With Chelsea having appointed a replacement for Enzo Maresca, we take a look at his relatively little-known successor.

Exactly who is Liam Rosenior and, more importantly, which Chelsea players might transform into desirable Fantasy Premier League (FPL) assets?

CAREER SO FAR

After hanging up his boots at Brighton in 2018, Rosenior took up an academy coaching role before joining Derby County as specialist first-team coach under Phillip Cocu.

He was promoted to assistant under Wayne Rooney in 2021 and briefly took charge of the Rams following Rooney’s departure the following year, but landed his first permanent managerial job at Hull in November 2022.

He kept the Tigers in the Championship in his first season, when they finished 15th, and oversaw a vast improvement the following campaign, narrowly missing out on the play-offs with a seventh-placed finish. Despite transforming the club’s fortunes, he was controversially sacked at the end of the season.

Strasbourg came calling in July 2024, a year after Blue Co, the owners of Chelsea, bought a majority stake in the Ligue 1 club. It is believed the up-and-coming manager was earmarked as a potential Chelsea coach of the future, although few could have predicted how swift his ascent to the big chair at Stamford Bridge would be. 

Rosenior led Strasbourg to Conference League qualification in his first season. After guiding them to seventh in the French top flight, he was rewarded with a new three-year contract in April.

He leaves the Alsace side in seventh place in Ligue I, having steered them to first in the 36-team Conference League group, too.

ROSENIOR’S APPOINTMENT

“I am so excited for the future, my whole life has worked to be a coach and now to be presented this opportunity at a world-class football [club] is something I have always dreamed of.”

“I hope the fans here can understand that. I am looking forward to the challenge, if I didn’t think I was ready, I wouldn’t have accepted it.

“The reality is Strasbourg is not on the level as Chelsea. There are certain clubs you just cannot just turn down. I hope the fans can see that.” – Liam Rosenior on joining Chelsea

Though Rosenior is inexperienced at a top-flight level, Chelsea are not a club renowned for their patience with managers. The minimum requirement from their new head coach will be to ensure the London club, who currently lie fifth, qualify for the Champions League

“Liam has shown that he can build teams with a clear way of playing while setting the highest standards with players on and off the pitch.”

“While there will continue to be a focus on player development, the club’s expectations and ambitions remain high.” – Chelsea’s statement on Liam Rosenior’s appointment

METICULOUS THINKER

Rosenior had always had his sights set on becoming a football manager. A keen student of the game, he was devouring books by Pep Guardiola while still a player at Hull City.

“I remember when we were at Hull, he was reading Pep’s books when we were like still in our late 20s.

“He started studying the game more and understanding why certain tactics work, why other tactics don’t. He’s just a very meticulous person.” – Former Hull and Derby defender Curtis Davies on Liam Rosenior

At Derby, Rooney was the figurehead but many consider it to have been Rosenior who was the brains behind the operation.

“What he had in the background was a Liam Rosenior that was meticulous to the detail. Wayne might want you to do a certain pass and do it in a certain way, but the other 90 per cent of the breakdown of why we’re doing this pass, why it’s going into that space, that was all Liam.

“He was literally down to the finest details. Maybe why it hasn’t worked out for Wayne as much is because he was spoiled by the fact that he had Liam in his first job. Wayne’s had a lot of coaching staff, but no-one as meticulous as Liam.” – Former Hull and Derby defender Curtis Davies on Liam Rosenior

PREFERRED TACTICS

Above: How Strasbourg set up in Liam Rosenior’s final match, via BBC Sport

As soon as Rosenior took over at Hull, he had his players playing in a 4-2-3-1 system but they were required to adapt too, while he worked out which system was best suited to his group. He alternated between a 4-2-3-1, a 3-4-1-2, a 4-4-3, a 5-3-2 and a 4-3-3.

He did eventually settle on a preferred 4-2-3-1, while in his second season at Hull, he also adopted a bold 4-4-2. In the second half of that campaign, his side lost only twice when using the 4-4-2 (to Birmingham in the FA Cup and champions-elect Leeds United). And arguably, it was his decision to revert to his trusted 4-2-3-1 in the final two games of the season (a draw and a defeat) that cost him a play-off place, and his job.

Indeed, if there was criticism of him from Hull fans, it was his insistence on playing in the same style regardless of outcomes, but he it would be unfair to brand him a dogma evangelist in the vein of Ruben Amorim.

At Strasbourg, he assessed the players at his disposal and decided in his first year in France that a 3-4-3 was the best approach, but he occasionally flipped to a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2 depending on the requirements of each match. 

THE NUMBERS

Stats courtesy of FootyStats and Fotmob

This season, he has shown his ability to coax goals out of his strikers. Summer signing Joaquín Panichelli has been the star of Strasbourg’s season so far, rattling off 10 goals in 17 appearances, placing him second in the Ligue I scorers’ charts.

The collective xG is a bit of a worry, with Rosenior’s troops ranked 13th and 12th for xG over the last two seasons.

But it is defensively where Rosenior’s side have most improved this term, picking up seven clean sheets in 17 matches (Strasbourg managed just 10 in the whole of 2023/24). That shutout tally is bettered by only two teams in Ligue 1.

Goals conceded per 90 minutes and expected goals conceded (xGC) per 90 are also on the upward curve this season. Strasbourg rank sixth and fourth in those categories, respectively, compared with 12^th and 13^th in 2023/24.

PLAYING STYLE

Whichever system Rosenior chooses to deploy, his philosophy remains the same. He likes his teams to build from the back, using the goalkeeper, central defenders and a No 6 to play through the press.

He is a Guardiola disciple, much like his predecessor, but while there are similarities with Maresca in terms of possession play, he urges his players to push on and attack as soon as they have achieved the aim of opening space.

Maresca’s Chelsea was more ponderous and deliberate in its efforts to gradually pass its way up the pitch before attempting to pick apart the low block. Like Leicester’s fans before them, Chelsea’s supporters were not overly enamoured with what they witnessed.

Under Rosenior, therefore, it appears there is greater cause for optimism at the prospect of a more exciting brand of football being played – although the middling xG figures above are worth bearing in mind.

“I want us to play high-tempo, aggressive, front-foot football. I want the fans at home to be off their seat in the first ten minutes and feel like it’s wave after wave, because when I played against the likes of (Michael) Essien, (Frank) Lampard, (Didier) Drogba, Arjen Robben, Joe Cole, you felt when you turned up at Stamford Bridge it was going to be a really difficult day.

“I want to create that feeling here. I want us to be intense, I want us to be brave and fearless, and if we do all of those things, we can have a really good time together.” – Leroy Rosenior after his appointment

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Rosenior is not afraid to give young players a chance. He did this at Hull with Henry Vaughan, a teenage signing from Oldham, and Ozan Tufan, a mercurial Turkish international, who had flattered to deceive before Rosenior got hold of him. 

He also worked wonders at Strasbourg by converting Valentin Barco, the erstwhile out-of-favour Brighton left-back, into an effective central midfielder, who currently ranks sixth in the assists charts. Diego Moreira, a signing from Chelsea, developed into an impressive left wing-back, while Guela Doué is now expected to reach greater heights, much as his brother Desiré has done at PSG.

Strasbourg, in fact, have the youngest squad in all of the top five leagues this season.

This could bode well for the likes of Jamie Gittens (£6.0m) and Tyrique George (£4.8m), who have so far struggled for minutes, but who might now be given the chance to realise their potential under the new man in charge.

And there is one more youngster who may prosper…

CROSSING PATHS WITH ROSENIOR AGAIN

Andrey Santos (£4.5m) played a pivotal role while under Rosenior at Strasbourg, and will be hoping for more opportunities than he got under Maresca.

“Obviously, I had Andrey Santos last year [at Strasbourg]; he’s got two beautiful children that he’s brought into the world and he had an outstanding performance at Manchester City. But what I want to do is to get to know all of them very quickly because I think if you get to know people, you can improve them, and if they improve individually, you improve the collective and you win games.” – Liam Rosenior

Liam Delap (£6.2m) and Robert Sanchez (£4.9m) have also crossed paths with their new boss.

“I’ve worked with Liam Delap [at Hull City] and had a great time with him. It’s great to see him at this club and that I get to work with him again. I’ve known Rob Sanchez since he was 16 years old at Brighton [when he was] coming through. So, I know Rob very well.” – Liam Rosenior

TARGET GAMEWEEK 24

To begin with, the best advice is to take a watching brief, which is exactly what Rosenior will be doing for Chelsea’s trip to face his former side on Wednesday. He will be in the stands to observe how the Blues get on at Craven Cottage before taking charge at Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup on Saturday.

That match may come too soon to draw any immediate conclusions, particularly as the side is likely to be rotated for that match. However, Rosenior will know he can get the fans on side with victory against Arsenal in the League Cup and by the time Chelsea face West Ham in Gameweek 24, we should have a good idea of which players look promising in the new regime.

The Blues have consecutive home matches against Arsenal (League Cup), Brentford (Premier League) and Pafos (Champions League), before visiting Crystal Palace (Premier League) and Napoli (Champions League). 

Those five matches should give FPL managers a good indication of which assets are firing under Roseniorball and who to target for what is a very kind run of matches for the new man in charge.