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LIAM ROSENIOR DEFENDS BLUECO OWNERSHIP AMID TENSE STRASBOURG FAN PROTESTS

Liam Rosenior defends the BlueCo relationship as Mamadou Sarr leaves Strasbourg for Chelsea amid growing protests from French fans.

Liam Rosenior Defends BlueCo Ownership Amid Tense Strasbourg Fan Protests
Liam Rosenior Denies Strasbourg Is Chelsea’s Junior Partner

Liam Rosenior made it clear there’s no big club, little club dynamic between Chelsea and Strasbourg, even though BlueCo owns both, and the transfer activity has raised some eyebrows.

People started talking after a flurry of moves on deadline day. Mamadou Sarr ended his Strasbourg loan early and went to Chelsea, while Aaron Anselmino and David Datro Fofana headed the other way for the rest of the season. On top of that, Rosenior himself came over from Strasbourg after Enzo Maresca suddenly left Chelsea on New Year's Day.

With all this back and forth, it’s not hard to see why some, especially Strasbourg’s ultras, feel like their club keeps getting the short end of the stick.

But Rosenior doesn’t buy it. “No. No, I didn’t. You’ll see,” he shot back when someone asked if Strasbourg was just playing second fiddle to Chelsea. “Mamadou’s come back. Aaron Anselmino’s a fantastic player. Datro Fofana’s gone. This isn’t about a junior or senior partner. These are two massive clubs. Strasbourg’s got its own identity, its own culture, and its own targets. They’ve got a big game against Monaco tonight, which I’ll be watching. Gary (O’Neil) has started really well. The whole point is for both clubs to be successful—I believe that’ll happen.”

This whole multi-club ownership thing is messy, and you can’t really blame Strasbourg fans for being upset. There’s always that nagging worry Chelsea will cherry-pick their best players, as they did with Sarr and Emmanuel Emegha, who’s already set to join Chelsea this summer.

But, honestly, even without BlueCo, Strasbourg would probably still struggle to keep hold of their top talent. Whether it’s Chelsea or any other big club sniffing around, that’s just how the football world works.

And it’s easy to ignore what Strasbourg actually gets out of this deal. They’ve tapped into Chelsea’s scouting network, they get access to the loan system, and they’ve benefited from players like Mike Penders, who made an impact after arriving last summer. Their spending power has shot up too—before BlueCo, they spent a few million each season, but now they’re outspending even PSG, dropping nearly £100 million last year.

Still, if you asked Chelsea fans how they’d feel if the roles were reversed, they’d probably admit they wouldn’t be thrilled either.

MARC CUCURELLA BREAKS SILENCE ON "STAMFORD BRIDGE BRAWL" DURING SPANISH TV SHOW

Marc Cucurella and Adama Traore reunited on TV to laugh off the wild Chelsea vs West Ham brawl that saw Todibo sent off for a red card.

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Marc Cucurella Claims Joao Pedro Saved His Life

Marc Cucurella didn’t hold back when he talked about his part in Chelsea’s wild brawl with West Ham last week.

Things got messy at Stamford Bridge in stoppage time. Adama Traore tossed Cucurella to the ground near the corner flag, and that set off a full-on melee. Players from both teams piled in. West Ham’s Jean-Clair Todibo even grabbed Joao Pedro by the throat—he got a straight red card after the ref checked VAR.

A few days later, Cucurella and Traore ended up together on a Spanish TV show, laughing about the chaos like old friends. Cucurella, poking fun at himself, said, “Joao Pedro saved my life, honestly. If I were him, I’d have run the other way. It was near the end of the game—I put my body in, we tangled, and suddenly I’m standing up, way too close to him. So I thought, ‘Let’s see what happens if I stir things up,’ and then he yanked me down. Suddenly everyone’s fighting.”

Traore shrugged it off. “It was just the heat of the moment. I ran into Marc, and I know he’s a good guy. Honestly, it’s nothing personal—it all stays on the pitch.”

Cucurella couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m calm now—there’s a screen between us!”

The dust-up happened on a night full of drama. The Premier League had just dropped Refcam footage showing how tense things got between the two sides. West Ham actually led 2-0 at halftime thanks to Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville. But Chelsea clawed their way back—Pedro and Cucurella scored, and then Enzo Fernandez buried a penalty in stoppage time to seal a third straight win for Chelsea.

After the match, Todibo took to social media to own up to his red card. “In the heat and intensity of the match, I made an inappropriate gesture, which goes against the values of football,” he wrote. “I fully accept my mistake and take responsibility—no excuses. That’s not who I am. I sincerely apologise to my club, teammates, our supporters, and anyone else affected by what I did.”

LIAM ROSENIOR REVEALS SPECIAL FITNESS PLAN TO SAVE COLE PALMER’S SEASON

Discover the data behind Cole Palmer’s new "withdrawn" role and why Liam Rosenior believes the star needs a different approach.

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Cole Palmer Dropped From Starting XI For Key Champions League Fixtures

Eight games. Four competitions. All in just 29 days. That’s one way to get thrown into the deep end, and Liam Rosenior, Chelsea’s new head coach, definitely didn’t get an easy start.

He didn’t just survive—he’s done pretty well. Six wins out of eight. The only two losses? Both against Arsenal, both in the League Cup semi-final. Not bad for a guy who barely had time to settle into his new office.

And yet, with everything moving so fast, Rosenior probably hasn’t had a moment to really dig into some of the bigger tactical puzzles at Chelsea. One of the biggest has to be Cole Palmer, and how to get the best out of him.

Palmer’s had a rough patch, no question. He got sidelined for three months with a toe injury between September and December. Five goals for the season isn’t shocking given that absence. Then he picked up a thigh problem and missed a couple more games in January.

He hasn’t really found his groove in the Premier League either. Over his last 16 league games in 2024–25, he’s managed just one goal—a penalty against Liverpool. And if you look at his last 11 games this season, he’s only got one goal from open play.

Honestly, the stats don’t do him any favours. Chelsea have actually looked sharper—both attacking and defending—when Palmer hasn’t been on the pitch this season.

So Rosenior’s still working Palmer out. The midfielders played four times under the new boss, but for the two toughest games—away at Napoli and Arsenal, he started on the bench. In Naples, Palmer came on and immediately left his mark with two assists, using the extra space as the tempo dropped. Against Arsenal, though, even with half an hour to make something happen, he couldn’t break through a defence that’s stingier than any other in the league.

Early signs suggest Rosenior’s pushing Palmer into more of a playmaker role. Palmer’s averaging 63.5 touches per 90 minutes now, up from his Chelsea average of 59.7. But he’s barely touching the ball in the box, just 1.8 times per 90, compared to his usual 4.7. In 255 minutes under Rosenior, Palmer only managed five touches in the penalty area.

It’s a deeper role, but it hasn’t led to more creativity, it's at least not yet. The chances he’s creating per 90 minutes have dropped from 2.2 to 1.4, and his expected assists are down from 0.25 to 0.04. Rosenior’s mostly used him off the right wing so far—53% of his minutes have come from that side.

Palmer set the standard sky-high when he first joined, scoring 43 goals over his first two seasons at Stamford Bridge. There’s no reason he can’t get back to that level, especially with Rosenior backing him.

But with a World Cup coming up and Chelsea still fighting on three fronts, Palmer needs to find his form again soon. The sooner, the better.

After Tuesday’s loss to Arsenal, Palmer and Rosenior were deep in conversation on the pitch while the Gunners celebrated. Clearly, they’ve got a lot to work through.

Rosenior put it like this: “What we’re doing, not just with Cole but with all the players, is making sure they can play at the level they need to be at. He’s been brilliant—wants to play every minute, but he’s maturing and gets the bigger picture.

“These lads had the Club World Cup and no break. Now they’ve got World Cups ahead too.

“My job’s to get the best out of him and the team, especially with the schedule we’ve got coming up.

“It’s not about leaving him out; it’s about making sure he’s right, and he helps the team the way he wants to.”

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