An Moving Occasion when Liam Rosenior Breaks Obstacles

"He is a quality tactician who knows football back to front, and that's the most important thing.

"But, as Chelsea's pioneering black footballer, it would be dishonest if I said this appointment doesn't move me."

Those are the sentiments expressed by Paul Canoville, the man who earned his groundbreaking first appearance for the Blues' first team as a substitute back in the spring of 1982.

On Tuesday, Chelsea appointed Strasbourg manager Rosenior, 41, as their new manager following the exit of Enzo Maresca.

The French club is part of a Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-owned BlueCo which also controls Chelsea.

There have been just 12 of African or Caribbean heritage managers – excluding those holding temporary caretaker roles – in the Premier League since it began 34 years ago.

"One thing that impresses me regarding Rosenior is he was raised and played not far from here, he knows this area," added Canoville.

"Whenever youngsters see a figure like Rosenior managing the team they support, someone who looks like them, from a similar background, who comes from a household that fights for equality… it is powerful and shows them the path is there.

"Indeed, this represents a huge step for the club, for the capital, for every young person dreaming big.

"But right now? Let's back Liam, give him what he needs, and let the man do his work."

What Does the Data Show?

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit was appointed Chelsea manager back in the nineties thereby becoming the Premier League's first African heritage manager.

A dozen years on, by 2008, Paul Ince was appointed as the first black English manager in the top flight after taking charge at Blackburn Rovers.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo is the only other present top flight gaffer from a minority ethnic background.

The shortage of managers of colour across the English game corresponds with a lack of representation at executive level.

As per the BFP 2023's report, forty-three percent of Premier League footballers are from African or Caribbean heritage.

However, research by Kick It Out revealed only 3.2% of board and senior leadership management teams across 17 of 20 Premier League clubs are held by people from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

At first-team coaching level, according to data provided by 11 clubs, the percentage is 2%.

Across all coaching positions – including senior roles – from those same 11 clubs, the statistic is just five percent.

"He has undoubtedly made history by virtue of his appointment as a the Chelsea head coach, and we hope to witness more such appointments," said Kick It Out CEO Samuel Okafor.

"It is acknowledged there is a wealth of talent that exists within ethnic minority groups... they desire the opportunity to show what they can do. We need to persist in work hard to break those barriers down."

Furthermore, the new appointee is set to become the fourth permanent British managers currently in the Premier League – joining Sean Dyche, Eddie Howe and Scott Parker – which lags behind Europe's other big five divisions regarding homegrown representation.

16 of the 20 first division managers in Italy are Italian, Eleven of the 20 in Spain, 12 in the Bundesliga in Germany while Ten of the 18 are French.

Current Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said: "I'm sure all aspiring British managers with a youth development pedigree will be, in some way regardless of allegiance, rooting for Liam.

"It is truly motivating for up-and-coming British academy coaches to witness an individual land that job with that profile and everyone hopes he does highly successful."

It is vital to remember – his appointment is due to ability'

Leroy Rosenior, Liam's father, had a career with clubs such as Fulham, the Hammers as well as Queens Park Rangers, with his managerial career culminating in a five-month stint in charge of the third-tier club Brentford in 2006.

In 2019, he was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in that year's 2019 New Year Honours for services rendered 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, where in 2017 he acknowledged the under-representation of black coaches. He pointed out that ethnicity does not influence coaching skill and said opportunities should be given on merit.

He further expressed the view he has often stated: that significant under-representation results in misunderstandings of players with diverse ethnic and cultural heritage.

In a podcast with The Athletic FC, Rosenior highlighted the way his star striker, Emmanuel Emegha, was labelled "difficult" or "emotional", but said he could relate to the Netherlands player with Nigerian parentage. The striker is expected to join him with a move from Strasbourg to West London this summer.

In further Guardian columns, Rosenior also admitted he was "embarrassed" to hear an unnamed coach make a homophobic slur. He vowed his support for the Rainbow Laces initiative and authored a public message to Donald Trump during his first US presidency, accusing him of "blatant" prejudice.

Rosenior has since made his name in the dugout – first at Hull City, then Strasbourg – with Wayne Rooney said this week Rosenior was "as good a coach as I've ever worked with" after their collaboration at Derby County.

The manager bid 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 first African heritage manager in Gullit as well as the first black captain named Paul Elliott.

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