Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekor looks back at the melodrama at Chelsea so far, what led to Liam Rosenior’s sacking and who will be the next Blues manager.
Liam Rosenior has been sacked just six days after receiving public support from Chelsea’s most powerful man.
Co-owner Behdad Egbari, who essentially runs the club, took the unusual decision to speak publicly about Chelsea last Thursday at a sports business conference in Los Angeles.
“I think we’re behind Liam,” Egbali said. “We believe he can be successful long-term.”
Six days later, after two painful defeats, Rosenior lost his job.
Saturday’s game against Manchester United was crucial for Chelsea’s bid to qualify for the Champions League, and there was also an anti-ownership demonstration organized by fans before kick-off.
Sources close to Chelsea insist Egbali did not speak in Los Angeles as a precaution before the protests, and that his appearance at the press conference had been arranged months in advance.
Brighton’s defeat was the final straw for Rosenior
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Brighton and Chelsea
On Friday, Chelsea announced that Moises Caicedo had signed a new contract, in an attempt to change the atmosphere at the club. Effectively, the Ecuadorian international, whose original contract was due to expire in 2032, received just a one-year extension to his contract until 2033, and received a pay rise for some underwhelming performances this season.
On the same day, an exclusive interview with Cole Palmer was published in the Guardian. Once again, the headlines appeared to be positive for Chelsea. Palmer wants to stay at the club and has dismissed reports that he wants to move to United. He also mentioned Rosenior, essentially saying that he is a good manager who needs a proper preseason.
Palmer doesn’t usually talk much, so it might be unfair to suggest that he could have been more forthright when it came to pledging his loyalty to Chelsea and supporting the manager.
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Watch for free: Highlights of the Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester United
Egbali was not at Stamford Bridge for the game against United. The defeat was a huge blow to Chelsea’s Champions League hopes, and to make matters worse, two late goals against Liverpool and Aston Villa on Sunday made it all but impossible for Chelsea to finish in the top five.
Despite that serious setback, Chelsea were still willing to give Rosenior more time, but a shock defeat at Brighton was the final straw.
Egbali had flown in for the match, and other Chelsea executives were also present, including sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, and recruitment director Joe Shields.
“The players stopped playing at Rosenior.”
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Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekor answers key questions about Liam Rosenior’s departure from Chelsea
On Tuesday night, it was clear that something had to change.
The players were not playing for Rosenior and the fans continued to voice their dissatisfaction with the owner, with chants for Rosenior to leave for the first time sustained.
Clearly shocked, Rosenior criticized his players in the post-match interview, but such behavior rarely resulted in positive results for the manager.
It’s easy to say a poor performance means the manager has lost his dressing room, but Chelsea’s performance on Tuesday made it clear that some players no longer believe in what Rosenior is trying to get them to do. Some, such as Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandes, were known to be closer to Enzo Maresca than Rosenior.
Chelsea’s sports leadership team discussed what to do on Wednesday, when the players have the day off. Can something be done to strengthen Rosenior’s position or do Chelsea need to make a change?
The decision was made to send Rosenior off, and Egbali was ultimately the driving force behind the final decision.
Marc Cucurella watches in disbelief as Brighton play full-time
One of the important considerations when deciding to fire a manager during the season is who will replace him. It was clear that Chelsea would need an interim manager for the next few weeks before taking over permanently in the summer.
The only problem was that there weren’t too many candidates to consider, so it ended up going back to Callum MacFarlane. The 40-year-old took charge of the two games following Maresca’s departure at the start of the year, a draw with Manchester City and a defeat against Fulham.
Bringing in a former player would have been more popular with Chelsea fans and might have had a more galvanizing effect, but the decision was still made to bring in someone from within the current system. Legendary former players like John Terry were not considered.
The big question is whether the controversial structure put in place so far, including five sporting directors, will remain in place.
SSN Chief Correspondent Kave Solhekol
Chelsea’s statement announcing Rosenior’s departure said they would think carefully before making any new appointments, but the big question is whether the controversial structure, which includes five sporting directors, will remain in place.
It is unlikely that major surgery will be carried out at the club at football leadership level in the summer, but things cannot stay the same for too long at Chelsea.
Chelsea take time to make permanent transfer
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Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink reacts to Chelsea’s decision to part ways with head coach Liam Rosenior
As for a permanent transfer, Chelsea will take their time. There are currently no finalists and no first-place candidates.
They obviously have a lot of names linked to them and a lot of agents will be contacting them. To avoid repeating past mistakes, they are likely to target managers with a proven track record in the Premier League or those with a pedigree of success at a high level.
Managers such as Andoni Iraola, Oliver Glasner and Xabi Alonso are available this summer. Marco Silva could also leave Fulham next month, and Cesc Fabregas, who is currently at Como, would be a popular choice, although he is likely to move to Arsenal in the future.
Chelsea have previously held meetings and interviews with high-profile managers including Luis Enrique, Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Frank and Roberto De Zerbi.
It is almost certain that the new manager will miss out on the Champions League, which could affect the future of the club’s players, particularly Fernandes, who could be sold if Chelsea receive an offer of more than £100m.
Chelsea will look to sign more experienced players this summer, in what is being described as a “fine adjustment” rather than a complete change in strategy.
“Mistakes I made on and off the field.”
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Sky Sports’ Gary Neville reacts to Chelsea’s decision to part ways with Liam Rosenior
Chelsea’s financial losses, on the other hand, have been well-documented, with their failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League potentially costing them at least £80m. It will also become more difficult to secure the elusive and lucrative front-of-shirt sponsorship.
Chelsea’s latest accounts show a loss of £262m, but they expect their losses to be lower in the next figure, thanks to their play in this season’s Champions League and winning the FIFA Club World Cup last summer.
Chelsea are used to being at the center of storms, but this season has turned into a melodrama – who can forget the infamous huddle? Mole leaks team news? Fernandes openly cheating on Real Madrid? Does Marc Cucurella mourn Maresca’s departure and question the way the club is being run? Will Fernandes miss the important match against Manchester City?
Is your most in-form centre-back, Axel Disasi, playing on loan at West Ham after being frozen out at Chelsea? The much-derided Nicholas Jackson lifting a trophy with Bayern Munich while his replacement Liam Delap scored one league goal all season?
And Cucurella’s barber also deserves an honorable mention as he appears to have leaked team news to social media before the Brighton game.
Former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca (right) and Cucurella
It would be an understatement to say that there were many mistakes made on and off the pitch, but ultimately Chelsea’s season was derailed by Maresca’s exit just before the new year, feeling so weakened.
Much has been said and written about what went wrong at Chelsea. While much of the criticism is justified, it must be remembered that nine of the players who played in the disastrous defeat at Brighton also played in the 3-0 win over Barcelona five months earlier. As with everything else, sometimes the manager is really the problem.
The break clause means Chelsea will not have to pay the remaining six years of Rosenior’s contract in full. He will be paid a seven-figure sum, which is seen as a fair settlement for both parties. When it comes to Chelsea’s sacked managers, let’s not forget that Rosenior is in good company.
Some big names have shown the door at Stamford Bridge, including Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel and Roberto Di Matteo, with the last two making the move after winning the European Cup.
