Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has put his squad on notice, warning that disciplinary records will now factor into his team selections after the club’s woeful red card run showed no sign of stopping following Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.
Pedro Neto was dismissed at the Emirates Stadium after collecting two quick-fire bookings, first for dissent in response to Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute header and then for a lunge on Gabriel Martinelli four minutes later. The sending off was Chelsea’s 10th of the season across all competitions, including one for former head coach Enzo Maresca, with nine different players dismissed so far this term. That figure is the joint-most dismissals a Premier League (PL) team has ever accumulated across all competitions in a single campaign, with more than two months of the season still remaining.
Speaking at his Monday press conference, Rosenior made his position plain. “I think the first thing is: you pick players who are showing that improvement. I can’t afford to go through a season every two or three games with a red card. It’s just not possible. I need to adjust my team selection based on who is showing those capabilities,” he said.
Neto’s suspension means he will miss Wednesday’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa. The incident followed Wesley Fofana’s sending off in a 1-1 home draw with Burnley the previous weekend, two dismissals in successive games that Rosenior has described as reflecting a problem that runs deeper than individual lapses.
“It needs to improve,” he said. “My job is to create a culture of accountability, where if you make a mistake it’s OK, you hold your hands up and make sure it doesn’t happen again. But you have to hold your hands up to the original mistake.”
Chelsea currently sit bottom of the Premier League fair play table, having finished second bottom last season under Enzo Maresca and last the year before during Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure.
Vice-captain Enzo Fernandez, who has accumulated seven yellow cards this season, was cited when Rosenior was pressed on leadership, though the coach said he had no issues with the Argentine. “He is a top leader. It’s not even entered my mind. We’re a young team, it’s not an excuse but we are one of the youngest in the league and in Europe,” Rosenior said.
The manager acknowledged that fines alone will not solve the problem. “You can fine players. It’s not about the punishment. It’s about finding the reason why,” he said. Chelsea have 10 Premier League games remaining and are targeting a top-five finish to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League.
