Rosenior's last post-match interview as Chelsea head coach

Chelsea have sacked head coach Liam Rosenior after 106 days in charge of the club.

Rosenior signed a five-and-a-half-year deal after arriving from French club Strasbourg, also owned by Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

But he managed just 11 wins in 23 matches across all competitions and Tuesday's 3-0 defeat at Brighton was Chelsea's fifth consecutive league defeat without scoring, the club's worst scoreless run since 1912.

Rosenior described the performance as "indefensible" and "unacceptable" after facing angry chants from Chelsea's travelling supporters on the south coast.

The defeat led to the Blues slipping to seventh in the Premier League, seven points behind Liverpool who occupy the fifth and final Champions League spot.

"Liam has always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism following his appointment midway through the season," Chelsea said.

"This has not been a decision the club has taken lightly, however recent results and performances have fallen below the necessary standards with still so much more to play for this season."

Sources have told BBC Sport that Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, Fulham head coach Marco Silva and former Dortmund boss Edin Terzic are under consideration as possible replacements for Rosenior.

Iraola, 43, announced last week that he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, while Silva's contract at rivals Fulham is due to expire in July. Terzic, meanwhile, was under consideration by Tottenham to replace Thomas Frank when the Dane was sacked earlier this season.

Calum McFarlane will take over as interim manager until the end of the season.

McFarlane, who was Rosenior's assistant, was in charge for a 1-1 draw against Manchester City and a defeat at Fulham in January after previous boss Enzo Maresca was sacked.

"As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment," Chelsea added.

Rosenior won five of his 13 games in the Premier League and led the Blues to four victories in the FA Cup – all against lower-league opposition – to reach the semi-finals.

McFarlane's first game in charge comes on Sunday when Chelsea face Leeds at Wembley for a place in the FA Cup final (15:00 BST).

Brighton beat Chelsea to heap more pressure on Rosenior

Chelsea have lost five successive league games without scoring for the first time since November 1912.

Their overall five-game losing streak is their longest in the Premier League since November 1993.

Across each team's past nine games in the Premier League, only Tottenham (two) have won fewer points than Chelsea's five.

Chelsea have just one win from their past nine matches.

The Blues are now without a clean sheet in any of their past 12 league games – it is only the second time they have had as long a run in the competition.

Chelsea's xG in the first half against Brighton (0.04) was lower than they had in any of Enzo Maresca's 114 halves of top-flight football as Chelsea boss.

It was also the longest they have gone into a league game this season before attempting their first shot (41st minute).

Only West Ham (15) have conceded more goals from corners than Chelsea (11) in the Premier League this season, with 11 the joint-most for the Blues in a campaign in the competition (level with 1994-95).

I don't think this is a surprise, especially for those of us who watched the damaging 3-0 defeat by Brighton on Tuesday. It was one-way traffic for the south coast team.

Rosenior's appointment felt like a sensible decision, but you could have said 'he might know the system inside Chelsea, but he'd only managed Strasbourg, Hull City and Derby County'. Did he have the experience to handle a club like Chelsea?

I think the owners would have thought he could learn it on the job and develop but it has eaten him up. Ultimately, it shows you might need a bit of gravitas to manage a club at the top of English football.

I saw comments from Chelsea's co-owner Behdad Eghbali – who is quite influential – saying that they are looking for stability and a manager to stay long term. That was just before the Manchester United defeat; two more defeats and they are making a change.

I think they are looking for a long-term appointment but they have decided Rosenior can't be the one.

McFarlane impressed enough in his previous interim stint to stay as part of Rosenior's coaching staff

McFarlane, 40, is in his first season as Chelsea academy coach after joining from Southampton last year.

He started his coaching career with non-league side Croydon and worked in Manchester City's academy until 2023.

He crossed paths with Chelsea's academy technical director Glenn van de Kraan – who was appointed from City in 2024 – during his four years at the Etihad.

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Four people have been arrested during a dawn raid on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud following an investigation into the government's botched home insulation scheme.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, 100 investigators entered homes and offices across three counties and removed computers, hard drives and crypto assets.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is examining what it said is a "sophisticated conspiracy" to fraudulently claim £44m in public money through the scheme.

The BBC has, for years, reported on the poor quality of insulation work carried out under the government programme, which has led to damp and mould and put some people's health at risk.

The BBC joined a team from the SFO as they put on stab vests and raided a company office at a business park in Cannock.

Lead investigator Ross Corrigan said the SFO suspected this was a ''sophisticated and systemic fraud within the government's Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) scheme which was designed to help people in fuel poverty".

"And yet here we have suspected criminality which might have exploited that good cause," he said.

The ECO4 programe began in 2022 and involved the installation of heat pumps, solar panels and insulation in more than 300,000 homes.

It was targeted at elderly or vulnerable people living on low incomes.

The scheme, which has since closed, was funded through a levy on household energy bills and has cost £4bn.

The SFO said that three companies were involved in the fraud: JJ Crump of Sheffield, South Coast Insulation Services in Fareham and Cannock-based Warmfront.

South Coast Insulation Services went into administration in February.

The SFO alleged the three businesses claimed money for insulation work on 5,000 properties they never installed.

The BBC has contacted the firms for comment.

The SFO said it wants installers and assessors who worked on these contracts to contact them at confidential@sfo.go.uk.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said the SFO investigation showed that the ECO4 scheme was looking increasingly like a ''charlatan's charter".

He said the "sheer amount of money" that may have been fraudulently claimed, estimated at £44m, "serves only to underline further that the known levels of fraud in the scheme, as our committee warned earlier in the year, must be being significantly underestimated".

Almost all of the external wall insulations delivered under the scheme – 98% – required repairs, according to the a report by the National Audit Office.

The BBC has spoken to homeowners across the UK over many years who said their properties have been ruined by poorly installed insulation under ECO4.

In one case in Luton, the dry rot was so extensive that the house has been gutted and is costing more than £250,000 to fix.

The repairs are being paid for by the installer's insurer.

The government said it is implementing a find-and-fix programme to help homeowners and said more than 3,000 out of 30,000 affected homes have been repaired.

Energy minister Martin McCluskey, said: "It is appalling that people have allegedly tried to line their own pockets with funding intended to help families lower their energy bills and live in a warm, comfortable home.

"For some unscrupulous people to try to take advantage of that is totally unacceptable and I'm pleased to see action is being taken to bring those responsible to justice."

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The King has been given a Blue Peter Green badge in recognition of the "amazing work" he does for the environment.

Charles received the badge at Dumfries House in East Ayrshire for his personal work in promoting nature and sustainability, particularly through The King's Foundation.

He then placed another Blue Peter badge into the foundation's time capsule in recognition of its 35th anniversary.

It will remain buried at the estate for 100 years before being unearthed up by a future generation.

The King was presented with the badge by Blue Peter presenter Joel Mawhinney, and the foundation's sustainable food systems curriculum manager, Liza Kengran.

He also met a group of primary school pupils taking part in potting in the foundation's Growing Together, Cooking Together programme.

A group of secondary school students from Auchenharvie Academy in Stevenston, were also recognised for their efforts in promoting sustainability.

Charles has been a long-standing supporter of reducing food waste, and the Coronation Food Project which was established in 2023, redistributes surplus food to people in need in Merseyside, Birmingham, and London.

The King and Queen previously received Gold Blue Peter badges in Liverpool in 2023.

Charles was presented with the badge for his environmental work and support for young people provided through The King's Trust, while the Queen was given the award for her work highlighting the importance of literacy and reading.

Later, the King met firefighters involved in tackling the the huge fire which engulfed a B-listed Victorian building in the centre of Glasgow in March.

A total of 250 firefighters were involved in putting out the blaze.

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