I was opposed to the move from the get-go. Dude doesn't generate enough goals/assists to be an attacking player, relied on for such, in the PL. But, that doesn't mean it was a mistake for Puli. He's making a crapton of money. Way more than if he'd stayed. Way more than any other team would have paid him. But, he's going to ride the bench for a long time (maybe until he's outa there). As I've said, if he sees the pitch for Chelsea with any regularity, it will be a s a shutteler. Most say he's not a good enough shutteler to get on the field for them. If that's the case, then he's only going to see spot minutes for them. Hope I'm wrong.
I get what you are saying. But I can't get past the mega millions Chelsea paid for him. If they didn't view him as a starter I don't think they would have laid out that kind of cash for a bench//depth player. They are financially more astute than that.
Pedro is 32 and Willian is 31. Christian can legally drink in Hershey tomorrow!! Let's see how this plays out.
Well, like the guy below says, he turns 21 tomorrow. He has (some) time to develop. I hope he grows into the player we all want him to be. But, if this is Peak Puli - if he's one of the best players in the world at transitioning the ball from defense to offense, he's still one of the best players the U.S. has produced.
I don't necessarily agree on this point. Last year all the talk was about how Sancho took his job at Dortmund. I watched every game last year and: 1) He was injured for a large portion of the season. 2) Once he came back towards the end of the season I thought he was often the most dangerous player on the field. 3) He tends to serve players a ton but doesn't get many good balls served to him in dangerous positions. Now, he has NOT been the most dangerous player for Chelsea so far and he does have his health.... but I think the 3rd point is still holding. How many times has Tammy/Mount... played Pulisic through or gave him a good cross? These young players are considered the biggest bright spots for Chelsea yet neither have a single assist in all the minutes they have played. IMO, CP has been pretty good in every game save the 2nd half against Sheffield.... especially considering that he is about to turn 21 and this is his first taste of EPL football. He may get a shot if Mount misses significant time. If that happens he needs to play his best ball. I have two criticisms regarding his game that he needs to remedy in order to be a true star at this level: 1) He needs to get stronger. 2) He needs to be more consistent. The former will only come with time. I am not sure if he is on a weight training regimen... but if he isn't then that needs to change. Hazard got thicker/stronger over time and was still able to maintain his pace. CP needs to do the same. Regarding the latter... CP disappeared against Sheffield in the 2nd half just like he did against Mexico in the last friendly. I am not sure if it is a matter of stamina or if it is mental. Both can be worked on but I think it is easier to improve endurance. Lastly, if Frank continues to keep CP on the bench then we need to hope for a loan in the winter... hopefully to another EPL team.
The fact that you have to type a sentence like "he could get a shot if Mount misses significant time" is a pretty damning indictment of Pulisic. They didn't spent $60m or whatever to get fricking Mason Mount's backup. Pulisic needs to step up and start making an impact.
I agree with a lot of what you say. Totally agree about other players not playing him in. I don't know why that is. Yes, Puli "looks dangerous" "often the most dangerous player on the field." But, he doesn't (for club) score goals and he doesn't get very many assists. He is tremendous in the build up. But, at a club like Chelsea, that's not going to get you regular minutes at the attacking winger positions, or whatever it is Mount is playing. Not without G/A. Just to ramble on .... the thing that Puli is truly magic at is getting to the endline and playing a ball on the ground back to the 6. He's like Billy Jack. He can tell you "I'm going to get to the endline and play a ball on the ground to the 6, and there is nothing you can do about it." That's a tremendously valuable tool. If a manager played him at the wing and told the team "he's going to get to the endline and play a ball on the ground to the 6 all game long and any time there is not a guy on the end of that pass, you will be punished" Puli would be a star. But, that's not how things are going to go, so it's silly of me to talk about it. Regarding getting stronger, his body is what it is. Imo, he's not getting calls that other players do. He should just 1) try to fight through challenges when he's on the ball. Just don't go down, if possible, he's not getting the call anyway. 2) understand that defenders are going after him with impunity, just try to avoid contact, unless he's on the edge of (not in) the box. He might get some calls around the box. For whatever reason, he ain't going to be given a penalty. So, he should just stay on his feet in the box if at all possible. So, ya, I largely agree with you - but I think that the things that we agree on are not going to get him on the field much as a 10 (or whatever Mount or Barkley plays) or an attacking winger. If he's going to play at Chelsea, it will have to be as a transition player. The good news for us, if he's not playing much is that he'll stay healthy : -)
Really guys! C'mon, it's what - 5 games into the season! He is in the company of a lot of 'other' talented young players he isn't going to just 'walk in' to a starting spot HOWEVER he IS going to get plenty of play over the next few years, then it really will be up to him, show a bit of patience.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion... but I find it a bit short-sighted given his age. It is in no way assured that he will become a star at this level... but his skills are pretty impressive for a guy who is just turning 21. In response to RalleeMonkey... I think you make a great point with respect to CP not getting calls. It is obvious that opposing teams are just blowing him up and more often than not they are getting away w/ it. But he could easily put on 10 pounds of quality body weight over a year or two and not loose his pace. This would allow him to hold up a lot better in a very physical league. Just my $.02
Absolutely this. If the same issues show up everywhere, then Pulisic is the issue. He needs to be better.
i, too, have noticed that he seem to just get ignored by many players. I have watched the Premier League matches he has played in I am amazed at the number of times that CP will make a good pass to a player that is more central and move to a good position to receive a return (this seems to be usually when CP is wide) and the player, it seems to be most all of the central players, will look right at him then look around and then choose a much lower percentage pas centrally or even to a different wide player. It looks at times like the players are avoiding passing him the ball even when he is in ideal position to cross the ball. He is a VERY good crosser so this seems quite inexplicable to me. The pass chosen mostly results in losing the ball. [Places conspiracy theory hat firmly on the head] Maybe there is a group of players that simply want one of their own to get more time than CP. [Removes hat] I do wonder if he has said or done some little thing that gave offense.
I think impression of this type has a lot to do with the fact that we focus so much on CP when we watch his games. No passer of the ball is perfect. I bet plenty of his teammates who are open or in dangerous positions also frequently do not get the passes that they think they should receive. I see no evidence that CP is more of a victim than his attacking teammates in this regard. Same goes for the frequently voiced complaints here that so many of CP's beautiful passes did not get converted into goals. I have yet to see statistics that show his teammates' beautiful passes lead to higher conversion rates (this may be a difficult statistics to come up with).
Puli is a top 300 player in the world at this point. He is talented for his age. But so is Sancho... As is Ansu. Who would you rather have? We need to understand Puli's level of play is not world class, and he may never get there. That's the system we are in but he should not be martyred for it in this country. He's good not great and may never be any better. People don't pass to him currently because his tendency is to over dribble. He's a black hole player that gets away with it on the National level. At best his lack of physical size means winger is not his ideal role. To be world class in the future, he needs to develop as a midfielder and currently lacks the vision and awareness to play there. Adams on the other hand has far more physical and intangible qualities that make him more likely to be world class.
So - might be a bit too soon to write off Pulisic's Chelsea career. We're 5 games into the season. So, he's not broken out as an irreplaceable every-game starter - but he's still in the rotation. It's way too soon to decide whether he's a failure quite yet. And, thinking long-term - Lampard is unlikely to remain at Chelsea after this season unless he works miracles. Once their transfer ban is lifted, it's likely that Chelsea's ownership decides to also lure in a big-name coach by promising an unlimited budget. While that isn't amazing news for Pulisic, it does mean he'll probably get a clean slate next season anyway.
i don't think anyone is writing him off or deciding he's a failure. Just saying he needs to get better if he wants a solid spot in the rotation in one of those goals/assists roles.
Sometimes it is not what you say or do that "gives offense". Sometimes it's just the flag you carry. There is absolutely nothing Pulisic can do about that.....other than shrug and carry on.
I've noticed over the years that players who overreact to every foul stop getting calls. Savvy players fight through fouls not near the box and flop to draw free kicks in good spots or PK's. Ref's seem to get hoodwinked into thinking this guy fought through fouls so far so this must be a real foul. Pulisic gesticulates and whines and generally turns refs against him. Hopefully someone advises him how to play the fouling / flopping game.
This has always annoyed me with Bradley on the national team especially involving new players. Now I realize it showed how esoteric his thinking and why his old national teammates think he still has it because he can still ignore new players.
The whole point of our players challenging themselves is to be challenged. Pulisic has an elite mentality. If he is really dropped for Pedro or Willian, then he has to get better. I think he will and the USMNT will be better for it. He is still 3-5 years from his peak. I think Chelsea's defense is horrible. Frank set up against Wolves to mask that with a back 5. They scored 5 goals. He rolled the lineup out again. They lost. We will see how it goes. Also, Mount is to Lampard as Trapp is to Gregg. Going to be a little harder for anyone to get him out of the lineup. I don't think Willian is wanted long term and is the last dressing room cancer left at the team. He could be sold in December now that the young players are proving themselves. The biggest risk, to me, for CP was that he was going to be tagged as Hazard's replacement and if he didn't score 20/20 would be in the press as a failure. Whatever you think of the beginning of his Chelsea career, that narrative has not taken root. That is good.
Don't be daft! You can't seriously believe this! You actually think that Chelsea' s multi-national multi million pound squad give a sh*t where each other are from!?
I wouldn't hit the panic button yet. The sheer number of fixtures Chelsea has means that he isn't going to be glued to the bench for long, he will get more opportunities and it'll be up to him to make the most of them when they come. The fact that Chelsea got blanked at home in the most recent game he didn't appear is a good thing. And he also hasn't really had a rest in a while, a week off may help him hit the reset button. Also it's not at all uncommon for players new to the EPL to have an adjustment period, even if they've previously succeeded in other top leagues. The football culture and style of play are different from other places.