Sacking the manager on New Year’s Day, mistreating academy players and spending abhorrent amounts of money every transfer window — does it ever end? While unpredictability has long defined the club, it now feels excessive, even by Chelsea standards.
The team was leading a solid Premier League campaign, but in typical Chelsea fashion, come December, the club lost their momentum. To make matters worse, while the rest of the world rang in the new year with friends and family, Chelsea FC marked the occasion by sacking Enzo Maresca and handing the keys to Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior’s age and lack of experience in the Premier League do not concern me as much as his inability to pick a solid starting 11. While some may view his track record of seven wins in nine games as a promising start to the Rosenior era, I am increasingly concerned by his judgement. The Carabao Cup draw against Arsenal on Tuesday is proof of this — did he seriously expect to beat the league title contenders, who sit six points clear at the top, with five at the back?
Yes, going to the Emirates and scoring against Arsenal is a challenge, but last I checked, Chelsea are not a club built on caution. The game was lost the moment the whistle blew and Cole Palmer was on the bench, Reece James was nowhere to be seen and Liam Delap was starting. Instead of playing defensive football for the first half and leaving the team with only 45 minutes to equalise the aggregate score, perhaps playing attacking football for the full duration of the game would have been a more sensible approach. Looking at decisions like this, I am almost inclined to believe that the win against Napoli was a stroke of luck for Rosenior, not a demonstration of tactical brilliance. It is no surprise, then, that Kai Havertz was able to capitalise on these mistakes, score comfortably against his former club, and point straight to the Arsenal badge.
Rosenior’s appointment ultimately highlights deeper, structural problems within the club, at ownership level. The breakdown of the owners’ relationship with Maresca leading to his mid-season exit, the mistreatment of academy grown players (why was Ben Chilwell sold to Chelsea-lite?), and the excessive spending every transfer window point to the same conclusion: Chelsea FC are no longer the club they once were under Roman Abramovich’s leadership.
The club previously benefited from a clear hierarchy and decisive leadership. Today, Chelsea seems directionless, with change occurring at the discretion of Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly, rather than as a result of long-term planning. This perpetual cycle continues largely because no manager is afforded sufficient time to properly shape the squad, recruit players suited to their playing style, settle on a consistent starting XI, and lead the team through a full season.
As a Chelsea supporter, my loyalty to this club is unconditional, but I am eager to see changes being made at the very highest level. Until then, the club’s winning identity and history will continue to be eroded by careless owners and their short-term penchant for reckless spending. As for Rosenior, he has shown some promise and deserves time to prove himself — provided he makes the necessary decisions, starting with selling Delap and Alejandro Garnacho, neither of whom have any business gracing a Chelsea kit.
“The Shed End at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea Football Club” by theodoritsis is licensed under CC BY 2.0.