Rosenior entered the same death spiral that destroyed Potter – Chelsea directors learned nothing

Rosenior entered the same death spiral that destroyed Potter – Chelsea directors learned nothing

A week ago, the writing was already on the wall for Liam Rosenior. Some would say it has been there for a while.

The spiral I wrote about then then has only accelerated since the Manchester City game. A coach who doesn’t have the trophies or the playing career to impress players can only rely on their results. If those start to fade, the players stop believing, their performances drop off, results get worse, and the feedback loop spins faster.

Chelsea fans are well aware of this – they saw the same thing happen with Graham Potter just a few years ago. The flaws in the BlueCo transfer policy have been pointed out countless times, but the issues with appointing promising young managers are a whole separate issue.

Coaches have less margin for error than players

It’s all very well trying to find the next big thing. But there is even less room for error for a coach than a player. A player can be worked into the team slowly, dropped if he doesn’t play well, or even loaned out to find his feet elsewhere.

A coach can’t be developed at a club which needs results from day one. At the very least, they need the authority to get the players to buy into what they’re trying to do. If your aim is to guarantee qualification for the Champions League, it’s better to have players doing their best in a system that is perhaps a little out of touch with the modern game – see Jose Mourinho at Manchester United – than it is to have a coach with bright ideas that nobody respects or listens to.