Liam Rosenior's time at Chelsea is over after just 106 days in charge, and Gary Neville thinks the club's owners, sporting directors, and players mustn't avoid the spotlight now. The former Hull City and Strasbourg boss enjoyed a solid start at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea's form took a turn for the worst in recent months, and no recovery has been in sight.
Despite looking like a solid bet to finish in the top four under Enzo Maresca, Rosenior has overseen a slide that has left Chelsea in eighth place, and they could be out of the European positions altogether after this weekend, when they will face Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final.
It was thought Rosenior would be kept until at least after that Wembley semi-final, but a brutal 3-0 defeat to European rivals Brighton on Tuesday night changed all that, leaving Chelsea searching for a new manager and Rosenior looking at a P45.
Pundit Gary Neville provided some immediate reaction to Chelsea's decision, and he puts much of the blame on club bosses. "I am not shocked that Liam is leaving the club," Neville said on Sky Sports. "I am shocked he is leaving today, I thought at the end of the season it probably would happen."
"I don't think it is a reflection on Liam at all. He will be disappointed with that (losing games). I think it is time for the owners, sporting directors and players to reflect on their role in the last few weeks. The owners are getting it really badly wrong there, let's be clear."
Chelsea's disaster started with stubborn Maresca stance
Chelsea bosses were being praised for assembling such a talented and young squad over the last couple of years, switching from their early method of spending blindly on top players.
But the board has failed to compromise on their policy of exclusively signing young, and that has prevented this squad from making the jump from being a top four side to one that can compete for more.
Failure to back Enzo Maresca, who only wanted an experienced centre-back to replace the injured Levi Colwill, led to a falling out and a sacking, and Chelsea have now clearly gone backwards as a result.
Maresca was fully willing to work with a young squad, only requesting a polished option at centre-back, which seemed like a more than fair request given his willingness to work in the current regime and the success he had doing it.
The Blues board took a stubborn approach and will now pay for it in the form of tens of millions in compensation, and potentially tens of millions in prize money and TV rights from missing out on the Champions League, and potentially Europe altogether.
When all is said and done, it will be interesting to know whether all the sackings, new hires and lost revenue totals more than what a new centre-back would have cost, and it's likely the equation will not be favourable for the Chelsea board.
As for Rosenior, he just feels like a passenger in all of this. Ultimately, given his lack of top-level experience, he was always a risky appointment, and when form took a turn for the worse, he did not appear to have the experience or ability to turn it around, at least not at a top club like Chelsea.
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