Like most Chelsea media outlets, the London is Blue podcast is a much more positive place right now than it was a year ago.
The Blues are flying high, and everything manager Enzo Maresca touches is turning to gold. A win against Southampton last night was a joy to behold.
One interesting topic of conversation they touched on on the podcast this week was Noni Madueke. He was dropped for the game against Aston Villa last weekend, but came back into the team last night and bagged a goal.
You can see their Noni discussion in the clip embedded here, with these quotes coming after 23 minutes:
Enzo Maresca in a press conference after Southampton win.
Enzo Maresca in a press conference after Southampton win.
“I think on balance he probably was my man of the match. He was an absolute force, and he took attention away from a lot of other players to free them up to do other good stuff too,” they said of the winger.
“Obviously he gets the assist for the take-on and then the pass over to Nkunku in front of the empty net.”
They also addressed Enzo Maresca’s comments after the game about Noni’s poor training attitude and lack of ambition when playing:
“We’ve seen this sort of treatment from Jose Mourinho towards players… I’m getting this sort of vibe. I think this is good for Noni. I have noticed some of the things Maresca is talking about in these quotes. I think he needs to break through these things if he wants to be an undisputed starter on the right wing for Chelsea.”
Comparing anyone’s man management to Jose Mourinho will always be a huge compliment – at least coming from a Chelsea fan. We love the idea that Maresca feels comfortable enough now to call out his players like that, and we can’t wait to see how Noni responds in the weeks to come.