.
And Cole believes Chelsea's tendency to pull the trigger on dismissing managers in recent years has contributed to a change in the "dynamics" of the squad. The former Chelsea forward added that the lack of continuity in the playing squad can affect leadership in the dressing room.
He said: "From a players' perspective, if you're one of those players who is ostracised and you're out of it, you're sitting there and thinking, 'well let me think'. Chelsea have got rid of Lampard, Potter, Tuchel, they've got rid of managers.
"So you're thinking, 'I'll just sit here on my backside'. Also, they don't have to be a good professional, that affects the dynamics of the group - in those situations when you feel the dressing room slipping away from you, that's when you need the senior players to sit down, people who have been there.
"Your [John] Terry's, Lampard's, [Didier] Drogba's. If that was smelt in our day in the dressing room there was someone not pulling their weight, pulling in a different direction. That would have been dealt with and snuffed out.
"I don't know if Enzo's got that at his disposal. That's not a criticism of the current players because I don't think any of them are comfortable enough in their stature within the club where they know what they're going to be doing in six months. There's so many of them, he could be leaving, there might be someone coming in his position, there's no security around it."
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Cole: Gifted Sancho needs love to rebuild his game at Chelsea
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Sancho has 'his best years ahead of him'
Jadon Sancho enjoyed an impressive debut in a Chelsea shirt, as he assisted Christopher Nkunku for his side's winner at Bournemouth last week.
The forward, who joined Manchester United in a £73m move from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, struggled to get going at Old Trafford and was forced into an extended spell on the sidelines after a rift with manager Erik ten Hag.
But Cole believes Chelsea is the "right club at the right time" for Sancho, and has backed the forward to soon be back in consideration for England duties.
"I think this lad's got his best years ahead of him, I really do," Cole said. "He was world-class at Dortmund, came to Manchester United in a very, very difficult time.
"Manchester United sometimes in the last five years has been a graveyard for players, who have gone there and not produced.
"What I love about him, and all great players have got this: he makes it look easy, he makes it look like he's got time. There's a calmness to him. He's got fantastic ability. He's an elite cage footballer that has become an elite professional footballer."
"I think what was between his ears was the thing that was holding him back. Looking at him now, I think this is the right club for him at the right time and I think he'll kick on. He's a super-talented player and I'm sure we'll see him in an England shirt again."
Cole added that while Sancho has to take some responsibility for his struggles at United, it is "not just the player's fault", and some of the club's hierarchy must also share some blame for his difficult tenure.
"He didn't work at Man United," Cole said. "And he has to take some of the responsibility for that himself. But some of the responsibility would have been on the people who brought him in, the owners.
"The structure around him was the reason they couldn't get a tune out of Jadon Sancho. It doesn't just go one way, it's not just the player's fault.
"Give this lad the love he needs and let him blossom. I think he could be one of the top players."
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