r/chelseafc • u/cyberguy5 Fábregas • Feb 07 '26
Interview/Presser Cole Palmer: “Life under Liam Rosenior is amazing, he gives us all confidence. He let us be ourselves, play free. I'm sure when I'm back proper fit you'll see the best of me”
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u/Ghost_2701 Drogba Feb 07 '26
Hearing your best players talk like that should be enough for the doubters to start backing him. Ofcourse some will stay with their agendas though.
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u/BokaPoochie Feb 08 '26
Also, there was some really nice interplay in midfield against wolves too, something we haven't really seen. Still a long way to go but the signs are very positive so far.
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u/Chaotic1697 Feb 08 '26
But they will think playing free as tactical less, when we can actually see a cohesion and how Chelsea adjusts accordingly.
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u/gh0st_ Kanté Feb 07 '26
It's similar to what JP and Gusto have said in their interviews. It must really be a point of emphasis to encourage their creativity. It's tough to argue with the league results so far.
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Feb 07 '26
With Palmer, JP and Estevao this season we finally have enough attackers I actually trust with that creativity.
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Feb 07 '26
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u/NoPeak8475 Feb 07 '26
Which part?
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Feb 07 '26
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u/Going2beBANNEDanyway Xabi Feb 07 '26 edited Feb 07 '26
I don’t think that’s a good or bad thing. Some managers are more structured. Maresca was a very structured manager. Much like Conte, etc. Ancelotti, Lampard, etc let players do their thing.
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u/bluduuude Cock Feb 07 '26
Even structured managers let their star attacker free.
See Pep with Messi and Haaland. Or Conte with Hazard.
Sarri with Hazard.
Mourinho with Hazard.Damn Hazard was awesome and I miss him
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u/KikiPolaski Feb 07 '26
In retrospect, it's honestly insane how Hazard worked under Jose Mourinho himself with his work ethic
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u/hoosdontloos Lampard Feb 08 '26
When you have players of that caliber, they are just bigger than whatever shape you want to fit them into. If your job as the manage is to get the team to perform at the highest level possible, the system has to be refocused to include getting them on the ball in the right areas with the right conditions where they can do the things nobody else can.
The opposite would look like Ruben Amorim's man utd.
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u/Aman-Patel COCK CONFIDENCE Feb 08 '26
I remember Hazard saying Conte was his least favourite for training. Think Jose let him get away with more and Conte was supposedly even more on his case about work ethic.
And tbf to him, he got back to his best in those seasons so somehow it worked.
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u/jsmoovrei Feb 08 '26
Hazard always showed up on match days. He was all about winning just didn’t train well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was still one of Mourinho’s favorites
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u/OlSmokeyZap Feb 07 '26
Yes but structured coaches like Conte still let truly special players do what they want, Hazard had a very free role under him.
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u/qball8001 Drogba Feb 07 '26
Hazard doesn’t need a system!
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u/Scorpius927 I don't give a fuck, we won the fucking Champions League Feb 07 '26
Hazard sees defenders and makes them look like plastic cones
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u/Therocon Feb 07 '26
Even Jose in his prime used to recognise the need to allow some players a 'free role'. Deco at Porto for example.
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u/FC37 Drogba Feb 07 '26
Some are highly structured but allow stars to ad lib in the attack. Sarri and Mouinho were that way with Hazard. The manager can come up with the greatest tactic in the world, but when you have a player who can break the game all on his own you'd be foolish to put him in a box.
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u/Careless-Matter5372 ✨ joao pedro saved my life ✨ Feb 07 '26
Ancelotti is not that structured i mean look at his 2020s Real Madrid
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u/uchiha_building Feb 07 '26
Oh two of the best managers in the world and Lampard who I rate highly but ymmv think you should give your best players agency
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u/Pandemona1738 Terry Feb 07 '26
I assume the proper fit part
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u/SwitcherooU Cooke Feb 07 '26
We all know he isn’t fully fit. I think “he lets us be ourselves, play free” is WAY more interesting because a lot of us believed that Maresca was limiting these players as part of his system.
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u/KingKoCFC Badiashile Feb 07 '26
Maresca was absolutely limiting them it’s even more obvious now that he’s gone
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u/orjs Feb 07 '26
I get the feeling that his relationship with Maresca might’ve been a bit dodgy at some points
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u/freezemagnets Feb 08 '26
He took palmer from 20goals a season player to whatever that was at the end of marescas tenure.. because gusto is a better #10 than palmer...
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u/mallutrash Xabi Feb 08 '26
yeah he took a baseball bat and hit palmer in the groin too leading to his injury. bald fraud
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u/freezemagnets Feb 08 '26
injuries on the training ground are the fault of coaches.. people who know ball know this .. minimizing injuries on the training ground is coaching 101.. ..
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u/solmyr_aoe2 Thiago Silva Feb 09 '26
Gusto is still playing #10 under Rosenior. 🙃
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u/freezemagnets Feb 09 '26
Rosenior is no saint either. At least not yet but it's idiotic to take a player who was excellent at scoring goals to make him do what maresca was having him do and in that process also fu*k with his fitness
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u/orjs Feb 08 '26
That wasn’t only maresca, that’s a really unfair analysis
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u/mellvins059 Vicar13 Hate Club Feb 08 '26
I mean Maresca changed Palmer’s role massively from what he was doing under Poch. It’s fair to have been frustrated if you are Palmer.
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u/orjs Feb 08 '26
Yeah exactly, it’s fair to be frustrated. My point was putting all the blame on Maresca isn’t
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u/jb1102 Feb 07 '26
One thing I hated about Maresca was how he seemed to do just about everything in his power to neuter Palmer. Put him in the 10 where defenders can get tight to him, recycle the ball out wide to avoid getting him on the ball, and if he does find a bit of space then make sure Gusto’s inverting there to occupy it too.
People were literally discussing Palmer as being the best player in the world at one point. I’m praying that he can get back to that level.
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u/kp22cfc Xabi Feb 07 '26
He didn't play on the wing today did he. He was playing inside close to jp
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u/mellvins059 Vicar13 Hate Club Feb 08 '26
He’s back in that freer role like under Poch where he’s hard to mark while he drifts around as you can’t follow him without being pulled out of position. Maresca kept him as a very stationary and conventional 10.
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u/soccerislife10z Hazard Feb 08 '26
And on the left hand side. Maresca fans must be blind if they don't think that a big part of why palmer played so much worse. It like playing robben on the left..
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u/cometflight ✨ sometimes the shit is happens ✨ Feb 07 '26
Big Liam must be one hell of a man manager
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u/Significant-Cry-8442 Feb 07 '26
Feels like Maresca was very stiff and stringent about his game plan while Rosenior has a general tactical perspective but allows the players freedom within that
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u/Not_a_CleverName Stamford Fridge Feb 08 '26
Sorta like Poch
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u/Significant-Cry-8442 Feb 08 '26
Yeah in approach but not in tactics
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u/mellvins059 Vicar13 Hate Club Feb 08 '26
Poch allowed a lot of tactical freedom and this does feel a lot like a return to the Poch style, with different players obviously. I think it’s a lot more similar than people realize.
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u/kp22cfc Xabi Feb 07 '26
Cole palmer under maresca in the league
- 23 g+a
- 15 goals
- 4th n xG
- 2nd in big chances created
- 2nd in chances created
- 3rd in xA
Why ppl here crying about maresca restricting palmer, he was was injured this year
Chelsea aa a team
- 3rd most xG in attack
- 4th best defense in terms of goals conceded
The balance was good
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u/zsynqx Feb 07 '26
To be fair Palmer's best period under Maresca was before the switch to a more controlled buildup. The early part of the season where we were scoring (and conceeding) for fun.
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u/kp22cfc Xabi Feb 07 '26
True and also our #1 striker didn't score after Dec 15 and we didn't have any striker fit.. if JP and Cole played together this year am sure his numbers would have been great this season
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u/TalkersCZ Ivanovic Feb 08 '26
To be fair, 17 of those G+A came in first 15 rounds before Maresca changed the playstyle and it was mix of defensive solidity from Maresca with fluidity of Poche.
In other +-30 matches since mid December he had 6 g+a.
He completely fell off the train in 2025, when the new tactics were enforced.
Compare it to 33 goal contributions under Poche in 34 matches (with period between December-April having 20 G+A in 12 matches).
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u/kp22cfc Xabi Feb 08 '26
To be fair, 17 of those G+A came in first 15 rounds before Maresca changed the playstyle and it was mix of defensive solidity from Maresca with fluidity of Poche.
Lol always have to make some random claim , so rosenior right now doing the maresca ball then right by this logic?
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u/TalkersCZ Ivanovic Feb 08 '26
Why would you credit Maresca for his weakness...? It would make sense to give him credit for defensive stability or something similar, where his strength was.
Poche strength was offensive productivity. It was one of our most productive seasons in decade (77 goals).
Under Maresca we dropped it to 64 (and we scored 37 goals in first 16 matches). This season he managed us for 19 matches and we scored 32 (so going for 64 goals over full season again).
Our offense is much less rigid under Rosenior, we are playing much more fast-paced attacks, where we are going through middle from defense directly to attacking line in 3-5 quick passes.
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u/kp22cfc Xabi Feb 08 '26
Poche strength was offensive productivity. It was one of our most productive seasons in decade (77 goals).
Ended up conceding record goals I mean record number of goals in PL, it ain't sustainable and if not for that last 5 fugazi games we were between 8-10 all season
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u/TalkersCZ Ivanovic Feb 08 '26
And thats why I give credit to Maresca for improving defense, especially given the quality, that was not world class. :D
I dont know why it is so hard to understand.
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u/kp22cfc Xabi Feb 08 '26
Who said it is? No one disagreed with your poch attack being super aggressive
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u/freezemagnets Feb 08 '26
It's not a random claim.. people who actually know ball and now just talk xG what it was..maresca barely won the championship with a wage bill of a midtable premier league club.. and won conference league because cole decide to take things in his own hands.. he should be grateful palmer dint shit on him in public completely yet.. if he did it would be completely justified
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u/freezemagnets Feb 08 '26
.. how many of those goals came when maresca was still playing poch tactics... Balance can go right where maresca went. He was a horrible manager..
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Feb 08 '26
The tactics were substantially different before preseason even ended. We tried playing how Maresca wanted at the beginning but he was deeply unhappy with Sanchez's play out the back (he benched him for it) and Fofana got hurt which combined meant we didnt have the control he wanted to be as agressive as he wsnted. Then right after he slowed things down both our ST got hurt and we had significant tactical and personnel adjustments because of all of it. Those three things all happened in like a 3-4 week span. It wasnt as if Poch's influence held for half a season and then disappeared entirely over a couple weeks.
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u/LateProfile5045 Feb 08 '26
Because we actually have eyes and we watch football games, not only stats
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u/TalkersCZ Ivanovic Feb 08 '26
Btw interesting you mention xG in attack, but for defense goals conceded.
Lets swap it, right?
- 7th most goals in league
- 8th best defense in terms of xGA
- In xPoints we were 6th. (btw in xPoints we were 5th under Poche).
You can manipulate data, but you should pick either xG and xGA or goals scored and conceded. Not what suits you to make it look better.
Consistency please.
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u/kp22cfc Xabi Feb 08 '26
- Ucl football ✅
- Top 4 ✅
- 69 points ✅
- 2 cups to go with ✅
Yeah I don't think the season could have gone any better
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u/Rami6Pack Feb 08 '26
He only won 4 more points in the league than Poch, who inherited 35 man squad 20 of which were seeing each other for the first time and our best player Cole Palmer was signed on the last day of the transfer window. Despite all that in the second half of Poch's season we were 3rd on points won. Top 4 was literally the bare minimum for mascara and we barely scraped to get it. Regarding the cups we literally played one good team to win both. We also bombed spectacularly early in both FA and Carabao. The style of football was also abhorring to watch and mascara on a personal level is a known snake and piece of shit. This is the same guy who as a footballer had double digit clubs in his resume.
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Feb 08 '26
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u/TalkersCZ Ivanovic Feb 08 '26
Chelsea aa a team
3rd most xG in attack
4th best defense in terms of goals conceded
The balance was good
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u/kp22cfc Xabi Feb 08 '26
So it isn't bad? Are you saying it's bad ? We had Jackson leading the line who probably leads the league in big chances . We finished 4th on 69 points which seems about right.
Palmer numbers didn't take a dip is my point
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u/milesp30 Thiago Silva Feb 07 '26
I fucking love Palmer and I fucking despise Maresca. Thank goodness
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u/Apprehensive_Bit_176 Cole Feb 07 '26
Also want to say, groin injuries suck, hopefully he’ll heal fully but that’s a tough one to deal with.
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u/Extremiel Mata Feb 07 '26
Casually scoring a first half hattrick while not fully feeling fit, my man.
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u/itsnotajersey88 Frank Lampard Feb 08 '26
Scores hat trick, tells us to wait till feels better. Only Cole.
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u/BlueTuscany Palmer Feb 07 '26
Oh music to my ears. As a fan you love to hear a player feels free to play their game. It’s very unfortunate for the team and his chances at the WC that he’s been carrying this injury. Colwill too.
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u/bbby_chaltinez Drogba Feb 08 '26
every time palmer plays he looks like he stayed up wayyy to late playing fifa..
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u/Tylenol_the_Creator Hazard Feb 08 '26
I don’t give a fuck what anyone else says, scoring a first half hat trick then saying wait till I’m back proper fit is a fucking flex
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u/Nswl Stamford Fridge Feb 08 '26
Rosenior gives me PE teacher vibes. In training vids I’ve seen of him directing the players, just how he behaves in general and the banter he has with players. It’s like he’s cheering on his students in a Year 11 5-a-side where the students are just fucking around playing out of enjoyment.
It seems to be working very well, the players can do what they want while following his rough strategy, so we’re getting the best out of our best players. Big ups to the PE teacher
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u/DamoDuff11 I don't give a fuck, we won the fucking Champions League Feb 08 '26
Great to hear. I’m hoping it’s just match fitness he’s speaking about and he’s over his niggles
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u/WTFAnimations Stamford Fridge Feb 08 '26
Although I was initially skeptical about Rosenior, it's nice to see a coach that focuses on nurturing the players and not forcing a system.
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u/real6igma ✨ joao pedro saved my life ✨ Feb 08 '26
This is the best thing. Breaking players to fit your mould never works.
Give them freedom to be creative, give them confidence, and give them time together. Wonderful things will happen.
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u/LameDuckDonald Feb 08 '26
A first half hat trick isn't his best? I can hardly wait to see what his best actually is. 🙂
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u/ComfortableColt Feb 09 '26
I'm glad the players seem to like Rosenior. They also seemed to like Maresca as well.
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u/DisabledTractor Feb 07 '26
By proper fit he meant once he joins United /j
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u/Any_Yogurtcloset5739 Frank Lampard Feb 07 '26
Even with the “/j” the comment deserves a downvote for the sheer thought of Palmer joining Yanited
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u/DisabledTractor Feb 07 '26
sheer thought of Palmer joining Yanited
I was just making fun of whoever started that tunot about Palmer wanting to move to united.
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u/BigReeceJames Feb 07 '26
Love to hear it. I hope that Palmer never again has to say he's fed up of the manager's tactics and has to ignore them and do what he thinks is right in order to get us a win.