An Emotional Occasion when Rosenior Breaks Obstacles

"Liam Rosenior is a quality tactician that knows football intimately, which is the most important thing.

"However, as Chelsea's first African heritage footballer, I would be lying if I said this moment fails to move me."

Those are the sentiments of the former Chelsea winger, the man who made his historic debut for Chelsea's senior side off the bench in April 1982.

On Tuesday, the club appointed Strasbourg boss Rosenior, aged 41, to be their next manager following the departure of manager Enzo Maresca.

Strasbourg are part of the multi-club BlueCo which also controls the London club.

Statistics show a mere 12 black head coaches – not including those holding temporary caretaker roles – in England's top flight since it began 34 in the past.

"One thing that impresses me about Liam is he was raised and played locally, he knows this area," continued Canoville.

"When kids see a figure like Rosenior managing their club, someone they can identify with, from a similar background, who comes from a household that fights for equality… that's impactful and shows them the path is there.

"So yes, this represents a huge step for Chelsea, for London, for all aspiring individual dreaming big.

"However, currently? We must support Rosenior, provide him with what he needs, and let the man get on with the job."

What Does the Numbers Indicate?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became Chelsea manager back in the nineties thereby becoming the top flight's first black head coach.

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

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the only other current Premier League boss from a minority ethnic background.

The scarcity of ethnic minority managers across English football is matched by an absence of representation at executive level.

According to a BFP 2023's study, 43% of Premier League players are from black heritage.

However, research by the equality organization found just 3.2% of board and senior leadership positions across 17 of 20 Premier League clubs are held by people from ethnically diverse communities.

At senior coaching level, based on figures from eleven clubs, the percentage is two percent.

For all coaching positions – including senior roles – from the same eleven clubs, the figure is five percent.

"He's certainly broken barriers in terms of his appointment as the Chelsea manager, and as an organization, we want to see more of that," said the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged there is a wealth of ability present within ethnic minority communities... aspiring coaches want a chance to show what they can do. It is imperative to persist in work hard to dismantle those obstacles down."

Additionally, the new appointee is set to become the fourth full-time British head coaches currently managing in the top flight – joining Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – a number that lags behind Europe's other major leagues regarding national managers.

Sixteen out of twenty top-flight managers in Serie A are Italian, 11 of the 20 are Spanish, 12 in the Bundesliga in Germany and Ten in Ligue 1 are French.

Current Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said: "I'm sure every young English managers with a youth development pedigree will be, to some degree no matter who you support, rooting for Liam.

"It is truly motivating for up-and-coming British academy coaches to see an individual land that job with his background and we hope he will be highly successful."

'Let's not forget – he's there based on talent'

Leroy Rosenior, Liam's father, had a career with clubs such as West London clubs, West Ham as well as Queens Park Rangers, and his coaching stint culminating in a brief stint in charge of the third-tier club Brentford back in 2006.

In 2019, he was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Honours List for his services to tackling discrimination in football and beyond.

After Liam hung up his boots he followed a path in management. He began penning articles for a national newspaper, where in 2017 he addressed the lack of diversity of black coaches. He pointed out that ethnicity does not influence coaching skill arguing that opportunities should be given on merit.

He also made a point he would repeat: that significant lack of diversity results in a failure to understand regarding footballers with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

In a podcast with The Athletic FC, he explained the way his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "hard to manage" and "passionate", noting that he could relate to the Netherlands international of Nigerian descent. The striker is expected to follow him in moving from Strasbourg to Chelsea this summer.

In subsequent newspaper articles, he also confessed to being "ashamed" to hear a coach utter a discriminatory remark. He vowed support for the inclusion campaign and authored a public message to the former US President while he was in office, condemning his "blatant" prejudice.

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

The manager bid goodbye to his former club earlier this week prior to putting pen to paper on a long-term deal with the Blues.

The Blues boasted the top flight's pioneering black boss with Gullit and the first black captain in Paul Elliott.

Elliott later worked in multiple senior positions, including the FA's equality board|