An Historic Occasion as Liam Rosenior Breaks Obstacles

"Rosenior represents an excellent coach who knows the game back to front, which is what matters most.

"However, in my role as Chelsea's first African heritage footballer, I would be lying if I said this news does not affect me."

Those are the words expressed by the former Chelsea winger, who earned his groundbreaking first appearance for the Blues' first team as a substitute in the spring of 1982.

On Tuesday, the club hired Strasbourg manager Rosenior, aged 41, to be their new head coach following the departure of manager Enzo Maresca.

Strasbourg are part of a Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned BlueCo that also owns the London club.

Statistics show a mere 12 black managers – not including individuals holding interim positions – in the Premier League since its inception thirty-four years ago.

"One thing that impresses me about Liam is he grew up and played locally, he understands this area," added Canoville.

"When youngsters see a figure like Rosenior in charge of their club, a person who looks like them, who's from their ends, who comes from a household that fights for what's right… that's impactful and shows them the path is there.

"Indeed, this represents a massive step for Chelsea, for London, for all young person dreaming big.

"But right now? Let's back Liam, give him the necessary tools, and allow him to get on with the job."

What Do the Data Reveal?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became Chelsea manager back in the nineties and became the top flight's inaugural African heritage head coach.

Twelve years later, by 2008, Paul Ince was appointed as the pioneering black English boss in the top flight when he took over Blackburn Rovers.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo currently stands as the sole additional current top flight boss of colour.

The scarcity of managers of colour throughout the English game is matched by a lack of representation at executive level.

According to the Black Footballers Partnership 2023 study, forty-three percent of Premier League players come from African or Caribbean backgrounds.

However, analysis by Kick It Out found just 3.2 percent of board and senior leadership positions at most Premier League clubs are from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

At senior coaching level, based on data from 11 clubs, the figure stands at two percent.

Across all coaching roles – encompassing senior roles – from those same 11 clubs, the statistic is just 5%.

"He's certainly broken barriers in terms of him being announced as a the Chelsea head coach, and we want to see more of that," stated Kick It Out CEO Samuel Okafor.

"We know that there exists a wealth of ability present in the black and underrepresented groups... they want a chance to demonstrate their capabilities. We need to continue to striving to dismantle those barriers down."

Furthermore, Rosenior is set to become one of only four full-time English managers currently in the Premier League – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – a number that trails the continent's remaining major divisions in terms of homegrown managers.

Sixteen out of twenty first division managers in Serie A are Italian, Eleven in La Liga in Spain, Twelve in the Bundesliga in Germany and 10 in Ligue 1 in France.

Current Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said: "I'm sure all aspiring British coaches with a youth development pedigree will be, in some way regardless of allegiance, rooting for Liam.

"It's really inspirational to up-and-coming British coaches in the system to see someone get that job with his background and we hope he will be really well."

It is vital to remember – his appointment is on merit'

His father, Leroy, Rosenior Sr., had a career with the likes of Fulham, the Hammers as well as Queens Park Rangers, with his managerial career culminating in a brief spell in charge of the third-tier club Brentford in 2006.

In 2019, he was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in that year's 2019 New Year Honours for his services in combating discrimination in football and wider society.

When Rosenior Jr hung up his boots he followed a path in management. He started writing articles for a national newspaper, where in 2017 he acknowledged the lack of diversity of black coaches. He pointed out that race does not influence ability arguing that opportunities should be given based on qualification.

He further expressed a point he would repeat: how vast under-representation results in misunderstandings regarding footballers from different cultural and ethnic heritage.

During an interview with The Athletic FC, he explained how his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "difficult" or "passionate", but said he could relate to the Dutch international of Nigerian descent. The striker is expected to follow him with a move from France to Chelsea this summer.

In further Guardian columns, Rosenior also admitted to being "embarrassed" upon hearing a coach utter a homophobic slur. He vowed his support for the Premier League's inclusion initiative and wrote an open letter to Donald Trump while he was in office, condemning his "blatant" prejudice.

Rosenior has since built his reputation as a manager – first at Hull City, later at Strasbourg – and Wayne Rooney recently stating he was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" after their collaboration at Derby County.

Rosenior said his farewells at Strasbourg earlier this week prior to putting pen to paper on a six‑and‑a‑half‑year deal at Chelsea.

The Blues had the Premier League's pioneering black boss with Gullit as well as the first black skipper named Paul Elliott.

Elliott later worked in multiple executive roles, among them the FA's diversity and inclusion board|