For the second time this season, Chelsea have decided to part ways with their manager. Liam Rosenior has been sacked, having taken over from Enzo Maresca just 106 days ago.
In truth, the news will come as no surprise to most fans, with his exit inevitable after the 3-0 away loss against Brighton in the Premier League. This was the Blues six defeats in their last seven matches, remarkably failing to score in all of those recent losses.
Following the announcement, Gary Neville has suggested that two senior players are to blame for Rosenior's exit. He also spoke critically of the ownership, claiming they keep getting it 'badly wrong'.
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Gary Neville Slams Chelsea's Board After Manager Sacking
gary neville
Speaking to Sky Sports, via the Metro, Neville spoke passionately about the situation at Chelsea. He began: "I thought at the end of the season it probably would happen, I thought they may have persevered until the end of the season, given he had a six-year deal but I don’t think it’s a reflection upon Liam at all, obviously he’s lost a lot of football football matches in the last few weeks and he’ll be disappointed with that, but I think it’s time for the owners, sporting directors, players to reflect enormously on their role in terms of what’s happened in the last few weeks."
He went on to slam the owners: "The coach always takes the hit, that’s the role they’re in, they know they’re the ones that gets sacked, it’s easy to move a coach out than it is 25 players.
"I mean the owners are getting it really badly wrong there, let’s be really clear. I said at the time, they’ve got a group of talented players, young sporting directors in respect of experience related to Europe, an ownership that’s relatively young in respect of being only two or three years in, you need some experience somewhere in the club.
"They put a very young manager in, I think Liam should get on with his life tomorrow, pretended the last 107 days never happened, don’t think it’s a reflection upon himself, go and get a job at a club you can trust and leave the mess at Chelsea behind and don’t think anything of it."
Gary Neville Blames Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella After Rosenior's Exit
Liam Rosenior
After taking aim at the Chelsea ownership, he then suggested that two players were at fault for Rosenior's demise. Neville explained how the comments from Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez 'stitched him up', noting:
"The results have not been good enough and to be fair, I have no other words than to say that when results are not good enough a manager gets sacked.
"But come on… Cucurella and Fernandez, experienced players, the only probably two experienced players that Chelsea have got, stitching him up in the last few weeks by calling out the fact that they basically love Maresca. Well, they weren’t doing that well under him.
"I think Maresca’s a fine coach and a good coach as well. But this policy at Chelsea, this plan, I don’t see it. These six year, eight-year agreements you see, it’s almost laughable from the start whether it’s for a manager or a player. The owners haven’t got a clue what they’re doing."
Cucurella recently questioned the call to sack his former boss, saying: "With Enzo Maresca in charge, we were more stable, because we worked together for 18 months." He then said Chelsea should have 'waited until the end of the season' before making a decision.
Fernandez and his agent then made headlines as they suggested they'd be happier at Real Madrid. The Argentine replied, "I don't know," when asked if he would still be at the club next season.
Incidents like that certainly wouldn't have helped Rosenior's case when the board were deciding whether to keep the faith or let him go.