Where do Chelsea go from here? BlueCo are four years into their misguided project at Stamford Bridge and they are once again searching for another new permanent head coach after the sacking of Liam Rosenior. And any elite manager with half a brain simply won’t touch the Chelsea job with a barge pole.
From Champions League glory in 2021, Chelsea are staring down the barrel of a second bottom-half Premier League finish in four years and they head into an FA Cup semi-final with Calum McFarlane as their interim boss – someone with no senior head coach experience other than two games as caretaker Blues manager following the departure of Enzo Maresca in January.
The season has gone off the rails in remarkably similar fashion to 2022-23, in which Chelsea ended the campaign with a whimper – registering just one win in their final 12 league games.
Rosenior was a risky hire back in January, but until the 74th minute mark away to Paris Saint-Germain, it appeared to be somewhat working out. Chelsea had dropped points at home to Burnley and Leeds United in the Premier League, but they were firmly in contention for Champions League qualification, Joao Pedro was in sublime form, the mood at Stamford Bridge was relatively amiable and they were going toe-to-toe with the reigning European champions.
However, a late collapse at the Parc des Princes saw Chelsea succumb to a 5-2 defeat and Rosenior’s spell in charge soon unravelled at quick-fire speed.
How Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea career unravelled
A 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United was followed by back-to-back 3-0 losses against PSG and Everton, before Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella cast doubt over their futures at the club during the March international break.
A 7-0 thrashing of Port Vale in the FA Cup provided momentary respite, but Chelsea followed that up with a 3-0 loss to Manchester City, a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United and another 3-0 hammering at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion, which sealed Rosenior’s fate.
After five consecutive league defeats without scoring for the first time since 1912, the Englishman was given the boot.
Liam Rosenior’s final eight games in charge of Chelsea
| Opposition | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| PSG | Champions League | 5-2 (L) |
| Newcastle | Premier League | 1-0 (L) |
| PSG | Champions League | 3-0 (L) |
| Everton | Premier League | 3-0 (L) |
| Port Vale | FA Cup | 7-0 (W) |
| Man City | Premier League | 3-0 (L) |
| Man Utd | Premier League | 1-0 (L) |
| Brighton | Premier League | 3-0 (L) |
Chelsea were missing five of their most important players at the AMEX Stadium on Tuesday night – Reece James, Levi Colwill, Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian – but that’s no excuse for the atrocity of a performance they delivered. No energy. No grit. No determination. No heart. No hope.
It was the epitome of a ‘the manager has lost the dressing room’ performance. And, as Rosenior said afterwards, that is “indefensible.”
Chelsea’s starting XI on Tuesday night cost a combined €637.5 million. That feels like a trick of the mind given the dross they served up, but it’s not. That performance was delivered by a group of players among the most expensive in football history and the 3-0 scoreline was incredibly flattering for the Blues.
In the last nine rounds of Premier League fixtures, only Tottenham Hotspur (two) have picked up fewer points than Chelsea (five) and they are plummeting towards a second bottom-half finish in four years of the BlueCo era. It’s a monumental failure never seen before in elite football. Despite this, Chelsea’s squad look like they don’t care.
The hierarchy are undoubtedly to blame for the mess they’ve created, while Rosenior was clearly out of his depth, but the players are also responsible. They’ve been outrun in every single Premier League fixture this season and it’s no surprise.
Chelsea have assembled a team of players with no hunger to defend, no hunger to fight and no hunger to overcome adversity. They get booked for dissent constantly, they moan at each other every single game and Rosenior simply didn’t have the tools required to end their incredible slump.
However, who does? BlueCo have created the most difficult job in world football.
Being Chelsea manager is now the hardest job in football
The Chelsea hierarchy want complete power and based on four years of evidence, that doesn’t look like changing.
All Maresca wanted was a ready-made centre-back. A reasonable request following the anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered by Levi Colwill in August, but he was denied. Instead, the Chelsea board pointed to the options already at his disposal, including youngster Josh Acheampong and the versatile Jorrel Hato, who had already arrived from Ajax.
It was the first sign of real tension between Maresca and the Chelsea hierarchy, which only escalated over the following months before his eventual dismissal in January.
Chelsea simply want somebody to manage the set of players provided to them with no input on transfers or club strategy. Ultimately, BlueCo’s view is that the head coach is interchangeable, while the strategy of the club isn’t.
Constantly aware you’re seen as replaceable? Not something that suits many managers.
The power is also with the Chelsea players. With ludicrously long contracts, they are fully aware their futures are secure unless they push to leave. They evidently didn’t like Rosenior and that ultimately played a pivotal role in his departure.
It means Chelsea need someone at the helm who the players like. It’s a similar situation to at Real Madrid, where player egos mean they arguably control the team – something Xabi Alonso found out before his eventual exit earlier this year.
The problem is, Chelsea have a group of inexperienced players who need guidance. They aren’t ready to play off the cuff and win football matches on their own. They also need time to develop. But Chelsea can’t wait.
BlueCo have created such a flawed strategy whereby patience and time is needed to maximise the development of the talented youngsters at their disposal, but patience and time isn’t given to managers when results reflect the inexperienced squad. Can anyone operate successfully under that model? It’s hard to imagine.
Chelsea are used to winning and Chelsea managers used to be capable of achieving this. Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte, Thomas Tuchel. All winners. And unfortunately for Chelsea fans, no ‘winner’ will want to join this inexcusable mess unless a radical change occurs this summer.
Football transfer news headlines today
Transfer Rumours: Diomande agreement ready as Arsenal pounce on market opportunity
Arsenal Transfer News Today: Arteta wants Bernardo Silva as Gunners surge into pole position
Chelsea Transfer News Today: Rosenior sacked as €60m clause to be triggered
Man Utd Transfer News Today: Real Madrid move confirmed as Rashford saga takes new twist
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