Enzo Maresca's First Press Conference as Manager

[moore_94]

Target?

“We all know the targets. The most important thing is to go step by step. Now, it’s to create the right squad with the right players, or at least with players we feel can fit the idea. Then it’s to create something important, then to build. The club deserve something different.”

 

Promotion?

“To be honest, because I know quite well the idea, I like to talk about the process to get promoted. If it’s this year, hopefully, if not, it’s important to build for the next three or five years."

 

Coady and Winks?

“A good signal from the club. They are both very important players, not only in terms of quality, but also we are looking for players who can be examples for the young players. Conor is one of those guys, even Harry. The idea is to bring in more players with quality, not only on the pitch, but also that can help us build something important. Most of us are worried about what happens tomorrow, but we have to look forward."

 

Transfers?

“It’s difficult, when the market is open, anything can happen. At the moment, seven players had their contracts expired, Maddison left, and some more players can leave. But at the same time, if players leave, we can bring in more players.”

 

Man City?

“I always try to learn as much as I can. Last year was the same. It was an unbelievable season. We achieved almost all the targets. I try to learn every day, here and there."

 

What did you take from Guardiola?

“You want to know if we will play the same way? It’s that idea, but as I said, it’s not tomorrow. It’s a process. The idea is to try to play one way, but that requires time. Hopefully we can do it as quick as possible.”

 

Championship?

“It’s a complicated league because many teams they are fighting to be promoted. You can win in different ways. To see the squad we create, then we will see the way we will try to achieve our target."

 

Target Man City youngsters?

“We’ll see. They are not our players, so I don’t think it’s correct to talk about them. The market is long. There are many weeks. We’ll see.”

 

How are you as a manager?

“I always like to be like a sponge, and try to learn every day. The most beautiful thing for the players is the ball.”

 

Why Leicester?

“It’s an unbelievable club. Personally for me it’s been difficult. Since I joined Man City, we felt part of the family there. But professionally, I had no doubts. Leicester is an important club, a Premier League club. But the reality is that we are a Championship club, and we have to adapt.”

 

How are you going to play?

“To have the ball. When they were learning the game, they were looking for a ball to play with. So we will try to have the ball as much as possible. They enjoy having the ball, not running after the opponent. We have to adapt. Leicester is different in the Championship to Premier League. Every team wants to take points off us, because we are Leicester, because we are for them, the most important team in the Championship. I saw this with Man City. Every team wants to get points against them. We have to be ready for that.”

 

Vardy staying?

“Absolutely, yes. He is an unbelievable player. Hopefully he can stay with us.”

 

Barnes leaving?

“The market is open, anything can happen. We can bring in players, but we can sell them too.”

 

Adapting?

“We need to adapt. The Championship, it’s different from the Premier League. If we don’t have that, it will be a bad thing.”

 

Evans?

“It’s just as we said before, we are creating a squad. We have been in contact with him. We’ll see in the next weeks.”

 

Want signings in quickly?

“It’s a normal thing to try to have them as soon as we can, so we can work with them. Every club wants the same. In this moment, the market… clubs try to keep players or get more money. But the idea is to bring in our targets as soon as possible.”

 

Fans?

“We need the fans, especially in this moment. After last season, we need more. I don’t have any doubt over their support for this season.”

 

What can you promise to fans?

“Commitment is the most important thing. They will see passion.”

 

Can players come and speak to you?

“Absolutely. No problem.”

 

Owners?

“The ambitions were very high when I first met them. Nobody’s happy after last season. That is normal. I liked the ambition they had.”

 

Parma?

“I think we were on the right path, but in the end, you cannot control other people’s decisions. I learned many things. After an experience, you always try to learn things. We were on the right direction. This was just something about the past.”

 

Pre-season trips?

“The pre-season has changed in the past 20 years. This is football today. You have pre-season abroad. We have to adapt to that. We have to be ready for the first game at home.”

 

West Brom?

“I had long hair then! I spent two years there. I was young. It was an unbelievable. But it was more than 20 years ago.”

 

Mentality?

“This is one of the targets, to understand the competition. When you play in the Premier League and you get relegated, you must adapt quickly.”

 

Would it be failure to not get top six?

“I am completely relaxed. Because the most important thing is day by day, build a good squad. Then we will see what happens. To think about May, it’s too far.”

[Libertine]

5 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

 

Owners?

“The ambitions were very high when I first met them. Nobody’s happy after last season. That is normal. I liked the ambition they had.”

 

 

Read 'ambitions' as 'owners' at first glance. Was not at all surprised.

[Happy Fox]

His comments re Vardy? He’s staying or he isn’t?

[when_you're_smiling]

15 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

Can players come and speak to you?

“Absolutely. No problem.”

What a weird, shit, waste of a question.

[ElusiveEd]

3 minutes ago, when_you're_smiling said:

What a weird, shit, waste of a question.

Thought the same but then wondered if there were issues with Brendan around these things and it was a kind of dig at him type question. 

[MPH]

I think that must be the goals he’s scored tattooed onto his right  bicep. That’s the kind of manager I want.

Edited 3 July 2023 by MPH

[LcFc_Smiv]

12 minutes ago, when_you're_smiling said:

What a weird, shit, waste of a question.

Reminds me of one of the first questions you get when you start a new career on Football Manager 

[glenny_fox]

The difference in answers to the 'Vardy staying' & 'Barnes Staying' speak volumes. 

[STUHILL]

3 minutes ago, glenny_fox said:

The difference in answers to the 'Vardy staying' & 'Barnes Staying' speak volumes. 

Barnes is clearly for sale. 

Vardy is 90% staying from those remarks

[Hitesh]

Best line...

 

"The most beautiful thing for the players is the ball.”

 

 

[KFS]

5 minutes ago, STUHILL said:

Barnes is clearly for sale. 

Vardy is 90% staying from those remarks

Unless Vards finds something else is how I read that 

[Tommy G]

He'll quickly change his philosophy when he realises what he's dealing with, our current squad have got more hope of playing warnock ball than pep ball.

[ramadaone]

10 minutes ago, STUHILL said:

Barnes is clearly for sale. 

Vardy is 90% staying from those remarks

100%

[Guest Lako42]

so more slow football played by average footballers

[STUHILL]

Just now, Tommy G said:

He'll quickly change his philosophy when he realises what he's dealing with, our current squad have got more hope of playing warnock ball than pep ball.

Hence the need for moving players out and bringing a load in. He seems to suggest there is a lot of activity coming. Certainly no hint of being stuck with working with what we have etc. I think we could be a much changed starting 11 in 4 weeks time. 

 

'... The idea is to bring in more players with quality, not only on the pitch, but also that can help us build something important.'

[StriderHiryu]

Just now, Tommy G said:

He'll quickly change his philosophy when he realises what he's dealing with, our current squad have got more hope of playing warnock ball than pep ball.

Rodgers had us playing good stuff pretty quickly, and that was in a harder league. For Rodgers, it was Ndidi's downturn in form that started the decline of his era, went from having one midfield pivot to two, then playing more sideways rather than forwards, to who even knows what he was doing at the end.

 

As it stands the biggest problem I see us having is how we get the ball to whoever is up top. There's very little creativity or on the wings, unless Barnes stays who creates by dragging players towards him because of his direct threat. But for this division the budget we have should be able to sort that out pretty quickly.

[Ian S]

7 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

so more slow football played by average footballers

Your cheery disposition is making my day.

[STUHILL]

5 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Rodgers had us playing good stuff pretty quickly, and that was in a harder league. For Rodgers, it was Ndidi's downturn in form that started the decline of his era, went from having one midfield pivot to two, then playing more sideways rather than forwards, to who even knows what he was doing at the end.

 

As it stands the biggest problem I see us having is how we get the ball to whoever is up top. There's very little creativity or on the wings, unless Barnes stays who creates by dragging players towards him because of his direct threat. But for this division the budget we have should be able to sort that out pretty quickly.

 '...You can win in different ways. To see the squad we create, then we will see the way we will try to achieve our target.'

 

This comment gives me hope that he won't be stubborn in his tactics if things are not working! 

[StanSP]

What kind of question is 'can players come and speak to you'

 

 

[Trav Le Bleu]

55 minutes ago, MPH said:

I think that must be the goals he’s scored tattooed onto his right  bicep. That’s the kind of manager I want.

Pearson has similar for the number of players he's choked,  but it goes further down his arm.

[Trav Le Bleu]

17 minutes ago, StanSP said:

What kind of question is 'can players come and speak to you'

 

 

"No, not at all. They know their place, plebian scrum!"

[HankMarvin]

I’d like as many moved on as possible, if good young players are coming in.

Out with the old guard that got us relegated, squad needed a overhaul for a couple of seasons too many players have hit their glass ceiling. Two 5ths and a FA cup winners medal. Getting players in that are hungry and want to achieve all they can makes it a easier task for the new Manager than those who are going into games probably thinking they are too good to be playing in the Championship with no previous experience of it.

[StriderHiryu]

22 minutes ago, STUHILL said:

 '...You can win in different ways. To see the squad we create, then we will see the way we will try to achieve our target.'

 

This comment gives me hope that he won't be stubborn in his tactics if things are not working! 

90% of the teams in the division will play a deep block against us, but at least two others won't; Southampton and Leeds. Ipswich and Boro might also be a bit more cavalier, Swansea and Coventry too.

[CaliFOXnia]

46 minutes ago, Hitesh said:

Best line...

 

"The most beautiful thing for the players is the ball.”

 

 

Forget best quote (that was a good one), the only word I was remotely arsed about reading in that entire excerpt was PASSION  

 

Let's start there and everything else, I'm confident, will come as a by product of re-instilling what we'd been without for too long under BR! 

[Paninistickers]

1 hour ago, MPH said:

I think that must be the goals he’s scored tattooed onto his right  bicep. That’s the kind of manager I want.

Our second tattooed manager, the first being, of course, Claude Puel's epic that he got after a visit to a Marseille young offenders institute