Three-and-a-half years after manager Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea to the BlueCo consortium led by Todd Boley and Clear Lake Capital’s Behada Egbali, financial instability continues to characterize the club.
Strasbourg head coach Liam Rosenior is currently being tipped as the front-runner to take charge at Stamford Bridge.
Strasbourg and Chelsea operate within the same multi-club ownership model, with both being acquired by Bauley’s consortium and set to be taken over by the French side in 2023. This overlap further highlights that the owner’s approach to Chelsea’s leadership is under increasing scrutiny.
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Enzo Maresca becomes Chelsea’s latest managerial casualty
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“Ultimately, whoever comes, that’s what you sign up for. Once you put your resume on the table, you can have as many conversations as you want, but ultimately, if you look at your recent history, you know you’re going to face some challenges and it’s how you manage and get through them.
“We can all make those decisions, but at the end of the day we’re human beings and human beings make big decisions. He seemed stressed, he didn’t seem happy with what was going on, and I felt like this was going to happen eventually.”
“This is a very difficult decision and this is the decision they should make. I played with Liam for England Under-21s and he’s a really cool, great guy. His father was a really good coach too. I worked with him. But is he right for Chelsea?”
“Who knows? Chelsea just don’t know what’s right for Chelsea at the moment, do they?
“I don’t think there are that many good candidates available at the moment. So doing it internally and hiring someone who knows what’s going on and how the club works might work, but I know it’s just speculation at the moment.”
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Liam Rosenior is the frontrunner to become Chelsea’s new head coach
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Maresca left Chelsea on New Year’s Day as the club grew concerned about the Italian’s talks about potentially replacing Josep Guardiola at Manchester City and his reluctance to follow the guidance of the club’s medical staff regarding the player’s fitness.
Fellow TNT sports commentator Lucy Ward suggested the writing was on the wall after Maresca publicly aired his frustration with behind-the-scenes issues in a post-match interview following the draw with Everton.
Maresca returned Chelsea to the Champions League and also lifted them from the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup. Ward believes that accomplishment gave the head coach the right to make big decisions.
“I wasn’t surprised because I think we were moving toward this conclusion,” Ward told TNT Sports.
“I think it’s very difficult for a manager to function under such a level of interference from above, but I think Maresca has done a good job and maybe he’s grown out of a role where he has to be manipulated a little bit.”
“He knew in his heart that because he had won something, he would be able to make big decisions within the club and maybe even move beyond the role that Chelsea had created for him under the new system.
“Liam Rosenior is not going to say no. He’s not going to shout[his way]. He’s just going to come in and do what Maresca did and be under the control of the owners. They need someone they can manipulate. He’s a great coach, but it’s a big job.”
Does Rosenior deserve a chance?
Despite leading the club to seventh place in the Championship, Rosenior was sacked by Hull City at the end of the 2023/24 season, but after an impressive run in Ligue 1, he guided Strasbourg to the Europa Conference League.
At the time of Rosenior’s departure, Hull owner Akun Ilikari suggested that the 41-year-old had not been able to achieve the expansive, attacking style of football he had hoped for.
Ward believes Rosenior has earned the opportunity for a bigger role, even though things could turn in his favor sooner than expected.
“Absolutely, he is,” Ward said. “If you go back to when Maresca arrived, he was doing well at Leicester but he probably wasn’t the first choice of many Chelsea fans.
“But that’s the way Chelsea are going. They’re all young and the job is to get the players better and sell them. For the manager, it’s very similar. It’s a young group, a relatively inexperienced manager, but that’s what they do. Obviously, that’s the process they go through.”
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Highlight: Strasbourg’s rising star shines to bring down the Palace
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Strasbourg made a strong start to the season and by November were in third place in the table, just one point off the top. However, without a win in four consecutive games, they fell back to 7th place, 14 points behind leaders RC Lens.
Despite their domestic downturn, Strasbourg finished top of the league phase standings in the UEFA Conference League.
Working under the spotlight as Chelsea’s head coach will be far more intense than working as a brave outsider in the French top flight, but Hart feels Rosenior will have to accept the challenge of dealing with pressure if he takes over.
“That’s life at the top,” added the former England goalkeeper. “Anyway, I’m under pressure and I’m signing up for it. It’s a great opportunity and I have to support Chelsea with great players.
“He’s worked with young players before and at his current club, so that’s what he likes to do. He likes to bring people in, so whoever comes through the door, they’ll see it that way.”
