Football is full of unlikely journeys, but few are as striking as those of Liam Rosenior and Keith Andrews. Today, they sit atop Premier League dugouts, guiding Chelsea and Brentford respectively, separated by just a couple of points as they chase Champions League football. Yet their paths to the top might surprise even the most dedicated football fan: they cut their teeth not in the traditional academy or coaching system alone, but on the Sky Sports EFL sofa.
Back in April 2019, if you were watching Norwich City take on Blackburn Rovers, you might have spotted Rosenior and Andrews analysing the game for Sky Sports. At the time, they were pundits first, recently retired players with decades of combined professional experience in the English Football League. Few could have predicted that these calm, analytical TV personalities would soon be managing top-flight sides.
But those who knew them in 2019 weren’t entirely surprised. Both Rosenior and Andrews were already working in coaching behind the scenes. Rosenior was involved with Brighton’s youth teams, while Andrews had coaching roles at Milton Keynes Dons and with Ireland’s under-21 and senior squads. Their television work simply brought their analytical skills to a wider audience. As Jobi McAnuff, a fellow EFL pundit and coach, recalls, “Both had that as the goal and ambition. They’ve made very deliberate choices about what would be best for them and put themselves in the right position.”
Their transition from players to pundits was seamless. Andrews caught the eye of Sky Sports after a standout appearance on Goals on Sunday, while Rosenior impressed producers while still at Brighton. So effective were their early appearances that producers jokingly encouraged him to retire from playing just to make him more available on screen. Yet the duo’s presence wasn’t just about charisma; their coaching experience allowed them to offer real tactical insight, moving beyond cliched, surface-level commentary.
David Prutton, former midfielder and EFL presenter, describes their approach as almost hypnotic. “You could see the mental cogs whirring around as they tried to break down what they…
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