Is Liam Rosenior's constant tinkering with his lineup becoming a serious issue for Chelsea? On Saturday evening, the Blues were ignominiously demolished 3-0 by Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium. As a result, they have now won only one of their last six Premier League games, also beaten by Newcastle at Stamford Bridge a week earlier, so are down in sixth place.
Having also been beaten home and away by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, ultimately dismantled 8-2 on aggregate, Chelsea have suffered four successive defeats for the first time since November 1993 under Glenn Hoddle. Since this latest loss on Merseyside, it has come to light that Chelsea have made 99 changes to their Premier League starting XIs this season. This is by far the most of any club in the division, and is already four more than last season, with eight games still to go.
These numbers obviously include the first half of the campaign when Enzo Maresca was still at the helm, so how much of a Rosenior issue is this?
Lineup changes per Premier League match under Liam Rosenior
Fixture | Lineup changes from previous PL game |
|---|---|
Chelsea 2-0 Brentford | 4 |
Crystal Palace 1-3 Chelsea | 3 |
Chelsea 3-2 West Ham United | 6 |
Wolves 1-3 Chelsea | 4 |
Chelsea 2-2 Leeds United | 2 |
Chelsea 1-1 Burnley | 2 |
Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea | 2 |
Aston Villa 1-4 Chelsea | 4 |
Chelsea 0-1 Newcastle United | 1 |
Everton 3-0 Chelsea | 3 |
Of course, there are plenty of factors at play as to why Rosenior is constantly tinkering with his lineups. His 19 matches in charge have come across four competitions, juggling a busy schedule, none more so than during that Newcastle defeat, coming in between the two legs against PSG.
Meantime, as has been well-documented, Chelsea have had something of an issue when it comes to discipline, collecting nine red cards and counting, with subsequent suspensions impacting selection. Nevertheless, the high volume of rotation, particularly when it comes to the Blues' back four, feels a bit over the top and is not helping to build relationships and chemistry.
Now, though, out of the Champions League, with a substantially lighter schedule coming up, will Rosenior be able to name a more settled lineup going forward?
Chelsea's April fixtures
- Saturday 4 April. Port Vale (H). FA Cup Sixth Round. Kick off 5:15.
- Sunday 12 April. Manchester City (H). Premier League. Kick off 4:30.
- Saturday 18 April. Manchester United (H). Premier League. Kick off 8 o'clock.
- Sunday 26 April. Brighton (A). Premier League. Kick off 4:30 - will be postpoed if Chelsea reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
With only one game per week coming up in April, there should be less need for mass-rotation in the coming weeks. The one factor in all of this we are yet to acknowledge is the pressure on the head coach from internal forces. When Enzo Maresca was dismissed on New Year's Day, one of the primary factors cited was disagreements between him and the medical department. Chelsea's doctors were reportedly putting rather strict minutes restrictions on players in an attempt to manage their load and prevent injuries.
Given that the Blues played 64 matches last season spread across 329 days due to their Club World Cup triumph, this seems sensible. Nevertheless, it is obviously frustrating and prohibiting for managers, a conflict that came to a head when, during the home defeat to Aston Villa in December, Cole Palmer was hooked on the hour mark, despite the need for a goal, shortly before Maresca's dismissal.
Rosenior was hired from Strasbourg as BlueCo's company man, someone the higher-ups believe they can control and manipulate. Thus, this heavy rotation policy is not the decision of one man, rather the preference of an entire institution, hence why it is not likely to slow down, but one which is currently holding Chelsea back.