A Moving Milestone as Rosenior Shatters Obstacles

"Liam Rosenior is an excellent manager who understands football back to front, which is what matters most.

"But, as Chelsea's pioneering black footballer, it would be dishonest to claim this moment fails to move me."

These were the words of the former Chelsea winger, who earned his historic debut for Chelsea's senior side off the bench back in April 1982.

This week, the club named RC Strasbourg boss Rosenior, aged 41, to be their new manager following the departure of Enzo Maresca.

The French club is part of a multi-club BlueCo which also owns the London club.

There have been just twelve of African or Caribbean heritage managers – not including those in temporary caretaker roles – in England's top flight since it began thirty-four years ago.

"One thing that impresses me regarding Rosenior is he was raised and developed his game not far from here, he knows this area," continued Canoville.

"Whenever kids see a figure like Rosenior in charge of their club, a person they can identify with, who's from their ends, from a family that champions what's right… that's impactful and shows them the path is there.

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

"However, currently? We must support Rosenior, provide him with the necessary tools, and allow him to get on with the job."

What Exactly Do the Data Reveal?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became the Blues' head coach back in the nineties thereby becoming the Premier League's first African heritage manager.

Twelve years later, in 2008, Paul Ince became the pioneering black English manager in the top flight when he took over Blackburn Rovers.

The Hammers' boss Nuno Espirito Santo is the only other present Premier League boss of colour.

The scarcity of managers of colour throughout English football is matched by an absence of representation at executive level.

According to a BFP 2023 study, forty-three percent of Premier League footballers come from African or Caribbean heritage.

However, research by Kick It Out found only 3.2 percent of board and senior leadership management teams at most Premier League clubs are from ethnically diverse communities.

Regarding first-team coaching level, according to data from eleven clubs, the percentage stands at 2%.

Across all coaching roles – including head coaches – from the same eleven clubs, the statistic is just five percent.

"He's certainly broken barriers in terms of him being announced as a Chelsea manager, and we hope to witness more such appointments," stated the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"We know there is a wealth of ability present within ethnic minority groups... aspiring coaches desire a chance to demonstrate their capabilities. It is imperative to persist in work hard to break those barriers once and for all."

Additionally, Rosenior is set to become the fourth permanent English head coaches currently managing in the top flight – joining Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe as well as Scott Parker – a number that lags behind Europe's other big five divisions in terms of national managers.

Sixteen of the 20 first division managers in Italy are Italian, Eleven in La Liga in Spain, 12 of the 18 in Germany while 10 of the 18 in France.

The present Blues interim boss Calum McFarlane said: "I have no doubt all aspiring British managers with a youth development pedigree will be, to some degree no matter who you support, supporting Liam.

"It's really motivating to young English academy coaches to see someone get such a role with that profile and we hope he does highly successful."

It is vital to remember – he's there due to ability'

Leroy Rosenior, Rosenior Sr., had a career with the likes of West London clubs, West Ham as well as Queens Park Rangers, with his coaching stint peaked with a brief stint at then-League One side Brentford FC back in 2006.

In 2019, he received a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year Honours for his services to tackling discrimination within the sport and wider society.

After Liam retired from playing he followed a path in management. He began penning articles for The Guardian, where in 2017 he addressed the under-representation among managers. He highlighted that race does not determine coaching skill and said roles must be awarded based on qualification.

He also made a point he would repeat: that significant under-representation leads to misunderstandings of players from different ethnic and cultural heritage.

During an interview for a football podcast, he explained how his leading forward, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "difficult" and "emotional", noting that he could relate to the Dutch player of Nigerian descent. Emegha is set to join him with a move from Strasbourg to Chelsea this summer.

In further newspaper articles, he also confessed he was "ashamed" to hear a coach make a homophobic slur. He vowed support for the Rainbow Laces initiative and authored an open letter to the former US President while he was in office, condemning his "blatant" prejudice.

He has subsequently built his reputation in the dugout – first at Hull City, then Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney recently stating Rosenior was "as good a coach as I've ever worked with" following their collaboration at Derby County.

Rosenior said goodbye to his former club on Tuesday morning prior to putting pen to paper on a long-term deal with the Blues.

Chelsea boasted the top flight's first African heritage boss in Gullit as well as the first black skipper named Paul Elliott.

Elliott has since held multiple executive roles, including the FA's diversity and inclusion board|