An Emotional Moment as Liam Rosenior Breaks Boundaries

"Liam Rosenior is a quality manager that knows the game inside out, which is what matters most.

"However, in my role as the Blues' pioneering black player, it would be dishonest to claim this appointment does not affect me."

Those are the sentiments of Paul Canoville, who earned his groundbreaking first appearance for the Blues' first team off the bench in April 1982.

On Tuesday, the club named RC Strasbourg manager Rosenior, 41, to be their next head coach following the exit of manager Enzo Maresca.

The French club is within a multi-club ownership group that also controls Chelsea.

Statistics show just twelve black head coaches – not including those holding interim roles – in England's top flight since its inception 34 years ago.

"What really strikes me about Liam is he was raised and played locally, he understands the local fans," added Canoville.

"Whenever kids see 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 impactful and shows them that opportunities exist.

"Indeed, this represents a massive step for the club, for London, for every aspiring individual with big dreams.

"But right now? Let's back Liam, give him the necessary tools, and let the man get on with the job."

What Does the Numbers Show?

The iconic Dutchman Ruud Gullit became the Blues' manager back in the nineties and became the top flight's first black head coach.

A dozen years on, by 2008, Paul Ince was appointed as the first black English boss in the Premier League when he took over Blackburn Rovers.

The Hammers' boss Nuno Espirito Santo currently stands as the only other present Premier League gaffer from a minority ethnic background.

The shortage of managers of colour throughout the English game corresponds with a lack of diversity in the boardroom.

According to the BFP 2023 study, 43% of Premier League footballers are from African or Caribbean backgrounds.

However, research by Kick It Out found only 3.2% of board and senior leadership positions at 17 of 20 Premier League clubs are held by people from minority ethnic communities.

At senior coaching positions, according to data from 11 clubs, the figure is two percent.

For all coaching roles – encompassing senior roles – from those same 11 clubs, the statistic is five percent.

"He's certainly broken barriers in terms of him being announced as the Chelsea head coach, and we hope to see more of that," said Kick It Out CEO Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged that there exists a wealth of talent that exists in the black and underrepresented communities... they want the opportunity to show their capabilities. We need to continue to striving to dismantle those barriers down."

Furthermore, Rosenior is set to become one of only four permanent English managers presently managing in the top flight – joining Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe as well as Scott Parker – which trails Europe's remaining big five leagues in terms of national managers.

Sixteen out of twenty top-flight managers in Serie A are from Italy, Eleven in La Liga in Spain, Twelve in the Bundesliga in Germany while Ten of the 18 in France.

Current Blues interim boss Calum McFarlane commented: "I'm sure all young English managers from an academy background will be, in some way no matter who you support, rooting for Liam.

"It's truly inspirational to up-and-coming British academy coaches to see someone land that job with that profile and everyone hopes he will be highly successful."

It is vital to remember – he's there based on talent'

His father, Leroy, Liam's father, played for clubs such as West London clubs, the Hammers as well as Queens Park Rangers, and his managerial career culminating in a five-month spell at then-League One side Brentford in 2006.

In 2019, he was awarded an MBE in the Honours List for his services to tackling inequality in football and beyond.

When Rosenior Jr retired from playing he pursued his father's footsteps. He started penning articles for The Guardian, where in 2017 he acknowledged the lack of diversity of black coaches. He pointed out that ethnicity does not influence ability and said opportunities must be awarded based on qualification.

He further expressed the view he would repeat: that vast under-representation leads to a failure to understand regarding footballers from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

In a podcast for a football podcast, Rosenior highlighted how his leading forward, Emmanuel Emegha, had been described as "difficult" and "emotional", noting that he understood the Netherlands international with Nigerian parentage. Emegha is set to join him in moving from France to Chelsea in July.

In further Guardian columns, he also confessed to being "ashamed" to hear a staff member utter a discriminatory remark. He vowed his support for the Premier League's inclusion campaign and wrote a public message to the former US President while he was in office, accusing him of "blatant" prejudice.

He has subsequently made his name as a manager – initially with Hull City, then Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney recently stating he was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" following their time together with Derby.

The manager bid his farewells at Strasbourg on Tuesday morning before signing a six‑and‑a‑half‑year contract with the Blues.

The Blues boasted the Premier League's pioneering black boss with Gullit as well as the first black skipper in Paul Elliott.

Elliott later worked in several senior positions, including the Football Association's equality board|