Liam Rosenior Breaks Silence on Chelsea Sacking, Backs Xabi Alonso
After a lengthy spell of silence, former Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has finally spoken out about his brief but frustrating time at Stamford Bridge. At his first press conference as the new head coach of Paris FC on Thursday, the 42-year-old Englishman was at pains to stress that he held no ill will towards his old employers.
Rosenior took charge of Chelsea in January this year, but his time in charge was short and brutal. The London side sacked him in April, after just 23 disappointing competitive games. Rosenior was honest about his troubled time in West London, telling the press:
“We joined the club in the middle of a season and a difficult moment, and I have many lessons I’ve learned. There are things that I definitely could have done better and things I could have taken accountability for but there are also good things in what we did as well.”
Later, in a characteristic gesture of goodwill to his famous successor, the Englishman said:
“I wish them all the best in the future. I think they have a fantastic manager, Xabi Alonso, now, and I will look out for their results.”
The former Strasbourg architect took the highly sought-after Chelsea job, arriving in London with high hopes for a long-term deal that would keep him there until 2032. His early sacking, however, was a stark illustration of just how dangerous and notoriously unforgiving it is to be a manager at one of English football’s most impatient institutions. Now Rosenior is throwing all his considerable energy into an exciting project to revitalise Paris and hopes his problems at Stamford Bridge will ultimately prove very useful from a coaching perspective.
Chelsea’s Plans Under Xabi Alonso This Season
Xabi Alonso has taken over after signing a lucrative four-year deal with the ambitious Stamford Bridge hierarchy. Everyone has long praised the methodical Spaniard who masterminded Bayer Leverkusen’s unlikely Bundesliga triumph. Despite some recent struggles at Real Madrid, it is now reported that he has noticeable control over all incoming and outgoing transfers at Chelsea.
Alonso has turned Chelsea’s long-standing approach to player recruitment on its head this summer. The Basque strategist is said to have switched his strategy from targeting new candidates to targeting battle-hardened, experienced ones as well. This tactical change is symptomatic of the kind of confidence he has in the ability of experienced players to help Chelsea’s talented youth fulfil their potential.
Versatile defender Marco Palestra is a promising 21-year-old reportedly valued at around £43 million. Xabi Alonso received the green light and signed him from Atalanta. His favoured style of play should suit a strong core of Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Cole Palmer, and the unpredictable Estêvão. Alonso needs to quickly turn this bright collection of stars into real trophy contenders.
