
Former Chelsea assistant manager Jody Morris has shared his thoughts on Blues head coach Enzo Maresca’s management style, admitting he is often “baffled” by the Italian’s in-game decision-making, particularly regarding substitutions.
Morris, speaking to talkSPORT, expressed his overall admiration for Maresca’s tactical philosophy and the positive impact he’s made in his debut season at Stamford Bridge.
However, he highlighted the manager’s hesitation in making timely changes during matches as a recurring concern.
“I wouldn’t want to be critical of Maresca from a coaching aspect so far because I do think the way he tries to play the game and the way we have been the better team in quite a lot of games has been good,” Morris explained.
“I am surprised with how long he waits sometimes to make decisions and substitutions, even the other day waiting until 80 minutes for [Pedro] Neto… That’s one of the things I’ve maybe been a little bit baffled by: why he waits so long to make some substitutions.”
The comments came after Chelsea’s frustrating 2-2 draw against Bournemouth in midweek, where Maresca opted to introduce attacking stars Joao Felix and Pedro Neto only in the 81st minute, despite the team’s struggles to secure a decisive result.
This issue comes amid Chelsea’s concerning dip in form, with five consecutive Premier League games without a win causing them to drop out of the top four. Maresca’s reluctance to act decisively during matches has raised eyebrows, especially given the depth and quality of the squad available to him this season.
With standout attackers like Felix spending significant time on the bench, Morris and others believe more proactive in-game management could help Chelsea reverse their current slide.
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