Christian Pulisic

[Magic Lamps 11,446]

9 minutes ago, petre.ispirescu said:

I might be wrong and this is just my personal view on Pulisic's trajectory, but from what I saw at Dortmund and the little he has played here, he does not look to me as a future world beater, I simply cannot see the fuss about him to be honest. 

I know he is young and all this, but what I know also is that there is another young player that is English and really looks like the real deal by the name of Jadon Sancho who happens to be a Chelsea fan, too and best friends with another superstar in the making, CHO. 

An English core of Hudson-Odoi, Sancho, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Abraham, Reece James, Tomori would simply be unreal. 

Surely the Sancho stuff is just a wish for the moment, but if indeed Chelsea can pull that off then surely the wings are covered for years to come, hence no place for Pulisic. Probably a loan next summer would help at least maintain his value on the market. 

Pulisic has lightning pace. Even more than Sancho or CHO. He might not become a world beater but he still can be a an asset like duff or gronkjaer at their peak. If he gets Lamps system, becomes sharper and alert he will be dangerous in the press and in counter attacks. If he was not American he would not be here surely but now he is we can make the best of it and not write him off before he has had a proper look in.  

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Willian and Pedro should not be that much ahead of him in the pecking order. The kid has already played at a high level before, its not like hes coming from MLS or something. I think he probably has the best movement off the ball in the team.

[Vesper 27,282]

 

[Vesper 27,282]

3 hours ago, Bosnian Blue said:

Willian and Pedro should not be that much ahead of him in the pecking order. The kid has already played at a high level before, its not like hes coming from MLS or something. I think he probably has the best movement off the ball in the team.

I agree

but after Mount (best movement)

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

10 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

Pulisic has lightning pace. Even more than Sancho or CHO. He might not become a world beater but he still can be a an asset like duff or gronkjaer at their peak. If he gets Lamps system, becomes sharper and alert he will be dangerous in the press and in counter attacks. If he was not American he would not be here surely but now he is we can make the best of it and not write him off before he has had a proper look in.  

Can't disagree, you have probably watched him more than I did and frankly for the kid's sake I actually wish I am wrong and he turns into a world class player. It's just that I personally don't see it in him. From the little he has spent here, it's either Lampard's tactics he does not feel comfortable with, or the English football pace, or some other mental things like that price tag hanging on his shoulders everytime he touches the ball, I don't know, but he looks a bit lost so far. 

As soon as Hudson Odoi is completely fit and that's one month tops, we can all agree the left wing is locked and there is going to be three guys (Pulisic, Willian and Pedro) plus Mount fighting for a place on the right. 

Thing is if by the end of the season Pulisic still shifts between League Cup matches and 10 minute cameos in the PL (or no minutes at all, like now), then I don't know... I'd loan him to keep his value up and move to bigger and better targets, Sancho preferably or a top class left footed winger if Sancho is out of our reach. 

[BlueLion. 21,491]

On yesterday's performance, it won't be long before he's replacing Pedro and Willian. 

[Jase 43,479]

32 minutes ago, BlueLion. said:

On yesterday's performance, it won't be long before he's replacing Pedro and Willian. 

Pedro possibly. Willian? Lampard seems to love him.

[LAM09 6,535]

On yesterday's performance, it won't be long before he's replacing Pedro and Willian. 

Wishful thinking on the latter

[!Hazard! 3,394]

Hopefully he just keeps working hard and waiting for his chance like Loftus-Cheek did last season. He needs to improve his shooting and physique among others quite a bit. Might take him a full season to get used to the physical requirements of the league

[communicate 2,703]

22 hours ago, Jason said:

This is becoming a bit like the Sarri-CHO situation from last season. I don't disagree that Pulisic needs time to settle in, adapt etc but getting left on the bench and not getting minutes - be it just even 20-30 minutes at this point - aren't going to do him any favors in settling and adapting to the league. But I guess if he keeps up that attitude, keeps working at it, he'll get there.

And speaking of Willian, with him suddenly getting so much game time this season - a turnaround from Sarri last season - I suspect that we will offer him a new contract and he'll stay for another year at the very least!

It is dumb for Lamp to extend Willian contract, he will be 32 in the end of his contract. By then it is better of playing youth for his slot

[Jase 43,479]

4 minutes ago, communicate said:

It is dumb for Lamp to extend Willian contract, he will be 32 in the end of his contract. By then it is better of playing youth for his slot

Common sense will say that but we don't do common sense. Conte/Sarri looked to have phased him out but he's suddenly getting a lot of game time under Lampard. So, I won't be surprised if we give him a new contract. We already rejected big money offers for him in recent years! 

[communicate 2,703]

13 minutes ago, Jason said:

Common sense will say that but we don't do common sense. Conte/Sarri looked to have phased him out but he's suddenly getting a lot of game time under Lampard. So, I won't be surprised if we give him a new contract. We already rejected big money offers for him in recent years! 

I understand why he is being phased out by Conte and maybe Sarri. With Hazard on the left, your right winger need to be excellent at making run (pedro best trait), Willian not so much. 

The problem right now hazard is gone. We need somebody in "Hazard" role. Somebody who can simply pick the ball deep with back behind goal and drive forward. Can CHO do this consistently? Right now I don't know and it is better for him to take it slow. In two years time, I think so. So there is no reason to keep Willian after that. 

 

[Superblue 6,331]

It's really not fair on Pulisic because he's young, needs time and seems like a nice lad. But the constant barrage of US soccer media moaning about him is really not helping matters and if it continues some may view him as not worth the hassle when it's not even his fault.

My bleacher report feed for Chelsea is practically useless and unreadable now because every other post is some US journalist or website moaning about his lack of game time like hes the worlds best player and should be a guaranteed starter.

I suppose though it gets us used to having a player a whole country relies on because in the next year or two we'll have the same with Gilmour and Scotland!

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,733]

3 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

It's really not fair on Pulisic because he's young, needs time and seems like a nice lad. But the constant barrage of US soccer media moaning about him is really not helping matters and if it continues some may view him as not worth the hassle when it's not even his fault.

My bleacher report feed for Chelsea is practically useless and unreadable now because every other post is some US journalist or website moaning about his lack of game time like hes the worlds best player and should be a guaranteed starter.

I suppose though it gets us used to having a player a whole country relies on because in the next year or two we'll have the same with Gilmour and Scotland!

 

The Media was always going to do this if he didnt play though because he's literally the face of the sport in a nation that produces a vast amount of Digital English press and has 300+ million people.

 

The thing is I can love him as a player, and agree with the fact that he is NOT better than Willian or Pedro at this point. I reiterate in a perfect world we dont have the transfer ban and he gets a loan move to learn the league before honestly fighting for a starting spot here. He's just turned 21. He should be playing week in/week out for a mid table side right now learning his trade.

[Jase 43,479]

3 minutes ago, Sir Mikel OBE said:

I reiterate in a my perfect world we dont have the transfer ban and he gets a loan move to learn the league before honestly fighting for a starting spot here. 

Fixed.

[LAM09 6,535]

Fixed.

Some people clearly weren't aware of Dortmund prior to last season. 

 

 

The guy got displaced by Sancho; we have bloody Willian & Pedro.

[Jase 43,479]

5 minutes ago, LAM09 said:

Some people clearly weren't aware of Dortmund prior to last season. 

The guy got displaced by Sancho; we have bloody Willian & Pedro.

Everyone has their opinion and I respect that but I just find his apprehension (if that's the right word) towards Pulisic somewhat bemusing. Loan him out to learn his trade? Really? If Pulisic was some unknown and we had bought him from the MLS or a small league - like his compatriot Miazga - then sure, loan him out. But Pulisic has played over 120 games, including in the Champions League, for a big club in Europe and is like the biggest US player right now. We're never going to loan him out. Whether this transfer will work out well in the long run remains to be seen but he's a long term investment from the club's perspective. 

Does Pulisic deserve to start over Willian or Pedro at this point? Maybe, maybe not. But at the very least, he should be given minutes on the field. It's easy to sit here and say he needs to adapt, to settle in etc and sure, he needs time but on the other hand, how is he going to do that if he's not even getting minutes, even if it's just 20-30 minutes for now? He won't be perfect but at least give him a chance to impress, to make mistakes and learn, to get the feel of the league and team. I'd rather see young players go through all that than seeing experienced players continue to underwhelm and do not improve. And think some have been spoilt by the success of Mount, Abraham so far. 

Also, if people are gonna start with the ifs and buts of the transfer ban, then they are seriously opening a can of worms. If we hadn't gotten the ban, we would likely not have hired Lampard and would not have gone down this youth route with Mount, Abraham, CHO, James etc. They would have all been loaned out or even sold. 

[LAM09 6,535]

Everyone has their opinion and I respect that but I just find his apprehension (if that's the right word) towards Pulisic somewhat bemusing. Loan him out to learn his trade? Really? If Pulisic was some unknown and we had bought him from the MLS or a small league - like his compatriot Miazga - then sure, loan him out. But Pulisic has played over 120 games, including in the Champions League, for a big club in Europe and is like the biggest US player right now. We're never going to loan him out. Whether this transfer will work out well in the long run remains to be seen but he's a long term investment from the club's perspective. 

Does Pulisic deserve to start over Willian or Pedro at this point? Maybe, maybe not. But at the very least, he should be given minutes on the field. It's easy to sit here and say he needs to adapt, to settle in etc and sure, he needs time but on the other hand, how is he going to do that if he's not even getting minutes, even if it's just 20-30 minutes for now? He won't be perfect but at least give him a chance to impress, to make mistakes and learn, to get the feel of the league and team. I'd rather see young players go through all that than seeing experienced players continue to underwhelm and do not improve. And think some have been spoilt by the success of Mount, Abraham so far. 

Also, if people are gonna start with the ifs and buts of the transfer ban, then they are seriously opening a can of worms. If we hadn't gotten the ban, we would likely not have hired Lampard and would not have gone down this youth route with Mount, Abraham, CHO, James etc. They would have all been loaned out or even sold. 

Spot on with most of that. Lampard's comments about him needing to work & effectively bide his time is very worrying IMO. If he can't seriously push with only two full fit wingers, what are the odds with CHO & RLC thrown into the mix?

 

 

I personally give him till the end of the year to shoehorn himself in somehow and if he's still in the same predicament, the future might be bleak for him.