Liam Rosenior hopes to follow in the footsteps of former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson by turning Chelsea’s young and inexperienced squad into winners.
The ‘Class of 92’ under Ferguson created an era of dominance over the English game with a team that won the FA Youth Cup in 1992 and then won the Champions League as part of a trio of trophies in 1999.
The group included Gary Neville, David Beckham and Paul Scholes.
“I was a Manchester United fan and am now a big Chelsea fan,” Rosenior told reporters ahead of the FA Cup tie against Charlton Athletic on Friday.
«I remember Alex Ferguson was brave enough to put six or seven players aged between 19 and 21 in a title-winning team because he believed in them. They grew and won trophy after trophy. It was a great period in the history of that club.»
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«Without that courage it doesn’t happen. There’s potential for that here… Talk about Moises Caicedo or Enzo Fernandez or Cole Palmer or Reece James – world-class players and still very, very young. That’s the ultimate ambition for this club – to recreate that.»
Rosenior, confirmed on Tuesday as Chelsea’s new head coach following the departure of Italian Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day, has experience of working with young teams.
His squad at his previous club, Strasbourg, was the youngest in Europe’s top five leagues, with an average starting age of just under 22.
“If you looked at the Strasbourg team that I coached, everyone enjoyed watching them because they played with intensity,” Rosenior said.
«Why? Because they were young, fit and less prone to injuries. I’m going to work very hard to create that here. I have to train the players well, work with the medical team and look after them because they have an excellent career ahead of them.»
«But that doesn’t stop you from being successful. If I thought it was impossible to win with this group, I wouldn’t have come.»
Published on January 10, 2026
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