A Moving Milestone as Rosenior Breaks Obstacles
'It's a crucial moment that celebrates a young, black British head coach.'
"Liam Rosenior is an excellent manager that knows football intimately, which is the most important thing.
"But, in my role as Chelsea's first black player, I would be lying to claim this appointment doesn't move me."
Those are the sentiments of the former Chelsea winger, who made his historic debut for the Blues' first team off the bench back in April 1982.
This week, the club named RC Strasbourg manager Rosenior, 41, to be their next manager after the exit of manager Enzo Maresca.
Strasbourg are part of a multi-club ownership group which also controls the London club.
Statistics show a mere twelve black managers – excluding individuals in temporary caretaker roles – in the Premier League since its inception thirty-four years ago.
"What really strikes me regarding Rosenior is that he was raised and played locally, he understands this community," continued Canoville.
"Whenever youngsters observe a figure like Rosenior managing their club, someone who looks like them, who's from their ends, who comes from a household that champions equality… it is impactful demonstrating that opportunities exist.
"So yes, this represents a huge step for Chelsea, for London, for every young person with big dreams.
"However, currently? Let's back Liam, provide him with what he needs, and allow him to get on with the job."
What Exactly Do the Statistics Show?
Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became the Blues' manager back in the nineties and became the Premier League's first black head coach.
Twelve years later, in 2008, Paul Ince was appointed as the first English black manager in the top flight when he took over Blackburn Rovers.
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo currently stands as the sole additional current Premier League gaffer from a minority ethnic background.
The lack of managers of colour throughout the English game is matched by a lack of representation in the boardroom.
According to the Black Footballers Partnership 2023 report, forty-three percent of top-flight players come from African or Caribbean backgrounds.
Yet, research from the equality organization found only 3.2 percent of board and senior leadership positions at 17 of 20 Premier League clubs are held by people from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Regarding senior coaching positions, based on data from 11 clubs, the percentage is two percent.
Across all coaching positions – encompassing head coaches – from the same eleven clubs, the figure is just five percent.
"He has undoubtedly broken barriers in terms of his appointment as a the Chelsea head coach, and we want to see more of that," stated the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.
"We know that there exists a wealth of talent that exists within black and underrepresented groups... aspiring coaches desire the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities. We need to persist in work hard to dismantle those obstacles once and for all."
Furthermore, Rosenior is set to become one of only four permanent British head coaches presently managing in the top flight – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – which lags behind the continent's other big five leagues in terms of homegrown managers.
Sixteen of the 20 top-flight managers in Serie A are Italian, 11 of the 20 in Spain, Twelve of the 18 are German and 10 in Ligue 1 are French.
Current Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said: "I have no doubt every aspiring British managers with a youth development pedigree are, in some way regardless of allegiance, rooting for Liam.
"It's truly inspirational to young English academy coaches to see someone land that job with that profile and we hope he will be highly successful."
Liam Rosenior becomes the London club's second black coach after Ruud Gullit.
'Let's not forget – his appointment is due to ability'
His father, Leroy, Rosenior Sr., played for clubs such as West London clubs, the Hammers as well as Queens Park Rangers, and his managerial career peaked with a brief stint in charge of the third-tier club Brentford FC back in 2006.
Two years ago, he was awarded an MBE in that year's Honours List for services rendered in combating inequality in football and beyond.
After Liam hung up his boots he pursued a path in management. He began penning articles for The Guardian, where in 2017 he acknowledged the under-representation among managers. He highlighted that race does not determine coaching skill arguing that opportunities should be given on merit.
He also made the view he has often stated: that vast under-representation leads to a failure to understand regarding footballers from different cultural and ethnic heritage.
During an interview with The Athletic FC, he explained the way his leading forward, Emmanuel Emegha, had been described as "hard to manage" or "emotional", but said he understood the Dutch international with Nigerian parentage. The striker is expected to follow him in moving from Strasbourg to Chelsea this summer.
In subsequent newspaper articles, he also confessed he was "ashamed" to hear an unnamed coach make a homophobic slur. He pledged support for the Rainbow Laces initiative and authored an open letter to the former US President while he was in office, accusing him of "blatant" prejudice.
Rosenior has since made his name as a manager – first at Hull City, later at Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney said this week Rosenior was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" following their collaboration with Derby.
The manager bid goodbye to his former club on Tuesday morning prior to putting pen to paper on a six‑and‑a‑half‑year contract with the Blues.
The Blues had the top flight's first black manager in Gullit as well as the first black skipper in Paul Elliott.
Elliott has since held several executive roles, including the FA's diversity and inclusion board|
