An Emotional Event when Liam Rosenior Shatters Obstacles

"He is a quality coach that understands football inside out, and that's what matters most.

"However, as Chelsea's pioneering black player, I would be lying to claim this moment fails to move me."

These were the sentiments expressed by the former Chelsea winger, who earned his groundbreaking debut for Chelsea's senior side as a substitute back in the spring of 1982.

On Tuesday, Chelsea hired RC Strasbourg boss Rosenior, aged 41, to be their next head coach after the departure of Enzo Maresca.

The French club is within the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned BlueCo that also controls the London club.

There have been only 12 of African or Caribbean heritage managers – not including those holding interim positions – in the Premier League since its inception 34 years ago.

"What really strikes me regarding Rosenior is that he grew up and developed his game not far from here, he knows this community," added Canoville.

"Whenever youngsters see someone like Liam in charge of their club, someone who looks like them, who's from their ends, from a family that champions equality… it is powerful and shows them the path is there.

"Indeed, it is an enormous moment for Chelsea, for London, for every young person dreaming big.

"But right now? We must support Rosenior, provide him with what he needs, and allow him to do his work."

What Do the Numbers Show?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit was appointed the Blues' manager back in the nineties and became the Premier League's inaugural black head coach.

Twelve years later, by 2008, Paul Ince was appointed as the pioneering black English manager in the top flight when he took over Blackburn Rovers.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the only other current Premier League boss from a minority ethnic background.

The shortage of ethnic minority managers throughout the English game is matched by an absence of diversity in the boardroom.

As per the BFP 2023's report, 43% of top-flight footballers are from black backgrounds.

However, analysis from Kick It Out revealed just 3.2 percent of executive and leadership management teams across most Premier League clubs are from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

At first-team coaching positions, based on data provided by eleven clubs, the percentage is two percent.

Across all coaching roles – including senior roles – from those same eleven clubs, the statistic is five percent.

"He's certainly made history by virtue of his appointment as the Chelsea manager, and as an organization, we want to see more of that," stated the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged there is a wealth of talent present within black and underrepresented groups... aspiring coaches want a chance to show what they can do. It is imperative to persist in work hard to break those barriers once and for all."

Furthermore, Rosenior will become the fourth full-time English head coaches currently in the Premier League – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – which lags behind Europe's other major divisions regarding national managers.

Sixteen out of twenty first division managers in Serie A are from Italy, Eleven in La Liga in Spain, Twelve in the Bundesliga are German while Ten of the 18 are French.

The present Blues caretaker manager Calum McFarlane said: "I'm sure every aspiring British coaches with a youth development pedigree are, in some way no matter who you support, rooting for Liam.

"It is truly inspirational for young English coaches in the system to witness someone land such a role with that profile and everyone hopes he will be really well."

It is vital to remember – his appointment is on merit'

Leroy Rosenior, Rosenior Sr., played for the likes of West London clubs, West Ham as well as Queens Park Rangers, and his managerial career culminating in a brief stint at the third-tier club Brentford FC back in 2006.

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

After Liam retired from playing he followed a path in management. He began penning a column for a national newspaper, and in one piece he acknowledged the under-representation of black coaches. He pointed out that race does not determine coaching skill and said roles must be awarded based on qualification.

He further expressed a point he would repeat: that significant lack of diversity results in a failure to understand of players with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

In a podcast with The Athletic FC, he explained the way his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "difficult" or "passionate", but said he understood the Netherlands player with Nigerian parentage. Emegha is set to join him with a move from Strasbourg to Chelsea in July.

In subsequent Guardian columns, he also confessed to being "embarrassed" to hear a coach make a discriminatory remark. He pledged his support for the Premier League's Rainbow Laces campaign and authored a public message to the former US President while he was in office, accusing him of "overt" racism.

He has subsequently built his reputation as a manager – initially with Hull City, then Strasbourg – and Wayne Rooney recently stating Rosenior was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" after their time together with Derby.

Rosenior said goodbye to his former club on Tuesday morning before signing a six‑and‑a‑half‑year deal at Chelsea.

The Blues boasted the Premier League's first African heritage boss in Gullit as well as the first black captain in Paul Elliott.

Elliott has since worked in several senior positions, including the FA's equality board|