Chelsea supporters raised fears over the potential appointment of Liam Rosenior after uncovering footage of their managerial target criticising ‘scattergun’ approaches to transfers.
Rosenior has emerged as the leading contender to take charge at Stamford Bridge, after Enzo Maresca’s shock departure on New Year’s Day.
Chelsea supporters have since begun delving into Rosenior’s coaching career to date, which has taken him from being an assistant at Derby County to managerial roles at Hull City and Strasbourg.
One clip has attracted attention from fans, who have been critical of the Chelsea’s strategy under BlueCo.
Footage from a Sky Sports debate in 2018 showed Rosenior – who was working as a pundit and as a youth team coach at Brighton – critique the transfer policy at Fulham in the summer transfer window.
The Cottagers had become the first club to spend over £100m upon promotion to the Premier League, bringing in 13 players, but endured a season of struggle which saw the club relegated back to the Championship.
Rosenior had been asked in November 2018 whether Fulham’s manager Slavisa Jokanovic would have had a say in the club’s recruitment, leading to him delivering a critical analysis of their transfer policy.
‘I don’t think so, I don’t think so in the way that recruitment works at Fulham,’ Rosenior said.
‘I think there needs to be more of a synergy at every football club in terms of your recruitment. That is another problem.
‘I mean, they signed two goalkeepers on deadline day. For me that does not make any sense.
‘That does not make any sense when you have a goalkeeper like Bettinelli who has done very well in getting promoted to the Premier League.
‘To me it seems of a scattergun approach, let’s get as many players in as possible, lets spend money and look great in the transfer window.
‘Football is about having quality players, but it is also about having team spirit as when you go to the likes of Huddersfield you have to dig in and fight to get three points.’
Chelsea fans have reacted to the clip with concern, after drawing comparisons to the club’s own approach to recruitment.
Since the BlueCo consortium – led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital – took charge of Chelsea in May 2022, the club have signed over 50 players.
‘The way this guy has talked about recruitment in the past. How on earth is he contemplating joining THIS CHELSEA,’ one fan wrote.
‘So we know his thoughts on Clearlake’s model before he’s started the job,’ another stated.
‘Oh boy, he’s about to learn a harsh lesson at Chelsea,’ a third wrote.
Other fans expressed fears of a ‘disaster’ and an ‘incoming car crash’, with one suggesting Rosenior would ‘not make it to the end of the season’ if appointed.
Despite the comments, Rosenior has been part of the BlueCo set-up since July 2024 when he took charge of Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg.
The former full back led the club to a seventh place finish in Ligue 1 last season, which saw the club qualify for the Conference League.
Speaking in October, Rosenior stressed that he feels trusted by BlueCo having signed a new deal at Strasbourg.
He also reflected on the high player turnover at the French club under the BlueCo ownership.
‘It is not just multi-club ownership clubs that have high turnover, I was at Hull and in January we had a turnover of I think 15 players out and 13 players in,’ Rosenior told the Athletic.
‘It is football now, it is normal the turnover of players at every football club is huge.
‘Where I am fortunate, I can be selective in the players I want to stay and we can be selective in the players where we feel it is time to move on.
‘I am part of that decision making, but I am not the only decision maker but I am part of that process.
‘In the last transfer window we identified people within our squad we felt could move things forward and educated the new players coming in.
‘If you identify those people – people will still look at the numbers – but the culture will stay the same as you keep really important people. Everyone plays their part.’
Strasbourg are currently seventh in Ligue 1, but have won just one of their past six league matches despite a strong start to the season.
