The Chelsea fans are certainly making it very obvious what kind of football they prefer to see.New manager Xabi Alonso has been in charge of just three competitive games, and his record reads: played three, won three, scored nine, conceded five. If you are a neutral and figuring out what team you want to watch on TV right now, then Chelsea should probably be at the top of your list, for better and for worse.Alonso is the fifth permanent head coach (manager, in his case) to be hired by the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium since they bought the club in May 2022. None of his predecessors got the kind of reception the Spaniard received at his first home Premier League game, against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday. Not only was his name sung on several occasions, a large banner was unfurled at the Shed End of Stamford Bridge which read “Not too Xabi, Alonso is a blue”.The contrast to how Alonso is already being regarded compared to the longest-serving and most successful Chelsea manager/head coach in the post-Roman Abramovich era — Enzo Maresca — is the most striking of all.Maresca won the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup during his 18 months in charge. He got Chelsea back in the Champions League for the first time under this ownership group, too. Yet he never got a response like this from the supporters.Alonso has brought a new style to Chelsea (David Ramos/Getty Images)Maresca ordered the team to play a very possession-based form of football. It was effective on many occasions, but it did not win the hearts of the crowd.Chelsea’s best playmaker, Cole Palmer, seemed to be operating with the handbrake on, something the England international inferred when speaking to Sky Sports after scoring in the season-opening 3-2 win against Fulham last Monday, although one should reflect that Liam Rosenior and interim Calum McFarlane also had spells in charge during the 2025-26 campaign.When asked about the nature of his goal that night, when he ran onto a lay-off from Joao Pedro, Palmer said: “He (Alonso) just said I’d have more freedom (this season) to drift about the pitch. Just like you saw with the goal I scored. Last season, I wouldn’t have even made that run, because it’s not a ‘safe zone’. He’s (Alonso) saying, ‘Move across that zone, drop into play, come get on the ball, create and just do what you do’.”Any popularity Maresca earned among Chelsea followers has probably evaporated completely, following the manner of his departure at the start of this calendar year and new employers Manchester City, who he joined in June as Pep Guardiola’s successor, having to pay the London club compensation for what took place.