The keys to Pulisic right now with the national team: 1. The United States needs to take immediate action to suppress coronavirus* so that the national team can resume international play ASAP, because we need to get this guy on the field. *This should have been happening 4 months ago.
Well there’s this thing called an injury that cause Pulisic to sit the FA cup game (that they won handily). What Frank really needs to do is stop running the exact same team and tactics out after a win on a short turn around. Tactics didn’t match up against against Pool like they did United. Pulisic def should have started and played but if you’re gonna talk ish at least get it right man.
After winning games with a back 3 Lampard has, for whatever reason, consistently rolled out the same formation again back to back in the following games. It's been a consistent pattern. (It's one of the reasons I remain unsold on him as a manager.)
That injury in no way affected his fitness vs Liverpool. He could have played vs ManU but didn't. To reach 100% fitness. Which he did. And still came off the bench, in a key match. I know what I'm talking about. Lampard sat him unnecessarily and got it wrong.
Chelsea badly needs a new keeper. Why they don’t really appear to be going after someone like Onana is baffling.
Kepa didn’t even react to 3 of the 5 goals. He’s statistically the worst keeper in the league this season. An average keeper would be a significant upgrade.
As my old high school (American) football coach used to tell us before games, "They don't score, they don't win". Chelsea can't expect to score 3-4 goals every game. At some point, they need to bolster their defense. It's a mess. Kepa's obviously a big problem, but the defending line isn't a whole lot better. Alonso is a good wingback, but he's not good in defending. The center backs aren't good at all. I get Havertz is an elite young talent, but unless Chelsea has creative accounting at some point they will run out of money for transfers. From a value standpoint, a defender has to be a smarter investment than Havertz (and I fully recognize what a talent Havertz is). As tough as it is to say, if then can sell high on N'golo Kante I think they have to make that move. I love Kante, but if you can get two very good players for his transfer value (and I recognize that may not be feasible in the current environment), I think you have to make that move.
Co-sign all of this. They actually compound their defensive calamity by tasking Kante with running himself into the ground to cover and never being at full fitness. It's a self-collapsing cycle where no one wins. At least if they sell high on Kante and invest in backline that doesn't require the degree of cover Chelsea asks of Kante, they come out winning on one line versus losing on two.
Two years ago Chelsea were a phenomenal defensive side. Last year Chelsea were a very good defensive side. This year Chelsea are not. What has changed? It's not the defense - the only player gone is David Luiz. The rest of the players are still in their primes (or close to it). However, Kante is hurt, Kepa is having a horrible season and Chelsea are playing an extremely aggressive pressing system with CMs who're either positionally all over the place (Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour) are way too slow to cope with counters (hi Jorginho) or seem to lack the stamina to play 90 minutes regularly (Kovacic). The problem seems unlikely to be primarily with the defense (though left back is an issue). We are, however, seeing what happens to good, but not great, defenders when they're forced to play a very high line, don't have good cover and have a bad keeper behind them. Goals happen. Van Dijk and Alisson can survive those tactics (even though Klopp has dialed things back). Rudiger and Kepa cannot. (Though Rudiger is certainly a better CB than Kepa is a keeper.) Also, Lampard appears to be terrible at coaching set piece defense; there is no reason reason why this group of players should be this bad at it, because, again - we weren't the last two seasons, and it's the same players! Unless anyone thinks Hazard was leading our set piece defense. TLDR: It's not really the defense!
I'm going to put a pause on our regular OT posts. I know, I know, bad form but, really, this is a historical moment. For the first time ever there is an American kid playing soccer that is consistently creating magic against the biggest teams. Highlight reel stuff match after match since the restart. Savor the moment. This is our first international star.
Yeah, and to put the cherry on that, the arguments in the twitterverse and other discussion forums is not about whether he is any good, or even whether he's great; non-Americans are actually arguing about whether he's the best winger in the league right now, or just a merely great one in the top 10 or so. I mean, the level that even his critics are placing him at is rarefied air for any American soccer player. Puli is becoming exactly what we were hoping for.
For the first time, we have an American player who is Hopefully, this will also open the door for other American players who want to make it to the big time and have the talent and drive. We've had a mix of players who were just below a top level (I'd say players like Dempsey at Fulham), players who might have had the talent but were more comfortable playing in the US (Donovan - I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I do think if he really wanted to play overseas that he could have made a bigger dent), and goalkeepers. Pulisic is the first American player that we can point to and say with a straight face that he can be a global soccer superstar. That's a really, really big deal.
You may have the greatest attack in the world, but if Messi wants to join and you can afford it, you make it happen. Havertz is no Messi, but he's been good enough in the Bundesliga that it would be dumb to pass up the opportunity to get him during a period of time when there is no competition to do so.
“they don’t score they don’t win” is what counts for insightful commentary among the American football community.
but can he do it on a rainy night in Stoke? Oh NVM they are barely still in league football. He has had a sub appearance and a full game since the restart that to my eyes he was clearly the best player on the pitch. In the sub appearance possibly in Klopp's eyes too. I do not think we have seen the best of him yet, that's the most exciting part.
Pulisic is The Prince That Was Promised. just imagine another decade of him in Europe. In 3 or 4 years, he could potentislly be ready for a Barcelona or Madrid or Juventus
If he continues to play in the Fall like he did after the restart it will be more like 3 or 4 months.
Side note. I see people talking up Serie A and Juventus. I watch Juve dominate with a bunch of people in the golden years of their careers (minus Dybala, who has been MAGISTERIAL) and wonder how good a Serie A actually is right now? Also, why would CP want to go to these super clubs whose ownership and fans base are less stable than plutonium 244? Those places are all drama, all the time, from 7 different directions. Life is short.