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News
- 8 hours ago
Three immediate issues Liam Rosenior must fix at Chelsea
Cameron Smith
- 8 Jan 2026 09:25 GMT
- 6 min read
Analysis
With new manager Liam Rosenior in the stands and interim boss Calum McFarlane in the dugout for the second and final time, it was a strange scene for Chelsea at Craven Cottage on Wednesday evening.
The Blues headed into the match with one win in their last eight Premier League matches and they extended that record to nine games after a 2-1 defeat to their west London rivals following goals from Raul Jimenez and the in-form Harry Wilson.
The result means Chelsea are now eighth in the English top flight table, just five points ahead of Bournemouth down in 15th. They have only won eight of their 21 league fixtures so far this term and Champions League qualification for next season is in real doubt as a result.
Rosenior therefore isn’t walking into an easy job and given Chelsea play 10 games in the next 34 days, he won’t have much time on the training ground to implement his methods. However, there are several issues he must immediately fix upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge if he is to achieve their goal of once again qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition.
Current ETV
Marc Cucurella
D (L)
Chelsea
Marc Cucurella
D (L)
Chelsea
ETV Range
€35.1M - €42.9M
Put an end to the disciplinary woes
Marc Cucurella became the seventh Chelsea player to be sent off so far this season when he was shown a red card in the 22nd minute against Fulham after pulling back the aforementioned Wilson, who was through on goal.
The lack of experience in Chelsea’s squad has typically been blamed for their disciplinary woes this campaign and it has certainly played a role in the issue. However, the players who have been sent off for the Blues this term are all fairly seasoned professionals.
At the time of their respective red cards, Robert Sanchez had 209 first-team appearances under his belt, Trevoh Chalobah had 238, Joao Pedro had 226, Malo Gusto had 156, Liam Delap had 126, Moises Caicedo had 214 and Cucurella had 297.
It’s not as if seven 18-year-old rookies have been shown red cards for Chelsea this term, and the system is also partly to blame. Sanchez, Chalobah and Cucurella were all sent off following a ball in behind Chelsea’s high line and that is something that could still happen under Rosenior given his preferred style of play.
One thing that Rosenior must change in regards to Chelsea’s disciplinary record is their problem with dissent.
The Blues’ young squad simply don’t deal well with adversity or refereeing decisions going against them and that has to be fixed otherwise they run the risk of their season being derailed by yet more red cards.
Get Cole Palmer firing
Cole Palmer has just four goals and three assists in his last 27 Premier League appearances, dating back to mid-January 2025. That’s the level of output you’d expect from an average attacker at a mid-table club, not the marquee player for one of the biggest teams in world football.
Before this barren run, Palmer had notched 24 goal contributions in his previous 27 games in the English top flight, and it’s clear that Chelsea’s talisman looks a shadow of his former self.
His 2025-26 season has been plagued by injury and he is evidently still not fully fit, as shown by the fact he was withdrawn in the 75th minute versus Fulham despite playing a pivotal role in the Blues asserting their dominance during a 10-minute spell before Liam Delap’s equaliser.
Getting Palmer back to full fitness is the first thing Rosenior must oversee and he must then create a system that helps the England international rediscover the form he displayed every single week during his first 18 months as a Chelsea player.
Win when Chelsea dominate possession
Chelsea have always thrived as disrupters. They broke up the Manchester United and Arsenal dynasty in the Premier League in the mid-2000s, they beat Bayern Munich on their own patch in the Champions League final and there are countless examples of brilliant away wins in massive fixtures, including the 3-1 victory versus Manchester City under Antonio Conte in 2016-17.
They aren’t a team or a club that seems to thrive with slow, possession-heavy football and the Stamford Bridge crowd certainly doesn’t respond well to it.
It didn’t work under Maurizio Sarri and while there were notable positives under Maresca, it didn’t really work under him either.
Words from Liam Rosenior. 💬💙
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 6, 2026
In fact, of the nine Premier League games in which Chelsea have enjoyed 59.5% possession or higher this season, they have only won once - against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The current Blues squad isn’t well-suited to breaking down deep blocks, especially without Levi Colwill’s immense passing from centre-back, and it’s resulted in smaller teams picking up points when opting to concede possession.
Rosenior also favours a possession-heavy approach and he must therefore find a way for Chelsea to win when they dominate the ball.
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