A Moving Event when Rosenior Overcomes Obstacles

"He is an excellent tactician who understands the game intimately, and that's the most important thing.

"However, in my role as the Blues' pioneering black player, I would be lying if I said this appointment fails to move me."

Those are the sentiments of the former Chelsea winger, the man who made his historic debut for Chelsea's senior side as a substitute in April 1982.

On Tuesday, the club named Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, 41, as their new head coach following the exit of manager Enzo Maresca.

The French club is within a Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned BlueCo which also controls the London club.

Statistics show just twelve black managers – excluding those holding interim roles – in the Premier League since it began thirty-four years ago.

"What really strikes me regarding Rosenior is he was raised and developed his game not far from here, he understands the local fans," continued Canoville.

"Whenever youngsters observe someone like Liam managing the team they support, a person who looks like them, who's from their ends, from a family that fights for what's right… that's impactful and shows them that opportunities exist.

"So yes, this represents a huge moment for the club, for London, for all young person dreaming big.

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

What Does the Data Show?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became the Blues' manager in 1996 and became the Premier League's first African heritage head coach.

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

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo currently stands as the only other current top flight boss from a minority ethnic background.

The scarcity of managers of colour throughout English football corresponds with an absence of representation in the boardroom.

According to the BFP 2023's report, forty-three percent of Premier League footballers come from African or Caribbean heritage.

Yet, analysis by Kick It Out revealed only 3.2% of board and senior leadership management teams across most Premier League clubs are from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Regarding senior coaching level, based on figures from eleven clubs, the figure stands at two percent.

For all coaching roles – encompassing head coaches – from those same 11 clubs, the figure is just 5%.

"He's certainly made history in terms of his appointment as a Chelsea manager, and we want to witness more such appointments," said the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged that there exists a wealth of ability that exists within ethnic minority communities... aspiring coaches desire the opportunity to show what they can do. It is imperative to persist in work hard to break those obstacles once and for all."

Furthermore, the new appointee will become the fourth full-time British head coaches presently in the Premier League – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – which lags behind Europe's other major divisions in terms of national representation.

Sixteen of the 20 first division coaches in Italy are from Italy, 11 of the 20 in Spain, 12 of the 18 in Germany while Ten of the 18 in France.

The present Blues interim boss Calum McFarlane said: "I'm sure every aspiring British managers from an academy background are, in some way regardless of allegiance, supporting Liam.

"It is truly inspirational to young English academy coaches to witness an individual land that job with his background and we hope he will be highly successful."

'Let's not forget – he's there due to ability'

His father, Leroy, Rosenior Sr., played for the likes of West London clubs, the Hammers and Queens Park Rangers, and his coaching stint culminating in a five-month stint at the third-tier club Brentford FC back in 2006.

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

After Liam hung up his boots he followed a path in management. He began penning a column for The Guardian, where in 2017 he addressed the lack of diversity of black coaches. He pointed out that race does not influence coaching skill and said opportunities should be given based on qualification.

He further expressed a point he has often stated: that vast under-representation results in misunderstandings of players with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

In a podcast for a football podcast, Rosenior highlighted how his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "difficult" and "emotional", noting that he understood the Dutch player of Nigerian descent. Emegha is set to join him in moving from Strasbourg to West London this summer.

In subsequent newspaper articles, he also confessed he was "embarrassed" to hear a coach make a discriminatory remark. He vowed his support for the Premier League's Rainbow Laces campaign and wrote a public message to Donald Trump while he was in office, condemning his "blatant" racism.

Rosenior has since made his name as a manager – initially with Hull City, later at Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney said this week he was "as good a coach as I've ever worked with" following their time together 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 contract with the Blues.

The Blues boasted the Premier League's first black manager with Gullit as well as the first black skipper in Paul Elliott.

Elliott has since held several senior positions, including the FA's diversity and inclusion board|