A Emotional Event when Liam Rosenior Shatters Obstacles

"He is a top coach that understands football intimately, and that's the most important thing.

"However, in my role as the Blues' pioneering black footballer, it would be dishonest to claim this news fails to move me."

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

This week, Chelsea hired RC Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior, 41, to be their next head coach following the departure of Enzo Maresca.

The French club is part of a Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned BlueCo which also owns the London club.

There have been only 12 of African or Caribbean heritage head coaches – excluding individuals holding interim roles – in the Premier League since it began thirty-four years ago.

"One thing that impresses me about Liam is that he was raised and developed his game locally, he knows this area," added Canoville.

"When children see a figure like Rosenior in charge of their club, a person they can identify with, who's from their ends, from a household that champions what's right… that's powerful demonstrating that opportunities exist.

"Indeed, it is a massive step for Chelsea, for London, for all young person dreaming big.

"However, currently? We must support Rosenior, give him the necessary tools, and let the man do his work."

What Do the Numbers Indicate?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit was appointed Chelsea manager in 1996 thereby becoming the top flight's first black head coach.

Twelve years later, in 2008, Paul Ince was appointed as the pioneering black English boss in the Premier League after taking charge at Blackburn Rovers.

The Hammers' manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the sole additional present Premier League gaffer from a minority ethnic background.

The lack of managers of colour throughout the English game corresponds with a lack of diversity in the boardroom.

According to the BFP 2023 report, 43% of Premier League footballers are from black backgrounds.

Yet, research by Kick It Out revealed just 3.2 percent of board and senior leadership management teams across most Premier League clubs are held by people from minority ethnic backgrounds.

At first-team coaching level, according to figures provided by 11 clubs, the percentage stands at 2%.

For all coaching positions – encompassing senior roles – from those same eleven clubs, the statistic is five percent.

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

"We know there is loads of ability that exists in the ethnic minority groups... aspiring coaches desire a chance to demonstrate their capabilities. We need to persist in striving to break those barriers down."

Furthermore, Rosenior is set to become the fourth permanent English managers currently in the Premier League – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe as well as Scott Parker – a number that lags behind the continent's other big five leagues in terms of national representation.

16 out of twenty top-flight coaches in Serie A are Italian, Eleven in La Liga are Spanish, Twelve of the 18 are German while 10 of the 18 in France.

The present Blues interim boss Calum McFarlane commented: "I have no doubt all aspiring British managers with a youth development pedigree will be, to some degree regardless of allegiance, rooting for Liam.

"It is truly motivating to up-and-coming British academy coaches to witness an individual get such a role with his background and everyone hopes he will be highly successful."

It is vital to remember – he's there based on talent'

His father, Leroy, Liam's father, played for clubs such as Fulham, the Hammers as well as Queens Park Rangers, and his coaching stint culminating in a brief spell in charge of then-League One side Brentford FC in 2006.

In 2019, he was awarded an MBE in the Honours List for services rendered to tackling inequality in football and wider society.

When Rosenior Jr hung up his boots he pursued his father's footsteps. He began writing articles for The Guardian, and in one piece he addressed the under-representation among managers. He highlighted that race does not influence coaching skill and said roles must be awarded on merit.

He further expressed a point he has often stated: how significant lack of diversity results in a failure to understand of players with diverse ethnic and cultural heritage.

In a podcast with The Athletic FC, he explained how his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "hard to manage" or "emotional", but said he could relate to the Dutch player with Nigerian parentage. Emegha is set to join him in moving from France to West London in July.

In further newspaper articles, he also confessed to being "embarrassed" upon hearing an unnamed staff member utter a homophobic slur. He vowed support for the Premier League's inclusion campaign and wrote a public message to Donald Trump while he was in office, accusing him of "overt" racism.

Rosenior has since built his reputation as a manager – first at Hull City, then Strasbourg – and Wayne Rooney said this week Rosenior was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" after their collaboration at Derby County.

Rosenior said 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.

Chelsea had the Premier League's pioneering black manager with Gullit and the first black captain in Paul Elliott.

Elliott later worked in multiple senior positions, among them the Football Association's diversity and inclusion board|