"Enzo Maresca is out at Chelsea. Thus brings a close to another weird chapter in the weirdest club's recent history. The upside for the legion of Chelsea haters is that the particular weirdness and grossness of the club's present predicament provides ample material to further stoke the flames of hate. But the downside, as ever, is that it probably won't even matter, as both Maresca and Chelsea look to fashion their twin Ls into a pair of Ws."
"Maresca is for my money one of the more unlikable coaches in a profession that, across sports, tends to select for unlikability. He comes off like the textbook sideline tyrant, smug and preening in moments of success, insincere in moments of humility, absolutely certain that all triumphs redound to himself and all failures owe to either those below or above him who did not heed his commands."
"For much of his Chelsea tenure-a job he got mostly due to his proximity to Pep Guardiola during his one season as a Manchester City assistant-the Italian was content to play the puppet for the Blues' notoriously meddlesome bosses, handing playing time to the players the club had most heavily invested in, shamefully contributing to the ostracization campaigns against the players the club wanted to bully out of their contracts."
Enzo Maresca departed Chelsea after a turbulent tenure marked by public criticism and internal conflict. Maresca drew criticism for a combative personality and a managerial style likened to a sideline tyrant. He favored players the club had heavily invested in and participated in campaigns to ostracize players the ownership wanted to force out. His brief successes — including a top-four survival and minor trophies — appear to have encouraged him to seek more autonomy, prompting public criticisms of the club's operations. The ownership, accustomed to exerting control, dismissed him when he stopped aligning with their directives. Chelsea remains embroiled in institutional dysfunction and public scrutiny.
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