Enzo Maresca

[KS55]

Pep didn’t choose him on his own the chairman said so

Technically, the chairman didn’t mention who had been chosen!

 

[Gabriel]

Would he still have been the HC if he hadn’t had those conversations with City? Would he have had any different results that Rossenior bearing in mind he , Rossenior, hit the ground running with some very good numbers in the early days of his tenure.

I of course may be 100% wrong but Maresca isn’t in the same league as Pep he doesn’t have the personality or indeed the track record that Peo had when he arrived at City.

Your squad is a country mile better than ours and with that will be the expectation that things won’t slip. It’s far more difficult to replace a manager than it is replacing a head coach.

Don’t want really to mention SAF but as we know how difficult it was for any to follow and the chosen one failed miserably. Moyes simply despite his experience couldn’t maintain matters and struggled personally in several areas.

Acheampong is said to be a player who the club have absolutely no intention of selling and I personally believe he will be something special .
He is just 20 years old and I would imagine that he along with the improvements shown by him and another 20 year old Hato added to the likely 3-4-3 that Alonso will likely mean that both will be far more involved next season.

All hypothetical so we’ll never know what would have happened had he remained. I don’t think your squad is actually that bad, just that you seemed to tip the balance too far to youngsters and lacked a couple of old heads at either end of the park.

Ferguson was always going to cast a pall over that lot, but Guardiola will stay clear and allow the club to continue to develop. The rebuild of the squad is almost complete, so a light touch and a bit of luck is now required, bit like Grant after Mourinho, albeit he ran out of luck.

How is Hato doing? Fine player at Ajax but tended to lose concentration.

 

[terraloon]

All hypothetical so we’ll never know what would have happened had he remained. I don’t think your squad is actually that bad, just that you seemed to tip the balance too far to youngsters and lacked a couple of old heads at either end of the park.

Ferguson was always going to cast a pall over that lot, but Guardiola will stay clear and allow the club to continue to develop. The rebuild of the squad is almost complete, so a light touch and a bit of luck is now required, bit like Grant after Mourinho, albeit he ran out of luck.

How is Hato doing? Fine player at Ajax but tended to lose concentration.

The squad still needs some surgery. A keeper who knows when to go long . Iconically Meresca even went on record that he wanted Sanchez to play the ball short when it was obvious that he was weak in that area. Sanchez did look better when he didn’t faff around
Hato had a torrid introduction but toward the end of season you can see just how much he has developed. In terms of concentration that’s a fair point but he has only just turned 20 so time will tell if that’s something that will be resolved with age

 

[Gabriel]

The squad still needs some surgery. A keeper who knows when to go long . Iconically Meresca even went on record that he wanted Sanchez to play the ball short when it was obvious that he was weak in that area. Sanchez did look better when he didn’t faff around
Hato had a torrid introduction but toward the end of season you can see just how much he has developed. In terms of concentration that’s a fair point but he has only just turned 20 so time will tell if that’s something that will be resolved with age

Still think you need a more experienced centre back, like a Stones, or someone familiar with Alonso’s set up, like a Rudiger. Names just examples. Don’t have to play every game but can lead younger ones through.

Think Maresca will have similar issues with Donnarumma. Passing short will be fine, but chipping it into midfield rather than thumping it heavenwards may fall outside his repertoire.

 

[.db.]

In fairness it did but they were just friendlies that most didn't give a shit about

That’s just a City fan attitude towards it because we were bobbins in it.

If we’d gone on to beat PSG 3-0 in the final after they’d just won a treble, we’d be bigging it up n’all.

 

[terraloon]

Still think you need a more experienced centre back, like a Stones, or someone familiar with Alonso’s set up, like a Rudiger. Names just examples. Don’t have to play every game but can lead younger ones through.

Think Maresca will have similar issues with Donnarumma. Passing short will be fine, but chipping it into midfield rather than thumping it heavenwards may fall outside his repertoire.

Interesting you mention Stones because I wouldn’t be too upset if that were to happen. Rudiger I believe has just signed a one year deal.
One major addition to 26/27 will hopefully be a fully fit Colwill. Yes he is young but without doubt had he not been injured he would be in the WC squad.
Donnarumma will I guess be his own man and he will know his limitations but Sanchez clearly doesn’t have the same standing in the game.

 

[bluemoon32]

That’s just a City fan attitude towards it because we were bobbins in it.

If we’d gone on to beat PSG 3-0 in the final after they’d just won a treble, we’d be bigging it up n’all.

Of course we would, doesn't mean most sides didnt treat it as a glorified set of friendlies though

 

[skillman]

Personally can't wait for next season. I love Pep, always will but a fresh change will be fun to see on the pitch.

I'm sure most of the principles will be similar - hence Maresca being the chosen replacement - but different ideas etc. will be brought in too.

A few times last season/the season before I was sat watching the games in the stadium and being, for want of a better phrase, bored shitless. And part of that will be a fear factor to playing a Pep side IMO. Managers see beating Pep as a coup and will set their teams up in a cautious way for the most part. And when that happens, it makes for a desperately dull game of football to watch.

I'm hoping that isn't the case now and we see more teams come to our place and open up a bit, make games more enjoyable to watch and let our attacking players show their ability in all stages of build up rather than trying to constantly break down a painfully boring 11-man defensive unit.

Some of the things we've all been hammering Pep for in the past 2 years might be gone. They might not be. But they equally may well be. Maybe no more suicidal high line. Maybe no more aimless passing of side to side. Maybe no more being on a counter attack and passing backwards. Maybe no more of our midfielders have a mental block when trying to find Haaland. Maybe no more shoehorning favourites into positions (albeit Pep had stopped that). Maybe no more poor away performances in Europe. And so on.

Wishful thinking? Probably. But the unknown is exciting and personally I'm not as exasperated by a change in management and ideas as some seem to be.

Not a slant on Pep at all btw - I'd have him here for life given the option because he's an ever-evolving, maniac genius.

 

[Ban-jani]

Some, not all, players were indeed upset ( furious is probably too strong a word) when he left.

I personally didn’t know what to make of Rosenoirs appointment nor dare I suggest did any of my fellow supporters think that things were going to improve.

Meresca wasn’t sacked he appears to have become unsettled and that I would imagine was more to do with what . He knew only too well and signed up knowing where and how the lines of responsibility and accountability lay.

The Chelsea fan at work described sacking Maresca and appointing Rosenoir as the worst managerial decision a club has ever made. Of course he was speaking out of emotion and was one extreme end of the scale but he was mortified.

 

[cleavers]

The Chelsea fan at work described sacking Maresca and appointing Rosenoir as the worst managerial decision a club has ever made.

It would have been had they sacked him, but they didn't, so the chelsea fan at work needs to work on his knowledge of his club ;-)

 

[Ban-jani]

It would have been had they sacked him, but they didn't, so the chelsea fan at work needs to work on his knowledge of his club ;-)

To be fair he did know why Maresca left, he was generally bemoaning them allowing it all to happen. I could have worded the above better.

 

[East Level 2]

It's obvious that better players = better football

Only if you use them properly.
Having the best finisher in the world level with the last defender waiting for a through ball that never comes because the midfield are scared of losing possession isn't great to watch.

 

[Marvin.]

Federico Valverde?

City shot down Perez election rival and Real Madrid are likely to rebuild. Valverde could be the casualty.

In truth, I saw his name mentioned online by Caught Offside and thought yes, he would be a good addition. I prefer Anderson, but if you think hard enough, there are other players e.g., Tonali who City might consider.

For me, if Rodri has a good World Cup, the need for Anderson goes down a little. At the moment, fans do not know whether Rodri will recover. The WC is a good test.

 

[Bellamy's Caddy]

Decent amount of time for the dust to settle? What, about a week and a half? I'm still balling my eyes out.

Fair. I should have said optics wise. I'm still very much the same.... Seeing him described as "former City manager" is going to take some getting used to.

 

[blueparrot]

Federico Valverde?

City shot down Perez election rival and Real Madrid are likely to rebuild. Valverde could be the casualty.

In truth, I saw his name mentioned online by Caught Offside and thought yes, he would be a good addition. I prefer Anderson, but if you think hard enough, there are other players e.g., Tonali who City might consider.

For me, if Rodri has a good World Cup, the need for Anderson goes down a little. At the moment, fans do not know whether Rodri will recover. The WC is a good test.

Anderson has absolutely nothing to do with Rodri, and I am more certain of Anderson being done than any other transfer in or out happening.