Maybe I missed it - what was the bit about Dortmund? That two players were ahead of him? Sancho, obviously, but I don't think he played because of injury and also because Dortmund knew he was leaving. They wanted to give minutes to Brunn Larsen. Dortmund did much better when Pulisic came back into the side at the end.
lots of good discussions, and even some good arguing. at the end of the day, i have to think the trajectory of this team is looking good compared to the rival teams we'll be competing with over the course of the season. personally i would have also liked Mount to step back in midfield to bring Pul on. and i think that Nice has some really good points about Mount's limitations, but i think we still have to try it personally. we need a direct threat on the wing, and we also need someone running from deep. jorginho was way up and down during the game. and as much as kante has proven he has a threat going forward, if you let him screen instead, you can have mount making those forward runs that kante has been doing recently. we at least need to explore this possibility because i think Pulisic gives us a different threat on the wing that we are lacking. and if we are talking about passing limitations, i'm not sure if we replace mount with jorginho from a passing perspective we are losing that much (also i'm talking about a 4-3-3 here, not mount as a pressing 10 which i think stresses the midfield more). but seriously, think about how this team could line up this season and probably play REALLY well. with Tammy, Tomori, Christensen, Mount, RLC, CHO. that could be SIX academy graduates starting and that doesn't even count the potential of James coming in (like the prospect, need to actually see him in the league). that's exciting. and while i actually kind of agree with Jose's assessment that you still need to win games, you also have to take in the context. new manager, transfer ban, tons of youth getting experience, still maybe getting top 4, have a ton of funds to deploy when we know more about what exactly the team needs. AND the team is creating a ton of chances and is fun to watch. this is fun.
To be very clear, I'm not at all "scapegoating" Mount, or suggesting he's a bad player. He's a promising player, who has certain strengths. My point is more regarding his limitations and figuring out how to use our players within the right systems, whereas what I've seen so far suggests that Frank sees Mount as the linchpin to our entire side. Which is strange. Mount has said he was playing with a swollen ankle joint against Liverpool; maybe then don't play him?
Lamps says that CHO and Reece James will "be involved" against Grimsby. Would be nice to see what a CHO/Bats/Pulisic front line could do.
Think we will. Hope we will. I'll be really disappointed to see Pedro out there to be honest. Could see a case of Pedro over CHO though to start depending on fitness.
Mount, with the caveat that we’ve just seen two players in a week who’ve had to come off injured because they were brought back into the side too fast. Maybe we should not do that?
Oy, I swear there’s more complaining about Americans complaining about Pulisic than actual Americans complaining about Pulisic. At this point it’s impossible to say anything about seeing more from the big money transfer from the Champions League German side without someone freaking out about Americans being impatient for their savior. He’s not an “American who plays for Chelsea” he’s a Chelsea like anyone else on the roster.
His name certainly comes up FAR more on these boards than it does in 'real life' that's for sure! You would think he was the only player waiting his turn! Personally I would rather talk about the positive signs coming out of the club than keep churning on about just one of our players! I do hope both he and CHO start against Grimsby. I went to Stamford Bridge once to see Chelsea play Grimsby in a league game, Grimsby were top of the league!! (the then div 2), we beat them 5-2 and knocked them off the top, by the end of that season we escaped relegation to (the then div 3) on goal difference! How times have changed!
His name is coming up a lot because his name belongs to a player who is better than some of the others playing (Willian, Barkley) and healthier (Mount).
I think it’s natural to talk about a player we paid 65mm for when he’s not starting. That’s not remotely unusual and has nothing to do with whether or not he’s American. “Let’s see how he does against Grimsby” isn’t a plot line I’m interested in - he wasn’t bought to see if he could hack it against Grimsby.
We don’t know if he’s better than Willian. I do know if we’re moving toward youth, not playing him is odd. And what I especially can’t understand is people arguing that it’s great to see the kids playing but then justifying the selection of older players with “well, he has experience”. If we’re mostly punting on the season to play the kids, then why not play Pulisic?
Not saying you’re advocating it, but the standard move I’ve never understood is subbing on a player coming off of injury. Play them from the off and sub them at half time. No point risking two subs.
I mean, all of the managers he's played for (maybe not Conte towards the end) have favored him, whether it's here or Brazil. And then there was the talk of interest from Barca. They wanted to pay some decent money for him, if rumors are to be believed. Willian is a fine player, but I'm not sure how impactful he's been for us recently.
well in danger of pulling the name......at left wing wouldn't pulisic be an option at least over barkley in this discussion? i would think it's Mount's injured ankle vs an actual player that plays in that position.....or hell pedro even.
the insinuation was that Mount was playing on an injured ankle during the liverpool game and it sounded like your position/point was that an injured mount is probably still better than Barkley. but mount played wide left for that game......so that was MY point. shouldn't we be talking about players that actually naturally play that position instead? which, just to spell it out, i said because i too believe it's not his best spot.