A Powerful Moment when Liam Rosenior Breaks Obstacles

"He is an excellent tactician that understands football intimately, which is the crucial factor.

"But, as the Blues' pioneering black footballer, it would be dishonest to claim this news does not affect me."

Those are the sentiments expressed by the former Chelsea winger, the man who made his groundbreaking first appearance for Chelsea's senior side as a substitute in the spring of 1982.

On Tuesday, the club appointed Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior, 41, as their next manager after the exit of Enzo Maresca.

Strasbourg are within the multi-club BlueCo which also owns the London club.

Statistics show only twelve of African or Caribbean heritage managers – excluding those in interim positions – in the Premier League since it began 34 years ago.

"What really strikes me about Liam is he was raised and developed his game not far from here, he understands this community," added Canoville.

"When children observe someone like Liam in charge of their club, someone they can identify with, from a similar background, from a household that fights for equality… it is powerful and shows them that opportunities exist.

"Indeed, it is an enormous step for Chelsea, for the capital, 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 Show?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit was appointed the Blues' manager in 1996 and became the top flight's first black manager.

A dozen years on, in 2008, Paul Ince became the pioneering black English manager in the top flight after taking charge at Blackburn Rovers.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the sole additional current top flight boss of colour.

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

According to the Black Footballers Partnership 2023's report, 43% of top-flight players are from black heritage.

However, research from Kick It Out found just 3.2% of board and senior leadership positions at most Premier League clubs are held by people from minority ethnic communities.

Regarding senior coaching level, based on data provided by eleven clubs, the percentage stands at 2%.

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

"He has undoubtedly broken barriers by virtue of his appointment as a Chelsea head coach, and we want to witness more such appointments," stated the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged there is a wealth of ability present in the black and underrepresented groups... aspiring coaches want the opportunity to demonstrate what they can do. It is imperative to continue to striving to break those barriers once and for all."

Furthermore, Rosenior is set to become one of only four full-time English managers currently in the Premier League – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – which lags behind the continent's remaining big five leagues regarding homegrown representation.

Sixteen of the 20 top-flight managers in Italy are from Italy, Eleven in La Liga are Spanish, 12 in the Bundesliga in Germany and Ten in Ligue 1 are French.

Current Chelsea caretaker manager Calum McFarlane commented: "I'm sure every young English managers with a youth development pedigree will be, in some way no matter who you support, supporting Liam.

"It is really inspirational to up-and-coming British coaches in the system to see an individual land that job with that profile and we hope he will be really well."

'Let's not forget – he's there on merit'

His father, Leroy, Liam's father, played for the likes of Fulham, the Hammers and Queens Park Rangers, and his managerial career culminating in a five-month spell in charge of the third-tier club Brentford FC back in 2006.

In 2019, he was awarded an MBE in that year's Honours List for his services in combating inequality in football and beyond.

After Liam retired from playing he pursued his father's footsteps. He started writing articles for The Guardian, where in 2017 he addressed the lack of diversity of black coaches. He highlighted that ethnicity does not determine coaching skill arguing that roles should be given on merit.

He also made a point he would repeat: how vast lack of diversity leads to misunderstandings of players from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

In a podcast for a football podcast, he explained the way his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, had been described as "hard to manage" and "emotional", noting that he could relate to the Dutch player with Nigerian parentage. The striker is expected to join him in moving from Strasbourg to West London in July.

In further Guardian columns, Rosenior also admitted he was "ashamed" upon hearing an unnamed coach make a homophobic slur. He vowed support for the Premier League's Rainbow Laces initiative and wrote an open letter to Donald Trump while he was in office, accusing him of "blatant" racism.

Rosenior has since made his name as a manager – first at Hull City, later at Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney recently stating Rosenior was "as good a coach as I've ever worked with" after their collaboration with Derby.

Rosenior said his farewells at Strasbourg earlier this week prior to putting pen to paper on a long-term contract with the Blues.

Chelsea had the top flight's first African heritage manager with Gullit as well as the first black skipper named Paul Elliott.

Elliott has since worked in multiple executive roles, among them the FA's diversity and inclusion board|