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Liam Rosenior has been sacked as Chelsea manager after a desperate Premier League run of five defeats without scoring a goal.
Chelsea confirmed his departure on Wednesday, less than four months into the job and just four days before it plays in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Assistant Calum McFarlane will take charge on a temporary basis until the end of the season.
“This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly, but recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much to play for this season,” Chelsea said in a statement.
The team that won the Club World Cup last year now looks set to miss out on next season’s Champions League. That would mean a big financial hit for a club that has spent billions of dollars under American owners Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly.
The five-game losing streak is the worst since 1912 – the same year the Titanic sank.
Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton proved the final straw for Rosenior, an inexperienced top-flight coach who was hired from Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg in January. It was the club’s seventh defeat in eight games in all competitions.
Chelsea have won one of their last nine in the league, are seventh and seven points behind the top five, all of whom qualify for the Champions League.
Rosenior, 41, lashed out at his players after the Brighton game, saying the performance was “indefensible” and that “something needs to change drastically.”
The club’s hierarchy clearly agreed, despite saying that Rosenior had “always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism.”
Rosenior replaced Club World Cup-winning coach Enzo Maresca in January and took charge of just 23 matches.
He started impressively with six wins in seven games, but things quickly unraveled in recent weeks, including elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
His tenure was brought to an end despite Chelsea preparing for their FA Cup semi-final against Leeds on Sunday.
Rosenior will become the fifth permanent manager to lose his job since Clearlake and Boehly bought one of English football’s best-known clubs in 2022. Now a sixth is being sought to try and create sustained success.
“As the club works to bring stability to the head coaching position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment,” Chelsea said.
Rosenior’s departure comes after fans of the two-time Champions League winner and six-time English champion began protesting against the American owners.
Although there have been trophies, the Club World Cup and the Europa Conference League last season, this could be the third campaign in four in which they have failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Under former owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea were one of the most dominant teams in Europe, winning a full complement of trophies, including two Champions Leagues and five Premier League titles.
It last won the Champions League in 2021, the year before Abramovich was forced to sell the club after being sanctioned by the British government in the wake of Russia’s war with Ukraine.
