Cole Palmer was the main topic on the London is Blue podcast this week, as they looked ahead to Liam Rosenior’s first proper game in charge.
The attacker missed the majority of the first part of the season with an injury, and hasn’t looked the same since he came back from it.
Palmer not at his usual level – and Rosenior needs to crack it
Cole Palmer in action for Chelsea against Aston Villa.
Cole Palmer in action for Chelsea against Aston Villa. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
“He hasn’t looked himself since coming back from injury,” presenter Nick Verlaney pointed out.
“He hasn’t looked happy out there. He hasn’t looked like he had a ton of confidence in the players around him. He certainly hasn’t been playing at the level we consider his usual level. If [new manager Liam] Rosenior gets Palmer scoring and assisting like we know he can, if Cole goes on one of those second half of the season hot streaks, then we will have done well.
“If he doesn’t, it’s going to be a long year. Rosenior has to figure out how to bring the joy back into his game.”
That’s why tomorrow’s game is so interesting – it’s a first chance to see how our new manager plans to tackle the issues with his star man, both tactically and in terms of man management.
You can see them discussing this point in the clip embedded here:
📈 @nickverlaney: Palmer hasn't looked himself since coming back from injury. He hasn't looked happy out there. He hasn't looked like he had a ton of confidence in the players around him. Rosenior has to figure out how to bring the joy back into his game.
🎧👉… pic.twitter.com/FMiVDSwNgv
— London Is Blue Podcast ⭐️⭐️ (@LondonBluePod) January 13, 2026
In other news…
We’re curious to see how Chelsea line up in their first PROPER game of the Liam Rosenior era – we hope he uses an idea that his assistant tried at Fulham a week ago, with Cole Palmer out wide and Enzo Fernandez in the hole.
Antoine Semenyo was briefly pursued by Chelsea earlier this month, before they clearly realised a deal with Man City was pretty much already done.
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