Tim Sherwood has delivered a brutal verdict on Liam Rosenior's future at Chelsea, stating that the manager will not survive the club's humiliating defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. The former Tottenham and Aston Villa boss believes Andoni Iraola would be the perfect replacement for the struggling Blues.
Five Straight Defeats Without a Goal
Chelsea have now lost five consecutive Premier League matches without scoring a single goal. This dismal run is the club's worst in the top flight since November 1912, over 113 years ago. Rosenior's side have collected just five points from their last nine fixtures, with only Tottenham Hotspur (two points) performing worse during that period.
The Blues will not play in the league again for more than a fortnight, as their next fixture is an FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United. By the time they face Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge, they could slip as low as 14th in the table.
Sherwood's Scathing Assessment
Speaking on Sky Sports after the Brighton defeat, Sherwood did not hold back. He said: "They were outplayed in every way, in style, build-up, in possession, out of possession. It was a team playing a bunch of individuals, no spirit, no character."
He added: "They were watching at the end there going over to the Chelsea fans – half of them had left the stadium 20 minutes ago. It's not only your ability, it's your desire to wear the shirt. It was embarrassing, the room that Brighton had. Liam Rosenior changed it at half-time, but he has to recognise that sooner."
Sherwood continued: "Three goals is the least Brighton deserved. I don't like saying it, there are demonstrations and flags out against BlueCo, Liam Rosenior will not survive this, he will not, unfortunately for him. It's a real tough job for any manager to survive this environment. Chelsea is a development club."
Andoni Iraola: The Ideal Replacement
Sherwood also shared his thoughts on who should replace Rosenior. He told Boyle Sports: "I'll tell you one man who would do it at Chelsea, that's Andoni Iraola. If Iraola was up for grabs at the end of the season, if they want to make a change and they want an elite manager who's willing to do whatever they want him to do, because he's done that at Bournemouth."
He praised Iraola's resilience: "We're talking about a man who lost a whole back five last year, but they never went to two-bob clubs; they went to Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool and then this season, their best player goes to Man City in January. The man just gets on with it, keeps his mouth shut. 'That's the job, I know the job, I will just concentrate on developing it.' And now they've got a lot of others who are capable. [Marcus] Tavernier has been outstanding, [Eli] Junior Kroupi. They will produce."
Sherwood concluded: "But the man knows, if they don't change the goalposts on him halfway through, if they say, 'This is the job, this is what we want you to do,' he'll just get on with it, like he has, he's not murmured, he's just got on with the job. He's an elite manager and a top-drawer manager. He'll be a perfect fit for them, but there'll be a queue round the block for his services."
