Fans demand ‘extra game’ ban for Reece James discovering incredible claims made by Chelsea in red card appeal

IT IS fair to say most Leicester fans were not exactly pleading with Maresca to stay, writes Graeme Bryce

OK, they were not queueing up and offering to drive him to Stamford Bridge.

But there will not be too many tears shed or much wailing at the King Power either.

The fans’ attitude to losing their incredibly successful boss could be summed up in a word: ‘Meh’.

Maresca failed to win over the paying public who never really took to his patient, possession-based style of football.

Having been brought up — some would say spoiled — by the swashbuckling title winners of 2016, with Jamie Vardy spearheading manager Claudio Ranieri’s shock champions, Maresca never really got off the ground at the King Power.

So it will be interesting to see what Chelsea’s notoriously impatient fans make of Maresca’s ‘death by a thousand cuts’ style of play.

It was not long before some of the old-school Leicester fans started moaning that Maresca’s patient, play-out-from-the-back style was becoming too boring to watch.

During a 3-1 win over Swansea which left them ten points clear at the top, there were moans and groans coming from the stands amid cries of, ‘Get the ball forward’.

Fans accused him of stubbornly sticking to his Plan A — even when it was not working — and claimed he was way too slow to make substitutions.

But one thing Blues fans can look forward to is his man-management and his attention to detail.

And the Foxes players also adored their manager.