pulisic is a world class complementary piece. he can’t get the ball and do it himself. his game dies without people getting him the ball
I agree. There's a little too much hand wringing going on because he's been subbed the last couple of games. Frank is not losing faith IMO. He'd probably like to rest him, but the other options aren't stepping up.
Mount compulsively played the ball to his right even when Pulisic was in space, effectively putting the Hershey boy out of the game.
Because Mount epitomizes and dominates the problem. By not passing more or less equally left and right, he screws up the attacking game. It's a game of triangles, or should be, and he doesn't play that way.
Don't be so sure. This is exactly what happened early in the season. Mount took over on the left, closing out CP who ended up benched.
This is also about Chelsea are not as good as their brief run of form during a favorable schedule suggested. This is a bit of reverting to the mean, I'm afraid. I think Lampard had this team playing a bit over their heads, and expectations rose unrealistically. Without another special player or two, I think they'll have trouble staying top 4-5.
I don't like their specific tactics with Emerson coming up very high on extreme left. He gets the ball in some space and almost never uses it well. I'd rather Puli take that space and Emerson provide support just underneath him or take that space when CP cuts inside. In other words, like Willian and Azi play it on the right.
Great observation. This forces CP to cut inside and occupy the space that Mount and Tammy are supposed to be in. You can see them run into each other a few times. This is on Frank, he needs to get this team clear on their roles and spaces.
I put these problems on Lampard more than any individual player. Kovacic and Jorginho were developing really good chemistry, but he screwed it up by bringing Kante back. Similarly, james has provided a nice spark at right back, but has been sent back to the bench. For me, wingers like Willian and pulisic have bad games when they turn the ball over a lot, or get it in dangerous positions but fail to convert. Neither had that problem against bournemouth. Neither got the ball in the spots they have been, especially pulisic. Abraham didn't get the chances he usually does, but he also is poor at holdup p lb ay, so he can't really add much else. When their attack has been clicking, pulisic and Willian have been slicing through the defense from the wings. Today, the midfielders were funneling the ball more to mount, who doesn't know what to do with it. He isn't a very creative player. And I dont mean that to criticize him, he just simply isn't a huge part of their attack when things are going well. Lampard needs to get the midfield settled and get everyone on the same page again, but mostly he needs a few more good players. Specifically, he needs a better left back, a better creator in mount's position, and perhaps a more complete striker in for abraham. Better depth on the wing and center back also. Their defense has been much better with rudiger, but things shouldnt fall apart so much without him.
Chelsea fans are weird. They keep talking about bringing in Sancho, Dembele and Ziyech when in fact it's their defense that needs help. Also, our Yanks on their boards are going to get thrown out if Puli doesn't start scoring. Attacking Mount in an English forum is not a good plan. I'm quite sure some of the guys from here are the same over there with 100-200 posts and who registered in September/October.
When CP wasn't starting, but subbed on, he made a difference. That's how he got his starting spot back. Guys subbing on lately aren't making a difference. And early in the season CP wasn't impressing, while Mount was - Lampard rightly gave CP time on the bench. Just yesterday Lampard had great things to say about Pulisic. Yeah, he wants more (everyone should always), and I believe he thinks Christian can add more to his game. I'm not worried about how Lampard feels about Christian. People here are too f'n dramatic - he's gone from needing a loan, to world class, to Lampard doesn't trust him. Relax people.
I think the problem extends beyond the defense. The whole attack is muddled and the midfield contributes to that. FL's operating principle seems to be to force single minded attacks, as often as possible. There is almost zero attempt to "manage" the attack by working in small groups, moving the ball quickly, forward/back, left/right, probing for and creating opportunity. It's tough to break down strong defenses without doing that. In addition, three midfielders seem to always join in these attacks, flooding the attacking zone along with the 3 forwards. There seems to be no such thing as a holding or playmaking midfielder. On top of that, the flanking defenders push way up, often interfering with CP and Willian. The end result is over-commitment to attack, which lacks organization, and there is no thought to reducing opponent attacks through the gap between the midfield and central defenders. The attack is almost the opposite of the way ManU played with massive, but ponderously deliberate, over-organized attacks that got them nowhere when van Gaal was coach. Neither approach is good.
They do need creativity. While they need defensive help, they can use offensive help as well. Maybe not the wingers they mention, but a real creative central midfielder would be nice (not easy though). I think Lampard has had trouble since Kante came back - he's not found a good balance between Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, and Mount. Mount really should be the odd man out though. I cringe sometimes reading some of the American posts in the shed end forum in the Pulisic and match day threads.
I'd be interested in seeing Pulisic and Mount swap roles for a few games. In preseason Lampard said they would split time in the middle and it just has not happened. With Pulisic's ability to see the field and make a pass better than Mount and Mount's ability to blast cannons on goal, it seems a switch might serve the team well. Pulisic would be tasked with more defending, but it's not as though he can't, especially if Kante and Kova are behind him.
I think CP needs some rest. Starting 11 straight games is not easy, especially when you have 2-3 games a week. It does take a toll on your body. You can see his legs are heavy and his explosiveness is missing a bit. But at the same time, if you're Frank and your other options are Pedro and CHO; what do you do? I can understand his reliance on starting CP and Willian until their legs fall off.
That is very accurate. It's not just the wingers, or midfielders, or defenders. The issue is getting these guys to play as a collective unit. What you see out there are guys trying to do their own things. Chelsea has more than enough talents to win against West Ham, Bournemouth, Everton, etc. If you have better talents but you lost consistently to inferior teams, that's on the coach and his staff. Frank is still learning on the job. People tend to forget that this is his 2nd year into professional coaching, and first year as an EPL manager. Bottom line is, he's still an amateur compares to the likes of Poch, Klopp, Pep, Jose, etc.
The Chelsea fans hate to hear this, but Mount does not have the proper skill sets to play the CAM role. Lamp will need to think hard about who he's going to put in the CAM role, or buy one if he does not like what he has; but Mount is definitely not it. And you're correct, he's having a hard time with Kante, Kovacic, and Jorgi. You could only have 2 of those in the midfield at the same time. Having all 3 on the field, you give up on a central attacker.
A lot of people want Pulisic in the middle. I think he can do well there, but I think he's best on the outside cutting in right now.
Many Chelsea fans are down on Mount. Let's not put down players to up ours. I think they're wise to the fact Mount's not a Luka Modric or David Silva.
Exactly. The more our fans go there and blame Mount, the more the actual Chelsea fans react by becoming entrenched. Until our guys appeared, they were giving it hard to Mason.
That's exactly what I gathered watching the match....His teammates weren't trying hard enough to give him the ball near the box where he could turn and run into it...Lampard should had insisted on this at half time since CP is arguably the most creative player on the ball but he had very low touches in that area of the field. For the first time in a while, CP didn't win 1 dribble...He won 7 last match against Lille.
It's not putting down players, it's calling out what I see. Pulisic is not perfect, he too has his shortcomings.