Questions to answer for Enzo Maresca over Cole Palmer's difficult second season at Chelsea | OneFootball

Chelsea boss must adapt rigid system to get best from his star

Enzo Maresca suggested that Chelsea fans could "decide" whether or not they approve of his stuttering team after the Blues were booed off at half-time of Sunday's draw with Ipswich, and it is fair to say many of them already have.

It seems a long time ago that supporters were chanting 'We've got our Chelsea back' as they surged into second place before Christmas, and since the turn of the year, only West Ham, Manchester United and Tottenham have picked up fewer points than Maresca's toothless side, excluding the newly-promoted clubs.

Cole Palmer’s assist for Jadon Sancho’s goal against Ipswich was just his second in 22 matches

REUTERS

It is a measure of Chelsea's problems that Maresca does not only have fans harking back to the Roman Abramovich era but even pining for his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, who now boasts a better points-per-game ratio than the Italian following last weekend's frustrating stalemate with the Tractor Boys.

Chelsea supporters never warmed to Pochettino either but the Argentine finished on a high last season and, if nothing else, brought out the best in Cole Palmer, whose struggles under Maresca are increasingly a concern for fans.

Palmer's five yard pass for Jadon Sancho's brilliant leveller against Ipswich was just his second assist in 22 matches (the other was a cross against Spurs, who will always do favours for a struggling player or team) and he is without a goal since January 14, a spell now totalling over 1,100 minutes of football.

Palmer went close to a winner last weekend, his curling shot denied by his namesake Alex Palmer in the Ipswich goal, but he has comfortably had more shots since last scoring, 39, than anyone else in the Premier League, underlining his increasing desperation and lack of edge.

Palmer's struggles feel less about him and more about Maresca's tactical shortcomings and Chelsea's failure to build around their talisman

Man City's Savinho and West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus are next on the list but some way behind Palmer, with just 17 unsuccessful attempts at goal each.

Palmer's form has prompted no shortage of hand-wringing and even foolish suggestions that he is a one-and-a-half season wonder or that City knew what they were doing after all when they allowed him to join the Blues for £42.5million in September 2023.

Cole Palmer FC?

There are legitimate reasons for Palmer's struggles, many of which come back to Maresca, whose tendency to play him central and deep in a rigidly-structured system seems far less conducive to his talents than Pochettino's 'go and do your thing' attitude.

It is also unsurprising that a 22-year-old, whose first full season in the Premier League was last term, is suffering a drop-off after becoming the primary focus of almost every one of Chelsea's opponents.

Really, though, Palmer's struggles feel less about him and more about Maresca's tactical shortcomings and Chelsea's failure to build around their talisman.

It was blindingly obvious last season that Pochettino's side were too reliant on Palmer, largely because the head coach kept having to challenge the rest of his players to prove that Chelsea were not, in fact, ‘Cole Palmer Football Club’.

Cole Palmer’s last Chelsea goal came on January 14th against Bournemouth

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Chelsea, though, spent poorly again last summer, with their marquee attacking signings Pedro Neto, Joao Felix (who has already left again) and Jadon Sancho having done little to alleviate the burden on Palmer.

In the week that it was revealed that Chelsea spent more on agents fees this season (£60million) than any other English club, it bears repeating that given their extraordinary outlay on new signings since their change of ownership – £1.5billion and counting – Chelsea should be far, far better than they are, and certainly not scrapping for a top-four place in season when two of the so-called 'big six' are nearer the drop zone and Nottingham Forest have been third for months.

Palmer still comfortably stands as Chelsea's best piece of business under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital and, for all his difficulties in the final third, he is not the problem for the Blues.

He is, in fact, the most obvious solution to Chelsea's lack of firepower and a potential remedy to supporters' wavering commitment to Maresca's side, provided the head coach can adapt to get the best from his star.