The future looks Rose-y

It was a Chelsea cup side resting or rotating as many as possible for the upcoming games, classic Maresca/Chelsea tactics. The 4-2-3-1 system with an inverted left-back was the same, except it was Hato not the suspended Cucurella doing that and scoring the opener. ‌The fact that Rosenior changed nothing obvious was almost certainly a smart move.

 Liam Rosenior
[Getty Images]

I was at Charlton to see Liam Rosenior take charge of the Chelsea team for the first time.

I couldn't see that he did anything differently from Enzo Maresca.

It was a Chelsea cup side resting or rotating as many as possible for the upcoming games, classic Maresca/Chelsea tactics.

The 4-2-3-1 system with an inverted left-back was the same, except it was Hato not the suspended Cucurella doing that and scoring the opener.

‌The fact that Rosenior changed nothing obvious was almost certainly a smart move. If you are going to change at all mid-season, evolution not revolution makes more sense.

‌He did do one very notable thing: he waited until the Charlton game to take charge when he could have been sitting on the bench at Fulham.

Craven Cottage was a tough start and he probably wouldn't have been able to do much about the defeat.

‌Instead, he starts with a win, and four out of his next six league games are at home, mostly against teams struggling in the EPL.

Burnley, West Ham and Leeds will not be pushovers but it is as soft a start as the league offers.

‌One of the two away league games during this run is against relegation certainties Wolves, once again a good match even if there are recovery signs at Molineux.

Add a home Champions League match against Cypriot minnows Pafos to ensure progression there and his timing couldn't have been better to give him and his statistics a good start.

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Category: General Sports