As it is an international break, and given Chelsea's form going into it, there is much chatter and speculation surrounding Liam Rosenior. Last weekend, the Blues were humiliatingly demolished 3-0 by Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Having also lost at home to Newcastle, and been annihilated 8-2 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, they have suffered four consecutive defeats for the first time since 1993.
Thus, with Chelsea sixth in the Premier League table, despite having only had 19 games in charge, there is speculation that Rosenior is a man under pressure. Well, to add fuel to this particular fire, Matt Law of the Telegraph had this to say when speaking to the London Is Blue Podcast:
"The way they [the players] are not carrying out instructions and the way they are not recovering... tells you that they do not actually believe in the way they are being asked to play."
Chelsea under fire for their decision to part ways with Enzo Maresca
Law adds that "top clubs hate having mid-season coaching changes because it creates chaos, uncertainty and belief issues, and that's what this has done". When Enzo Maresca was sacked on New Year's Day, a first in Premier League history, yes the Blues' form had not been great, but they were still fifth in the table.
The Italian had also led Chelsea to Champions League qualification, as well as two pieces of silverware, namely the Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup trophies. However, Maresca clearly did not have enough credit in the bank to remain in situ, albeit his departure was somewhat for non-on pitch footballing regions.
The head coach became fed-up with how much control BlueCo wanted over player availability, with the medical staff regularly limiting players' minutes, while it also emerged that he had spoken to Manchester City about their potential vacancy, which did not go down well in West London.
Within the dressing room however, if not in the boardroom, Maresca was a hugely popular figure among many of Chelsea's more high-profile players. This certainly does not appear to be the case for Rosenior.
Following the Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain, Enzo Fernández intimated that he may be assessing his options come the summer. When asked if he would remain at Chelsea next season, the Argentine said "I don’t know... There are eight games left... and then there’s the World Cup, and then we’ll see, we’ll see.”
Having arrived following the previous World Cup in Qatar for an exorbitant fee of around £107 million, Fernández is one of the marquee players of the BlueCo-era. However, if Chelsea fail to qualify for the Champions League, it would be no surprise if he begun to consider his options, and others could follow suit. Well, perhaps Clearlake will respond to this by sacking Rosenior and bringing in a manager players would like to play for because, right now, the 41 year old Englishman does not appear to be that.