Enzo Maresca frustration boils over as he says 'moment there's doubt about the idea, I will leave'

[dylanlegend]

The issue I see with the style of play we won’t be able to play like that against over 50% of teams in the Prem. Similar to Burnley last season they walked the league with a similar style and struggling in the Prem.

 

We have the highest wage budget in Championship history, most of our players are far too good for this league. 
 

I understand the frustrations from Enzo but saying things like he will leave isn’t good form from him. Should keep things like that in private.
 

We’ll know how good he is as a manager next season more than This. But already making comments like the above suggests to me he won’t be here that long; and the first decent offer he’ll probably be off. 

[fuchsntf]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

Here’s what supporters have said on X, formerly Twitter:

Ashley Parker: Enzo has done remarkable since being here taking the club from the lows of relegation to being top of the champ with a new style. Yes, it can be boring at times,but we are winning games and on course for record points tally so I can see why Enzo is getting frustrated!

Andrew Joshi: Be careful what you wish for boys and girls

Remember what you felt like last season? losing games and the toxic atmosphere. Don’t fall into the trap of wanting your cake and eating it.

Just support the team & Enjoy the ride! WE ARE TOP!

Sam Merton: Enzo has done such a good job that large sections of the home support believe a 76% win ratio is normal. It’s not.

Stuart B: Am I really seeing people complaining about the way we're playing under Enzo? Yes, we pass it around the back, but then attack with purpose and crucially WIN GAMES. Would you prefer us to play like Leeds and make Play Offs!

Katy: Enzo’s going to go if another club comes in for him, isn’t he? I wouldn’t blame him either, we’re top of the league and he’s fighting a losing battle with the ‘fans’ every week. As a fan base, winning the prem ruined us. Entitled & dissatisfied with everything

This is what I was going on about all season.. The shift we went through before last summer to now, is like being in 2 dimensions.. 

 

Banter, cross exchange critics is normal.. But the entitlement of right of opinion and believing like "Dickensens real deal"  a bit more expected.. Goes too far. It does make one wonder how this entitlement grew, and ignoring not accepting Enzo his team and system has to be embraced, with patience and somewhat understanding.. The terraces suprised me last night, it means they are still finding it difficult to understand, not only the whole concept, but also those wind of whispers that can't see the players as individuals are playing to that system.. Fatawu, Mcateer, Mavididi, Daka, Vestergaard etc

 

Just think about it, what is there not to embrace, support, take a few steps back in unneeded whining negatives when one are posting 26 wins from 34 games... 

 

Though that said, Enzo can't play this type of Nero- Greta Garbo-Diva role. 

HE should also  understand the power of the quiet majority, against the  negative shouts and mumours which are loudest and Carry across all football stadia. 

 

HE too should in his first season, even with all the facts and evidence in his favor, in football there are always those dissenters or critics  who think they know even better.. because you hear/read it doesn't mean the majority are not on your side.. 

[Dahnsouff]

Always thought some have a very romantic view of what we used to play like, what football was to them, tantamount to jumpers for goal posts type of thing

Times change, what Enzo is doing clearly works, so why not embrace the change rather than railing against it, and if this is true that any yearn for times gone, get over it, this is still your club, it's just being successful in a different way.

If you really cannot stomach it, don't watch.  

[Nolucklcfc]

1 minute ago, Chelmofox said:

And then someone will come up with something new. The sport evolves.

It does but for the next few years it’ll build into this style because when teams get it right it’s most effective. 

[Basildon Fox]

2 minutes ago, Nolucklcfc said:

Eventually football will be played this way by every club. Don’t like it? Don’t watch it. 

I can guarantee there will be a plan to counteract this eventually.  Not every player or every club will be able to play that way as some players are just not as talented or as comfortable on the ball as others.

[Countesthorpe Fox 1884 12]

Just now, Fox92 said:

What was the mess exactly?

 

We all accept this squad shouldn't have gone down last season.

 

A new manager was inheriting a good squad, good facilities and a good budget. There are not many teams in this division who can go out and spend £10m on a Tottenham player.

 

Maresca has done a good job but, seriously, anything less than top 3 would be disappointing. Only Ipswich are overachiving being in the top 4. The gap between Leeds (4th, 57 points) and WBA (5th, 45 points) highlights the quality the three relegated teams have.

There are not many teams in this division that lost players too - spurs, Newcastle, besiktas, Aston villa, athletico Madrid, Fulham, Manchester United . . Either

[leicesterlad1989]

Fans tend to be so extreme with their views. Personally, I don't enjoy this style of football. That's nothing to do with Enzo, my preference is faster and more direct. Given a choice between watching Pep's Man City team or Klopps Liverpool (at their best), I'd choose Klopps Liverpool. Guess which manager has more trophies though? Ultimately it's a result business and I won't be complaining should we lift the title this season.

 

Enzo transformed the club from what was a sinking ship into possible title winners. It's also refreshing to see the youth team also implementing the system and style of play. At least we now have an identity, even if it's not my cup of tea. I won't and don't sit there moaning about the ball not going forward because I understand what they are trying to do. I just wish at times the players would look for the forward pass a little more.

 

So yeah, I appreciate what he's doing, even if I don't enjoy it at times.

[Nolucklcfc]

1 minute ago, Basildon Fox said:

I can guarantee there will be a plan to counteract this eventually.  Not every player or every club will be able to play that way as some players are just not as talented or as comfortable on the ball as others.

Maybe but the reality is, it’s here at Leicester and not going anywhere. It’s working, we are top of the league. We are winning games, fans need to back the team, not constantly be moaning

[Nolucklcfc]

1 minute ago, leicesterlad1989 said:

Fans tend to be so extreme with their views. Personally, I don't enjoy this style of football. That's nothing to do with Enzo, my preference is faster and more direct. Given a choice between watching Pep's Man City team or Klopps Liverpool (at their best), I'd choose Klopps Liverpool. Guess which manager has more trophies though? Ultimately it's a result business and I won't be complaining should we lift the title this season.

 

Enzo transformed the club from what was a sinking ship into possible title winners. It's also refreshing to see the youth team also implementing the system and style of play. At least we now have an identity, even if it's not my cup of tea. I won't and don't sit there moaning about the ball not going forward because I understand what they are trying to do. I just wish at times the players would look for the forward pass a little more.

 

So yeah, I appreciate what he's doing, even if I don't enjoy it at times.

And I think that’s all enzo wants. You don’t have to love the football but just try and make an effort to understand the process and back the team a bit. Shame more folk don’t take the view you do. 

[MPH]

I will question the wisdom of the Mercury in releasing this story with  a bit of a sensationalist headline.  This article helps no one in any way shape or form. It achieves nothing other than to poke the bear. 

 

 

There is nothing ' boiling over' about Maresca. He's as cool as a cucumber.

[Fox92]

3 minutes ago, Countesthorpe Fox 1884 12 said:

There are not many teams in this division that lost players too - spurs, Newcastle, besiktas, Aston villa, athletico Madrid, Fulham, Manchester United . . Either

Yes, that's my point. The quality.

[LCFCJohn]

A few thoughts….

 

I do think Enzo is being overly sensitive but this seems to be something running through the club from Top ‘the fans made mean comments to me’ to the fans. Clearly the majority are generally at least, on board and just point out genuine areas for improvement. This comes across more as he isn’t willing to accept any feedback to me.

 

Fan base in general and the atmosphere. I think this links to the lack of general sale and membership only by the club. It’s been mentioned that the new faces in the crowd this past week have led to a bit of a better atmosphere. I think there are too many people who have just become comfortable in what has become a closed shop and go out of habit and that has affected the atmosphere. The genuine negative morons out there would not be heard if we weren’t playing in a library week in week out.

 

But, generally the crowd need to be inspired. I do completely understand the reason we don’t go full throttle and play a slower paced game. It will almost certainly benefit us as the season gets closer to the end. But it does often have long lulls which just do mean that it is less conducive to a bouncing atmosphere.
 

Also, although no doubt some of the ‘get it forward’ crew are referring to long ball, I’m sure many are referring to getting it forward in the same way Daka got it forward to KDH last night. It doesn’t always mean ‘hooffff’, it can mean just intensity and tempo.

[HUNTA84]

10 minutes ago, dylanlegend said:

The issue I see with the style of play we won’t be able to play like that against over 50% of teams in the Prem. Similar to Burnley last season they walked the league with a similar style and struggling in the Prem.

 

We have the highest wage budget in Championship history, most of our players are far too good for this league. 
 

I understand the frustrations from Enzo but saying things like he will leave isn’t good form from him. Should keep things like that in private.
 

We’ll know how good he is as a manager next season more than This. But already making comments like the above suggests to me he won’t be here that long; and the first decent offer he’ll probably be off. 

I think this is also probably a dig at the board to make sure funds are made available in the summer to strengthen. Basically, if you don't support my philosophy and get me the players I want, I'm off too.

Edited 31 January by HUNTA84

[Spudulike]

4 minutes ago, HUNTA84 said:

I think this is also probably a dig at the board to make sure funds are made available in the summer to strengthen. Basically, if you don't support my philosophy and get me the players I want, I'm off too.

I don't think that any managers can expect funds to be made available anymore given that it now leads to points deductions. We are entering another new era. 

[MPH]

1 minute ago, LCFCJohn said:

A few thoughts….

 

I do think Enzo is being overly sensitive but this seems to be something running through the club from Top ‘the fans made mean comments to me’ to the fans. Clearly the majority are generally at least, on board and just point out genuine areas for improvement. This comes across more as he isn’t willing to accept any feedback to me.

 

Fan base in general and the atmosphere. I think this links to the lack of general sale and membership only by the club. It’s been mentioned that the new faces in the crowd this past week have led to a bit of a better atmosphere. I think there are too many people who have just become comfortable in what has become a closed shop and go out of habit and that has affected the atmosphere. The genuine negative morons out there would not be heard if we weren’t playing in a library week in week out.

 

But, generally the crowd need to be inspired. I do completely understand the reason we don’t go full throttle and play a slower paced game. It will almost certainly benefit us as the season gets closer to the end. But it does often have long lulls which just do mean that it is less conducive to a bouncing atmosphere.
 

Also, although no doubt some of the ‘get it forward’ crew are referring to long ball, I’m sure many are referring to getting it forward in the same way Daka got it forward to KDH last night. It doesn’t always mean ‘hooffff’, it can mean just intensity and tempo.

 

 

That's not being overly sensitive. youve still managed to switch this round to being about Maresca's mood. 10 points clear and people are complaining about him,

 He has a right to be upset if people are complaining about the job he is doing. But thats way different to  him being  'overly sensitive'

 

This is about ungrateful complaining fans who have a small chance of pushing away a manager who is doing an amazing job. It's the stupidest thing i have ever seen.

 

 

Pearson tells a fan to FOAD, grabs players  by the throat, does some crazy interviews , did so much for this club but he DID have some weird tactics, bad performances and strange  subs/ decisions... but he gets a free ride and is pretty much immortalized. Maresca takes over a sinking ship thats been badly run and managed for a couple of years now as well as being in a financial sink hole, but instead of plaudits for the amazing turn around he gets criticism. 

 

 

I honestly despair sometimes...

[Gubbins]

42 minutes ago, FoxinNotts said:

I would rather watch my team paly a controlled game (which, by-the-way, is a new style which we've picked up amazingly quickly, and is still developing) which still creates chances & goals, whilst conceding very few goals, than any other style of football.

This way is still entertaining, without the need for having that 'sinking feeling', in the pit of your stomach, that its about to go to rat shit any minute, even if we do concede.

It's hardly that new a style, it's a more successful variation on Rodgers 'horseshoe of doom' as much as anything and i expect it to flop hard in the prem next year. 

I fear this is the way modern football has gone at the top levels though. It's now quite often the better quality team hogging the ball whilst the other team sits in an organised low block frustrating and hoping to hit on the break. Ferocious pressing often adds some chaos and fun but overall I and it seems a good percentage of us don't really enjoy it and go more out of habit and the eternal hope that things will get better. Can def see myself not bothering at all within the next 10 years if football continues on this course.

[kingfox]

I think it boils down to a mixture of burnout, impatience and entitlement.

 

I just think a section of the fanbase is just burnt out with watching possession style football. We have gone from Puel to Rodgers to Maresca. Three managers who may have different philosophies, but at the end of the day it’s three managers who pride themselves on a possession based system. We have seen it on a regular basis since 2017, when possession based football works well, it can be great to watch. When possession based football doesn’t work well, often when teams sit back against us and we find it difficult to break them down, we have seen it under Puel, Rodgers and now Maresca, that when this happens the style does become tedious at times. 
 

This is where the sense of impatience comes into it. It’s one thing I have noticed a lot this season, both in the stands and on here in match threads. There’s many fans who just don’t have the patience with this team and our style of football, we have seen it so many times with first half performances, moans and groans wanting all out attack from the first minute. Come the second half, especially after sixty minutes, many times this season we turn on the style and dispatch teams away comfortably. Those fans are then left with egg on their face. We knew from the get go what Maresca’s style of play was going to be, at times possession based football can become a little tedious, but time and time again this season, patience with this team is key. If you have enough patience, then you’ll get enjoyment out of this team. If you are impatient and want all out attack from minute one, then Maresca ball isn’t for you.
 

The sense of entitlement does also play a part, a section of our fanbase clearly turn up every week expecting us to destroy teams 4-0, 5-0 on a regular basis. The Championship was never going to be that easy, they’ll be some games where we just scrape by, and they’ll be some games where we blow teams away. At the end of the day, we have won 22 out of 29, sitting 10 points clear, from a table and results perspective, enjoy the ride. 

[foxfanazer]

23 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

What was the mess exactly? Aside from the obvious (we'd just been relegated) before those replies start.

 

We all accept this squad shouldn't have gone down last season.

 

A new manager was inheriting a good squad, good facilities and a good budget. There are not many teams in this division who can go out and spend £10m on a Tottenham player.

 

Maresca has done a good job but, seriously, anything less than top 3 would be disappointing. Only Ipswich are overachiving being in the top 4. The gap between Leeds (4th, 57 points) and WBA (5th, 45 points) highlights the quality the three relegated teams have.

 

He has overseen a change in style which I like. I'm not overlooking that btw.

 

In the summer I said Kieran McKenna wouldn't come here and got laughed at, by numerous people, telling me how big were are and how big the budget we would have?

 

Or maybe I'm overlooking it all. As long as we win the League, that's all that matters.

A club that gets relegated with the personnel and facilities at our disposal are clearly in a mess imo. In some ways it's easier to fix a relegated squad that went down due to a lack of quality in the sense that you know you have to recruit better.

 

He's also seemed to have tackled the soft underbelly created by Rodgers (albeit against lesser opposition). 

 

I'm not making out he's working miracles by any means but the scale of the task is somewhat understated. Many on here were predicting far less positive seasons than what we're having 

[st albans fox]

We’ve seen enough evidence this season that if we don’t have the ball and teams go at us then the consequences aren’t generally pretty 

 

sure we have a chance of a turn over and a quick break 

 

but we are way better off having the ball and dictating the game 

 

if some fans just want a 100 mph game full of chances for both sides  then they should be honest and accept that the championship is for them.  If they want their club in the PL then the way we’re playing is the best way of achieving that.  
 

the game against Bournemouth will be interesting. 

[Dahnsouff]

1 minute ago, kingfox said:

...

The sense of entitlement does also play a part, a section of our fanbase clearly turn up every week expecting us to destroy teams 4-0, 5-0 on a regular basis.

...

This more than anything else does my nut in, like we have some Gods given right to give everyone else a pasting. There are some decent teams in this league, and is our squad the best? Possibly so, the team? Not so sure, Leeds should be doing way better than they are. Some carry a Premier league hubris where it does not belong.

[Wymsey]

The people moaning are the ones who,  probably, didn't regularly experience the very lows of the Holloway/Allen times to appreciate the club's situation now.

 

Firmly believe relegation will be a blessing in disguise in the long-run.

[iancognito]

3 hours ago, ozleicester said:

but often its boring to watch

We're winning virtually every week and the GD is phenomenal. How is it boring?

 

We've got a team of committed players who enjoy playing for the club, that can't be boring. It's certainly a world away from the last two seasons.

[Free Falling Foxes]

2 hours ago, CosbehFox said:

I am going to criticise him here. 

 

His point is valid - very valid. 

 

But as a manager in his position, there is always going to be criticism and pushing it back at the fans is a dangerous tactic. He won't help himself with that. 

I think we - and that includes Enzo - need a sense of perspective here.

You hear grumbles and groans but what percentage of fans is this? Even if it is a vocal couple of hundred around the stadium, that equtes to no more than 1%.

I dont think you can include the early leavers as being dissatisfied either. There are far more of these when the game is won beyond doubt. In anycase, early leavers are occuring at more and more grounds.

I do hope that Enzo is not ramping this up as a prelude to an exit strategy. This and the incoming players (lack off) situation.

Most - vast majority, in fact - are very happy with how things are going.

[HesNotGudjonsonn2]

It is so frustrating that people aren’t getting it. Didn’t Enzo himself say ‘we pass to move the opponents, not the ball.’ 
 

Basically, we go back to draw them out and create space. Give the man a break!

[Matt]

I mean I see both sides, I’ve made my feelings on possession based football and playing out from the back quite clear and that I don’t really enjoy the modern game. A large majority of clubs, up and down the country, in every league play this way, generally, it’s boring and the game has been ruined.
 

I have to realise and accept that’s the way it is, that’s on me. To continue with my hobby, my interest in football I need to find a compromise. 

 

I feel Maresca’s football is somewhat of a compromise, largely it’s possession based, largely it’s playing out from that back but we do play forwards, we are attacking, it is, at times, exciting and entertaining. 
 

Compared to the much of the last 7 years, this is positive, this is exciting and entertaining.

 

However a lot of the time the constant recycling of the ball, we still look clueless.

 

I totally understand why we’re playing this way, in this league. Whilst it’s winning games, we’re breaking records and top of the league, you can’t argue against it.
 

Will it work and be successful next season? It remains to be seen but I don’t think so and I fear it’ll be pretty dire to watch - as it is for a high percentage of teams.

 

I’m not sure that rationale or argument will be there next season however, teams will not be coming up against us “scared”, “putting 11 men behind the ball”, making us “break them down”, I feel it’ll be very much keep ball for keep balls sake, littered with constant mistake, rinse and repeat.

 

That isn’t about me getting in early in order to say “I told you so”. Hopefully I’m completely wrong, pleasantly surprised and we’re playing really well to a comfortable safety next season.

 

As a newly promoted team (hopefully) you expect us to struggle and I accept that but will I accept stupid mistakes from playing out time and time again, inviting needless pressure upon ourselves, constantly shooting ourselves on the foot just to play a certain way, style or philosophy? Absolutely not.
 

You adapt, get the best out of what you’ve got and find ways around things not just doing the same thing over and over.