1. Liam Rosenior was set up to fail and then didn't help himself
Liam Rosenior never played for a Big 6 club and spent a majority of his career in the lower leagues. He did not have a managerial resume that made him qualified to take over at Chelsea. Objectively, there was no good reason why Enzo Fernández or Cole Palmer should blindly follow Rosenior. Being a company man only made his job harder. His cringeworthy communication style destroyed whatever credibility he might have had. It would have been surprising if his tenure played out any other way.
If BlueCo were willing to accept the obvious risks that came with hiring Rosenior, they should have been willing to ride out the rough patches and give him a genuine chance. Appointing a young coach to grow with a young squad makes some sense. If that was the idea, Chelsea did an awful job selling that vision to their players and fans. Rosenior may be a very good manager. This is about BlueCo, not him. His failure in a nearly impossible situation should not deter other clubs from giving him another opportunity.
2. Results aren’t everything; just ask Chelsea fans
Most Chelsea fans can’t stand what is happening at the club and are rightfully wondering how much its owners actually care about winning (see the previous two paragraphs). They are just two points ahead of 12th-place Sunderland and could easily miss out on all three European competitions. At the same time, they have lifted two trophies in the past calendar year and are one victory away from a third after Sunday’s win over Leeds United.
That FA Cup semifinal was the team’s first game since firing Rosenior. The lone goal was scored by a player who recently returned from a club-imposed suspension for critical comments he made about Chelsea. All of this is happening at the same time, and somehow it kind of makes sense. The two trophies come with important caveats regarding the level of competition. This is also an expensive and talented squad capable of winning games through individual excellence. None of it justifies or validates the decisions BlueCo has made. If anything, the periodic bright spots show just how much the club is underachieving.
3. This Arsenal team is more resilient than it gets credit for
There was nothing particularly pretty about Arsenal's victory on Saturday except for Eberchi Eze’s strike that ultimately decided the game. It was everything they have been criticized for all season long. The Gunners came away with three points when they absolutely needed them though. Anything other than a win against Newcastle could very well have marked the end of their title hopes.
Had Arsenal avoided their recent slump, the Newcastle game could have been the final hurdle between them and the title. While that is obviously not the case, they will be at the top of the table when the calendar turns to May. Every time they have been on the brink of collapse, they have righted the ship and got the results they needed. Time will tell whether it’s enough to hold off Manchester City, but they aren’t going down without a fight.
4. Leicester City’s demise shows just how remarkable their accomplishments were
The last decade has seen Leicester City celebrate a Premier League title, win the FA Cup, reach the Champions League quarterfinals, drop down to the Championship twice and now suffer a second consecutive relegation down to League One. They occupied every part of the Premier League table at one point or another. For the first half of the decade, they were the team that gave smaller clubs hope. The past five years have been a disastrous display of mismanagement.
While recruitment has generally been poor, two of the three teams that suffered relegation dramatically underperformed. Having a good squad is not enough to ensure safety, as Spurs are currently learning as well. There just isn't that much separating everyone in these extremely competitive leagues. A few bad signings, some out-of-form players and a couple bad breaks is all it takes to send a team down. On the flip side, all of those things had to go right for Leicester City to reach the heights they did.
5. Spurs have to go again
For the second weekend in a row, Tottenham got the goal that could have been the one to save their season. The celebrations from Xavi Simons and João Palhinha left no doubt how much their goals meant. Unfortunately for Spurs, neither became the defining moment it felt like they might be. Brighton equalized in stoppage time last weekend, and West Ham won in stoppage time Saturday.
Tottenham have picked up four points from their last three games thanks to those two massive goals. West Ham have collected seven, leaving Spurs two points from safety with four games remaining. They did get their first league victory of 2026 on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to get them out of the relegation zone, even temporarily. That is a deflating reality. A good finish to the season probably won’t be enough with the way West Ham and Nottingham Forest are playing. It appears Spurs will need to be great.