Chelsea affiliate “working to finalise” replacement for shock departure | OneFootball

Ben Jacobs is reporting that Chelsea; affiliate club Strasbourg are “working to finalise Liam Rosenior as their new head coach.”

A surprise announcement earlier this week revealed that Patrick Vieira would be leaving the Alsatians in what was painted as a decision of “mutual consent,” appearing to stem from unhappiness about the club’s direction. For a second year in a row, senior players were sold and replaced by players under 22 as the BlueCo revolution continued.

Rosenior was an impressive pundit on Sky Sports before moving into management. A spell at Derby didn’t go well, and he was sacked last season by Hull City after finishing 7th – but he was nominated by the EFL Championship Manager of the Season award, showing his star is rising as a young and dynamic manager used to working with young players.

A possible upgrade from a bad situation

We were gutted to hear that Vieira would be leaving. He’s a good coach and was a top player. We really enjoyed the idea of him teaching our youngsters on loan. It’s also a little worrying that he decided to go at all – it hints that the club are heavily focused on making money, not winning games.

But Rosenior is a really exciting, up and coming coach, and a perfect choice, if he can get to grips with French quickly. This could even end up being an upgrade if Rosenior ends up being as good a coach as everyone hopes. This will not be an easy job however – relegation was a real possibility last season until the final months, and the squad looks even more callow than it was 12 months ago.

Rosenior will be hoping that BlueCo can provide some reinforcements, both on loan and permanently. His good reputation could easily be damaged by picking the wrong team now .