How Liam Rosenior is Changing Chelsea

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Hooligan Soccer

·4 February 2026

How Liam Rosenior is Changing Chelsea

The Sacking of Maresca

On the first day of 2026, Chelsea FC dropped huge news that shook the soccer community. The club parted company with Enzo Maresca after a string of poor performances and disagreement over key decisions. The statement read:

“Chelsea Football Club and Head Coach Enzo Maresca have parted company. During his time at the Club, Enzo led the team to success in the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup. Those achievements will remain an important part of the Club’s recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the Club.”Chelsea FC Official Statement

This announcement saw a lot of outcry among sections of Chelsea fans who saw Maresca as a top coach.

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Nineteen games into the season, Chelsea sat in 5th position in the Premier League table. However, they only had 30 points and were 15 points behind league leaders Arsenal. They had just suffered a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, and were struggling. With only one win in their last seven Premier League matches, Chelsea leadership felt that they had to force out the Italian, six months after he led the Blues to winning both the Conference League and the Club World Cup.

Arrival of Liam Rosenior

Liam Rosenior arrived on Jan. 6, 2026 from Ligue 1’s Strasbourg. Strasbourg, like Chelsea, is wholly owned by the BlueCo consortium, and as part of their multi-club model shares information, personnel and players between the two.

BlueCo brought Liam Rosenior to France following his dismissal by Hull City. The manager was dismissed not because of performance (he took the club from a relegation battle to 7th in the Championship), but because of playing style.

“To summarise it, there was a conflict of opinion between us and Liam for the future plan… Our football mind was not thinking the same way like Liam. There is a football style we want to see on the pitch… Liam’s football philosophy is very good and may be successful but [it didn’t align]”Hull City owner Acun Ilıcalı, as reported to BBC and Sky Sports

But Rosenior’s playing style was exactly what BlueCo wanted. Their desire was to create a uniform methodology and style across all the BlueCo clubs and academy.

Rosenior, who started his managerial career as an assistant at Derby County under Wayne Rooney, excelled in his first year at Strasbourg. The club finished 7th in Ligue 1 and qualified for the UEFA Conference League. When he left for Chelsea, Strasbourg had completed the Conference League group stage and were sitting top of the table.

Young but Confident

The 41-year-old knows he’s a young coach but backs himself to be successful at Chelsea.

“You don’t limit your ambitions,” the former Hull City boss said last Friday. “I’m not arrogant, I’m good at what I do. In every job I’ve worked, whether as an interim, assistant, head coach, relative to the group I’ve worked with, I’ve been successful.

“I’ve always wanted to be at a club like this but it’s not about just being here, it’s about being successful. Nobody can guarantee wins but at the same time I’ve worked very hard for a long time to try and put myself in a position where I can be successful.

“When I went in at Strasbourg, they said I was a joke in the media. They said my team would finish last, that it was an impossible project, the players were way too young, too inexperienced, and that I was a nobody from England.

“We finished three points outside the Champions League. The outside noise is just noise. If you focus on the job, your players and staff, and your process, I feel like you can do amazing things.”

Those are big words, but he’s backing them up so far with six wins in his first eight games. Two of them were gritty comebacks, fighting from 1-2 down in the Champions League to beat Napoli 3-2 midweek, then 72 hours later recovering from an 0-2 deficit to best West Ham 3-2 in the Premier League. Not many can doubt him at this point.

Tactics

Liam Rosenior deploys a similar formation (4-2-3-1 with the base 3-2-4-1 in possession) as his predecessor Enzo Maresca, and also shares similar principles of the game. Although there are a few expected differences, they are not proving to be significant enough to affect the team’s momentum. So far, Chelsea players are finding it easier to adapt to his style, demands, and are making progress on the pitch and getting results.

João Pedro looks like a rejuvenated man after tailing off under Enzo Maresca following outstanding performances at the Club World Cup. He was on the bench when Chelsea were losing 0-2 against West Ham and was subbed on for the second half. He helped Chelsea’s revival in the game with a goal, an assist and immense work rate. Under Liam Rosenior, he has scored in 4 of his last 5 games in all competitions (5 goals and 1 assist).

Takeaway

So far, everything is going smoothly for Liam Rosenior but tougher days are ahead and it remains to be seen how he’s going to deal with adversity. But so far, it’s looking good for Liam Rosenior at Chelsea.

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted prior to Chelsea’s elimination in the Carabao Cup semi-final 4 – 2 on aggregate.