Chelsea: Liam Rosenior's side at risk of continuing downward spiral after Champions League exit with qualification for next season in jeopardy

Last summer, they were champions of the world. Now, they are out of Europe and at risk of not even qualifying for the Champions League.

The mountain of problems piling up at Chelsea are impossible to ignore. On the pitch and off it, there is so much uncertainity for a football club that had so much hope off the back of an impressive summer.

Sky Sports looks to answer the key questions surrounding the issues at Stamford Bridge ahead of a vital season run-in.

What is going wrong?

On the pitch, Chelsea aren’t delivering where some would have expected them to be after their Club World Cup triumph. Clearly, there were issues behind the scenes between Enzo Maresca and the club’s hierarchy, but in his last 10 games he had a record of three wins, three draws and four defeats.

They replaced Maresca with Liam Rosenior after his success with sister club Strasbourg. In his last 10 games, he has won four, lost four and drawn two. A better win percentage yes, but when you consider that two of his wins came against lower league opposition in the FA Cup and another against a Wolves, who are at the foot of the Premier League, it’s not great reading.

Couple that with the fact that he is winless at home over that stretch. Defeats to PSG and Newcastle are one thing. But dropping points to Leeds, who are fighting for survival and Burnley, who are destined to go down is not a good look.

That’s not all Rosenior’s fault. The recruitment has been questionable long before he arrived. For every Cole Palmer or Joao Pedro, there is Alejandro Garnacho or Liam Delap. Rosenior can only play the hand he is dealt by Chelsea’s many sporting directors. There is also a discipline issue that has marred the club all season too.

What Rosenior can control is team selection and tactics – both of which can be questioned. Rosenior has ripped up his tactics at the break when he has seen it wasn’t working. It helped to recover wins from losing positions against West Ham and Napoli, but the half-time tweak against PSG did nothing to blunt their threat. It’s good to have a plan B – but the number of times Rosenior’s plan A misfires is a concern.

Off the pitch, there are more concerns. Chelsea’s line-ups have been leaked to the media on several occasions – including ahead of PSG’s visit, ahead of which Rosenior vowed the leaks would stop. That adds to the overriding issues with discipline at the club.

And there is the small matter of the suspended one-year transfer ban handed down by the Premier League this week for secret payments made under Roman Abramovich.

The main thing, above all else, is Champions League qualification. Chelsea currently sit outside of the top five expected to be enough to secure a seat at that table next season. Failure to do so would be catastrophic.

What could happen if Chelsea don’t qualify for the Champions League?

Sky Sports News’ chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:

It was revealed in February that the club had recorded the biggest annual loss ever made by an English football club, according to figures released by UEFA.

Chelsea’s record loss was for a season when they won the UEFA Conference League and qualified for the Champions League.

Two months after the end of the 2024/25 season they also earned up to £90m by winning the expanded Club World Cup in the United States.

In the old days, any losses would have been subsidised by former owner Roman Abramovich – but he was forced to sell the club and the regulatory landscape has totally changed from the early years of the Russian billionaire’s ownership.

Chelsea’s big problem – apart from the fact that they have not won a recognised major trophy under their new owners – is that their revenues lag behind those of their major rivals.

Chelsea’s owners are facing challenges on multiple fronts. In the short term, their priority has to be qualifying for the Champions League again.

Champions League participation is more important now than ever – even though Chelsea are convinced their finances are improving.

Could key players leave?

Chelsea made plenty of headlines during the early days of the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital era by handing out incredibly long contracts. Currently, 23 players are under contract until 2030 or later.

While that brings a risk for those who don’t make the impact some would hope for, it does put Chelsea in a strong position. Should a team come in for one of their stars, the answer is simple. We don’t want to sell and have no need to.

That being said, That being said, if the Blues miss out on the Champions League, key players who have been at Chelsea for several years now could be excused for getting itchy feet. We’ve already seen reports of Cole Palmer being homesick and wanting to return up north, with Manchester United interested.

Then, after Tuesday’s defeat to PSG, Enzo Fernandez cast doubt on his future at Stamford Bridge by telling ESPN Argentina: “My focus is here now. We have eight Premier League matches to play and the FA Cup. Then the World Cup is coming up, so we’ll see after that.”

Specifically in the case of Fernandez, it is believed that Chelsea won’t sell for any less than his book value as to not make a PSR loss. The book value being what his initial transfer fee, minus what they have paid in regards to the value of his full contract. At this moment, that would be just under £80m.

That is likely to be the same across the board, but should there be a player revolt, that could put Chelsea in an even more uncomfortable financial position. But, at least Reece James has committed his future.

What is the fan sentiment?

In a word, fans are apathetic about the current situation. Under Roman Abramovich, it was about winning. Now, it’s about building a project. But fans are growing tired of this and you can’t blame them. Rosenior is their fourth project in as many years.

There were loud boos at half-time and full-time whistle against PSG – from those that remained. The majority of the stands had emptied by that point. Fans began flooding out after the third goal.

The frustration isn’t so much at Rosenior, not that he has done anything to convince the majority of supporters. It is levied at the board. Protests have been held, chants to Abramovich heard. Put simply, fans are longing for Chelsea to return to their former identity while those in charge move further away from it.

Is Rosenior under any pressure?

Before answering that question, it is important the Chelsea hierarchy don’t appear to be under any pressure. Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, the two most prominent sporting directors, were handed new, long-term deals at the start of the season.

This month, an unnamed Chelsea director reportedly told a fan group it is “f****** obvious we are building one of the best teams in the world.”

The problem they have is Chelsea supporters over the past two decades are used to high standards, quality managers and regular silverware. They didn’t ask for this pivot to youth, potential and long-term projects. But the owners are saying to them that this is a new way of doing things and you are going to have to trust us to get it right.

As for Rosenior, he is likely safe in his job for now. He is just 18 games into a contract that runs until 2032. He was handpicked from Strasbourg by the club’s sporting directors. But so was Graham Potter. So was Enzo Maresca. It has value on the surface but history has shown that it is not a guarantee of time.

Should Rosenior not qualify for the Champions League or win the FA Cup, Chelsea will have a decision to make. Stand by him amid fan discontent, or reset the project yet again.

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