“We just ask for…” – Enzo Maresca wants fans to change their attitude | OneFootball

Last night saw Chelsea come back from a goal down to win, and of course at full time everyone is delighted.

But nobody should forget that things weren’t looking nearly as rosy at half time. Enzo Maresca’s team had controlled the ball but in a very passive way, in a style which Gary Neville on commentary called “pathetic football.”

Then West Ham scored on the break, and you could feel the boredom in the stadium turning to something more sour. There were scattered boos at half time, but the Stamford Bridge crowd kept a lid on it, and they were rewarded in the second half when the team came back to win.

After the game, Enzo Maresca revealed that he had sensed that discomfort, and while praising the fans, he also asked them to be more patient with his team when they tried to break down low blocks.

“We love our fans. We just ask for a little more patience from them when we keep the ball and there are teams that sit back and we struggle to find space. They have to trust us,” the manager said in quotes on the club’s official website.

Chelsea fans will have to adapt to more patient style of play

Enzo Maresca speaks to Chelsea TV after the home win over West Ham.

This could end up being the start of a more difficult “culture war” at Chelsea, as Maresca increasingly implements a very sterile sort of possession based game to help break down teams, while the home fans demand more of the rapid attacks they saw earlier in the year. Of course the easy thing for Maresca to do is keep winning, then there are never any complaints. But when you’re in a tough period like we have been, things can get tense.