A Significant Occasion when Liam Rosenior Breaks Barriers

"Rosenior represents a top tactician that knows football back to front, and that's what matters most.

"But, as Chelsea's first African heritage footballer, it would be dishonest to claim this moment does not affect me."

Those are the sentiments of Paul Canoville, the man who earned his groundbreaking first appearance for the Blues' first team as a substitute in April 1982.

On Tuesday, Chelsea named RC Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, 41, to be their new manager after the exit of Enzo Maresca.

Strasbourg are within a Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned BlueCo that also controls the London club.

There have been just 12 black head coaches – excluding individuals holding temporary caretaker positions – in the Premier League since its inception thirty-four years ago.

"What really strikes me about Liam is that he was raised and played locally, he understands the local fans," added Canoville.

"Whenever children observe someone like Liam in charge of the team they support, a person they can identify with, from a similar background, from a family that fights for what's right… it is profound demonstrating that opportunities exist.

"So yes, this represents a massive step for the club, for the capital, for all aspiring individual dreaming big.

"But right now? We must support Rosenior, give him what he needs, and allow him to do his work."

What Does the Data Indicate?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became the Blues' head coach back in the nineties thereby becoming the top flight's inaugural black manager.

A dozen years on, in 2008, Paul Ince was appointed as the pioneering English black manager in the top flight when he took over Blackburn Rovers.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the sole additional current Premier League gaffer of colour.

The scarcity of managers of colour across the English game is matched by an absence of diversity in the boardroom.

As per the BFP 2023 report, forty-three percent of Premier League players are from African or Caribbean heritage.

Yet, research from the equality organization revealed only 3.2 percent of board and senior leadership positions across 17 of 20 Premier League clubs are held by people from minority ethnic backgrounds.

At first-team coaching level, based on figures from eleven clubs, the figure stands at two percent.

For all coaching roles – including head coaches – from those same eleven clubs, the figure is just five percent.

"He's certainly broken barriers in terms of his appointment as a the Chelsea head coach, and as an organization, we want to see more of that," stated Kick It Out CEO Samuel Okafor.

"We know there is loads of talent that exists within ethnic minority communities... aspiring coaches desire the opportunity to show their capabilities. We need to persist in striving to break those obstacles down."

Furthermore, Rosenior is set to become one of only four full-time English managers presently in the Premier League – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe as well as Scott Parker – which lags behind Europe's other big five divisions in terms of homegrown managers.

Sixteen out of twenty first division managers in Serie A are Italian, Eleven in La Liga are Spanish, Twelve of the 18 are German and Ten of the 18 in France.

The present Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said: "I have no doubt every young English coaches from an academy background are, to some degree regardless of allegiance, supporting Liam.

"It is truly motivating for young English academy coaches to witness someone get that job with that profile and everyone hopes he does highly successful."

It is vital to remember – his appointment is on merit'

His father, Leroy, Rosenior Sr., had a career with clubs such as Fulham, West Ham and Queens Park Rangers, with his managerial career peaked with a brief spell in charge of the third-tier club Brentford FC in 2006.

Two years ago, he received a Member of the Order of the British Empire in that year's Honours List for services rendered to tackling discrimination in football and wider society.

When Rosenior Jr retired from playing he followed a path in management. He started penning articles for a national newspaper, where in 2017 he acknowledged the lack of diversity of black coaches. He pointed out that ethnicity does not influence ability and said opportunities must be awarded based on qualification.

He further expressed a point he would repeat: how vast lack of diversity leads to a failure to understand of players from different cultural and ethnic heritage.

In a podcast for a football podcast, Rosenior highlighted the way his leading forward, Emmanuel Emegha, had been described as "hard to manage" or "passionate", but said he could relate to the Dutch international of Nigerian descent. The striker is expected to follow him in moving from Strasbourg to Chelsea in July.

In further newspaper articles, Rosenior also admitted he was "ashamed" to hear a coach utter a homophobic slur. He pledged his support for the Premier League's Rainbow Laces initiative and authored a public message to the former US President during his first US presidency, accusing him of "overt" prejudice.

He has subsequently made his name as a manager – initially with Hull City, then Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney recently stating he was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" after their time together at Derby County.

Rosenior said goodbye at Strasbourg on Tuesday morning prior to putting pen to paper on a six‑and‑a‑half‑year contract with the Blues.

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

Elliott later held several senior positions, among them the FA's equality board|