Enzo Maresca left Chelsea at the turn of the new year following some comments that the owners did not like. In his place, Liam Rosenior has turned doubters into believers. Not only that, but he's made a realization about Reece James that Enzo Maresca struggled to make.
Liam Rosenior has used Reece James sparingly. Despite how tempted he must have been to play the world-class defender week in, week out, the former Strasbourg coach has resisted the urge.
In the months before Enzo Maresca was sent packing, he picked up the pace with his usage of Reece James, but nobody could really blame him. James hit one of his best patches as a Chelsea player towards the end of 2025, with key assists against Barcelona, Arsenal and Atalanta.
The increased usage came after a period of time in which Enzo Maresca was more prudent with James' minutes.
Liam Rosenior is using Reece James a lot less in 2026
Liam Rosenior, though, has rectified a mistake that thankfully didn't sting Enzo Maresca. Everybody knows that Reece James is injury-prone, this is one of his downfalls, so while Maresca got carried away with his form, Liam Rosenior has learned from Chelsea's past and he is using him much less than Enzo Maresca did in the months leading up to his departure.
Since Liam Rosenior took charge of Chelsea, Reece James has made just five appearances. He's only played the entire match in one of those games - the Champions League conclusion against Napoli.
Tonight, Chelsea faces Hull City in the FA Cup. Liam Rosenior will, for obvious reasons, be excited to face Hull, but he won't want to over exhaust his players. This is one of those matches where he can afford to rest to Reece James, and one where he probably should.
After Chelsea was eliminated from the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup became even more important to the Blues. In order to get the fans on board, Rosenior will hope for a good run in the cup. After all, he knows how important that can be, after reaching the final against Arsenal as a player.
Nevertheless, it's not a competition that's worth injuring Reece James for. Regardless, he's been suffering from an illness, so it's yet to be seen whether he's even available for cup action.
Liam Rosenior must keep the same trajectory for Reece James. Do not alienate him from the starting lineup; that would be stupid, but don't overwork him either. James can clearly handle this workload, at least as of right now, so upping the intensity during a crucial part of the season should be avoided if it can.