Liam Rosenior has wasted no time stamping his mark on things at Chelsea, with a different atmosphere around Stamford Bridge now.
Chelsea may not be at their best yet, but it’s clear that Liam Rosenior is trying to build something special.
The feedback has been good from the players, too. Liam Delap has predicted big things under Rosenior, despite not getting the game time he may have liked.
His way of football is certainly different to that of Enzo Maresca, but it was time for a change after things went stale and there were complaints of a rigid style of football.
It certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing for Rosenior, though, with plenty still to do.
In an era where we spend £1bn on technical players, is the long throw too ‘cheap’ for a club like Chelsea?🤔
Liam Rosenior wants to try long throws at Chelsea
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Joao Pedro and Liam Rosenior have been working close together
As a new manager, it’s vital to get your biggest and best players on side, and that’s what Liam Rosenior has been trying to do with Joao Pedro.
We only see the smiles in training and after his goals against Napoli, but there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.
Speaking ahead of the West Ham game (Sky Sports Premier League), Rosenior gave Chelsea fans a bit of insight into what’s been going on between him and Pedro.
“At the moment, everyone will speak about Joao because his performances in the last two games have been superb, like Crystal Palace, he was top. Obviously, his performance in Naples was incredible. So people will speak about him. Not just me, my staff, we put a lot of time into getting to know the players and what makes them tick and what each player needs.
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Liam Rosenior's record at Chelsea
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“I think me and Joao have had some interesting conversations so far, a bit of friction at times, which you need, and a little bit of love at the same time as well.
“I need that. I need them to tell me the truth.”
Liam Rosenior is bang on with his approach at Chelsea
Jose Mourinho was big on putting players in their place and keeping on a front at all times.
He famously ripped up a young Glen Johnson’s loan contract in front of him and froze out stars like Juan Mata and Kevin de Bruyne when they didn’t meet his work-rate standards.
And Liam Rosenior is adopting a similar approach.
“Everything I do, I don’t mind. I’ve said to the players, I don’t mind you knocking my door down, asking me why am I not in the team? Why did you take me off? I want to have real conversations.
“It’s not always being best friends, you know, you have to have a degree of vulnerability and power within that as well and strength. And Joao’s shown that in his performances and that’s down to him, as my job is to try and keep him at that level.”
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