A Emotional Event when Liam Rosenior Breaks Boundaries

"Liam Rosenior is a top coach that understands football intimately, and that's the crucial factor.

"However, as Chelsea's first black footballer, I would be lying if I said this appointment doesn't move me."

These were the sentiments expressed by Paul Canoville, the man who earned his historic debut for Chelsea's senior side as a substitute back in the spring of 1982.

On Tuesday, Chelsea named RC Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, aged 41, as their new manager after the exit of Enzo Maresca.

Strasbourg are within the multi-club BlueCo which also owns Chelsea.

There have been a mere 12 black head coaches – excluding individuals in interim positions – in the Premier League since its inception thirty-four in the past.

"What really strikes me about Liam is he grew up and developed his game not far from here, he knows the local fans," added Canoville.

"When children observe someone like Liam managing the team they support, a person they can identify with, who's from their ends, from a family that fights for what's right… that's powerful demonstrating the path is there.

"Indeed, it is an enormous step for the club, for the capital, for all young person with big dreams.

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

What Do the Numbers Indicate?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit became the Blues' head coach in 1996 and became the top flight's first African heritage manager.

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

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the sole additional current Premier League gaffer from a minority ethnic background.

The lack of ethnic minority managers across English football is matched by a lack of diversity at executive level.

According to the Black Footballers Partnership 2023's report, forty-three percent of top-flight footballers come from black backgrounds.

Yet, research from Kick It Out found only 3.2% of board and senior leadership positions at most Premier League clubs are from minority ethnic communities.

Regarding first-team coaching positions, based on data from 11 clubs, the percentage stands at 2%.

For all coaching roles – including senior roles – from those same 11 clubs, the figure is five percent.

"He has undoubtedly made history by virtue of him being announced as the Chelsea head coach, and we hope to witness more such appointments," stated the chief executive of Kick It Out Samuel Okafor.

"We know that there exists loads of talent that exists in the black and underrepresented groups... they want the opportunity to show what they can do. We need to persist in striving to break those obstacles once and for all."

Additionally, Rosenior will become one of only four full-time English head coaches presently managing in the top flight – joining Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – which lags behind Europe's other big five divisions in terms of homegrown managers.

Sixteen of the 20 top-flight managers in Italy are Italian, 11 in La Liga in Spain, Twelve of the 18 are German and Ten of the 18 are French.

The present Chelsea caretaker manager Calum McFarlane said: "I'm sure every young English managers with a youth development pedigree will be, to some degree regardless of allegiance, supporting Liam.

"It's truly motivating for young English coaches in the system to see someone land that job with his background and everyone hopes he does really well."

'Let's not forget – his appointment is on merit'

His father, Leroy, Liam's father, played for clubs such as Fulham, West Ham and Queens Park Rangers, and his managerial career peaked with a five-month stint at the third-tier club Brentford back in 2006.

In 2019, he was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in that year's Honours List for services rendered in combating discrimination in football and beyond.

After Liam retired from playing he pursued a path in management. He began penning a column for a national newspaper, where in 2017 he addressed the lack of diversity among managers. He pointed out that race does not determine coaching skill arguing that roles should be given on merit.

He also made the view he would repeat: that significant lack of diversity results in a failure to understand regarding footballers from different ethnic and cultural heritage.

During an interview with The Athletic FC, Rosenior highlighted the way his leading forward, Emmanuel Emegha, had been described as "hard to manage" or "emotional", noting that 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 subsequent Guardian columns, Rosenior also admitted to being "embarrassed" upon hearing a coach utter a discriminatory remark. He vowed support for the inclusion initiative and wrote an open letter to the former US President while he was in office, accusing him of "overt" racism.

He has subsequently built his reputation as a manager – first at Hull City, then Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney said this week Rosenior was "among the best coaches I've ever worked with" after their collaboration with Derby.

The manager bid goodbye at Strasbourg earlier this week prior to putting pen to paper on a six‑and‑a‑half‑year deal with the Blues.

Chelsea had the Premier League's first black boss in Gullit and the first black captain named Paul Elliott.

Elliott later worked in several senior positions, among them the FA's equality board|