An Powerful Moment when Rosenior Shatters Barriers

"He is a quality manager who understands football back to front, which is the crucial factor.

"But, in my role as the Blues' first black player, I would be lying if I said this moment doesn't move me."

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

This week, the club named RC Strasbourg manager Rosenior, aged 41, as their new manager after the exit of Enzo Maresca.

The French club is within the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned BlueCo which also owns Chelsea.

There have been only 12 black managers – excluding individuals holding temporary caretaker positions – in the Premier League since it began thirty-four in the past.

"One thing that impresses me about Liam is that he grew up and developed his game locally, he understands this area," continued Canoville.

"When children see a figure like Rosenior managing the team they support, a person they can identify with, from a similar background, who comes from a household that champions what's right… it is powerful demonstrating the path is there.

"So yes, it is an enormous moment for Chelsea, for London, for every young person dreaming big.

"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 Reveal?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became the Blues' head coach back in the nineties and became the top flight's first African heritage head coach.

Twelve years later, in 2008, Paul Ince was appointed as the pioneering English black manager in the top flight after taking charge at Blackburn Rovers.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo currently stands as the sole additional current top flight boss of colour.

The lack of ethnic minority managers across English football is matched by a lack of diversity at executive level.

As per the BFP 2023 study, 43% of Premier League players come from black backgrounds.

However, analysis from Kick It Out found just 3.2 percent of board and senior leadership management teams at most Premier League clubs are held by people from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

At senior coaching positions, based on data from 11 clubs, the figure stands at two percent.

Across all coaching positions – including senior roles – from those same 11 clubs, the figure is 5%.

"He has undoubtedly made history by virtue of his appointment as a the Chelsea head coach, and as an organization, we want to see more of that," stated the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged that there exists loads of talent present in the ethnic minority groups... they want the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities. It is imperative to persist in striving to dismantle those obstacles down."

Furthermore, the new appointee is set to become one of only four permanent English head coaches presently 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 leagues in terms of homegrown managers.

16 out of twenty first division managers in Serie A are from Italy, Eleven in La Liga in Spain, Twelve of the 18 in Germany while 10 of the 18 are French.

The present Blues caretaker manager Calum McFarlane said: "I'm sure all young English managers from an academy background are, to some degree no matter who you support, supporting Liam.

"It's truly motivating for up-and-coming British coaches in the system to witness someone land that job with that profile and everyone hopes he does highly successful."

'Let's not forget – his appointment is due to ability'

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

Two years ago, he was awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for his services to tackling discrimination in football and wider society.

After Liam retired from playing he pursued his father's footsteps. He began writing articles for The Guardian, and in one piece he acknowledged the under-representation of black coaches. He pointed out that ethnicity does not influence coaching skill arguing that roles must be awarded based on qualification.

He also made the view he would repeat: how significant under-representation leads to misunderstandings of players with diverse ethnic and cultural heritage.

During an interview for a football podcast, Rosenior highlighted the way his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "difficult" and "passionate", but said he understood the Netherlands international with Nigerian parentage. The striker is expected to join him with a move from Strasbourg to Chelsea this summer.

In further Guardian columns, Rosenior also admitted to being "ashamed" to hear a coach make a discriminatory remark. He vowed his support for the Rainbow Laces campaign and authored an open letter to the former US President while he was in office, condemning his "overt" racism.

He has subsequently built his reputation in the dugout – first at Hull City, later at Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney said this week he was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" after their collaboration at Derby County.

Rosenior said goodbye at Strasbourg on Tuesday morning before signing a six‑and‑a‑half‑year deal with the Blues.

Chelsea boasted the top flight's first black manager with Gullit as well as the first black skipper in Paul Elliott.

Elliott has since worked in several senior positions, among them the Football Association's diversity and inclusion board|