I think I've noted this before several times. I only focus on league performance, since that is the one which earns a player his starts. In Europe, league is what matters most. Yes, winning the Champions is nice, but your 9-5 job, so to speak, is the league.
you quoted the stats as a response to someone's comment about Robben ... just pointing out that you cherry picked the data to back up your assertion (that Pulisic is not very good) ... you are entitled to your own opinion - just be consistent with the data. A team like Chelsea has their roster not just to support league play but also to support the Champions League. You can't ignore the goals per minutes he provides in the UCL. The whole point is rather moot - he is injured and needs to get healthy.
I'm consistent with the data. I always talk leagues here. I don't feel I have to repeat it in every post. PS: I'm not saying he's not good, that's a straw man argument. I'm replying to someone who wrote that if Robben had created as many chances as Pulisic does, he'd be considered the best player ever. That's not true. Pulisic doesn't create that many chances himself.
This is pretty funny considering how many Bundesliga games Robben used to sit out in order to be available for the Champions League.
Robben scored 2 league goals in 1349 minutes for Chelsea in the season that he turned 23. He didn't hit double digit goals in a top league until age 25 at Bayern.
The last 10-15 mins of that game - holy-moley. Chelsea got a bit of luck but D still is a little unsettled. Pretty fortunate to get out with all 3.
Credit to Tuchel as a manager (and Mendy as the all-of-a-sudden best GK in the Prem) to have such an unsettled defense but still have 5 clean sheets from the opening 8 league matches.
Mendy has a magnetic face - luckily for Chelski! Brent had like 6 truly good chances in the last 15. Chelski couldn't figure out the long cross to the far post headed back across the goal mouth - Brent pulled it off like 3 times. But the Blues kept the ball out of the net and that's all that matters.
Does everyone think the Bundi league might be a bit overrated? Sure it's a great league to follow, but the way Timo and Havertz had been struggling in the EPL? And to some extend Pulisic in his early days?
OK, I legit laughed... But that's just it - have we seen/heard anything from CFC outright stating what the injury was?! It's hard to give a timeline when we - the public - don't know what's the injury. [Apologies if CFC did make the injury clear...I must have missed it]
It's more that the Premier League is really good, and the quality of the league runs a lot deeper down the table. Just as a rough measure, Burnley has the lowest total player market value in the Prem at $160 million, per Transfermarkt. That's higher than half of the Bundesliga, and is 4x greater than Greuther Furth. So if you're a player like Havertz, Werner, Sancho, or Pulisic, not only are you coming up against better teams than you've played against before, you're doing so every week. You don't often get a week off to coast and rack up stats against like, Paderborn. Two other stats that help explain the difference: 1) The Premier League has had 4 different teams make the Champions League final in the past 3 years. The Bundesliga has had 4 different teams make the Champions League final in the past 39 years. 2) The Premier League has had 4 Europa League finalists in the past 5 years. The Bundesliga has had 2 this century, and none since 2009.
The issue isn't "number of matches played"... it is minutes. Can he be available for starter-level minutes. So far, the answer is a resounding NO.
I didn't mean Robben at 23, I meant Robben at his peak. With Puli creating about 2 chances per game, if Puli scored half of them he'd have about 18-23 goals per season, considering his injury rate. That's peak Robben. It's exactly what I meant, since I was not trying to dis Pulisic but all the contrary: if he scored half of his chances, he'd be like Robben. At his peak, not Robben as a kid. Then some clown came and said something to the purpose that "if Robben had created as many chances as Pulisic does he'd be the best player ever" which is stupid, since Robben created about 3 chances per game. Which is more than Pulisic. The difference is Robben scored one out of the three, while Puli needs about 10 to score one. So if Puli creates 10 chances in 5 games and scores 1, then you have his goal scoring ratio for the league. Why is everything so hard to understand for you guys?
Right now the Premier is the strongest league in the world, but it's never as simple. It's also the style of the rivals. Defenses in England can be a lot more physical than in Germany. Things that are fouls in the Bundesliga are not called in the Premier. You see a lot of individual pressing in the Bundesliga, so a man must defeat his duel partner to make a move. In England, defending is much more zonal with a guy coming to support the man marking you, closing lanes instead of marking individually. That's going to be disorientating for German attackers. Forwards who learned the trade in Serie A or La Liga seem to have better success, considering Bruno Fernandes and Ferran Torres are a couple of the few players who do well as forwards in England on arrival. Also, the entire style of play in Germany depends more on support, having a player nearby to combine with you. In the Premier, you're often left alone and are expected to get out of there on your own and make the pass over a longer distance. When Timo Werner played in RB he had the captain Poulsen and Sabitzer close to combine, and Kampl (or Laimer) right behind. Here he's on his own space, and he's expected to get the ball, control it, and shoot in a matter of a second. There are fewer combinations, no players close around to do the 1-2. Of course when facing defenses doing zonal you try to spread things out. But it's still a big adjustment for these guys. Italy or Spain are probably closer to the English experience, for a striker/playmaker.
This is an interesting take on the relative merits of learning to play forward in Germany vs, say, Italy. Do you think it’s a mistake for Pepi to go to Wolfsburg in USMNT terms?
When did this happen? I hoped he consulted with a certain young USMNT player before making the decision.
this is a good post from you but Ferran Torres went through a pretty good adjustment time as well in which he was questioned and had trouble scoring as well. Bruno has been unbelievably from the off.
As a young striker/forward, the Dutch league might be the best place for him to hone his skills for a few years. Jozy rediscovered his form and earn a move to the EPL while there. I still can't believe Jozy scored 23 league goals in a season with Alkmaar.
Rare Freestyle Skills During Matches - YouTube For that, Christian deserves to be the token American in this tape.
No way. Germany is the best open door for Yanks due to work permits in England and other countries being more in a different cultural sphere. Italy gets first choice from Argentina, Portugal from Brazil, France from half of Africa, Spain from most of the Americas. US players have limited options, because of the situation in England. Germany. or Benelux. And Scandinavia. Out of all of those, Germany is the best by far. They can move from there to Italy or Spain to learn the rest, and finally go to England for the money. But even the straight route of Germany-England is a great one for most positions outside forward/striker. Wingers, defenders, CMs, all of those are a good fit.
it is not difficult at all .. you just enjoy being the troll clown. Now you want to compare Robben's #s at his peak to Pulisic today .... okay that makes perfect sense. Not. And then remove any Champions League goals as well. Your logic is unassailable .. when you declare the conclusion and extract data to back it up. The only two points which we can all agree on is that Pulisic's injuries aren't helping his case, and that you have been consistent at dissing every US nat in Europe.