Every Wednesday in the Herald Express, our Torquay United correspondent Richard Hughes takes a sideways look at what’s going on in the world of the Gulls. This week he reflects on Liam Rosenior’s journey from his spell at Torquay United to now managing Chelsea.
My knowledgeable press box colleague Steve Harris leaned over to me on Saturday and said something to the effect of: “Of all the players in the squad of 2004, I wouldn’t have put Liam Rosenior at the top of my list to become a top manager.”
I can see his point. When Liam was at Torquay United that season, he was quiet almost to the point of being shy. I don’t remember interviewing him. I’m not sure he was put up for any interviews. But what I do remember is a respectful young man who was flourishing as a player after joining Fulham from Bristol City – and playing 10 games on loan for his father Leroy in that promotion year!
As the speculation that the now 41-year-old Liam was going to become the new manager at Chelsea last week, I re-watched that famous promotion-winning game at Southend United, Liam’s final game for the Gulls, and the memories came flooding back.
That blistering start with goals by Steve Woods and David Graham, that brilliant performance in midfield, that Southend goal, and then those tense minutes at the end, knowing Cheltenham Town were beating Huddersfield Town – and we were going up if it stayed like that. I don’t need to tell you, it did.
But the player in that team that I suspect we all thought might become a manager – and perhaps a top-flight one – was Alex Russell. The stylish midfielder thought about the game a lot. You could see Alex mulling over moments in his mind after every defeat – what should we have done better? I told everyone I knew he was going to be a top boss.
Why it didn’t happen, I’m not sure. Alex was even interviewed for a role at Torquay at one point – but it wasn’t to be, and instead it is young Liam who is now making national headlines after leaving Strasbourg in France for Chelsea in London.
It’s quite a rise for a player that turned out in the Premier League for four teams – Hull City, Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion and Reading – but flew largely under the radar as far as football’s casual observer was concerned. When Liam was linked with the move to Chelsea, I raised this with two Chelsea fans in my local. Their response was: “Who?”
Well, remember when Wayne Rooney almost saved heavily points-deducted Derby County from relegation from the Championship. Who was his assistant? Liam.
Liam was also manager of Hull City during some dark days there. Many fans liked what he did and felt he was gone too soon. When Torquay players go on and make a minor name for themselves in the game, you watch them all the more closely. Liam Rosenior, Darren Moore, Mike Williamson – these are players I perhaps watched more critically because of their Torquay foundations. But to most football fans, they were bit-part names.
Now Liam is a bigger name than his dad, who played a high-standard of football at Fulham, Queen’s Park Rangers, West Ham United et al.
But he will have a lot to prove. Because he has flown under the radar for many football fans, the news that he is now the new manager of Premier giants Chelsea has been greeted with shock in some corners of the media and on social media.
Reports from Chelsea’s first game under our protagonist were good. He made big changes and the team were excellent as they cruised to a 5-1 win in the FA Cup against another one of his father’s former clubs: Charlton Athletic.
Tonight the Blues face Arsenal in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. And then, on Saturday, they are at home against Brentford in the Premier League. Brentford, who were once managed by? Yes, Leroy Rosenior.
I for one will be keeping a close eye on Liam’s progress and hoping so very much that he proves the doubters wrong. After all, he has all the confidence to succeed at Stamford Bridge. “You don’t limit your ambitions. I’m not arrogant but I’m good at what I do,” he said this week.
