The real reason Chelsea sacked ‘LinkedIn manager’ Rosenior as insider reveals jokes about his glasses and player ‘mutiny’ | OneFootball

An unbridgeable rift between Liam Rosenior and his Chelsea players is strongly believed to have led to the 41-year-old’s sacking as manager after just three-and-a-half months at the helm, while friction over his tactics and his results ultimately undid him, while leaked team news and insults over his appearance also undermined his reign.

The Blues are searching for a third new manager of the season after sacking Rosenior on Wednesday; his dismissal coming after an emergency board meeting, which followed a fifth straight loss, 3-0 at Brighton, which resulted in Chelsea recording a 114-year low in losing five straight times and failing to score a goal.

While Chelsea’s board had hoped to give the manager, signed up on a six-and-a-half-year deal, time to implement his ideas, he very quickly fell on his sword as Champions League qualification began to slip away. One of his assistants, Calum McFarlane, will take interim charge for the remainder of the season.

Shortly before his dismissal, our correspondent Graeme Bailey revealed an irreparable rift between the players and manager.

And while there is plenty of conjecture over who may have instigated that dissatisfaction, reports were doing the rounds on Wednesday morning that Marc Cucurella‘s barber had leaked the Chelsea team news before the clash at the Amex; a sure-fire sign that all was not well.

The decision to discipline Enzo Fernandez for publicly speaking out on Real Madrid interest also confused and alienated not just the Argentine but also large portions of the squad, too.

From that point on, the 41-year-old was fighting a losing battle.

However, beyond that, The Independent’s Miguel Delaney reports that there was some mimicking about his glasses from the players.

Rosenior, aware of what was going on, had ‘ditched the bins’ while on the training ground in an effort to command more respect.

‘Sources say some comments surrounded Liam Rosenoir’s decision not to wear his glasses at the training ground. One or two even joked about whether it was to look tougher.’

Reasons for Liam Rosenior sack at Chelsea continue

He also writes that the final straw came after the 3-0 loss to Brighton when Rosenior openly questioned his players.

Players “just weren’t having him”, and the ‘final straw’ came after they heard his interview following the 3-0 defeat to Brighton, in which Rosenior questioned the desire of the players and slammed their “unacceptable” performance. The players were “angry”, and there was, by his account, “mutiny” in the ranks.

His so-called ‘LinkedIn language’ also caused amusement and mockery among football fans, something the board were well aware of.

The players were also unimpressed from the off, feeling the language ‘became too forced’ and wasn’t ‘as sure of himself as in January’ when he first arrived at the club, while the ‘increasing penchant for “manager speak” became worse’.

The BBC also reports that players were starting to ignore instructions, with Wesley Fofana choosing to ignore instructions from Rosenior’s coach,  James Walker, after a home defeat by Manchester United.

It’s also reported that one player even gave him the nickname “the supply teacher”.

Truth be told, that loss of respect went beyond that, and it’s understood Chelsea’s board simply felt they had a better chance of winning Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds without Rosenior at the helm. That in itself is a damning indictment.

Writing on X, reporter Ben Jacobs explained: “Sporting leadership met following the defeat to Brighton, and it was determined that an immediate change is necessary to try and salvage the season and with an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds next.”

He added: “Chelsea respect Rosenior, but felt results and performances in recent weeks have not met the standards they expect, particularly given there is still Europe and silverware to play for this season.”

Jacobs then doubled down on those claims by explaining: “Chelsea felt it was their only course of action to try and qualify for Europe and win the FA Cup.”

Focus now turns to who Chelsea opt for next, and multiple sources have confirmed a current Premier League manager is already among the favourites to become the next permanent Blues boss, while plenty of names have already been ruled out.