Twenty months ago, Liam Rosenior was out of a job. Hull City had just finished seventh in the Championship—two points shy of the playoffs—and Turkish owner Acun Ilicali decided his football philosophy wasn't "suiting their character." The 41-year-old packed his bags, probably wondering if his managerial career had peaked before it truly began.
Now he stands on the verge of taking charge of one of English football's most volatile dugouts.
The making of a manager
There's a certain poetry to Rosenior's journey. The son of Leroy Rosenior—a former Fulham and QPR striker who was famously appointed and sacked as Torquay manager within 10 minutes when the club was sold—Liam grew up understanding that football management is rarely fair. He started reading tactical books at nine years old. His father received an MBE in 2019 for his work tackling racism in football. The apple didn't fall far.
As a player, Rosenior was reliable rather than spectacular: 141 Premier League appearances across Fulham, Reading, Hull and Brighton. A right-back who understood space, timing, and the value of keeping things simple. When he retired in 2018, the transition to coaching felt inevitable.
His apprenticeship at Brighton's Under-23s led to Derby County, where he served as Wayne Rooney's assistant during those chaotic, points-deduction seasons at Pride Park. When Rooney walked away in June 2022, Rosenior took the reins as interim boss: seven wins, two draws, three losses in twelve matches. Not bad for someone learning on the job.
The Strasbourg experiment
BlueCo's multi-club model has its critics, but it handed Rosenior an extraordinary opportunity last summer. Replacing Patrick Vieira at Strasbourg—a club that hadn't seen European football since the early 2000s—he inherited Ligue 1's youngest squad, average age 21.8 years.
The results have been remarkable. Strasbourg finished seventh last season, their best since 1981. They currently top the Conference League standings after the group phase. His teams press with intensity (sixth-best in Ligue 1), build possession through the goalkeeper, and shift into a Guardiola-inspired 3-2-5 shape when attacking.
"He's a coach who wants to dominate possession, press the ball and be intense in the way we play," Rosenior said upon his appointment. He's delivered precisely that.
Chelsea's managerial graveyard
If Rosenior takes the Chelsea job, he'll be walking into a room haunted by some of football's biggest names. Since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003, the Premier League giants have burned through managers at an alarming rate.
José Mourinho won back-to-back titles (2005, 2006) before falling out spectacularly with the Russian billionaire. Carlo Ancelotti delivered the club's only league-and-FA Cup double in 2010, then was reportedly sacked in the Goodison Park tunnel after a defeat on the final day of the following season. Roberto Di Matteo won the Champions League in 2012—Chelsea's first—and was gone within months.
Antonio Conte won the league in his first season (2017) with devastating football, then spent his second publicly feuding with the board. Thomas Tuchel arrived in January 2021 and lifted the Champions League by May; by September 2022, Todd Boehly had shown him the door.
Mauricio Pochettino lasted one turbulent season. Enzo Maresca, despite winning the Conference League and Club World Cup, made it just eighteen months before departing on New Year's Day. "The worst 48 hours" of his tenure, he'd said after beating Everton in December. He never elaborated. He didn't need to.
The press conference everyone was watching
On Friday afternoon, Rosenior faced the Strasbourg media ahead of Saturday's trip to Nice. Everyone knew the questions wouldn't be about OGC Nice.
"There is a lot of noise and gossips, but as a coach, if you get involved in them, you fail," he said, according to Get French Football News. "My job is here, I love this club, but I can't guarantee anything."
When pressed further, he added: "There's no guarantees in life. I can't guarantee how long I'll be there. I enjoy myself here every day and I intend to continue doing so as long as I'm here."
He admitted to "a few lighthearted jokes" with his players about the speculation. But the ambiguity was deliberate. According to L'Équipe, talks between the two BlueCo-owned clubs have accelerated. Saturday's match at the Allianz Riviera could be his Strasbourg farewell.
Why this might actually work
Here's the uncomfortable truth for Chelsea supporters dreaming of a marquee appointment: Rosenior might be exactly what this iteration of the club needs.
He's developed Chelsea loanees at Strasbourg—Andrey Santos, Mamadou Sarr, Kendry Páez. He understands the BlueCo philosophy of youth development and controlled possession. His tactical principles align closely with what Maresca was trying to implement before the relationship soured. There would be minimal upheaval.
More importantly, he's shown patience with young players at a club where the average age of the squad is 23 years and 157 days. Chelsea's future isn't Cole Palmer alone—it's Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia, Moisés Caicedo still finding their peak. It's the academy products waiting for their moment.
If appointed, Rosenior would become only the tenth permanent Black manager in Premier League history. In a sport that has consistently failed to provide pathways for minority coaches, that milestone matters.
The gamble
Make no mistake: this is a risk. Rosenior has never managed a truly big club under Premier League scrutiny. His Champions League experience is non-existent. The pressure at Stamford Bridge is suffocating—ask any of his would-be predecessors.
But perhaps that's the point. Chelsea under BlueCo have shown they're not interested in paying £20 million in compensation to pry established managers from their posts. They want coaches who fit their model, who'll work within the structure rather than fight against it.
Rosenior has proven he can do that in Strasbourg. Whether he can do it under the lights at Stamford Bridge, with fifty thousand voices demanding instant results, is the question Chelsea's owners are betting they already know the answer to.
Twenty months from the Hull City sacking to the Chelsea dugout. Football doesn't always reward patience, but sometimes it remembers those who stayed the course.
