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Less than 24 hours after publicly criticizing his players following Chelsea's away defeat to Brighton on Tuesday, Liam Rosenior was dismissed from his position—this incident proved to be the ultimate catalyst for the Englishman's departure.
A String of Absurdities
Chelsea has always been full of drama, often mixed with comedic elements, and several completely unprofessional incidents occurred during Rosenior's brief tenure at Stamford Bridge.
For example, before being defeated by Newcastle, Chelsea players surrounded referee Paul Tierney. Rosenior told us they were just trying to "respect the ball." Since then, they have failed to score a single goal in the Premier League.
On another occasion, both of Chelsea's starting lineups for the match against Paris Saint-Germain were leaked, triggering an internal "whack-a-mole" game to identify the leaker.
They suffered a humiliating 8-2 aggregate defeat in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. Pedro Neto was criticized for shoving a Paris Saint-Germain ball boy, while Filip Jorgensen missed a golden opportunity after coming on as a substitute for Robert Sánchez.
Enzo Fernández publicly flirted with Real Madrid, was banned for two matches by the club, and then reclaimed the captain's armband shortly after.
Rosenior was furious when Arsenal's coach entered the half during Chelsea's warm-up and failed to control the ball that fell from the sky during that defeat.
Marc Cucurella's barber—yes, he has a barber—revealed the team's lineup before Tuesday's away match against Brighton. We can only speculate that the barber might have misheard Cucurella saying "share the sides" as "shave the sides," because as we now know, this incident proved to be significant for Rosenior.
The Final Straw
We could continue listing the absurd anecdotes caused or incurred by Rosenior, but that trip to the American Express Community Stadium was the trigger for Chelsea's complete internal collapse, with the club's sports management team led by Behdad Eghbali watching the match expressionless from the stands.
Prior to this, club insiders had insisted that Rosenior would remain in charge, even if he failed to guide the team to Champions League qualification. Chelsea signed him from Strasbourg, where he was still learning his trade, taking the risk of offending another club under their ownership and its fans. They sympathized with him for not having a pre-season preparation and facing numerous challenges upon taking over, including injuries to several key players.
However, thanks to Cucurella's barber, Brighton knew in advance that the visitors would be without Cole Palmer and João Pedro. Rosenior switched to a five-defender formation—a last resort for many desperate managers—and Chelsea's performance was abysmal.
From an onlooker's perspective, it felt like the players were no longer playing for their manager. Away fans chanted "you're getting sacked in the morning," and after the final whistle, Fernández stood gazing at the traveling supporters while other players headed for the tunnel.
The Argentine's behavior seemed slightly melodramatic, but sources revealed that some players in the dressing room found Rosenior's tactical instructions difficult to implement. It is believed that Enzo Fernández's suspension for comments made during the international break, which ruled him out of the match against Manchester City, caused dissatisfaction among some players. Of course, this does not mask the fact that they have been outplayed in all 34 Premier League matches this season. Therefore, Rosenior's emotional post-match interview at the Amex Stadium may not have been entirely unreasonable.
Rosenior almost accused certain players of giving up the game, and the 3-0 defeat to Brighton—their fifth consecutive league defeat without scoring, equaling a record set in 1912—was enough to convince the senior management who had signed the Englishman to a
six-and-a-half-year contract that the job was too difficult and too hasty for him.
His position had already become precarious, and Chelsea claimed they had no choice. Of course, they could have given him more time, but football is a results-oriented sport, and they were in the relegation zone at the time. As the song goes, they were like Tottenham Hotspur in disguise.
Videos of players snubbing Rosenior's inexperienced coaching staff emerged almost every week, including a recent clip showing Wesley Fofana ignoring assistant coach James Walker after a home defeat to Manchester United.
Some players even gave him the nickname “supply teacher.”
There were divisions within the team, particularly among Spanish-speaking players who were especially disillusioned. This was evident in comments made by Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernández during the March international break, where both talked about the possibility of moving to Spain.
When he first took office, the dense schedule left him with little time for effective training. He was worried that overhauling Enzo Maresca's tactics would confuse the team, so he refrained from making hasty changes. It was not until Chelsea finally had some free midweek schedules that Rosenior was able to inject his own philosophy, but this coincided with a catastrophic slump for the team, leaving them without European football next season at the very least.
Who Will Be Chelsea's Next Manager?
Shortly after taking office, Rosenior brought Callum McFarlane into the first-team coaching staff. McFarlane will temporarily manage Chelsea for the remainder of the season while the club focuses on finding a suitable successor.
A source close to John Terry revealed that Terry himself is eager to manage Chelsea, and players inside the dressing room may share the same expectation. However, the refined McFarlane will lead the team in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United, and he is also said to be highly respected by the players.
Chelsea has stated that they are prepared to adjust their strategy and focus on signing experienced players starting this summer. Now, after Rosenior's tenure ended with another quick and potentially costly departure, they need to find an experienced coach.
Meanwhile, multiple British media outlets currently favor outgoing Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as the leading candidate to replace Liam Rosenior this summer, having already rejected Crystal Palace's advances twice.
