Chelsea

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We asked for your views on Liam Rosenior's sacking from Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

Stu: Never should have been appointed. The job is too big for a 'rookie'. Chelsea hierarchy need to rethink their model.

Peter: He was never the right person for the job, but again, this should have been known by the people that appointed him. Why are they not paying the price?

James: Clearly the players weren't buying into his ideas and in the modern game, the manager will always take the hit when that happens.

David: Rosenior never had a chance. The players had no idea who he was, and they had no respect for him. The fans expected him to win trophies regardless of whether the team was good enough. The owners just used him to buy time, good luck Liam.

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Avi: I'm shocked! 106 days in charge and he's sacked. Why did they appoint him in the first place place?

Evan: It had to be done, but he should never have been appointed in the first place. Losing 3-0 to Brighton is a complete embarrassment for the size of this club and to put him on a five-and-a-half-year contract contract was stupid.

Todd: These owners are becoming an existential threat to the club's future now. In their statement, they mention going away for a period of "self-reflection". I'd suggest they reflect and accept that they have no idea what they're doing and this is going to become a very expensive albatross around their necks. We're all hoping that they take an extended break from football ownership and put the club back on the market.

Eniola: It was time to go. It is a bit cliché to say the job was too much for him, but it is beginning to become a theme of appointing coaches with nothing spicy in terms of pedigree behind them. I mean what was the lure of Rosenior? Played for a long list of 'not-big' clubs under no revolutionary manager. In summary, bring in someone who has played under or worked with football royalty.

The writing has been on the wall for Liam Rosenior's time as Chelsea head coach, but things have got considerably worse since defeat to Paris St-Germain in the Parc des Princes in the Champions League round of 16 first leg on 11 March.

Things had actually started promisingly. The only two defeats in his opening 12 matches in charge in all competitions came in both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal, while his first Premier League loss did not come until his seventh game - also against the Gunners.

In fact, until the defeat in Paris - in which Chelsea were drawing 2-2 in the 80th minute before losing 5-2 - those three defeats against Arsenal were the only ones of Rosenior's tenure thus far.

However, the drop off since has been extreme.

An FA Cup quarter-final demolition of Port Vale aside, the Blues have lost all six times, scoring no goals and conceding 14 times.

The five consecutive Premier League defeats in this period without scoring - culminating in the embarrassment against Brighton - is their worst run since 1912.

In his last eight games in charge, the 7-0 win over Port Vale was Rosenior's only win.

If you take his last seven games, it was the only occasion his side scored a goal.

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Here is Chelsea's full statement confirming the departure of Liam Rosenior after just 106 days in charge.

"Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with head coach Liam Rosenior.

"On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, we would like to place on record our gratitude to Liam and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the club.

"Liam has always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism following his appointment mid-way through the season.

"This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly, however recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much more to play for this season. Everyone at Chelsea FC wishes Liam every success in the future.

"Calum McFarlane will take charge of the team as Interim Head Coach until the end of the season with support from existing club backroom staff, as we strive to achieve European qualification and progress in the FA Cup.

"As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment."

What is your reaction to the news? Where does the club go from here? And where does the blame lie for Chelsea's struggles?

Let us know here

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So, Tuesday's dismal 3-0 defeat at Brighton was the end for Liam Rosenior at Chelsea, who has been sacked after just 106 days in charge.

It was a fifth successive league loss without scoring - the Blues' worst run for 114 years.

Fans turned on Rosenior at the Amex Stadium, while the head coach publicly criticised his players after the loss.

He departs with Chelsea seventh in the Premier League, five points adrift of a top-five spot and Champions League qualification, with four matches remaining.

So, what's your reaction to the news? Where does the club go from here? And where does the blame lie for Chelsea's struggles?

Let us know here

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

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With Chelsea and Leicester two of this week's biggest losers in the football world, is one of the biggest winners Enzo Maresca?

The Foxes - who Maresca took to promotion to the Premier League in the 2023-24 season - have suffered their second successive relegation to drop into League One, while the Blues had their Champions League qualification hopes all but ended by Tuesday's dismal defeat at Brighton.

When Maresca departed Stamford Bridge on New Year's Day, Chelsea sat fifth in the Premier League less than six months after winning the Club World Cup. A club statement referenced the "key objectives still to play for across four competitions including qualification for Champions League football" as reasoning for the mutually agreed departure after a breakdown in relationships between Maresca and the club's hierarchy.

Maresca's comments after beating Everton 2-0 in December, saying "many people" had made it his "worst 48 hours" since joining the club were the straw that broke the camel's back, but friction had been brewing in the months before that.

He was planning to publish a book before being blocked, spoke at Il Festival dello Sport - an event in Italy organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper - without the club's permission, and had increasingly avoided wearing club tracksuits - opting instead for his own clothing.

More pertinently from a football perspective, he made public that he disagreed with the club not signing a central defender after Levi Colwill injured his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season. A concern that appears more validated with each passing week.

Losing Maresca has clearly left a void. Marc Cucurella said it's a decision he wouldn't have made, while Enzo Fernandez stated he didn't understand, external why the decision was taken.

Co-owner Behdad Eghbali said last week: "It's not a change we wanted to make. It's a change that had a bit of a negative impact in the season, when you're changing systems and personnel, and it's one we've got to fight our way out of."

Maresca himself has not yet given any public interviews discussing his departure, but posted on social media in early April for the first time since his farewell to Blues fans.

A carousel of family holiday pictures with the caption, 'Enjoying the half term…Time to recharge!' also featured a picture showing stationery and football tactics books - perhaps a hint that he is staying ready for a return to management. The post was liked by players Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill.

Now on a five-game losing run, Chelsea finishing in the Premier League's top half feels like a more realistic objective than the Champions League qualification referenced in the club's statement confirming Maresca's exit.

With fans of both the Blues and the Foxes enjoying themselves far less since his departure, Maresca's reputation may well have been enhanced by him doing nothing at all.

Sami Mokbel & Nizaar Kinsella
Senior football correspondent & football reporter

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Liam Rosenior is becoming a point of frustration, according to multiple figures close to Chelsea players.

The extent of that frustration varies. Some describe him as a friendly character who means well, while others enjoyed working with him at his previous club, Strasbourg, part of the same BlueCo ownership group.

Others, notably several Spanish-speaking players, are understood to have preferred working under Enzo Maresca. That was reflected in interviews given by Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez.

Decisions to rotate goalkeepers and limit minutes for certain players, including Josh Acheampong, who often features briefly from the bench, have caused some discontent.

Perhaps most concerning is the atmosphere within the leadership group. One source inside Chelsea said senior players are often quiet when invited to give their views during near-daily team meetings.

Rosenior is not the only issue at Chelsea. Players are also concerned about the financial consequences of failing to qualify for the Champions League again while on incentive-based contracts.

Others have broader frustrations, having joined a club they believed would challenge for trophies but who are now consistently falling short.

Read more on Rosenior's perilous position

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We asked for your views on Chelsea's managers taking the limelight this season, following Enzo Maresca's "worst 48 hours" outburst and Liam Rosenior's "indefensible performance" criticism.

And we also wanted to know who you feel is to blame for the current issues.

Here are some of your replies:

Eve: BlueCo is the problem at Chelsea, not the players and not Rosenior. They've spent £2bn on a squad with the depth of a bunch of 20-year-olds at the back and a less-than Championship striker. Rosenior never was, and never will be qualified for a club of Chelsea's calibre. We need new ownership otherwise we will be following Leicester City over the next decade.

Martin: The understandable forced sale of the club has ultimately led to disaster. The new owners are clueless, they have wasted huge amounts of money making us objectively worse. I have sympathy for Rosenior, but it is over. Reece James and Levi Cowill aside, I have very little affinity to these players and wouldn't be sorry to see any of them go. We are sleep walking towards becoming Spurs.

James: It's not the manager's fault, it's the players. They are the ones who have gone from winning the Club World Cup to almost being a relegation team. The squad has no experienced players, which has come from buying young players that can be sold on for a profit. It's too much of a business rather than a great sport. The Chelsea board need to decide whether they want a football team or a player factory. The latter is definitely not what the supporters want.

Daren: Under Roman Abramovich, we changed managers ruthlessly but successfully. The Conference League and Club World Cup were false dawns. We lack direction, confidence and spirit.

David: This mess is 100% on the sporting directors. They need to be held to account. Poor recruitment, failure to add one or two senior players to help the young squad through difficult choices, and hiring managers that are completely out of their depth.

Nick: Honestly, at this point I think the blame lies with a mix of all elements - players, ownership, coach and injuries. We gain nothing by changing the manager again, though. He's clearly an intelligent person and he was very successful when given the chance to implement his style and methods at Strasbourg. This team (largely) won the Club World Cup last summer, they are good players.

Will Faulks
Fan writer

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A week ago the writing was already on the wall for Liam Rosenior. Some would say it has been there for a while.

The spiral I wrote about then has only accelerated since the Manchester City game.

A coach who doesn't have the trophies or the playing career to impress players can only rely on their results. If those start to fade, the players stop believing, their performances drop off, the results get worse, and the feedback loop spins faster.

Chelsea fans are well aware of this - they saw the same thing happen with Graham Potter just a few years ago.

The flaws in the BlueCo transfer policy have been pointed out countless times, but the issues with appointing promising young managers are a whole separate issue.

It is all very well trying to find the next big thing, but there is even less room for error for a coach than a player.

A player can be worked into a team slowly, dropped if they don't play well, or even loaned out to find their feet elsewhere. A coach can't be developed at a club which needs results from day one. At the very least, they need the authority to get the players to buy into what they are trying to do.

If your aim is to guarantee qualification for the Champions League, it's better to have players doing their best in a system that is perhaps a little out of touch with the modern game - see Jose Mourinho at Manchester United - than it is to have a coach with bright ideas that nobody respects or listens to.

Most Chelsea fans came to that conclusion years ago after the Potter fiasco.

But it seems, once again, that they are seeing things more clearly than the owners and the sporting structure of their club.

Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

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Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior said his team's performance in their defeat by Brighton was both "indefensible" and "unacceptable", as he faced angry chants from his own supporters for the first time.

The chants began when Chelsea fell 1-0 behind at the Amex Stadium, with the visitors having barely registered an attempt on goal, and they eventually succumbed to a 3-0 defeat.

It was a worrying display and a further dip in performance, given Chelsea did not have a shot on goal until the 40th minute and were error-prone defensively.

This was the Blues' fifth consecutive defeat without scoring - their worst such run since 1912.

"It was unacceptable in every aspect of the game, unacceptable in our attitude," said Rosenior. "I keep coming out and defending the players - that's indefensible, that performance.

"Something needs to change drastically right now. The players need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics... tactics come after the basics."

Questions will grow over whether the Englishman can continue in the dugout in the long term, with a last chance to save the season to come in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Leeds United on Sunday.

For much of the match, supporters directed their frustration towards the hierarchy, while also chanting for former owner Roman Abramovich.

However, this was the first occasion where Rosenior himself became the target of supporter anger, amid a growing sense that a sixth managerial change under the Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly ownership group may be approaching.

Chelsea's stance has been that they will back him into next season, with the intention to reserve judgement until the end of the next campaign.

In a rare interview earlier this month, co-owner Behdad Eghbali said: "I think we're behind Liam. Of course, it's a results business - but we think he can be successful long term."

However, two further defeats have worsened the situation and the fans have since turned, making it a more difficult decision to keep Rosenior than make a change.

Read Nizaar Kinsella's full article here

This isn't the first time Chelsea have been in the limelight this season following a manager's comments, though.

Firstly Enzo Maresca made headlines with his "worst 48 hours" outburst, and now Liam Rosenior has slammed his players for an "indefensible" performance.

Chelsea fans, how do you feel about the situation? Who do you feel is to blame for the current issues - the players, the manager, the hierarchy or the owners?

Let us know your thoughts here

We asked for your thoughts after Tuesday's Premier League game between Brighton and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Sarah: What a cracker of a game! The first 15 minutes was like watching a well-choreographed ballet - tight passing, forward motion and the great Ferdi Kadioglu goal. The rest of the match didn't disappoint either. The team have really come together cohesively as a side. The best game I've seen this season and certainly the worst from Chelsea. I almost felt sorry for them. If we can hold our nerve, we really are in with a chance of Europe. Just a few short weeks after we were being mentioned in terms of relegation.

Simon: We were super, but never needed to be brilliant. It was like watching a pre-season friendly against Crawley, who would have been better than Chelsea. Just need to keep calm and carry on like this and we can book our flights across Europe again.

Sean: No matter how bad Chelsea were tonight, Brighton were completely dominant - very exciting times!

Jake: A strong performance - surely Kadioglu has to be player of the season?But the turnaround Fabian Hurzeler has managed is quite spectacular considering the chants after the loss to Crystal Palace. A number of Albion fans - myself included - need to eat a big slice of humble pie. And frankly, I'm fine with that as he guides us towards a second European campaign.

Chelsea fans

Dave: Liam Rosenior has to go! He should never have been given the job to begin with. We need a strong manager with a record. These players need leadership and some experience on the field.

Baz: Management pathetic in all departments. The majority of players have no passion or care for the club. Bring in new management and players that care for the club.

Graham: Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez,Moises Caicedo, Estevao, Marc Cucurella and Joao Pedro will all be talking to their agents in the morning and having the same conversation: "Get me out of here." That was a team that didn't believe in the management, on and off the pitch.

Russell: The worst Chelsea display I've seen in the past 40 years, and that is by far the most expensive side put together. What a complete shambles from top to bottom.

Chelsea and Manchester United are among the clubs keeping tabs on Bournemouth's 22-year-old midfielder Alex Scott. (Caught Offside), external

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