IMO Matt does not deserve to be benched, but they have a coach who's not comfortable playing with 3 CBs (he tried with iffy results), so he had to bench one and decided to go for the loanee.
That is the problem with being a loanee. Unless clearly better, default is typically to club owned player.
EXCEPT he is running all over the attack. So clearly Chelsea does want him to do that. How use wise is the question.
Which is bat shiite crazy as that was what most harped on Lamps predecessor for: playing Kante well out of position. The kid is/was fantastic in his role for Leicester and the French NT. Why play him out of position when he makes a team much better in his natural role, and doesn't do very well in the role he is being asked to play. He ain't an attacking midfielder. Someone in England will figure that out someday. If they don't they need to hire Ranieri again to play him in his proper spot.
Someone else pointed out that Lamps plays Kante at attacking midfield so that Jorginho can be on the field at the same time... I think this is the case... but I would recommend that Kante move back to CDM... even if it means Jorgi only comes on when Kante goes out.
I gotta say, at THIS moment, Kante does not look like anything special on the field, wherever he is playing. I will be the first to say he was AMAZING in the world cup. Right now, if you didn't know his name, you would say he is a very average Chelsea player.
I think if Jorgi got a rest and Ngolo played that spot CFC would be more solid defensively. I get that Jorgi offers things that Kante is not known for, but he is too slow to be an auto starter for this level and that spot. The offense might even improve with the subtraction of Kante in an attacking position. I think Frank ought to play a 4-2-3-1 against these bunker teams and try a pairing of Kova and Kante with Kova moving into the attack on the regular. Kante and the 2 CBs protecting against the counter when the FB's push up and man, do they need a LB or what? I think Tammy is knackered and needs a rest so they clearly need a forward Frank will use, because Bats is useless in the PL. I am not impressed with Kepa either, at this level the keeper has to get you some points here and there by making saves we had no right to expect. Hope Puli gets back right after the international break and CFC are still holding on to a CL spot.
I think they for sure will land Sancho if they end up in top 4. Kid apparently loves London and is a Chelsea fan, and has spoken poorly of Man City's business style. He can probably walk into a starting spot at Chelsea, not so at Liverpool. Will be interesting to see how that changes things.
In a dream world, i would love to see Sancho and CHO on the wings with Pulisic in the center behind Tammy. But we shall see.
CHO, Willian, Pedro did not look convincing today against a mid table Championship team. Pulisic should have no issues getting back on the pitch when he returns.
CHO had some decent runs out wide, it was his deliveries into the box that were hit or miss. Agreed on Pedro and Willian plus the defense continues to look shit and Hull with a tiny bit more quality may have tied the game late, god knows they had the balls into the box.
Lamps seems to value work rate more than actual attacking skill. CHO and Pulisic are both suspect defensively; Mount and Willian are better in that regard. RLC and potentially Sancho coming into the mix after this summer will be interesting.
Pulisic really needs to work on his shooting outside the box and strength on the ball if he's going to challenge for a CAM role. Right now his biggest strength is making runs in space and cutting in. If RLC can come back full strength, I'd like to see Tammy - Pulisic/RLC/Sancho up front
The way he looked yesterday, if I’m him I’m waiting for Real or Barca to come knocking. The kid is damn good. If he goes to Chelsea that is major trouble for our boy. His play gets better and better. He can rival Hazard right now and he doesn’t have the weight troubles that seem to give Eden some difficulty staying fit. I just hope the Chelsea owner doesn’t want to make a major investment in the club with his visa troubles and is really trying to offload the club. Sanyo will break the transfer fee record in the form he’s in now. Hopefully Abramovich doesn’t want to part with that kind of money.
Real wants Mbappe. Presumably Neymar will be on the move too. I don't think Sancho wants to go to Spain; he apparently comes back to London regularly and has expressed interest in playing for Lampard. It will be problematic, potentially, for Pulisic... but he'll have to fight that much harder for his spot or just get a loan/transfer elsewhere. It happens and sometimes it's for the best (Salah, KDB, etc).
CP will have to hold-off CHO for the other wing spot, but agreed that Sancho coming over will still put massive pressure on him to improve quickly. I actually think as soon as he returns from his current injury, he need to hit the ground running and get as many goals/assist as possible to secure a starting role for next season. Sancho is a lock for Chelsea in the summer and this is probably why they're not spending much this window, knowing Sancho will probably cost no less than $150M.