Liam Rosenior is finding his mojo back after Chelsea setback

You can see the confidence. You can see the swagger returning back. Liam Rosenior was walking on the pitch ahead of Paris FC’s game against Olympique Lyonnais, headphones on, enjoying himself, and, more importantly, enjoying his second wind in France.

However, if you want to know how liberated and assertive Rosenior has been, look no further than the footage of the events that transpired after his Paris FC side emerged 2–1 winners against Strasbourg, whom he left only in January to join Chelsea.

After paying his respects to his own set of fans, Rosenior made it a point to go to the section where the Strasbourg supporters were nestled. For the vast majority of the game, the Strasbourg faithful made their feelings towards Rosenior known by hurling heckles, abuses, boos, and even jeers. And Rosenior gave it back in equal measure. In fact, he gave it more than what anyone expected.

Pumping his arms, he vociferously grabbed the lapels of his coat and gave it the absolute “big’un” to the Strasbourg fans. Such was the magnitude of his actions that they incited an almighty scuffle between him, the Strasbourg players, and the Paris FC players.

Following the melee, Rosenior pointed out that his show of defiance was to only “a small section of the people who did not want me to succeed at Strasbourg”.

However, if you dig deeper, you cannot help but wonder whether this emotional outburst was a much-pointed and nuanced clap-back. This was an expression of someone who proved a point, and whose defiance was more about sending a loud message than euphoria following a win.

Rosenior was down in the dumps after his disastrous 107-day tenure at Chelsea. His reputation took a massive walloping and his entire tenure was met with derision, mockery, and a lot of prejudice. “LinkedIn Liam” was what he was called. And the manner of the sacking was another blot in his career.

Add to the fact that the pundits were after him, with Kevin Kilbane calling his work at Chelsea “90% waffle, drivel, and dross”, that can break the morale and confidence of anyone.

Liam Rosenior should have been a name treated with respect, a role model for young and aspiring English managers. He took the long and circuitous route to management, earning his coaching badges while being a player at Brighton & Hove Albion, and then learning the ropes at Brighton’s U23s, Derby County, Hull City, and Strasbourg before moving to Chelsea.

This is the same Rosenior who began his Chelsea tenure in confident fashion. His first 14 games saw him win nine and lose only three. The wins included two stunning comeback wins against Napoli in the Champions League and a thrilling 3–2 win against West Ham after going 2–0 down, while also dispatching a high-flying Aston Villa 4–1. Cole Palmer described his impact as “amazing”, and even the three defeats were by a solitary goal, including one against Arsenal, but none of them were significant of a mediocre showing or a limp surrender.

But despite this, he never fully convinced the English press, who went after him and derided him at every turn. His quotes about “ageing men” and his methods on the pitch (huddling around the ball to “respect” it) and handing Garnacho a note with his team being 8–2 down on aggregate against PSG became particular sticks to beat him with.

And after his sacking, Rosenior admitted that he was out of football completely and could not get himself to watch a game for at least four weeks. But he is nothing if not a resilient man, and, sure enough, he has picked himself up from the canvas with a clean slate at Paris FC.

At Paris FC, he has started unbeaten, with credible results like the win against Strasbourg, a thrilling 3–2 win against Marseille, and a 3–0 win against Nice. The team talks are anything but “LinkedIn”, with Rosenior emanating confidence, charisma, and raw emotion in the footage that Paris FC circulate on their social media platforms. Players talk about how encouraging and motivating his conversations have been, and how they have managed to get the results based on those.

Rosenior is learning, he is enjoying himself, and, more importantly, he is once again delivering results with a team who seem to believe in his methods and his ability as a highly regarded young coach with vision.

Above all things, though, Liam Rosenior has finally begun to find the mojo that had seemingly deserted him during his time at Chelsea, and that is the most welcome sight of it all.