Christian Pulisic

[OhForAGreavsie 5,892]

10 hours ago, Scooter said:

I am new to this forum as I am a Dortmund fan (sorry) and I was browsing this because being an American, I wanted to get a sense of how Pulisic was being viewed.  I created an account to clear up one somewhat glaring misconception.  I read over and over that Puli was "benched" in favor of Sancho at Dortmund.  That is simply not accurate.  He had an injury and it took a long time for him to return to form.  But when he did return to form at the end of last season, he became a regular starter again.  Recall that last year the Bundesliga title race went down to the last weekend, so that every game was potentially critical.  Puli started all three of the last games.  Dortmund made clear they were trying to bring him back slow which is why his time was limited for a while.

That being said, his history at Dortmund is still a cause for concern. I remember a few years ago, Pato burst on the scene at AC Milan, and he was tagged as a future Player of the Year winner.  However, he was derailed by a series of minor injuries that most players bounce back from fairly quickly, never to be seen on the international stage again.  The fact that Puli took so long to recover his form at Dortmund raises the specter that he might be another Pato--prone to injury and less able to recover.    

Right now,I think his biggest problem is people like me.  Here I am, a Dortmund fan, lurking about on a Chelsea fan forum just because one american plays there.  Unlike other nations, Puli is virtually the sole focus of attention, and the pressure for him to be the savior of American soccer football is immense.  I cant help but wonder if that is getting to him as other than the Super Cup, he has been more tentative and played with less enthusiasm, than he ever was at Dortmund.  

Welcome Scooter and thank you for your comment. I hope we'll see more.

I'm about to challenge some of what you said and propose an alternative reading of Pulli's history. I have to stress however that this is almost entirely theoretical. I saw very little of Chris at BVB so I can't, and don't, claim to know his game as well as you do. What I did see however raised more questions than it provided answers so I was pleased to read earlier comments from people who are equally positive about him as you are. Nevertheless I do think the alternative version might also fit the facts.

My first challenge is to say that Sancho was indeed preferred to Chris. The injury might be an explanation for it, but the fact remains that on many occasions another player was selected ahead of our new recruit.

Challenge two: Dortmund's 'easing him back' statement could be the simple truth, or it might be an attempt to shield their player from criticism. I'm not sure how it fits with the timeline of the Chelsea deal, but the comment may also have been aimed at preserving Chris's value ahead of a transfer. It's been done before.

Challenge three: footballers often benefit from honeymoon judgements early in their careers. During that time they are given maximum credit for everything thing they do well, while anything they do poorly is excused or ignored altogether. Pato is an excellent example. Ahead of his loan to Chelsea, I said I had not seen any of his recent displays back home but gave my opinion that Pato was an ordinary player and always had been. A Brazilian fan felt I was being foolish to make a blind judgement but of course I had seen plenty of Pato in Europe and a leopard.does not change its spots.

I fully agree with what you say about the pressure of expectation. Even so, there was a lot to like from Chris in Istanbul. I hope that your faith in him is justified and that my concerns, along with my theories, are baseless.

[communicate 2,703]

15 hours ago, Scooter said:

I am new to this forum as I am a Dortmund fan (sorry) and I was browsing this because being an American, I wanted to get a sense of how Pulisic was being viewed.  I created an account to clear up one somewhat glaring misconception.  I read over and over that Puli was "benched" in favor of Sancho at Dortmund.  That is simply not accurate.  He had an injury and it took a long time for him to return to form.  But when he did return to form at the end of last season, he became a regular starter again.  Recall that last year the Bundesliga title race went down to the last weekend, so that every game was potentially critical.  Puli started all three of the last games.  Dortmund made clear they were trying to bring him back slow which is why his time was limited for a while.

That being said, his history at Dortmund is still a cause for concern. I remember a few years ago, Pato burst on the scene at AC Milan, and he was tagged as a future Player of the Year winner.  However, he was derailed by a series of minor injuries that most players bounce back from fairly quickly, never to be seen on the international stage again.  The fact that Puli took so long to recover his form at Dortmund raises the specter that he might be another Pato--prone to injury and less able to recover.    

Right now,I think his biggest problem is people like me.  Here I am, a Dortmund fan, lurking about on a Chelsea fan forum just because one american plays there.  Unlike other nations, Puli is virtually the sole focus of attention, and the pressure for him to be the savior of American soccer football is immense.  I cant help but wonder if that is getting to him as other than the Super Cup, he has been more tentative and played with less enthusiasm, than he ever was at Dortmund.  

For me, Pulisic problem in epl has nothing to do with mental. It is simply physical. He is too weak right now, just watch salah and mane. They can shield the ball with their body easily. That is what it take to be top winger in epl.

 

[the wes 7,212]

27 minutes ago, communicate said:

For me, Pulisic problem in epl has nothing to do with mental. It is simply physical. He is too weak right now, just watch salah and mane. They can shield the ball with their body easily. That is what it take to be top winger in epl.

 

That problem can be fix easy be doing Strength training  

[communicate 2,703]

1 hour ago, the wes said:

That problem can be fix easy be doing Strength training  

Didn't t work with Morata though 😁😁😁

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, communicate said:

Didn't t work with Morata though 😁😁😁

Sadly, he was and is still a whiny *****.

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Magic Lamps 11,655]

If Pulisic and CHO both come good, with their pace they can be a devastating duo like Mane and Salah. I still believe Pulisic has a chance to fulfill his potential here. Though, I doubt his problems are purely physical. He does look a bit tense and desperate with his final ball. But his movement has been good and he does well to get into the positions. He is definitely feeling the pressure so Lamps has no choice to use him sporadically so far as he still does not really play well with the team which surprises me given how spectacular his form was in pre-season. I guess it is a combination of both, getting used to the rigor of the PL and finding his feet in this new situation for him. But he is obviously a hard worker, a down-to-earth character, I am sure he will manage. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,481]

CHO seems calm and smooth in big moments. Pulisic seems tight and pushing too hard, he is also taking near impossible angles on goal. He will adjust or move or be moved on. He has been given a fair opportunity, that is all that anyone can ask.

[The Skipper 20,593]

On 26/09/2019 at 0:31 AM, Tomo said:

that he has a lot of talent and the idea of him is great

What is the idea of Pulisic? What sort of player does he become? Struggling to see it a little bit tbh. Free to change my mind though of course...

[Tomo 21,733]

9 minutes ago, The Skipper said:

What is the idea of Pulisic? What sort of player does he become? Struggling to see it a little bit tbh. Free to change my mind though of course...

In layman's terms what we saw against Liverpool in Istanbul and Salzburg in pre season consistently. I thought he was a joy to watch in those games.

Problem is it looks like we're only getting that version one game in ten.

[communicate 2,703]

1 hour ago, Tomo said:

In layman's terms what we saw against Liverpool in Istanbul and Salzburg in pre season consistently. I thought he was a joy to watch in those games.

Problem is it looks like we're only getting that version one game in ten.

The problem in instanbul and against Salzburg he was playing high making run behind on the left hand side. 

If you want him to do that, you have to drop Mount. Mount is lamp favorite so not going to happen. 

[Jase 43,479]

8 minutes ago, communicate said:

The problem in instanbul and against Salzburg he was playing high making run behind on the left hand side. 

If you want him to do that, you have to drop Mount. Mount is lamp favorite so not going to happen. 

Not sure why you seem to have the idea that a winger can't do both sides of the game if needed, that it must be 1 or the other. 

And based on Lampard's comments today about having 4 wingers, seems like the long term plan would be moving Mount back to midfield - whether as the No.10 or 1 of the 3 midfielders - and have 2 from CHO, Pulisic, Pedro and Willian as the wingers (at least for this season's choices).

[LAM09 6,751]

Not sure why you seem to have the idea that a winger can't do both sides of the game if needed, that it must be 1 or the other. 

And based on Lampard's comments today about having 4 wingers, seems like the long term plan would be moving Mount back to midfield - whether as the No.10 or 1 of the 3 midfielders - and have 2 from CHO, Pulisic, Pedro and Willian as the wingers (at least for this season's choices).

If that is the case, Jorginho (our only leader) will be dropped? [emoji848]

 

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, LAM09 said:

If that is the case, Jorginho or Kante being dropped?

Kovacic, I think. 

[LAM09 6,751]

Kovacic, I think. 

It would be hard to drop one of our more consistent performers.

[Jase 43,479]

Just now, LAM09 said:

3 minutes ago, Jason said:

Kovacic, I think. 

It would be hard to drop one of our more consistent performers.

It's either gonna be him or Jorginho. And both, IMO, do not contribute enough defensively. 

[LAM09 6,751]

It's either gonna be him or Jorginho. And both, IMO, do not contribute enough defensively. 

You could argue the same going the other way.

Will be fasnicating to see what our team looks like come 2020, barring any more long layoffs.

[communicate 2,703]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Not sure why you seem to have the idea that a winger can't do both sides of the game if needed, that it must be 1 or the other. 

And based on Lampard's comments today about having 4 wingers, seems like the long term plan would be moving Mount back to midfield - whether as the No.10 or 1 of the 3 midfielders - and have 2 from CHO, Pulisic, Pedro and Willian as the wingers (at least for this season's choices).

No, some winger can certainly do both side. But not all of them are good at bringing the ball up and make run behind. Take Puli and Willian for example. I think Willian didn't make run behind enough but his ability to protect the ball and bring it forward is far better than Puli. Puli on the other hand is too weak right now but he is lightning quick and make excellent run behind.

Player are also affected by playing on right or the left. On the right he won't be as aggressive/direct as playing on the left. He will shoot more on the left and cross more on the right. I think he was playing both time (Salzburg n pool) on the left hand side. 

I don't know about mount in 3 man midfield but 4231 suit him perfectly. It is going to be fun though ,because although we have so many brilliant youngster I don't know whether all of them will fit into a balance starting 11.