John Obi Mikel has sent a shockwave through the Chelsea fanbase by claiming the club took “five steps backwards” the moment they replaced Enzo Maresca with Liam Rosenior.
Not only is John Obi Mikel a former Chelsea player, but he also still has the club close to his heart and isn’t afraid to give his honest opinion on matters at Stamford Bridge.
Getting rid of Enzo Maresca didn’t go down too well with Chelsea supporters at the time, and some may still feel sour about it even now.
To be fair to Liam Rosenior, he’s done pretty well as Chelsea boss. His record currently stands at eight wins, two draws, and two losses. However, the manner of the two draws won’t sit well with supporters, who aren’t used to seeing their side bottle leads so easily.
And John Obi Mikel believes that, in his eyes, it’s been a mistake to swap the two.
PROVE ME WRONG: Chelsea should never have let Newcastle sign Lewis Hall ⭐
Micah Richards would start him at the World Cup…
John Obi Mikel thinks Chelsea were better under Enzo Maresca
Speaking on the Obi One podcast, Mikel didn’t hold back in his assessment of Liam Rosenior and the decision to get rid of Maresca.
“We had Enzo Maresca. I’ve said it, I think it was a massive mistake to sack him.
“I mean, it’s ridiculous. Yeah, a manager that won us the Club World Cup, won us the Conference League, we had some sort of identity the way we played.
“We took a step forward, and we’ve gone five steps backwards. Liam has come in and he’s won games, but there is absolutely something that is missing. Something is not quite right.”
This is so harsh on Delap! 😭
TalkingPoints user on Liam Delap
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Enzo Maresca’s downfall at Chelsea
Chelsea had managed only one win in their last seven Premier League games at the time of Maresca’s departure, so you can see why the owners got fidgety.
However, it was mostly down to the fact that there were underlying issues behind the scenes. A disagreement over the medical team and the use of returning players was a big talking point, as well as Maresca feeling like he had a lack of control over decisions.
That’s why some may see Rosenior as the easy way out for the Chelsea owners. He was already on the payroll and they knew he wouldn’t cause them many headaches.
Yes, we do seem to have gone backwards defensively under Liam Rosenior, but it’s early days.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox