Enzo Maresca has carte blanche as Chelsea's head coach to select his squad as he sees fit, without any undue influence from the impresarios above, and in the curious case of the missing Noni Madueke comes the expression 'three goals, you're out' . to think of.
The first strike came in August, a verbal warning after a Conference League win over Servette. Madueke scored, but Maresca told the 22-year-old England international to train better.
Strike two came early this month when Madueke's level dropped in training and Maresca took revenge by dropping him to the bench for their match against Aston Villa. He has started the last 11 Premier League matches but was a substitute for that win. His boss again told him that sessions at Cobham would not be tolerated.
And now that we can only assume it was a strike, the penalty was increased again, with the winger completely excluded from Chelsea's matchday squad for their Boxing Day defeat to Fulham, a match in which Maresca named two goalkeepers to his bench as if at will prove a point.
Although Maresca refused to reveal exactly why he had suspended Madueke – he was in no mood to say anything other than that it was a 'technical decision' he had made himself – it was enough to convince the 44-year-old Italian that the £30m striker should be sidelined entirely.
What we do know for sure is that Maresca is a coach who demands complete professionalism at Cobham, sources speak of an 'honest but firm' culture that is being created.
If a player is not performing as he should, Maresca will tell him personally, and then tell the world, as he did with Reece James in October, when he criticized his captaincy, saying he longed for a “real leader '. That revelation, after a Conference League win over Panathinaikos in Athens, Greece, took us all by surprise in the reporters' drama.
Just last week, Maresca took advantage of the permanent promotions of Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George from the academy to the first team by giving a speech to the entire squad as the 18-year-olds were assigned their lockers, either side of Joao Felix.
In summary, Maresca told Felix and everyone else that he will see who shows Acheampong and George how to act. Maresca ordered, “You convince them that they have to defend that, and 'defend that' means working the right way every day.” He concluded his speech with: 'Creating the right culture, it is important. Work, and welcome both.”
Maresca attaches great importance to what he sees during training. When we drove into Cobham recently for a press conference, the parking lot resembled a drive-in cinema as there was a giant screen on wheels taking up real estate on the tarmac. The traditional home base is on the pitch where it is used during sessions to show the players clips from games that they can then work on. Maresca is hands-on, the gesturer in the vest, and constantly tries to get that extra percentage out of it.
Maresca is confident that his tough love with Madueke will work. That happened the last two times he showed his teeth, after Servette and Villa, with the youngster responding well. He was at Stamford Bridge to watch the 2-1 defeat to Fulham as a spectator. One of Maresca's rules was that those outside the squad had to be present to support their teammates. Madueke was not alone, as Renato Veiga was also dismissed due to a 'technical decision' while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was injured.
But as Ruben Amorim found out with Marcus Rashford at Manchester United, such strictness can come under scrutiny if you then don't win. For the first time since taking over at Chelsea, Maresca is feeling some of that heat for himself, accused of cutting off his nose to spite his face.
Anyone who saw this poor loss – Chelsea's first in the Premier League since October – could see how useful Madueke could have been from the bench. However impressively they performed their defensive duties, Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto played the full 90 minutes without ever creating enough chances on either flank, as only one substitute in total was used as Christopher Nkunku replaced Nicolas Jackson after 73 minutes .
Madueke will feature again in Monday's trip to Ipswich, a clean slate ahead of Chelsea's bid to return to glory. Maresca had told his team several times that if you contribute to the competitive nature at Cobham you will be included in the squad, perhaps even as a starter.
Madueke came over from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023. He is on a contract until 2030, with the club able to extend his stay for an additional year. Newcastle were among those interested in signing him last summer and he will soon face more competition when another right-wing option arrives in the form of Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian, who turns 18 in April.
There are no plans to sign Madueke in January as Chelsea still believe in his abilities, including Maresca. They are already without the services of £89million winger in Mykhailo Mudryk – still temporarily suspended after failing a drugs test – and the club are fully focused on securing a place in the top four this season to return to the Champions League.
Ahead of the clash with Ipswich, Maresca discussed the standards he wants to see set during training: 'Certainly, the competition must be higher. Not only for Noni Madueke, but Renato Veiga was also not in the selection and the reason is exactly the same for both. There is no other reason, it's just a technical decision.
'He (Madueke) reacted very well (when he was dropped for Villa), so there is no more than that. I expect the same this time. We never thought we would win every game, but now we have lost and they just said to me that we lost on August 18 (against Manchester City) and then after two months (against Liverpool), and then another two months ( to Fulham). We know the reality is that you don't lose a match every two months. Now it's a matter of how we respond.”
Maresca will be watching that reaction closely, as this is not a man who wears his eyes as decoration. With the youngest team in the Premier League, Chelsea needs strong leadership. Certainly, no one can accuse this head coach of being a pushover.
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