Former Newcastle boss believes Premier League manager is in 'huge trouble' after opening day loss
Ex-Newcastle boss Alan Pardew admits he was hugely concerned with Chelsea after their opening day defeat
Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew admits he is concerned for Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca after his side’s opening day defeat to Manchester City.
Last season’s top scorer Erling Haaland and former Blue Mateo Kovacic were on the scoresheet for the champions in what proved to be a comfortable afternoon for the visitors at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are expected to be one of Newcastle’s main rivals in the race for Champions League football come the end of the season, but Pardew believes it will be a huge challenge for Maresca to get the team firing on all cylinders in just his second full year in senior management.
Speaking to TalkSport, Pardew said: “Let's be honest it’s an outstanding line-up of talent, but bringing it all together and making a team out of it, with a new manager in only his second year as a full time coach worries me slightly. The performance was okay; they weren’t a team that looked open. Man City weren't cutting through them and I don’t see an obvious weakness in that team. Coming forward there was some fluidity, Palmer had two or three good moments.
“But I’m still very concerned about how he (Enzo Maresca) is going to manage this team. It’s going to be very difficult.”
Pardew went on to expand on the size of the squad being a major issue at this time. Chelsea currently have 42 senior squad members, with nine players arriving at a cost of around £162m.
The likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kepa Arrizabalaga are still on Chelsea's books despite having little to no chance of playing for the club again, while the defender Trevoh Chalobah has been exiled and midfielder Conor Gallagher has been forced to return from Madrid after a deal with Atletico failed to materialise.
Former Manchester City star Raheem Sterling also failed to make the squad for the game against his former club and now finds himself as the subject of uncertainty heading into the final weeks of the window.
Pardew also expressed his concern at the behaviour of chairman Todd Boehly, who went inside to his box in the 85th minute and described it as a ‘bad sign’.
He said: “When a chairman does something publicly like that, it really is a problem, people notice it and it’s a problem. My advice would be to stick to the end, let the manager get on with it as they really need to tow the line in my opinion down there otherwise you're going to have an unmanageable situation.
“If he goes down to the dressing room and I hear rumours that he does, then that’s a no go. That will be a real test for that manager.”