Ruben Loftus-Cheek

[Vesper 27,329]

Loftus-Cheek faces an uphill struggle but do not write him off

https://theathletic.com/2070414/2020/09/17/ruben-loftus-cheek-chelsea-criticism-neville-carragher/

The criticism was strong and it was damning.

Football players are used to negative comments from supporters, even after a positive performance, but when it comes from high-profile ex-professionals, it particularly stings.

In the aftermath of Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Brighton, Ruben Loftus-Cheek found himself the subject of damning comments from pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show.

“I thought he was really disappointing,” Neville said. “I don’t think Loftus-Cheek can complain. He’s been given games. I don’t think he’s ever grasped his chance yet. There’s going to come a point when they’re going to cash in and get £25 million for him.”

Carragher joined in the condemnation of the England international. He added: “If you get your chance, you have to grab it. He’s had his chances now.”

For two-highly respected voices in the game, it was surprising they failed to mention — or appeared ignorant — to the rather significant fact that Loftus-Cheek was out for over a year with a serious achilles injury, sustained in a charity match against New England Revolution in May 2019. Indeed, he has played just 288 minutes of first-team football in the last 16 months because of it.

 

https://theathletic.com/podcast/139-straight-outta-cobham/?episode=44

No one, not even Loftus-Cheek himself, will argue that he performed well at Brighton. When he was replaced by Ross Barkley in the 61st minute, you could see the disappointment on his face because of how little he’d been able to produce. The failure to find Timo Werner during a two-v-one break in the first half summed it up. Manager Frank Lampard and the backroom staff greeted him with conciliatory pats and handshakes as he took a place on the bench.

Statistics don’t always tell the full story, yet on this occasion, they did. Despite playing in the No 10 role, the 24-year-old didn’t have any shots or blocked shots. He completed just 11 of 17 passes attempted and had 27 touches of the ball overall — the only players with lower numbers in the team for these two categories were late substitutes Callum Hudson-Odoi and Cesar Azpilicueta. On top of that, he made no tackles, clearances or interceptions.

So Chelsea have cause for concern, right? After all, it is now seven months since he made his comeback in a development squad friendly against Brentford B and apart from a nice assist for Tammy Abraham at Crystal Palace in July, the dynamic play he can provide hasn’t really been seen.

However, lack of fortune, which almost seems like the story of Loftus-Cheek’s career, has played a part in a lack of match sharpness and should be taken into account.

Sources have assured The Athletic the attacking midfielder has been training well for a long period. But that doesn’t mean a player is 100 per cent for the games themselves.

He was really looking on track earlier in the year. Indeed, this reporter saw him looking strong and ready for competitive action during an under-23s match against Everton in March.

Yet, just over a week later, football was halted due to COVID-19. It stopped the momentum. All players in the country suffered from having to spend three months working out at home but it was a particular setback for Loftus-Cheek, who had already missed out on so much.

He managed nine first-team appearances, two of which were starts, when the 2019-20 campaign resumed. Understandably, with a top-four finish at stake, Chelsea couldn’t really afford to pick him much more than that and get vital minutes into his legs. There was another reason for his absence from the line-up. It is understood his running statistics in comparison with other Chelsea players were flagged up and it was highlighted he needed to do more in training and in games.

With a short turnaround and an international break to fit in before 2020-21 began, pre-season was heavily disrupted, too. Normally, teams have at least half a dozen warm-up games before a ball is kicked in anger — Chelsea had just one. Loftus-Cheek played 72 minutes but as a club source insists: “It was not enough”.

Even the opportunity of an in-house game wasn’t possible. Chelsea had a number of the squad — up to 10 — self-isolating in the build-up because of a COVID-19 scare and quarantine rules after travelling abroad on holiday. This meant many of Loftus-Cheek’s team-mates at the Amex Stadium were not at their best physically either, which didn’t help. While Chelsea won the contest, it was not a vintage display and the scoreline flattered them.

The views of Neville and Carragher have not been well-received inside the camp. As one insider adds: “It was so harsh to jump on Loftus-Cheek after he’s been out of the game so long.”

How will Loftus-Cheek react to the negative scrutiny? It will definitely be one to watch. Sources describe him as an individual who does take criticism to heart and can take it quite personally on occasion, so it is a good thing he has Lampard as coach, someone who was on the receiving end of plenty of condemnation throughout his playing career and in the two years he’s been a manager (including during his first season at Derby).

What does the future hold for Loftus-Cheek? Well, the club showed their faith in him by agreeing a five-year contract in July 2019, just a couple of months after sustaining the achilles problem.

Once Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic are fully fit, there is going to be a lot of competition for places in the attacking areas of the pitch. But it is believed he is very much part of Lampard’s plans for the campaign ahead, especially with his ability to play in so many positions. The worry, though, is can he get the regular run of games he needs to build up a rhythm, the kind seen during Maurizio Sarri’s one year in charge, when he played 42 times for club and country.

To get that, though, Loftus-Cheek needs to produce a lot more than he did at Brighton. Lampard has his own pressures to face, with expectations far greater following a spending spree in the market of over £200 million.

Loftus-Cheek is one of the most likeable players in the game. He is humble and has not let fame go to his head. But as Neville and Carragher demonstrated, people are now looking for his vast potential to be fully realised. It would help if a bit of luck finally went his way.

 

[Jase 43,479]

4 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Loftus-Cheek faces an uphill struggle but do not write him off

https://theathletic.com/2070414/2020/09/17/ruben-loftus-cheek-chelsea-criticism-neville-carragher/

The criticism was strong and it was damning.

Football players are used to negative comments from supporters, even after a positive performance, but when it comes from high-profile ex-professionals, it particularly stings.

In the aftermath of Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Brighton, Ruben Loftus-Cheek found himself the subject of damning comments from pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show.

“I thought he was really disappointing,” Neville said. “I don’t think Loftus-Cheek can complain. He’s been given games. I don’t think he’s ever grasped his chance yet. There’s going to come a point when they’re going to cash in and get £25 million for him.”

Carragher joined in the condemnation of the England international. He added: “If you get your chance, you have to grab it. He’s had his chances now.”

For two-highly respected voices in the game, it was surprising they failed to mention — or appeared ignorant — to the rather significant fact that Loftus-Cheek was out for over a year with a serious achilles injury, sustained in a charity match against New England Revolution in May 2019. Indeed, he has played just 288 minutes of first-team football in the last 16 months because of it.

 

https://theathletic.com/podcast/139-straight-outta-cobham/?episode=44

No one, not even Loftus-Cheek himself, will argue that he performed well at Brighton. When he was replaced by Ross Barkley in the 61st minute, you could see the disappointment on his face because of how little he’d been able to produce. The failure to find Timo Werner during a two-v-one break in the first half summed it up. Manager Frank Lampard and the backroom staff greeted him with conciliatory pats and handshakes as he took a place on the bench.

Statistics don’t always tell the full story, yet on this occasion, they did. Despite playing in the No 10 role, the 24-year-old didn’t have any shots or blocked shots. He completed just 11 of 17 passes attempted and had 27 touches of the ball overall — the only players with lower numbers in the team for these two categories were late substitutes Callum Hudson-Odoi and Cesar Azpilicueta. On top of that, he made no tackles, clearances or interceptions.

So Chelsea have cause for concern, right? After all, it is now seven months since he made his comeback in a development squad friendly against Brentford B and apart from a nice assist for Tammy Abraham at Crystal Palace in July, the dynamic play he can provide hasn’t really been seen.

However, lack of fortune, which almost seems like the story of Loftus-Cheek’s career, has played a part in a lack of match sharpness and should be taken into account.

Sources have assured The Athletic the attacking midfielder has been training well for a long period. But that doesn’t mean a player is 100 per cent for the games themselves.

He was really looking on track earlier in the year. Indeed, this reporter saw him looking strong and ready for competitive action during an under-23s match against Everton in March.

Yet, just over a week later, football was halted due to COVID-19. It stopped the momentum. All players in the country suffered from having to spend three months working out at home but it was a particular setback for Loftus-Cheek, who had already missed out on so much.

He managed nine first-team appearances, two of which were starts, when the 2019-20 campaign resumed. Understandably, with a top-four finish at stake, Chelsea couldn’t really afford to pick him much more than that and get vital minutes into his legs. There was another reason for his absence from the line-up. It is understood his running statistics in comparison with other Chelsea players were flagged up and it was highlighted he needed to do more in training and in games.

With a short turnaround and an international break to fit in before 2020-21 began, pre-season was heavily disrupted, too. Normally, teams have at least half a dozen warm-up games before a ball is kicked in anger — Chelsea had just one. Loftus-Cheek played 72 minutes but as a club source insists: “It was not enough”.

Even the opportunity of an in-house game wasn’t possible. Chelsea had a number of the squad — up to 10 — self-isolating in the build-up because of a COVID-19 scare and quarantine rules after travelling abroad on holiday. This meant many of Loftus-Cheek’s team-mates at the Amex Stadium were not at their best physically either, which didn’t help. While Chelsea won the contest, it was not a vintage display and the scoreline flattered them.

The views of Neville and Carragher have not been well-received inside the camp. As one insider adds: “It was so harsh to jump on Loftus-Cheek after he’s been out of the game so long.”

How will Loftus-Cheek react to the negative scrutiny? It will definitely be one to watch. Sources describe him as an individual who does take criticism to heart and can take it quite personally on occasion, so it is a good thing he has Lampard as coach, someone who was on the receiving end of plenty of condemnation throughout his playing career and in the two years he’s been a manager (including during his first season at Derby).

What does the future hold for Loftus-Cheek? Well, the club showed their faith in him by agreeing a five-year contract in July 2019, just a couple of months after sustaining the achilles problem.

Once Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic are fully fit, there is going to be a lot of competition for places in the attacking areas of the pitch. But it is believed he is very much part of Lampard’s plans for the campaign ahead, especially with his ability to play in so many positions. The worry, though, is can he get the regular run of games he needs to build up a rhythm, the kind seen during Maurizio Sarri’s one year in charge, when he played 42 times for club and country.

To get that, though, Loftus-Cheek needs to produce a lot more than he did at Brighton. Lampard has his own pressures to face, with expectations far greater following a spending spree in the market of over £200 million.

Loftus-Cheek is one of the most likeable players in the game. He is humble and has not let fame go to his head. But as Neville and Carragher demonstrated, people are now looking for his vast potential to be fully realised. It would help if a bit of luck finally went his way.

 

Not writing him off just yet because of obvious reasons but at the same time, think it's fair to ask how long should we wait for him to rediscover his form and/or fulfill his potential? He is already 24 years old, not 18 or 19 anymore and TBH, apart from the run he had under Sarri, he's never really shown any consistency in his career so far. He's only showed flashes of brilliance here and there and that is not good enough. It's fair that he should be given a bit more time but again at the same time, he also needs to do more to justify that. Okay, he didn't play in his best position on Monday but he was so bad at doing what's supposed to be the basics - e.g. passing the ball, making the right choices, tracking back. And then there's also the question whether Loftus-Cheek is basically a system player, someone who only fits into 4-3-3 and nothing else. If that is the case, then that is a potential issue as well. 

[Unionjack 7,531]

We have to start wondering whether 'the OK season' was purely a purple patch.

Its got to piss more peeps off than me that he seemingly does have some skills that would be really good for us yet gets selective memory when hes got to use the,/'

Would another year away help? Or hope he picks up on the vibe from new players?

[Vesper 27,329]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

Not writing him off just yet because of obvious reasons but at the same time, think it's fair to ask how long should we wait for him to rediscover his form and/or fulfill his potential? He is already 24 years old, not 18 or 19 anymore and TBH, apart from the run he had under Sarri, he's never really shown any consistency in his career so far. He's only showed flashes of brilliance here and there and that is not good enough. It's fair that he should be given a bit more time but again at the same time, he also needs to do more to justify that. Okay, he didn't play in his best position on Monday but he was so bad at doing what's supposed to be the basics - e.g. passing the ball, making the right choices, tracking back. And then there's also the question whether Loftus-Cheek is basically a system player, someone who only fits into 4-3-3 and nothing else. If that is the case, then that is a potential issue as well. 

I am all in on the sell him ASAP train

I think he is perma-damaged goods

pretty much there with CHO too, but not quite

also on that train for Emerson after his multiple chances, he is damaged goods as well

I just posted the article for discussion purposes

 

[Unionjack 7,531]

CHO needs a loan. Give him a year to get his head straight. I think thats HIS problem not skills. Then hope if he does come good we can use hi, but if hes got a strop on and wants to leave we can at least make some money on him.

[Jype 6,398]

7 hours ago, Jason said:

Not writing him off just yet because of obvious reasons but at the same time, think it's fair to ask how long should we wait for him to rediscover his form and/or fulfill his potential? 

I'd give him a full season post-injury. It was always going to be a long and difficult road fully recovering from the achilles problem and he's played what, 300-400 minutes?

Last season was a total write-off for Ruben because even though he managed to sneak in a few sub appearances and a couple starts after the restart, those were him taking his first steps towards a return after more than a year without football so he was never going to be good immediately. And he's still clearly not there and severely lacking match fitness. Should also be noted that against Brighton it was not only him who was bad, many others looked rusty as well although not so much as Ruben. If only there was a normal full pre-season with many friendlies, RLC could have really benefited from that coming into the new season.

So this season I'd use him in a rotational role in the league and a starter in the domestic cups to see if he gets any better. Chances are he'll never fulfill his potential because of so many injuries but that doesn't mean he can't still be at least a decent squad player for the team. And he has a good fighting mentality, under Sarri he was restricted to a backup role but eventually forced his way into the starting lineup through hard work. Not saying he's likely to do that now with the likes of Mount and Havertz competing for the same positions but if he shows the same mentality now, he'll not be happy with his own performances either and try to work harder to improve.

Wouldn't play him against Liverpool in this form but next week's league cup game should be a good opportunity for him.

If by the end of the season we've not seen enough improvement a move can be considered, especially if Gallagher has played for WBA and needs to be included in the squad.

[Unionjack 7,531]

1 hour ago, Jype said:

I'd give him a full season post-injury. It was always going to be a long and difficult road fully recovering from the achilles problem and he's played what, 300-400 minutes?

Last season was a total write-off for Ruben because even though he managed to sneak in a few sub appearances and a couple starts after the restart, those were him taking his first steps towards a return after more than a year without football so he was never going to be good immediately. And he's still clearly not there and severely lacking match fitness. Should also be noted that against Brighton it was not only him who was bad, many others looked rusty as well although not so much as Ruben. If only there was a normal full pre-season with many friendlies, RLC could have really benefited from that coming into the new season.

So this season I'd use him in a rotational role in the league and a starter in the domestic cups to see if he gets any better. Chances are he'll never fulfill his potential because of so many injuries but that doesn't mean he can't still be at least a decent squad player for the team. And he has a good fighting mentality, under Sarri he was restricted to a backup role but eventually forced his way into the starting lineup through hard work. Not saying he's likely to do that now with the likes of Mount and Havertz competing for the same positions but if he shows the same mentality now, he'll not be happy with his own performances either and try to work harder to improve.

Wouldn't play him against Liverpool in this form but next week's league cup game should be a good opportunity for him.

If by the end of the season we've not seen enough improvement a move can be considered, especially if Gallagher has played for WBA and needs to be included in the squad.

I dont see his problem now being fitness. Hes got the Yips. He doesn't want to get injured again so shys away and doesn't get stuck in. Hes a big strong boy. His majot wkill was he got into tank mode. If he cant do that its a problem. Give him a year away and hope.

[communicate 2,703]

3 hours ago, Jype said:

I'd give him a full season post-injury. It was always going to be a long and difficult road fully recovering from the achilles problem and he's played what, 300-400 minutes?

Last season was a total write-off for Ruben because even though he managed to sneak in a few sub appearances and a couple starts after the restart, those were him taking his first steps towards a return after more than a year without football so he was never going to be good immediately. And he's still clearly not there and severely lacking match fitness. Should also be noted that against Brighton it was not only him who was bad, many others looked rusty as well although not so much as Ruben. If only there was a normal full pre-season with many friendlies, RLC could have really benefited from that coming into the new season.

So this season I'd use him in a rotational role in the league and a starter in the domestic cups to see if he gets any better. Chances are he'll never fulfill his potential because of so many injuries but that doesn't mean he can't still be at least a decent squad player for the team. And he has a good fighting mentality, under Sarri he was restricted to a backup role but eventually forced his way into the starting lineup through hard work. Not saying he's likely to do that now with the likes of Mount and Havertz competing for the same positions but if he shows the same mentality now, he'll not be happy with his own performances either and try to work harder to improve.

Wouldn't play him against Liverpool in this form but next week's league cup game should be a good opportunity for him.

If by the end of the season we've not seen enough improvement a move can be considered, especially if Gallagher has played for WBA and needs to be included in the squad.

It is difficult to find playing time for ruben in this team, we have so many attacker, even Barkley right now is so much better than ruben. Unless we have injury crisis, It is hard to see ruben get enough playing time to get his mojo back

[Jype 6,398]

29 minutes ago, communicate said:

It is difficult to find playing time for ruben in this team, we have so many attacker, even Barkley right now is so much better than ruben. Unless we have injury crisis, It is hard to see ruben get enough playing time to get his mojo back

Yeah, it's certainly not an ideal situation for him. He needs minutes to even have a chance of getting back to his best but then again in most games the team can't afford to play someone who's so out of form at the moment.

It's really sad how unlucky he's been. Last season would've been perfect for him to build on his 2018/19 good form and really start cementing his place in the team but then he went and missed the whole year to the injury and is still very much playing catch-up on others competing for the same places.

I wouldn't give up on him just yet but let's see how it goes. For now he should only start in cup games and maybe play a sub role in some comfortable league games to get back some match fitness and confidence. If he starts getting better, his role can be increased later on. 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Tomo 21,681]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

 

Not aimed at you but these headlines will be excruciating this season. We've got a massive squad which means players won't make the bench.

 The last time we had a squad with this much depth was Mou 1.0, pick any random game from that era and you'll notice a big abscense or 2 from the matchday squad.

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, Tomo said:

Not aimed at you but these headlines will be excruciating this season. We've got a massive squad which means players won't make the bench.

 The last time we had a squad with this much depth was Mou 1.0, pick any random game from that era and you'll notice a big abscense or 2 from the matchday squad.

But in the case of our midfield, it is quite bloated to be honest.

1. Jorginho

2. Kante

3. Kovacic

4. Barkley

5. Gilmour

6. Mount

7. Havertz

8. Loftus-Cheek

If we play 4-3-3, then Mount and Havertz could be counted as options for the midfield and that would mean we have 8 players for that area, which is A LOT. Even if we take those two out, 6 for 3 positions is a lot and if we play 4-2-3-1, then it is SERIOUSLY TOO MANY players for the midfield area.

[killer1257 3,282]

Loan him out

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk

[Costa19 846]

Another strange one from Frank. He starts vs Brighton and now left out completely. Only Mountnaldo is safe around Franky..

[NikkiCFC 7,587]

With Havertz here one of RLC or Barkley was always extra. We thought Barkley would be sold but Frank rates him and RLC did not used his chances.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

RLC needs a loan this window, injuries and lack of playing time have fucked him up.

[Jase 43,479]

Aston Villa reportedly interested in Loftus-Cheek...

 

[Jype 6,398]

18 minutes ago, Jason said:

Aston Villa reportedly interested in Loftus-Cheek...

 

Would be a decent move for him I think.

I haven't given up on him at all, but in this current moment I can't see him getting enough games to fully overcome his problems if he stays this season. A year out on loan at a PL side could do him a lot of good and depending on how he gets on, there might still be a place for him to return next year. 

Barkley has been playing decently in the first few games this season and is clearly ahead of RLC in Lampard's books at the moment. Ruben was mysteriously missing from the lineup altogether tonight despite the League Cup being one of the best opportunities for him to gain match sharpness so I think there might be some truth to this rumor.

Zouma got his act together out on loan after his bad injury and made a return so I don't see any reason why RLC couldn't as well.