An Significant Moment when Liam Rosenior Overcomes Boundaries

"Liam Rosenior is an excellent tactician that knows the game back to front, and that's the crucial factor.

"However, as the Blues' first black footballer, it would be dishonest to claim this moment doesn't move me."

These were the words of the former Chelsea winger, who made his historic debut for the Blues' first team off the bench in April 1982.

This week, Chelsea appointed Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, aged 41, to be their next manager following the exit of manager Enzo Maresca.

Strasbourg are part of the multi-club ownership group which also controls the London club.

There have been only 12 black managers – excluding those in interim roles – in England's top flight since its inception 34 in the past.

"One thing that impresses me regarding Rosenior is that he was raised and developed his game not far from here, he knows the local fans," added Canoville.

"When kids see someone like Liam in charge of the team they support, a person they can identify with, from a similar background, from a family that fights for equality… it is powerful and shows them the path is there.

"Indeed, this represents a massive step for Chelsea, for London, for all young person with big dreams.

"But right now? We must support Rosenior, give him what he needs, and let the man get on with the job."

What Does the Statistics Show?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became the Blues' head coach in 1996 and became the Premier League's first black head coach.

A dozen years on, by 2008, Paul Ince became the pioneering English black manager in the top flight 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 scarcity of ethnic minority managers across English football corresponds with a lack of diversity in the boardroom.

As per the BFP 2023 study, forty-three percent of Premier League players are from African or Caribbean backgrounds.

Yet, research from Kick It Out found just 3.2 percent of executive and leadership positions at 17 of 20 Premier League clubs are held by people from ethnically diverse communities.

Regarding senior coaching level, based on figures from 11 clubs, the percentage stands at 2%.

Across all coaching roles – including head coaches – from the same 11 clubs, the figure is just five percent.

"He's certainly made history by virtue of him being announced as a the Chelsea head coach, and we want to witness more such appointments," said the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged there is loads of ability present in the black and underrepresented groups... aspiring coaches desire a chance to demonstrate their capabilities. It is imperative to persist in striving to dismantle those barriers down."

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

Sixteen of the 20 top-flight coaches in Italy are Italian, 11 of the 20 are Spanish, 12 in the Bundesliga in Germany while Ten of the 18 in France.

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

"It is truly motivating to up-and-coming British coaches in the system to see an individual land that job with that profile and everyone hopes he will be highly successful."

It is vital to remember – he's there based on talent'

Leroy Rosenior, Liam's father, played for clubs such as West London clubs, West Ham and Queens Park Rangers, with his managerial career culminating in a brief stint at then-League One side Brentford back in 2006.

In 2019, he received a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Honours List for services rendered in combating discrimination in football and beyond.

After Liam retired from playing he followed a path in management. He began penning a column for a national newspaper, where in 2017 he acknowledged the under-representation of black coaches. He highlighted that race does not influence coaching skill arguing that roles must be awarded based on qualification.

He further expressed a point he would repeat: that vast under-representation results in a failure to understand of players from different ethnic and cultural heritage.

During an interview for a football podcast, he explained how his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "difficult" or "passionate", but said he could relate to the Netherlands player with Nigerian parentage. Emegha is set to join him in moving from France to West London in July.

In further Guardian columns, he also confessed he was "embarrassed" upon hearing a staff member make a discriminatory remark. He pledged his support for the Rainbow Laces campaign and authored a public message to the former US President while he was in office, condemning his "overt" prejudice.

Rosenior has since built his reputation in the dugout – initially with Hull City, later at Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney said this week Rosenior was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" after their time together with Derby.

Rosenior said goodbye at Strasbourg earlier this week prior to putting pen to paper on a long-term deal at Chelsea.

Chelsea boasted the top flight's pioneering black boss in Gullit and the first black captain in Paul Elliott.

Elliott later worked in multiple senior positions, including the Football Association's equality board|