Chelsea broadcaster Matisse Armani believes the club’s contradictory managerial strategy could force their best players to leave.
The Blues are on their second manager this season, having replaced Enzo Maresca with Liam Rosenior in January.
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It was an eyebrow-raising appointment given Rosenior came from Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg, who are run by Chelsea’s owners BlueCo.
Although Rosenior established himself as a name to watch among young English coaches, some questioned whether he was ready for the step up given he had only managed Hull City and Strasbourg without guiding them to silverware.
Not looking Rose-y
Rosenior’s appointment also made him the fifth different permanent manager in the BlueCo era at Chelsea, with his predecessors including Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Maresca.
Despite a bright start to life with the Blues where he oversaw eight wins in his first 11 games, Rosenior’s goodwill has largely dried up following a run of four consecutive defeats across all competitions.
The latest, a 3-0 loss away to Everton, left Chelsea six points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa in the race for Champions League football next season.
If results weren’t enough of a concern, Rosenior now has to contend with questions over the futures of Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella.
Summer of uncertainty?
Fernandez hasn’t exactly been shy about his uncertain future, stating he doesn’t know where he will be after the World Cup.
The Argentinian sent the rumour mill into overdrive when he claimed he could see himself living in Madrid.
Palmer is yet to publicly comment on his future, although reports recently emerged he was growing disgruntled at Stamford Bridge and has three European giants interested in signing him.
Cucurella then became the latest Blues star to plunge his Chelsea career into doubt when he didn’t exactly shut down talk of a romantic return to Barcelona.
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The loss of three important players would be a bitter pill to swallow for Rosenior and Chelsea fans alike.
Yet Matisse would not blame the trio, or any of their other stars, if they sought an exit.
‘Rosenior wasn’t hired on merit’
“No one can sit here and tell me that 28-year-old Cucurella, 27-year-old Reece James and whoever else is a top player in this team, is looking at that hiring of Liam Rosenior from Strasbourg, where they basically negotiated with themselves, their own feeder club, for their own manager who basically can’t reject them because he’s employed by them, and you can tell me that is on merit and it’s in the best interests of Chelsea to hire a manager of that standard, absolutely impossible,” Matisse said on the latest episode of Inside Chelsea.
“So if you’re a top player like Cucurella, and I do believe you’re a top five left-back in the world, why on earth would you not be angling for a move away from Chelsea?”
Worryingly, Matisse believes the club’s approach with hiring Rosenior means fans and players alike know exactly who is likely to take the reins if and when a change is required.
Next man up
“We all know the next manager coming in after Liam Rosenior if there are any murmurs of any issues, if there is a lack of Champions League qualification, it is not going to be a top manager,” Matisse said.
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“We’re talking about Gary O’Neil at Strasbourg, are we not?
“If I were a top player, I’d be angling for a move. They don’t support Chelsea, they have their own careers, they have to be selfish.
“The board has shown already they will be quite selfish in terms of how quickly they’ll chop and change the players.
“The players will leave and therefore you see your teammates leave so ruthlessly, you have every right to move the same way.”
Regardless of who is in charge at Chelsea, Matisse believes little will change unless the board meticulously sticks to a plan regarding personnel on the pitch and in the dugout.
“You can’t ask 21, 22, 23-year-olds to be jumping up and down different managers and different systems and different ideologies and thinking that’s going to pan out well for you,” Matisse said.
“You have to pick a struggle. If you’re constantly going to chop and change managers and you’re going to have players that can ride through those situations, or you’re going to have a young team and build long-term with a manager.”
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