Liam Rosenior will soon be on the sideline for his new club, and his spell at Strasbourg points to an exciting first few weeks at Chelsea.
It was a relatively short manager hunt that saw Chelsea hire Rosenior to replace Enzo Maresca.
Now, football can be the main focus again — with January transfer business just behind — and the Blues can set their minds on the eight fixtures that will take us to the end of the month.
The past often hides hints to what will happen in the future, and if that’s the case with Rosenior, we should be in for an entertaining few weeks, albeit stressful.
Liam Rosenior’s first weeks at Strasbourg were hectic
Rosenior took over at the Alsace outfit last summer and made it clear from the off just the kind of style he wanted to play.
It was high-flying, attack-minded, exciting football that gave some of his early fixtures a real basketball feel, and he was coming out on top more often than not.
Liam Rosenior’s style is fast-paced ⏩
Does that suit this Chelsea squad?
Liam Rosenior stats
Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images
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Some standout results in that stretch include a 3-1 win over Rennes, a 4-2 loss to PSG, and a 3-3 draw with LOSC Lille. No shortage of goals, anyway.
Depending on your taste, those numbers might shock or excite you. There’s no denying that sort of win rate won’t cut it, but Rosenior steadied the ship with time.
Chelsea’s squad is choc-full of pacey, direct players, and there is potential for Rosenior to implement that style of play while remaining solid at the back. Players like Reece James and Moises Caicedo are particularly adept at cleaning up the kinds of messes that high-risk playstyle can lead to.
There are going to be differences in how Chelsea play under a new coach, but it’s worth remembering that a conscious effort has been made to foster the same football philosophy at both BlueCo-owned clubs, so the shift shouldn’t be too difficult for the players.
Reece James celebrates scoring for Chelsea with Moises Caicedo against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Rosenior will have to get to grips with the squad quickly
The 41-year-old is joining at a time that sees Chelsea play every three days.
That means less time on the training pitch, and also more rotation needed to avoid injuries to key players.
It’s not just that Rosenior must pick his strongest XI. He also has to figure out how he can maintain any balance he creates with players coming in and out of the lineup.
Finish off our XI to face Fulham!
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Not to mention, Chelsea are fighting on all four fronts in January, so he can’t really afford to do too much experimenting and risk getting booted out of the FA Cup or suffer a large defeat in a Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal.
It’s going to be a baptism by fire for the new man in charge at Stamford Bridge.
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