How long can we give Barkley to adjust? It's been 9 years since he started at Everton. Still feeling his way around, but given every chance in the world. People may not see that as Pulisic's best position, but he can play there. There's something Lampard doesn't trust in him right now. I didn't see it in the games he started out at the beginning of the season, but I also don't see them every day at training. Pedro must be really good at training. On a more positive note nothing to do with Pulisic (it's getting exhausting!) how f'ing good does Tomori look?
I don't think Barkley is the answer to any questions, they don't however play similar positions. I agree however, I'll really ********jng tired of having any conversation on him. The team is doing relatively well, I'd rather focus on that.
I don't think CP and Barkley play in similar positions unless Barkley is either a winger or an AM that plays in the "hole".
“I have got four wingers now that they are all fit. It’s normal to have an adaptation. He has shown some good moments. We must give him a bit of time to adapt because of youth, change of league and living. They are all different, have different pathways. We know he has played in the Champions League.” -Frank Lampard On Pulisic in press conference at 13.14 GMT Monday source: Football.London imho Pulisic needs a bit of time to adapt, and a bit of patience to let him do so at his own pace. With Chelsea’s injury situation improving and the team already showing plenty of promise, Pulisic should get the required time to settle in properly. Sure, some players adapt immediately. Others may need a year or so to settle in properly.
Brocks point still stands.. Barkley gets all the minutes in the world to completely ********ing suck, miss massive importantly penalties, and still play on. We’ll see. Still early days.
Especially when you consider that Mount could easily slot into the Barkley role and open a winger role for a better player and yes that applies to all of the winger (Willian, Pedro, Cho and Pulisic).
Early days. I am a big Pulisic fan. Blame Frank. “I have got four wingers now that they are all fit. It’s normal to have an adaptation. He has shown some good moments. We must give him a bit of time to adapt because of youth, change of league and living. They are all different, have different pathways. We know he has played in the Champions League.” -Frank Lampard On Pulisic in press conference at 13.14 GMT Monday source: Football.London
I don't think Mount should get a free pass, either. Yes, he's scored some goals (assisted by Pulisic once!), but he's also gone stretches where he's been completely missing from the game. He's had zero experience in a first division before this season, yet he's automatic. If he keeps scoring and contributing, OK. But like I said, he's still learning, too. But he keeps getting the minutes because Frank knows him That's life. It's like that in youth soccer all the way through the pros.
Not that stats really lend them selves to Football, but statistically, Mount is rated the 14th best player in the PL thus far. If Mount is keeping anyone out, it is more Barkley or Kov when Barkley moves back, not Pul at all, even when listed on left Mount is more inside as Lamp used the fb or wb for width in those setups, and to the extent you can get a gaffer rep in one season, Lamp has a rep for playing inside wingers like c-am's and getting width from the backs, hence also a little rep for leaving the defense too exposed on occasion. Funny how so many in the game and media , fwliw, even Chelsea detractors, rate Mount really high and are talking about him glowingly while the "usual" here never miss an excuse to take a swipe.
What kinda stats? Just curious. I'm really liking Mount as a developing player. He's so young. I hope he can keep improving.
Other players have gotten more chances to produce. There is a bad fit, either with the system or the manager. CP needs to find a lifeline elsewhere in January. Unless Frank gets the hook, which he won't regardless for at least a year.
I mean.. not being given minutes over Pedro, Willian, Mount or Barkley is a preference problem, not a talent one. Too much talent? You look at that lot and say too much talent? Yikes man. Just about all of us were ready to see Willian leave or have both he and Pedro relegated to sub roles. Funny how that changed. Don’t agree at all he should leave in January though. That’s asinine. Not sure what’s going on with this situation, because it is a situation now. Frank pulling some Jose like bullshit mind games perhaps?
Pulisic is not even close to the technical level of Pedro, not by a long shot. Willians biggest contribution is his willingness to track back, it has endeared him to all his managers at Chelsea and is most likely why he gets as much time on the field as he does. He is also far more technically gifted then Pulisic. Mount is on the field because he has contributed at the business end of the pitch and has also displayed technical skills that surpass Pulisic. Barkley struggles for game time too, and rightly so, hes a decent squad player and nothing else. Lampard may not have a mandate set at the high bar of previous managers, but he still needs to win games to keep his job, meaning he will pick the best players for the job. Now, I am not privy to what goes on in training, I imagine neither are you, therefore if Lampard, who is, is opting to leave Pulisic out, he is not showing better than those you mentioned.Thats on Pulisic, not Lampard. I think back to the opening game of the season against United, when Pogba merely shrugged his shoulder at Pulisic and knocked him to the ground, resulting in him losing the ball and setting off an attack, I thought at that time that he simply wasn't ready for this league...I have seen nowt so far to chance that opinion.
Willian looked horrible his first couple of appearances Pedro is “fine” Both of whom I am happy to see get dropped (this has been the same damn argument, Pulisic or no Pulisic for 3 years now) in favor of our 70 million or whatever pound signing who isn’t out of contract at the end of the season. Very happy to see.. when or if it ever happens To suggest either are leaps and bounds more gifted than Pulisic in a technical sense, is ignorant, given Pulisic’s main strength is that he is a very technically gifted player.. we’ve seen it. In his involvements with goals in the PL as well as a scintillating performance against Liverpool in the super cup showing the kind of ability to drive play forward that Pedro and Willian have lacked in any consistent capacity for a long time now. Yes, Frank has to make some hard decisions. Doesn’t change that if you were to tell me Pul wouldn’t even get substitute minutes over Mount, Willy or Pedro in the summer, I’d laugh. You’d think he got more runs out to find his feet better because he hardly put in any performance that warranted a full on dropping from the team. In that case, guess we should ship out Azpi, Jorginho (only took him up until now to be consistent), etc. People are being unnecessarily harsh on Pul here. It’s insane to think we make a signing that big and not see what he’s made of for a consistent period. We’ll see what happens. I’m not counting anything out. I do think people here have to reach to try and make a point about a player that is hardly an unknown entity.
I haven't (yet) seen any of his performances that I would describe as 'scintillating' however I don't doubt his abilities and future potential, I reckon he is lined up as the aging Pedro/William replacement, he is so young he WILL be integrated into the team and he WILL be an important cog to what I believe will be a very exciting team, there just needs to be a bit of patience here.
Willian has back to back game deciding goals, and led the team in tackles in one of those, perhaps why he is playing a bit, not to mention he was Chelsea's player of the year twice and plays for Brazil, has 300 Chelsea matches under his belt, two PL titles for us, yet it is ludicrous he plays ahead of a guy that is 20 and just got here ??? Pul has more PL minutes than Pedro thus far and as many starts, he has played in half our matches so far, just 50 minutes less than Willian. If he still has not played in December then time for the panic posts, perhaps. I don't see anyone really knocking Pul, most here seem excited about his future here, just responding that he has not earned "untouchable" status quite yet, does need to get a hell of a lot stronger on ball, track back better and smarter (though he puts in the defensive effort), and most seem all to like him and his approach and any seeming animosity to him seems far more directed at the ridiculously premature play him or he should leave messengers on his behalf, than him.
I described a single performance. Respond to that. He was very, very good against Liverpool by all accounts. Again, going out of your way to detract him. I feel like you can either take the view that he is some green noobie just coming out of the academy, which are the terms he’s spoken in, or the view that he is a big money signing coming from a top German side he featured heavily in, having already put in his fair share of dues while some of our lot were slugging it out in the second division. Also, miss me with straw man arguments. Willy starting isn’t ludicrous. You’d do well to respond to things I actually state lobo. It definitely just isn’t ideal that the 30+ year old with no contract on the table as well as Pedro, also no spring chicken, are right back to their places as regulars in our starting XI. If we’re in rebuild/youth revolution mode, I hope to see their presence in the team diminish greatly over the coming months.
I think it was overall, (across the board combined every category attacking and defensive), OPTA stats, that was quoted in an interview I was watching, but I was also yelling at some punk kids to get off my lawn, so a bit foggy at this point.... Tremendous near unlimited upside for Mount,I think but will be some hiccups as with any young player, but I don't really see Mount and Pul as really ever competing for a spot, even if listed and nominally placed as a LW in some starts, I still see Mount's role thus far as more Lamp-ish inside cam/late second striker, even in those "lw"starts with fb/wb's as width. I see Pul as competing with Pedro and Willian ans/or showing enough D so Lamp does not play wb's or feel the need to protect Alonso with the system. Emerson healthy will probably help Pul get more time. At the moment til RLC back and Kante a bit, I don't see who knocks Mount out of line-up, certainly not Barkley. We were using Pedro inside a bit in that type of role pre-season and first few, but he has dropped off since getting that knock, and if he plays that role, and we rest or sit Mount, that opens up space for Pul, really, and not Pedro playing in lieu of Pul.