While Liam Rosenior is rightly under pressure as Chelsea manager, the pile-on has been harsh. Kevin Kilbane is the latest to have a real go at Rosenior, and both Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright reacted.
There is no doubt that questions should be asked about Rosenior’s future as Chelsea gaffer. Four losses in a row, albeit twice to PSG, is disastrous. Especially with Champions League qualification critical, financially.
Indeed, Chelsea could stand to miss out on as much as £300m without the added revenue of Europe’s elite competition. There have been differing reports regarding Rosenior’s future as Chelsea boss, too.
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Some say Champions League qualification is key, others say he will be given as much time as previous manager Enzo Maresca. But Kevin Kilbane took his criticism of Rosenior to a new level, going personal.
They were brutal. While many have criticised Rosenior’s methods, the huddle, the note given to Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho late on against PSG, Kilbane decided to criticise Rosenior personally.
On Off The Ball, Rosenior’s former teammate Kilbane said: “You see the way he is now, to me, he’s unrecognisable to the player and the person I knew. It’s like he’s swallowed a psychologist’s manual.
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“Or a sporting mentor’s memoir. Everything he says to me is waffle, drivel, nothing. It’s like he tries to write as many quotes down as possible and tries to get them in, whenever addressing the media.”
Responding to the comments made by Kilbane, Jamie Carragher said on Stick To Football that it as “out of order” and “harsh”. Ian Wright believes the claims made by Rosenior’s old teammate were “needless”.
Wright began: “Who was the player who did the video?”, before Carragher replied: “Kevin Kilbane. That was out of order that, wasn’t it? I didn’t like that. He said he’s completely different, bit harsh wasn’t it?”
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Wright then responded: “It was so mean. Needless. He did a whole bit saying it was an act, he was talking about his clothes. Why? If you want to criticise his methods, notes, but to dig him out like that?”
Gary Neville and Roy Keane also had their say on Kilbane’s claim
Wright makes a good point that Rosenior should be rightly scrutinised for what he does as a manager, what he does tactically and during matches. But it felt like more of a personal attack, according to Wright.
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Neville agreed, saying the comments from Kilbane were over the top: “Kevin has obviously played with Liam, he said I just can’t recognise this individual. It was almost a massive takedown of him.”
In typical Roy Keane fashion, however, the former Man United skipper made light of the whole subject while putting his old Ireland teammate back in his place: “This is Kevin that did Dancing On Ice, right?”
Rosenior will be given until the end of the season at the very least, and some reports say he will even retain his role as manager even if Chelsea don’t qualify for the Champions League. But the pressure is on.
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