Chelsea are looking for a fifth permanent head coach in the BlueCo era after Liam Rosenior’s dismal failure, but with each failure they become less attractive to the manager.
Chelsea are limping towards the end of the season (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Chelsea said they were in a “process of reflection”. Not only is it an interesting thing for a football club to say out loud, it’s about time. Because the club is a mess.
Liam Rosenior’s sacking, three months into a six-year contract, has caused some introspection. Maybe our “hire, give laughably long contracts, fire” culture isn’t the best after all.
The Blues are currently searching for their fifth permanent head coach since Todd Boley and his Bruko colleagues took over following the sudden departure of Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Rosseniol are all set to sit in the hottest seat, flanked by Bruno Salter, Frank Lampard and Callum McFarlane, who is currently in an interim period.
Among them, Maresca is the only player who showed his hard work in a tangible way, winning the Conference League and Club World Cup last summer. Now, that accomplishment feels like a lifetime ago.
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Chelsea are in no hurry to appoint a new manager. They take their time and work hard to avoid making more mistakes. They have named Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, former Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso and Fulham’s Marco Silva as long-list candidates.
All of these options have benefits. But so many previous mistakes may have already hurt your chances of finding the right person for the job. Because this appointment has to work for both parties – and why would Iraola, Alonso and Silva now step into the Stamford Bridge misery?
The team, which until recently appeared to be in contention for Champions League qualification, have plummeted down the Premier League table and are now struggling to even secure European football of any kind next season. The team has been torn apart by internal divisions, with captain Enzo Fernandes openly having an affair with Real Madrid and Marc Cucurella openly criticizing the hierarchical approach.
Callum MacFarlane limping Chelsea on the goal line in 2025/26 (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
These do not indicate that the organization is functional and happy. And they are not isolated incidents. I’ve had similar issues before, further up the chain. The apparent tensions between Boley and fellow co-owner Behdad Egbali have become public knowledge and have helped create a negative image that is at odds with the image Chelsea are undoubtedly trying to sell to their new managerial candidate.
The shotgun approach to recruitment, which Cucurella lamented as holding the team back, is another obvious issue and relates to the main reason why Iraola or Alonso might contemplate taking over at Stamford Bridge.
Egbali is thought to be closely involved in decision-making, with five other players on Chelsea’s sports coaching team. Simply put, there are so many cooks to make soup, and at the moment it doesn’t look very appetizing.
Iraola is used to the role of ‘head coach’ and has never claimed much influence over Bournemouth’s recruitment. So he may be comfortable sticking to the training pitch at Cobham. But as he himself said recently: “I have a great relationship with (technical director) Simon (Francis) and (president of football operations) Tiago (Pinto).”
Xabi Alonso is one of Chelsea’s targets (Image: AFP or licensor)
Bournemouth has a clear hierarchy and a simple structure. Not so at Chelsea.
Alonso was most recently at Real Madrid, so he is familiar with the political side of management. But does he really want to come out of the Bernabéu fire and jump straight into the Stamford Bridge frying pan?
Even Silva may be holding back, having expressed frustration at Fulham’s apparent lack of ambition in the transfer market. And if Chelsea can’t really tempt a manager from a neighboring country, they’ll be in real trouble.
Football is a fickle business, and if they manage to beat Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup final and miraculously qualify for European football in the final two games of the season, Chelsea’s manager recruitment process could suddenly become a little easier. But the Blues may find that the bridges they have burned are now blocking their path forward.
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