Former player says Chelsea need a puppet as a manager after parting ways with Enzo Maresca

Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Chelsea, in Bergamo, Italy, on Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

Former Chelsea player Pat Nevin, who plied his trade for the club from 1983-1988, said that he felt sorry for Enzo Maresca who departed the Blues on Thursday after a string of unimpressive results. Nevin, a former Scottish international also said that Chelsea needed a puppet who would be young and pretty easy to manipulate.

Maresca, who was appointed by Chelsea in 2024, parted ways with the club days after he had said on December 13 that many people in the club did not support him or the team in a press conference after a 2-0 win vs Everton. Nevin said he was sure Maresca’s days in the club were numbered after those comments.

“Not stunned, not shocked. Mildly surprised but no more than that. Over the years, look how many managers have a dig at their board and then survive the next crisis after that. It is minuscule. As soon as he said what he said after the Everton game, I thought his days were numbered. I know how board members react – they can put up with anything as long as it’s the manager taking the hit. This was an absolute stick-on,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Chelsea need someone who is going to buy into the methodology. Another way to say that is you need a puppet. Someone who does exactly what they are told from above. Chelsea want success. They want the points to get top four or five and into the Champions League every season. But they want something else. They want someone who will do what they tell them to do. Those two things may not be compatible. Liam Rosenior sounds like a really good idea, but he’s never done it at this level. To bring someone in who doesn’t have that level of experience is a massive, massive chance to take. They will get someone in who is young and easy to manipulate,” he added.

Maresca, the Italian coach was midway through his second season in charge. In his first season, he won the Conference League and Club World Cup. However in this season, Chelsea’s results have taken a downturn in recent weeks, since a 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League in November. The team’s only league win in the past month was a 2-0 over Everton. There have been draws with Arsenal, Newcastle and Bournemouth (twice) and losses to Leeds and Aston Villa.