An Emotional Event when Rosenior Shatters Obstacles

"He is a top coach that knows the game intimately, which is the most important thing.

"But, as Chelsea's pioneering black footballer, I would be lying to claim this moment does not affect me."

Those are the words expressed by the former Chelsea winger, who earned his groundbreaking debut for the Blues' first team as a substitute back in April 1982.

This week, Chelsea named Strasbourg manager Rosenior, aged 41, as their new head coach following the exit of manager Enzo Maresca.

The French club is part of the multi-club BlueCo that also controls Chelsea.

There have been just twelve black managers – excluding individuals in interim positions – in the Premier League since it began thirty-four years ago.

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

"When kids see a figure like Rosenior managing their club, a person who looks like them, who's from their ends, who comes from a family that fights for equality… it is impactful demonstrating that opportunities exist.

"So yes, this represents a huge moment for Chelsea, for the capital, for all aspiring individual with big dreams.

"However, currently? Let's back Liam, provide him with the necessary tools, and allow him to get on with the job."

What Does the Statistics Indicate?

The iconic Dutchman Ruud Gullit became Chelsea manager in 1996 and became the Premier League's first black manager.

Twelve years later, by 2008, Paul Ince became the pioneering black English boss in the Premier League after taking charge at Blackburn Rovers.

The Hammers' boss Nuno Espirito Santo currently stands as the only other present Premier League boss of colour.

The lack of managers of colour throughout English football corresponds with a lack of diversity at executive level.

According to a Black Footballers Partnership 2023 report, 43% of top-flight footballers come from black backgrounds.

However, analysis by Kick It Out found only 3.2 percent of executive and leadership positions across most Premier League clubs are held by people from ethnically diverse communities.

At first-team coaching positions, based on figures from eleven clubs, the figure stands at 2%.

Across all coaching positions – encompassing head coaches – from those same eleven clubs, the statistic is just five percent.

"He has undoubtedly made history in terms of his appointment as the Chelsea manager, and as an organization, we hope to witness more such appointments," said the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"We know that there exists a wealth of ability present within ethnic minority communities... they want a chance to show what they can do. We need to persist in striving to dismantle those obstacles down."

Additionally, Rosenior is set to become one of only four full-time English managers presently in the Premier League – alongside Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – which lags behind Europe's remaining major leagues regarding national representation.

Sixteen of the 20 top-flight managers in Italy are from Italy, Eleven of the 20 in Spain, Twelve of the 18 are German and Ten in Ligue 1 are French.

Current Chelsea caretaker manager Calum McFarlane said: "I have no doubt every young English managers with a youth development pedigree are, in some way regardless of allegiance, rooting for Liam.

"It's really inspirational to young English academy coaches to witness an individual land that job with his background and everyone hopes he will be highly successful."

'Let's not forget – he's there on merit'

Leroy Rosenior, Rosenior Sr., had a career with clubs such as Fulham, West Ham as well as Queens Park Rangers, with his coaching stint culminating in a five-month spell in charge of the third-tier club Brentford in 2006.

In 2019, he received an MBE in the Honours List for services rendered to tackling inequality within the sport and wider society.

When Rosenior Jr retired from playing he pursued his father's footsteps. He started penning articles for a national newspaper, where in 2017 he acknowledged the under-representation of black coaches. He pointed out that race does not influence ability and said opportunities must be awarded on merit.

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

In a podcast for a football podcast, he explained how his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "hard to manage" or "passionate", but said he understood the Dutch international with Nigerian parentage. Emegha is set to join him in moving from France to West London this summer.

In further newspaper articles, Rosenior also admitted he was "embarrassed" upon hearing a staff member utter a discriminatory remark. He vowed support for the Premier League's Rainbow Laces campaign and wrote a public message to Donald Trump during his first US presidency, accusing him of "overt" prejudice.

Rosenior has since made his name as a manager – initially with Hull City, later at Strasbourg – and Wayne Rooney said this week Rosenior was "as good a coach as I've ever worked with" after their collaboration at Derby County.

Rosenior said goodbye at Strasbourg on Tuesday morning before signing a long-term contract at Chelsea.

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

Elliott later worked in multiple executive roles, including the Football Association's equality board|