Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The ownership of Behdad Eghbali (left) and Todd Boehly has plunged Chelsea into chaos as head coach Liam Rosenior is sacked amid fan unrest
ByPhil McNultyChief football writer- Published13 minutes ago
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Chelsea's decision to sack Liam Rosenior after only 106 days in charge is the latest example of the monument to dysfunction and chaos owners BlueCo have built at Stamford Bridge.
Rosenior was supposedly a symbol of the multi-club model BlueCo has created, effectively promoted from within as he moved from Strasbourg to Chelsea in January to succeed the sacked Enzo Maresca.
This flawed strategy, led by co-owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, resulted in Chelsea appointing a promising 41-year-old manager, inevitably out of his depth at this unwieldy football beast.
It was a move akin to asking a learner to take his driving test at the wheel of a Ferrari.
More experienced managers than relative rookie Rosenior have struggled to survive the mayhem and unique pressures that life at Chelsea inflicts. He has time to come again, but this experience will leave scars.
Rosenior actually deserves of a measure of sympathy after what has been a harrowing few months before being put out of his misery.
The end result is another BlueCo-created crisis that has resulted in a revolving door of managers, a toxic relationship between the owners and Chelsea's fanbase, as well as the biggest pre-tax losses in Premier League history, announced as £262m at the start of April.
When the group took control of Chelsea in a £4.25bn deal in succession to Roman Abramovich in May 2022, Chelsea had just finished third in the Premier League under current England head coach Thomas Tuchel and had not been outside the top five in seven years. They had won the Champions League one year previously.
Now, they face a fight to secure any kind of European football next season, with the heavy financial hit that would bring.
In sacking Rosenior, Chelsea's statement said: "We will undertake a process of self-reflection" - those fans who have taken to the streets in protest will suggest it is not before time.
Rosenior's final act as Chelsea manager was to launch a fierce public attack on Chelsea's players after Tuesday's 3-0 loss at Brighton, which made it five defeats without a league goal for the first time since 1912.
The obvious connection with the sinking of the Titanic was made - and every shred of evidence suggests Chelsea, under BlueCo, are holed below the waterline.
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Rosenior's dismissal may solve one problem, but those in Chelsea's boardroom must take the major share of the blame for a club that looks increasingly out of control.
Chelsea's recent losses eclipsed Manchester City's £197.5m deficit in 2011, despite bringing in £490.9m in revenue, which the club says is the second highest total in its history.
Since the current ownership took control in 2022, Chelsea have spent around £1.5bn on players, focusing on securing a raft of younger players on long-term contracts.
In this time, they have sacked Champions League winner Tuchel at the end of their first 100 days at the helm, then his successor Graham Potter seven months later.
Frank Lampard had a short second spell in charge as interim boss before former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino took charge, leaving by mutual consent after one season.
Enzo Maresca took over, but was sacked in January, less than six months after winning the Club World Cup to add to the Uefa Conference League.
If the final straw for Rosenior was criticism of his players, Maresca's departure came amid friction with Chelsea's hierarchy, stunning key figures at the club after a 2-0 win against Everton in December by stating "many people" had made it his "worst 48 hours" since joining the club.
Cryptic, perhaps, but the beginning of the end for the Italian, as those in charge at Chelsea took a dim view of his public expression of discontent.
Those with knowledge of Maresca's views, though, said he had grown unhappy at a multitude of factors, including encouragement over which players should start and which substitutions should be made during matches.
It led to the Rosenior experiment, which backfired on BlueCo, who may reflect on the number of managers hired and fired during their tenure and finally think: "It's not them. It's us."
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live: "You would have to be a bit simple to be surprised at the situation with all the evidence in front of you.
"This is four seasons the new ownership has been in. This is manager number six. When you change it that amount of times, you have to ask the question - is the problem really the manager?"
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Chelsea sacked Liam Rosenior after defeat at Brighton made it five league defeats without scoring for the first time since 1912
Nevin added: "The club was in a terrible situation when they took over, horrible times. They deserved a couple of years' worth of grace. This is four years now. This is £1.5bn spent.
"This is a methodology that clearly doesn't look like it is working particularly well. It's a model we feel uncomfortable with - this whole responsibility without authority if you are a manager. Rosenior didn't choose the players. He's just a coach who happens to be in there."
Calum McFarlane returns in the role of safety net between now and the end of the season, the former Under-21 coach having bridged the gap between Maresca and Rosenior earlier this season.
He must navigate an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United at Wembley on Sunday before trying to make sure Chelsea at least earn a place in Europe.
And then, after that period of "self-reflection", Chelsea will start work - in their words - "to bring stability to the head coach position."
This begs a wider question.
Which manager would risk a hard-won reputation on working in the volatile, shambolic environment that currently characterises Chelsea?
Xabi Alonso, has already been mentioned but this calm, measured figure is highly unlikely to consider Chelsea after being chewed up and spat out at Real Madrid within eight months, despite proving his quality by winning the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen.
Andoni Iraola will be available at the end of the season after he leaves Bournemouth, but he is another coach who likes to work in his own way surrounded by calm and trust, as he is on the south coast.
Chelsea is far removed from that.
Former Blues midfielder Cesc Fabregas is building a formidable reputation at Como. Would he want to risk that crashing down as he observes events at Chelsea from afar?
Fulham's Marco Silva may seek pastures new at the end of the season, and another crack at a high-profile club may appeal to the Portuguese.
Chelsea will find someone - but the club is no longer the guaranteed easy sell it once was to management's elite names.
And for that, BlueCo must take responsibility.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Chelsea's fans have staged protests against the club's owners this season
