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There’s that point a club reaches, where the noise, the rants, the pain can no longer be ignored, and a reset button has to be hit. That’s the case for Chelsea.
Liam Rosenior was fired last week after the loss to Brighton & Hove Albion. That defeat raised serious doubts, and with the trajectory of performances already dipping, it felt increasingly inevitable that he would be let go.
Rosenior’s reign lasted just 107 days, the shortest tenure of any coach appointed since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium bought the club in May 2022.
The club’s assistant, Calum McFarlane, has been tasked with taking charge of proceedings until the end of the season, and he started on a good note, guiding Chelsea to a 1-0 win over Leeds United at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday afternoon, sealing a place in the final against City.
According to an inside report by The Athletic, Rosenior faced a difficult task from the outset due to the impact of Enzo Maresca’s departure, with many players privately questioning his methods.
By the end, he had few supporters left in the squad. The Athletic revealed that one source close to a senior player said the English contingent in the dressing room remained supportive the longest, but even they ultimately recognised that Rosenior was probably not the right man for the job.
Rosenior is gone, and ahead of next season, Chelsea will need a new coach, one they hope will finally get it right. A number of names have already been linked with the role.
Since José Mourinho was sacked after his first Chelsea spell in 2007, no head coach has survived more than three full years at Stamford Bridge.
Despite that instability, it remains a coveted role. There will be no shortage of eager applicants, with seven or eight names reportedly under consideration.
Names like Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva, Cesc Fàbregas, and Oliver Glasner, Frank Lampard, and Xabi Alonso have all emerged.
But which of these linked names would be the best fit for the role?
Starting off with Andoni Iraola.
There is something about the way his teams play that feels aligned with this Chelsea group. Intensity, pressing, energy, the idea of winning the ball high and attacking before the opponent can breathe.
Iraola has moulded AFC Bournemouth into one of the most front-footed, aggressive teams in the league. Since he took charge in 2023-24, no side has recorded more shot-ending turnovers than the 141 recorded by Bournemouth, evidence of their high-pressing approach.
With Chelsea being second with 130, it’s exciting, as it looks like their young squad can fit into whatever Iraola expects of them.
Considering he’s leaving Bournemouth at the end of the season, it’s easy for Chelsea to get him without having to consider paying off Bournemouth.
Marco Silva is out of contract at Fulham FC this summer, after five years at the London side, and is someone who could fit in if Chelsea’s consideration is Premier League experience.
Silva adapts. He works with what he has. He does not need everything to be perfect before things start working. In a club where the squad still feels like an ongoing project, that kind of flexibility matters and could also be a good fit.
For a club like Chelsea who love to win trophies and compete, Oliver Glasner passes for that. Although one could say Enzo Maresca winning two top trophies still couldn’t keep him at the club..
He won the Europa League in 2022 with Eintracht Frankfurt, won the FA Cup last season beating Manchester City in the final, and the community shield against Liverpool.
The only concern might be his tendency to clash with club hierarchies, coupled with a noticeable reluctance to hold back in press conferences. Adding another strong-willed character to Chelsea, a club already prone to internal pressure and scrutiny, could prove a risky move.
Frank Lampard is another name.
Frank has managed twice already, and considering how things are going with the management right now, it may not be the next big job for him to take, although considering all the perks that would be involved he probably would want to, and a case of proving himself for a club he is a legendary player for.
Having lost in the Promotion play-offs in a bid to qualify Coventry City for the Premier League last season, he guided the team this season and have won the League.
The power of a club legend stabilising a club is something that most times works as well, so the project could tilt towards Lampard based on this.
Cesc Fàbregas is one of the most coveted young coaches on the managerial scene right now.
In charge of Como 1907 in north-west Italy, he has been given significant freedom to shape the team in his image, partly due to his influence and ownership stake at the club. That, however, could also make a move to Chelsea less straightforward.
Fabregas is a product of FC Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, a system built on technical excellence and tactical intelligence. As a player, he was shaped by two of the modern game’s most influential coaches, Pep Guardiola and Arsène Wenger, both known for their progressive, possession-based ideas.
At Como, the early signs are encouraging. The team have shown defensive organisation and a growing threat in transition, while also producing strong underlying numbers in direct attacking phases. There is also a clear attention to detail in set-piece situations, with impressive output from dead-ball scenarios.
The list is long, and Chelsea will never be short of options when it comes to managers willing to take the job at Stamford Bridge. The real question is whether the club’s model aligns with each candidate, and whether the project is one worth accepting for any coach stepping in.
All the names mentioned would, in their own way, represent a reasonable fit. But the best manager for this side would need more than tactical ideas. They would need patience from the board, respect from the players, and a genuine connection with the fans to steady a club that rarely stays still for long.
