Who is Calum McFarlane? Chelsea interim manager in charge for rest of the season | Football
Calum McFarlane is back in the Chelsea hotseat once again following the sacking of Liam Rosenior earlier this week.
Rosenior was relieved of his duties on Wednesday after the disastrous 3-0 defeat to Brighton, which saw the Blues lose five matches in a row, without scoring, for the first time since 1912.
And stepping into Rosenior’s shoes will be McFarlane, who has been appointed as the club’s interim head coach until the end of the season.
McFarlane is no stranger to the position, of course, having undertaken the role earlier in the season.
After Enzo Maresca left Chelsea at the start of this year, the 40-year-old was tasked with leading the first team for the games against Manchester City and Fulham, before Rosenior himself was appointed.
The game away to City finished as an extremely respectable 1-1 draw courtesy of an injury time equaliser from Enzo Fernandez.
The second game wasn’t quite as successful, with the Blues slipping to a 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage, but McFarlane still walked away from the temporary spell with a huge amount of credit in the bank.
McFarlane, who was part of Rosenior’s backroom staff during his three months in charge, will be tasked with lifting the mood after a miserable few months at the club.
His first assignment is today’s FA Cup semi-final against arch rivals Leeds United, before attention will turn to securing some form of European football for next season with Champions League qualification now surely beyond reach.
Playing and managerial career
McFarlane’s playing career was – to put it bluntly – non-existent and at a relatively young age he opted to move into coaching.
He joined Man City in 2020 and worked primarily as assistant manager for the Citizens’ Under-18 side during his three years at the club.
He would have known Maresca well as the Italian was also working in City’s academy at the same time before becoming Pep Guardiola’s second in command.
In Manchester he also crossed paths with Joe Shields, Chelsea’s current Co-Director of Recruitment and Talent, and Academy technical director Glenn van de Kraan.
In 2023, McFarlane moved to Southampton, serving as U18 and U21 manager before the Blues hired him last summer as the U21 coach.
Tactics and preferred formation
McFarlane set Chelsea up in a 4-2-3-1 formation for the games against Manchester City and Fulham, and that system is likely to be deployed again for the remainder of the season.
That 4-2-3-1 shape is familiar to Chelsea’s players, who have set up in that system for the overwhelming majority of their games this campaign.
Who could be Chelsea’s next manager?
Former Chelsea left back Filipe Luis is amongst the frontrunners to become the next permanent manager.
The 40 year-old impressed in his first role in management at Flamengo, winning a host of trophies including the Brazilian league title and the Copa Libertadores, before leaving the club back in March.
The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Oliver Glasner and Andoni Iraola have also been linked with the job.
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