‘Swallowed a dictionary!’ – Liam Rosenior’s ex-team-mate doesn’t ‘recognise’ Chelsea boss | Football

A second former player has come out claiming they don’t even ‘recognise’ Liam Rosenior from the team-mate they once knew before he entered the world of management.

Rosenior’s position has come under intense scrutiny after a dismal run in charge of Chelsea, with the club suffering five league defeats on the spin while failing to score a single goal for the first time in 108 years.

Brighton leapfrogged Chelsea into sixth place with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over the Blues on Tuesday night – and calls for Rosenior to be sacked were heard in the away end at the Amex Stadium as the second half wore on.

The latest setback leaves Chelsea with a mountain to climb in this season’s battle for Champions League qualification given fifth-placed Liverpool now hold a seven-point lead over Rosenior’s men in the table.

The reigning English champions have won their last two matches against Fulham and bitter rivals Everton, and also have the benefit of a game in hand over Chelsea.

‘It was unacceptable in every aspect of the game, unacceptable in our attitude,’ an irate Rosenior told reporters after Chelsea’s capitulation on the south coast.

‘I keep coming out and defending the players – that’s indefensible, that performance tonight.

‘The manner of the goals we conceded, the amount of duels that we lost, the lack of intensity in the team. Something needs to change drastically right now.

‘I think the players need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics… tactics come after the basics.

‘Having more courage to play, winning duels, winning headers, tackles, conceding terrible goals. That was an unacceptable performance tonight.’

Questions have been asked of Rosenior’s tactical approach ever since the 41-year-old departed Strasbourg to take over the reins from Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge back in January.

But there has also been some skepticism about the way in the which Rosenior communicates and presents himself in the media, with his style often drawing unflattering comparisons to The Office’s David Brent.

Last month, Kevin Kilbane – who played alongside Rosenior at Hull City – joked that it was as if ex-team-mate had ‘swallowed a psychologist’s manual’ when he entered management.

‘You see the way he is now, to me, he’s unrecognisable to the player and the person I knew,’ Kilbane said on the Off The Ball podcast.

‘It’s like he’s swallowed a psychologist’s manual 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 into a pre-match talk or post-match whenever addressing the media.’

Another of Rosenior’s former comrades, Sean Davis, echoed Kilbane’s remarks while featuring as a guest on the Under The Cosh YouTube channel.

‘I don’t even recognise him, I don’t know who that guy is! He talks like he’s swallowed a dictionary of long words,’ Davis, who shared a dressing room with Rosenior at Fulham, said of the Chelsea head coach.

‘Listen, good luck to him. At the end of the day, a lot of people might criticise but he’s done the hard yards in coaching.’

Should Liam Rosenior be sacked?

Despite not recognising the man he once played with, Davis hopes to see Rosenior turn his fortunes around, especially given the underrepresentation of black managers in the English game.

‘It’s going to be tough for him, especially being a black coach as well,’ he added.

‘It is tough getting jobs because I know a lot of black guys, ex-players, that kind of go, “It’s too hard”, not going to get a chance. Even Ashley Cole, look at him. He’s had to go to Italy to get a job.

‘So I respect him [Rosenior] and the fact he’s done the hard yards but some of the words and some of the stuff he’s coming out with, it’s a bit bollocks.’

Davis continued: ‘I honestly think people just overcomplicate football just to get a job nowadays.

‘Football’s not rocket science, it’s not hard, but it’s totally different game now from what it was.’

Rosenior has the perfect opportunity to hit back at his doubters on Sunday afternoon when Chelsea lock horns with Leeds at Wembley for a place in this year’s FA Cup final.

The Blues then have a week-long break before switching their focus back to Premier League matters against Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.

A pair of heavyweight contests against Liverpool and relegation-threatened Tottenham follow that, with Sunderland playing host to Rosenior’s men on the final day of the campaign.

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