One of the most important things when it comes to being a football manager is to stick to your principles. Once you make a decision you need to stick with it even if there are some initial setbacks that may make you second guess the decision and yourself.
In the case of Chelsea and Enzo Maresca, he is sticking to his guns when it comes to the seemingly permanent change he made at goalkeeper earlier this month. Maresca chose to name Filip Jorgensen as his number one keeper over Robert Sanchez and the decision seemed like a no brainer at the time given the latter’s propensity for making mental errors.
After this weekend’s loss to Aston Villa however and Jorgensen’s massive howler, there were some that thought Maresca would reverse course and put Sanchez back in the starting lineup. Maresca, to his credit, has chosen to keep Jorgensen as the number one and we should expect him to start against Southampton and Copenhagen in the UEFA Conference League barring injury.
The reason this is important is because managers are only as good as their word and a reversal to a proclamation that Jorgensen is the starter would have sowed division in the squad. The players would have good reason to doubt Maresca’s sincerity if he dropped Jorgensen after one mistake when he gave Sanchez such a long leash to start the season.
This decision also allows Maresca to show that he believes in his young keeper and that he thinks Jorgensen is his best option at keeper to see out the season. Some fans have criticized Maresca for being too rigid in his lineups and not showing belief in his bench, but his consistent selections shows the players that he is willing to back them even when they struggle. He backed Sanchez for a bit too long perhaps but the Spanish keeper also had some massive games for the Blues along the way.
Things will definitely look different come the summer period as the Blues will have big decisions to make at the keeper position. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention but Chelsea have a goalkeeper problem.
They have spread their funds around to several different youngsters hoping to address the situation after £100 million man Kepa Arrizabalaga didnt pan out the way they hoped. Kepa was unseated by a little known keeper in Edouard Mendy but since the Senegalese international’s departure the club has been unable to find a steady replacement.
We believe the solution is not currently in the Chelsea squad but that could change if Jorgensen bounces back from his big mistake and finishes the season strong. The only way he could do so is with the backing of his manager so we fully support Maresca’s decision to maintain his faith in the young keeper and keep him in the starting lineup.