LIAM Rosenior’s appointment as Chelsea manager on Tuesday represents the fifth permanent manager under the BlueCo ownership.
From Thomas Tuchel’s wingback style, to Graham Potter’s overloads, Mauricio Pochettino’s press and finally Enzo Maresca’s inverted midfielders, players such as Reece James are certainly no stranger to adapting to new tactics and ideas.
The former Hull City and RC Strasbourg coach will no doubt be raring to implement his own ideas on the training pitch, even if he aims for the lion’s share of possession like his predecessor.
3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1 Formation?
In Ligue 1, Rosenior utilised a three-back system, with two central midfielders, three attackers and, crucially, two wide midfielders to support both offensively and defensively whilst stretching the opposition.
One of the defenders at the back was a traditional full-back, either Ben Chilwell or Guela Doue, allowing for greater building out from defence with the ball, but mainly to act as a fill-in full-back and switch to a four-back formation with the ball.
This covered for one of either Diego Moreira or Abdoul Ouattara to act as makeshift wingers in attack, which paid dividends as the pair have six league goal contributions between them.
Back in the Championship, a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 was utilised, with current Blues striker Liam Delap either fielded as the sole focal point, or alongside Allahyar Sayyadmanesh.
A system similar to that at Strasbourg could work at Chelsea, given that the likes of Jorrel Hato and Josh Acheampong are full-backs that have been deployed in the heart of defence on occasion.
However, expect him to return to a formation used in his Hull days, given it is closely linked to the formation Maresca already used at the club.
Out-of-Possession
Arguably the main feature of Strasbourg’s football under the 41-year-old was to win the ball back high up the pitch quickly through aggressive pressing.
This is similar to his predecessor, however Rosenior liked his players to quickly drop off and into a 4-4-2 defensive block to contain, if the high press hadn’t fulfilled its aim.
Maresca’s Blues favoured a full-pitch press and man-to-man marking, which was far more chaotic, yet offered up a tonne of space in behind the backline.
Strasbourg rank sixth for high turnovers, with 143, but only PSG’s seven goals from these turnovers beats Les Bleu et Blanc’s five.
Their xG against of 21.43 is the fourth lowest in Ligue 1, proving that their contain tactics after the press is effective.
However, this may change at Chelsea, given Strasbourg only average 53.2% possession this season in the league – 57.5% in the Conference League – showing how their ball retention increases in games they are favourites to win.
Indeed, we may now see Rosenior adapt his game by continuing the press from the attacking third into other areas of the pitch in an attempt to win back the ball at all costs to control the game, a trait possessed by most of the top clubs.
This way of playing under Maresca had higher percentages of the play to show for it, with the Blues’ 57.2% average placing them only behind Manchester City (61.6%) and Liverpool (57.9).
The wingers – or wing-backs depending on what formation Rosenior ultimately picks – are vitally important for the system to click, with them required to run as much off the ball as they are on it.
For that reason, expect players such as Pedro Neto to be favoured for his greyhound-like work rate, ahead of others such as Alejandro Garnacho, as the Argentine has been caught sleeping in defensive positions multiple times this season.
In Possession
The biggest advantage this Chelsea side have transitioning to this new management is that the formation with the ball will remain the same.
Both Maresca and Rosenior build up in a 3-2-2-3 shape, although Rosenior has the two in front of the three defenders being central midfielders, rather than Maresca’s preference of one midfielder and an inverted fullback.
Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and even Andrey Santos – who thrived at Strasbourg under the Englishman last season – have a good balance of defence with attack, making them good options for the central roles in possession.
With them occupying the central areas, this leaves one of the fullbacks required to have chalk on the boots, which will suit Malo Gusto to a tee.
Under Maresca, both him and Reece James were typically used as the ones to invert centrally, taking away their ability to cross balls into the box which they had been used to throughout their careers.
In fact, the first game post-Maresca away at Manchester City proved how he is better as an overlapping right-back, as it was his run and ball into the box that caused Enzo’s last-gasp equaliser.
Furthermore, he tallied six Premier League assists in an overlapping role under Pochettino back in the 2023/24 season, which has been followed by a mere three across the two seasons since.
James did suit the inverted tactic better, and kept putting Man of the Match performances in from midfield, which has left pundits questioning whether he may transition into a central midfielder – as he performed previously in his Wigan days – permanently.
It will be fascinating to see whether Rosenior keeps him in the midfield to pair him alongside Caicedo and push Enzo further forward, or if he will revert him back into the right-back spot.
Goalkeeping Role
Rosenior’s Strasbourg side opted for a high-risk high-reward tactic involving goalkeeper Mike Penders, on-loan from the Blues, in the build-up.
The young Belgian shot-stopper would frequently push up near to the halfway line, in tandem with the defensive three, to try and entice the opposition in pressing them high, giving them more space once through the pressure to exploit.
This will then be followed with quick combination passes, a contrast to Maresca’s style that favoured a slower rhythm and danger through control rather than tempo.
However, it can backfire very easily, with the French team having the most errors leading to a shot (17) in their league this season.
Regardless, this tactic may not be something implemented straight away, with the manager acknowledging in his pre-match press conference for the Charlton game that it will take time to teach Chelsea’s current crop of ‘keepers: “I’m very fortunate Jorgensen and Sanchez are world-class goalkeepers with their feet but I’m not going to ask them to play from the halfway line straight away.
“It’s a process and it takes time.”
Liam Rosenior Profile
If you want to read more about the new Blues boss, from his roots in Wandsworth, down to Bristol and into the professional game, read this article from Football Park.