A Emotional Occasion as Liam Rosenior Overcomes Obstacles

"He is a top coach that understands the game intimately, which is what matters most.

"But, in my role as the Blues' pioneering African heritage footballer, it would be dishonest to claim this moment does not affect me."

Those are the sentiments of Paul Canoville, the man who made his groundbreaking first appearance for Chelsea's senior side off the bench back in the spring of 1982.

On Tuesday, Chelsea hired RC Strasbourg manager Rosenior, aged 41, to be their next manager following the exit of manager Enzo Maresca.

The French club is within a multi-club BlueCo which also controls the London club.

There have been only 12 of African or Caribbean heritage managers – not including those holding temporary caretaker positions – in the Premier League since it began 34 years ago.

"What really strikes me regarding Rosenior is that he grew up and developed his game locally, he understands the local fans," continued Canoville.

"Whenever children observe someone like Liam managing the team they support, a person they can identify with, who's from their ends, from a household that champions what's right… it is profound and shows them that opportunities exist.

"So yes, it is an enormous step for the club, for the capital, for all young person dreaming big.

"However, currently? We must support Rosenior, give him what he needs, and allow him to get on with the job."

What Do the Numbers Reveal?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit was appointed the Blues' manager back in the nineties thereby becoming the top flight's first African heritage manager.

A dozen years on, by 2008, Paul Ince became the first black English manager in the Premier League when he took over Blackburn Rovers.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the sole additional current Premier League boss of colour.

The lack of managers of colour throughout the English game is matched by a lack of representation at executive level.

According to the Black Footballers Partnership 2023 report, 43% of top-flight footballers are from African or Caribbean backgrounds.

However, research from the equality organization revealed only 3.2 percent of board and senior leadership positions across 17 of 20 Premier League clubs are from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Regarding senior coaching positions, according to figures from eleven clubs, the figure stands at two percent.

For all coaching roles – including senior roles – from those same 11 clubs, the figure is 5%.

"He's certainly made history by virtue of his appointment as the Chelsea head coach, and we hope to witness more such appointments," stated the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged that there exists loads of ability that exists in the ethnic minority groups... aspiring coaches desire a chance to show their capabilities. We need to continue to work hard to dismantle those obstacles once and for all."

Additionally, Rosenior is set to become one of only four permanent British head coaches currently in the Premier League – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – a number that trails Europe's remaining major divisions in terms of homegrown managers.

Sixteen out of twenty top-flight coaches in Serie A are Italian, Eleven in La Liga in Spain, Twelve in the Bundesliga in Germany and 10 of the 18 in France.

Current Chelsea caretaker manager Calum McFarlane said: "I have no doubt every young English managers with a youth development pedigree are, to some degree regardless of allegiance, rooting for Liam.

"It is really motivating for up-and-coming British academy coaches to see someone land that job with that profile and we hope he does highly successful."

'Let's not forget – he's there due to ability'

His father, Leroy, Rosenior Sr., played for clubs such as West London clubs, the Hammers and Queens Park Rangers, with his managerial career peaked with a five-month stint at the third-tier club Brentford FC back in 2006.

Two years ago, he was awarded an MBE in the Honours List for his services to tackling discrimination within the sport and wider society.

After Liam retired from playing he pursued his father's footsteps. He started penning a column for The Guardian, where in 2017 he addressed the lack of diversity among managers. He highlighted that ethnicity does not determine coaching skill arguing that roles must be awarded based on qualification.

He further expressed a point he would repeat: that vast under-representation results in misunderstandings regarding footballers 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 "passionate", noting that he understood the Dutch international of Nigerian descent. The striker is expected to follow him in moving from France to West London in July.

In further Guardian columns, he also confessed to being "ashamed" to hear a staff member make a homophobic slur. He vowed support for the Premier League's Rainbow Laces initiative and wrote a public message to the former US President while he was in office, accusing him of "overt" prejudice.

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

The manager bid goodbye at Strasbourg earlier this week prior to putting pen to paper on a six‑and‑a‑half‑year deal at Chelsea.

Chelsea had the top flight's first African heritage boss in Gullit and the first black skipper in Paul Elliott.

Elliott has since held several senior positions, among them the Football Association's equality board|