Managing one of football’s most significant clubs, a team that, as its fanbase enthusiastically declares during every match, has triumphed in every major competition, now requires no prior elite experience or established success for its head coach position. Consequently, a prominent, highly regarded manager is not expected to fill Enzo Maresca’s shoes. Should this seem contradictory – a perspective currently held by many bewildered Chelsea supporters – it accurately represents the current state of “modern” Chelsea, operating under the stewardship of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali’s Clearlake Capital.
It should, therefore, come as no surprise that Liam Rosenior, previously manager of Hull City and currently coaching Chelsea’s French partner club Strasbourg, is a leading contender to replace Maresca at Stamford Bridge. Rosenior possesses talent and is well-regarded, but his previous role in English football concluded with his dismissal from Hull. Thus, his potential appointment is unlikely to be warmly received by Chelsea’s supporters, much like Maresca’s arrival was met with a subdued reaction in 2024.
Maresca departed from Chelsea on the first day of the new year, having been in charge for only 18 months, despite overseeing success in last season’s UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup, and also securing a place in the UEFA Champions League by finishing fourth in the previous Premier League campaign.
However, victories are no longer the foremost objective at Chelsea. Adherence to the ownership’s strategic vision is equally important, a vision that champions promising young coaches as much as it prioritizes attracting the world’s most gifted emerging playing talent.
This is a club guided by two owners, two sporting directors – Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart – and numerous other key figures within its so-called “integrated football leadership framework.” This structure includes former Liverpool scouting and recruitment director Dave Fallows, alongside talent scouts Sam Jewell and Joe Shields. Moreover, the team mandates that the head coach must strictly follow the advice of the medical staff, rather than merely considering it. Therefore, managing the team at Chelsea is a role that would likely prompt an experienced manager to politely decline an offer.
But such is the nature of Chelsea, and whether this approach is yielding desired results remains an open question. Gauging success at the contemporary Chelsea is far less straightforward than it once was, and this factor significantly contributed to Maresca’s job loss.
For nearly two decades, under the patronage of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Chelsea was synonymous with substantial financial investment and corresponding ambition. During this era, top-tier coaches such as José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte, and Thomas Tuchel were brought in by Abramovich.
Abramovich demanded success and hired the most distinguished names in coaching to deliver it. This strategy proved effective, with Chelsea securing two Champions League titles and five Premier League crowns throughout the Abramovich era (2003-2022), before UK government sanctions compelled the oligarch to sell the club in May 2022.
Maresca would never have been appointed by Abramovich, making his arrival as head coach at Stamford Bridge a clear indicator of the club’s evolving identity. At the time of his appointment, the 45-year-old had served as a head coach for less than 18 months: six months with Parma in Italy’s Serie B, where he was dismissed for failing to secure a promotion challenge, followed by a full season with Leicester City, guiding the Foxes to the EFL Championship title and a return to the Premier League.
By selecting Maresca, Boehly and Clearlake reverted to their initial strategy of identifying a promising, young coach who would cultivate a squad of equally promising and ambitious players.
The first attempt with Graham Potter, who succeeded Tuchel just seven games into the new regime’s inaugural season, proved to be a brief failure. Similarly, the more seasoned Mauricio Pochettino lasted only one season before departing his position after his request for more experienced, older players was rejected by the ownership group. However, when Chelsea opted for Maresca, after also considering the similarly inexperienced yet highly regarded Kieran McKenna from Ipswich Town, it underscored the club’s unwavering commitment to its distinct philosophy.
A coach from the Abramovich era would quickly challenge the mandates of the integrated football leadership structure and insist on being provided with the necessary resources to achieve victories. Yet, by offering a young coach a significant, early opportunity, the rationale was that such an individual would be so appreciative of the chance to manage an elite club like Chelsea that the frustrations typically voiced by a more senior coach would be suppressed, and they would readily embrace the collaborative approach established by the owners.
However, such a dynamic is sustainable for only a limited period, and Maresca perhaps felt sufficiently confident after last season’s accomplishments to advocate more forcefully for the players he believed were essential to propel the team into title contention. This situation ultimately led to Pochettino’s departure, just as Tuchel had left within weeks of a tumultuous summer transfer window that saw him advising the club against pursuing Cristiano Ronaldo.
Therefore, when Chelsea recruits a new coach, the primary criteria for the successful candidate will revolve around youth, burgeoning talent, and adaptability. The era of Chelsea hiring the absolute pinnacle of coaching expertise is now firmly in the past.
