A Significant Event as Liam Rosenior Overcomes Obstacles

"He is a top tactician who knows football intimately, and that's the most important thing.

"However, as the Blues' pioneering African heritage footballer, I would be lying to claim this news does not affect me."

Those are the sentiments expressed by the former Chelsea winger, the man who made his groundbreaking debut for the Blues' first team off the bench back in April 1982.

This week, Chelsea named RC Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, 41, as their new head coach after the exit of Enzo Maresca.

The French club is within the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned ownership group that also controls Chelsea.

Statistics show a mere twelve black managers – not including those in temporary caretaker roles – in England's top flight since it began 34 years ago.

"What really strikes me regarding Rosenior is he was raised and played locally, he understands this community," added Canoville.

"Whenever children see a figure like Rosenior in charge of their club, a person they can identify with, from a similar background, from a family that fights for equality… that's impactful and shows them that opportunities exist.

"So yes, it is a massive moment for Chelsea, for London, for all young person with big dreams.

"However, currently? We must support Rosenior, give him the necessary tools, and allow him to do his work."

What Exactly Does the Numbers Show?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became the Blues' manager back in the nineties thereby becoming the top flight's first African heritage manager.

Twelve years later, by 2008, Paul Ince became the pioneering English black boss in the Premier League after taking charge at Blackburn Rovers.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the only other present top flight boss of colour.

The shortage of managers of colour throughout the English game corresponds with an absence of diversity at executive level.

According to a BFP 2023 report, 43% of top-flight players come from black heritage.

However, analysis from Kick It Out found just 3.2% of board and senior leadership management teams across 17 of 20 Premier League clubs are from minority ethnic communities.

At first-team coaching level, based on data provided by 11 clubs, the figure stands at 2%.

Across all coaching roles – encompassing head coaches – from the same 11 clubs, the statistic is five percent.

"He has undoubtedly broken barriers in terms of his appointment as a Chelsea manager, and we hope to witness more such appointments," stated the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged there is a wealth of talent present in the black and underrepresented groups... they desire a chance to show their capabilities. It is imperative to continue to work hard to dismantle those obstacles once and for all."

Additionally, the new appointee is set to become one of only four full-time British head coaches presently managing in the top flight – joining Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – a number that lags behind the continent's other big five leagues in terms of national representation.

Sixteen out of twenty first division managers in Serie A are Italian, 11 in La Liga are Spanish, Twelve of the 18 in Germany while Ten of the 18 are French.

The present Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said: "I'm sure every aspiring British managers from an academy background will be, in some way no matter who you support, supporting Liam.

"It's truly motivating to young English academy coaches to see someone get that job with his background and everyone hopes he does highly successful."

It is vital to remember – his appointment is based on talent'

His father, Leroy, Liam's father, had a career with clubs such as West London clubs, West Ham and Queens Park Rangers, with his coaching stint peaked with a brief stint at the third-tier club Brentford FC back in 2006.

In 2019, he received an MBE in that year's Honours List for his services in combating discrimination within the sport and wider society.

After Liam retired from playing he followed his father's footsteps. He started penning a column for The Guardian, where in 2017 he acknowledged the lack of diversity of black coaches. He highlighted that race does not determine coaching skill arguing that roles should be given based on qualification.

He further expressed the view he would repeat: how vast lack of diversity leads to a failure to understand regarding footballers with diverse ethnic and cultural heritage.

In a podcast for a football podcast, Rosenior highlighted how his leading forward, Emmanuel Emegha, had been described as "difficult" and "emotional", noting that he understood the Dutch player of Nigerian descent. Emegha is set to join him with a move from France to Chelsea in July.

In further newspaper articles, Rosenior also admitted to being "ashamed" to hear a coach utter a homophobic slur. He pledged his support for the Rainbow Laces initiative and authored an open letter to the former US President during his first US presidency, accusing him of "blatant" prejudice.

Rosenior has since made his name as a manager – initially with Hull City, then Strasbourg – and Wayne Rooney said this week he was "as good a coach as I've ever worked with" following their collaboration with Derby.

The manager bid goodbye at Strasbourg earlier this week prior to putting pen to paper on a six‑and‑a‑half‑year deal with the Blues.

Chelsea had the Premier League's first black manager with Gullit as well as the first black skipper in Paul Elliott.

Elliott later worked in multiple executive roles, among them the Football Association's equality board|