‘A moving moment’ as Rosenior breaks barriers

“Liam Rosenior is a top coach who has a deep understanding of the game,” Rosenior says. I wish him and his staff the best of luck.

I would be lying if I said that this particular moment doesn’t make me feel good because Chelsea is its first black player.

Paul Canoville, who made his historic debut for the Blues’ first team in April 1982 at Selhurst Park as a substitute against Crystal Palace, said that.

Following the departure of Enzo Maresca, Chelsea appointed 41-year-old Rosenior as their new head coach.

The multi-club ownership group BlueCo, which also controls Chelsea, is made up of Strasbourg and Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

Since its founding 34 years ago, the Premier League has had just 12 black managers, not counting those who hold temporary caretaker positions.

What really appeals to me about Liam is that he was raised in a small town and played in a nearby community, and that he is familiar with this place, “he added.”

When kids see someone like Liam running their club, someone who looks like them, someone from their ends, someone who is from a family that fights for what is right, that powerful and directs them to the right path.

“So yes, it is a significant moment for the club, London, and every young person who dreams big.”

Paul Ince took over Blackburn Rovers in 2008, making him the first black English manager in the premier league.

Only one other current top flight color boss, Nuno Espirito Santo, is in charge of West Ham.

A lack of boardroom representation is a cause for the lack of managers of color in English football.

43% of Premier League players are of African descent, according to the report from the Black Footballers Partnership 2023.

Yet, according to an analysis by Kick It Out, only 3.2% of the board and senior leadership teams at 17 of the 20 Premier League clubs are of ethnically diverse backgrounds.

The figure is 2 % at the senior coaching level, based on data from 11 clubs.

The ratio is 5% for all coaching positions, including senior ones, held by the same 11 clubs.

We want to see more of him since he was officially named Chelsea manager, according to Kick It Out CEO Samuel Okafor.

They want the opportunity to showcase their abilities because we are aware of the abundance of talent in the black and underrepresented communities. We must work even harder to lower those restrictions.

Rosenior will join Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe, and Scott Parker as the fourth permanent English manager in the Premier League, which has a lower national representation than the other big five leagues in Europe.

Italians make up 16 of the top 20 managers in Italy, Spanish make up 11 of the 20 in Spain, German make up 12 of the 18 Germans, and French make up 10 of the 18 top-flight managers.

Calum McFarlane, the current interim manager at Chelsea, said, “I’m sure all young English coaches from an academy background will have some sort of support for Liam.”

He was honored in the 2019 New Year’s Day Parade with an MBE for his contributions to addressing discrimination in football and society as a whole.

Rosenior Jr. followed his father’s footsteps when he stopped playing. In a 2017 column for The Guardian, he acknowledged the underrepresentation of black coaches. He argued that race does not affect ability, and that merit should be the basis for opportunities.

He also made the point that a sizable underrepresentation of players from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds leads to miscommunications.

Rosenior explained in a podcast with The Athletic FC how Emmanuel Emegha, the team’s star striker, was described as “difficult” and “emotional,” but claimed he understood the Nigerian international despite being of Nigerian descent. In July, Emmegha will join him in relocating from Strasbourg to Chelsea.

Rosenior also acknowledged in later Guardian columns that he was “ashamed” when an unnamed coach uttered a homophobic slur. During his first US presidency, he accused Donald Trump of “blatant” racism and pledged his support for the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign.

After spending time with Derby County, Rosenior and Wayne Rooney both claimed this week that he was “as good a coach as I’ve ever worked with” and that he has since since taken over as manager.

Before completing a six-and-a-half-year contract with Chelsea, Rosenior said his finals at Strasbourg on Tuesday morning.

Gullit and Paul Elliott were the Blues’ first black captain and the first manager in the Premier League.

Elliott has since held a number of senior positions, including the FA’s diversity and inclusion board, and is currently Charlton Athletic’s vice-chairman. Chelsea face them in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.

According to Elliott, “Liam represents everything that was right about the 21st century.”

You can tell from his comments that he has been a remarkable player, very articulate, and extremely intelligent, and that he was meticulous about the game regardless of what he did, whether he had been in charge of the team or as a technical director.

I lacked confidence in what he would accomplish because of his actions. His goal was to work in football management as a career. You felt like you were learning from him because he spoke in a way I hadn’t heard from many people.

People of color who look like Liam can rise to the top and stay on the cutting edge of football management, the statement reads.