Potter has been very conservative with the lead. I'm sure Pulisic was told to keep the ball and not force things. End of the gane was a training session up a man and 2 goals.
That’s a fair assessment - but that’s not going to buy CP any starts. Obviously I can only speculate, but seems like CP knows his sub role and will see out the rest of the season in that role, until he can transfer out. Seems like both parties know where they stand…
Perhaps. But I also don’t think he would have been considered as a starter today, given that he had played 10 minutes since coming back from a two month injury stint prior to today. I assume he would be eased back in some. That said, I agree he’s going to have a hard time getting into the starting line up ahead of Sterling, Mudryk, et al. unless he starts looking a lot sharper in his sub minutes.
Yeah, tell that to the papers, most of whom rated him as Chelsea's worst player or tied for that honor (I think I saw Felix finish at the bottom according to one rating). I missed his first couple of minutes but he didn't look that bad to me as a guy whose main job was to keep possession. A few good moves. Chelsea isn't going to be unbeatable the rest of the way with today's front three. Considering the competition, I still think he might get a couple of chances.
I really want to see him get minutes when Chelsea need a goal. That will show us where he is at the moment. To be used when killing games while ahead is all well and good, but pretty boring for us YA watchers
Don't think Chelsea or Potter have much of a reason to give him a start, frankly... at least not until he comes on and does something impactful.
Guy's taking it easy and mentally focused on his next challenge, this August he's gone. He's already checked out of Chelsea.
Chelsea has one more game against a patsy. Then the games are going to be coming fast and furious. They are not *likely to* (they might, but not if current trends continue) to light it up with Felix, Sterling, Mount, and Mudryk supporting their newfound star (for the moment), Havertz. Not saying they won't, but they're not likely to. CP may find a role yet. He was playing okay before his injury, and has had less than one half of play since then. A lot of you guys are certainly quick to give up on him. Besides, even if CP want to leave, mailing it in the rest of the year would be about the worst way to attract interest. I can see all sorts of valid criticisms of CP (falls down too easily, makes poor decisions sometimes, whines about being fouled to much, not physical enough for the EPL, misses some easy shots, etc.). But he has shown *time after time after time* (at club and country levels) that he's intensely competitive and will never give up. If he doesn't cut it at Chelsea, it's not going to be because he's mailing it in. Sorry, but anyone who thinks that is 100 percent wrong.
He's going to be moving on because Chelsea have already decided to move on. It's that simple. I definitely wouldn't expect him to be phoning it in, but his minutes are going to be pretty limited unless he is suddenly undeniable.
Frankly I hope he's phoning it in because if he's actually trying his best... yikes. With Dortmund he managed three solid games as a goodbye, after being plagued by injuries and playing a sub role most of that season. He may manage something like that here yet. Thing is, with his individual technique, this guy should be an undisputed starter or close. He shouldn't be fighting for charity minutes here and there, even as a RWB. Something has gone awry. He can do some magic on his own, but as a team player the "soccer IQ" just isn't there.
He hasn't done anything consistently enough in his whole career to be an undisputed starter at a club with the ambitions of Chelsea. That's why he'll be leaving shortly.
Or Dortmund. 'Member all our complaining about Tuchel. then Stoger, and finally Favre not playing him enough? Only Bosz gave him 90 in nearly all games for which Puli was available. Unfortunately they couldn't beat not even APOEL in the Champions and Peter got unceremoniously sacked.
I tend to think you’re correct that Chelsea has moved on from him. That said, with the possible exception of Sterling (who hasn’t been all that great at Chelsea either) I’m not sure I see any of their other wingers showing anything better or more consistent than Pulisic, and I have wondered if they may try to keep him depending on what happens with some of their other players. They currently have 5 wingers (Sterling, Pulisic, Ziyech, Mudryk, and Madueke) plus Mount on the roster. There are rumors that Mount may be moving on, and it seems highly likely that Ziyech is leaving as well. If Pulisic also leaves, that leaves them with 3 wingers for next year (Sterling, Mudryk and Madueke), with neither Mudryk nor Madueke looking like a sure thing yet. They also have Havertz and Broja, who both play better centrally, with Nkunke coming in, plus they could buy Felix, but not sure Felix has done enough to warrant the price tag, especially with Nkunke coming in. I assumed Felix was a place holder for Nkunke, but I guess we’ll see. Anyway, I agree Pulisic is likely moving on in the summer, but I could also see them trying to keep him depending on how other players shake out.
It may greatly depend on how all of the players look in practice on in games and how much pull Potter has after seeing them all. If they thought some of the new players would be better but after seeing them daly know they aren't they may re-assess their options.
I thought he was bad the other day but he did score although it wa very lucky that the ball bounced back to him and his dribble bounced off the defender back to him also. I have seen players that tat happens to a lot so there is some sort of skill involved there but not sure Sterling is good at that. I've always thought of him as more of a wide dribbler that is very quick. He hasn't looked the same for Chelsea as with England or Man City. Maybe MC saw him declining and quickly moved him?
The actual shot came off his shin as well LOL Sterling is fast with a low centre of gravity.. sadly his second touch is usually a tackle
I'd probably agree, generally, but they don't have to show more than CP to be more valued than CP... not anymore, at least. They are on longer deals than CP, and aren't going out the door in a matter of months. That's reason enough to invest more into those other players who are competing for minutes at attacking mid. If there were a huge gulf in ability to impact a match, maybe that wouldn't be true, but that's not the case. I'd argue the best chances to get goals at this point is going to come from Felix, Havertz, Mudryk, Sterling, then throw in the fullbacks & Enzo out of midfield. The likes or CP & Ziyech are simply the odd men out -- they don't have tons of time left, they haven't been great/consistent/productive at Chelsea, and the new ownership is making moves to improve. Some might say throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks? But either way I don't think either of them factor much into the future of Chelsea. If he differentiates himself via his play, all bets are off and he could get significant minutes... Judging by his previous 18 months or so I just don't see much reason to consider that very likely.
I’m hoping he goes somewhere with CL ball, because I believe he plays his best in that competition imo. But I don’t think he shown enough to demand that kind of move, unless he does go to Italy. If he stays in England and goes to a CL club, I’m afraid it would just be for depth as another sub
The way things are going it seems we're only getting McKenzie, CCV and Tillman in the Champions next season. And Malik has to qualify. Oh and Turner on the bench, of course.
You're basing this on his ~30 minutes of playing time since coming back from the injury? Because he wasn't playing that badly before he got hurt in January.