Fair to say, Chelsea supporters are pretty accustomed to changing managers. On New Year's Day, Enzo Maresca was sacked, the fourth head coach to be dismissed by Clearlake, as well as the 17th boss to be dismissed since Roman Abramovich arrived in 2003.
BlueCo swiftly moved to appoint Liam Rosenior, who just so happened to be in charge of Strasbourg, the other club run and owned by Todd Boehly's consortium. The hiring of an unproven 41-year-old, whose only previous managerial roles in England came in charge of Derby and Hull, was met with much scepticism.
Rosenior was given a six and a half year contract, which is probably ambitious, given that the last Chelsea manager to hold the role for six years remains Dave Sexton, who departed in 1974.
However, are there early signs that Rosenior could actually be a success at Stamford Bridge?
Liam Rosenior's record-breaking start to life at Chelsea
Life as Chelsea manager could hardly have started any better for Rosenior. On Saturday night, his new team crushed Charlton Athletic 5-1 in the FA Cup, with Jorrel Hato, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernández all scoring at the Valley. Chelsea will now travel to Hull City, Rosenior's former club as a player and manager, in the fourth round next month.
Despite having numerous managers in recent years, very few actually make a winning start.
Chelsea manager's first match in charge (2016-present)
Manager | Opponent | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
Liam Rosenior | Charlton Athletic | FA Cup | 5-1 win |
Calum McFarlane | Manchester City | Premier League | 1-1 draw |
Enzo Maresca | Manchester City | Premier League | 0-2 defeat |
Mauricio Pochettino | Liverpool | Premier League | 1-1 draw |
Frank Lampard | Wolves | Premier League | 0-1 defeat |
Bruno | Liverpool | Premier League | 0-0 draw |
Graham Potter | RB Salzburg | Champions League | 1-1 draw |
Thomas Tuchel | Wolves | Premier League | 0-0 draw |
Frank Lampard | Manchester United | Premier League | 0-4 defeat |
Maurizio Sarri | Manchester City | Community Shield | 0-2 defeat |
Antonio Conte | West Ham United | Premier League | 2-1 win |
Rosenior is the first Chelsea manager since Antonio Conte almost a decade ago to claim victory from his first competitive match in charge. In fact, by virtue of overseeing a 5-1 win, that is the biggest margin of victory ever enjoyed by any manager in their first game at the helm in the club's entire history, dating back to 1905.
Of course, it was a gentle start, considering their opponents are 19th in the EFL Championship, the Addicks winning only one of their previous 11 prior to the tie. Thus, substantially tougher tests are right around the corner for Rosenior.
This will be the case on Wednesday night with Arsenal visiting Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals. The Gunners prevailed the last time the pair met in the League Cup, this also at the semi-final stage in 2018, drawing 0-0 at the Bridge before a 2-1 home win a fortnight later.
Before that, though, the Blues had enjoyed four successive EFL Cup wins over their London rivals, including prevailing 2-1 in the 2007 final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Victory in this week's first leg would certainly be an early boost for the new manager's popularity on the King's Road.