And Lampard won't even start him consistently for whatever reason. I admit I thought it would take CP 2-3 seasons to even be close to Hazard's replacement. But he possesses every bit the same quality as Hazard does in both creativity and ability to score. Heck, I'm not even sure the guys putting Chelsea together even thought they could replace Hazard with just CP and were doing more of a MoneyBall thing and trying to replace his production with 2-3 guys.
Hope?
- Thread starter HuffyCane
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9 goals in league games plus 1 or 2 more in all comps & DNP in more than 1/3rd of the games due to injury or whatever. But don't overlook his set-up ability with 4 maybe 5 assists since the restart and fouls in dangerous areas. I'd say Roman Abramovich has already received a major interest payment on his $73 million and there's 3 more games to go for ChLg qualifying(Sun), FA Cup final on Aug 1st and ChLg(2nd leg)vs Bayern Munich.
He doesn’t attract and absorb and hold pressure like Hazard, but he’s getting there. May never get there with his physique. But otherwise, right on target.
According to Frankie he has been working with Chelsea's strength & conditioning coach & you can tell he's more muscled up & solid but not much weight gain to deal with the defensive studs in the league. I particularly worry about the goons in CONCACAF when quals begin.
He also has drawn 2 fouls in the area that awarded Chelsea PKs that Willan takes (since the restart). Pulisic gets no credit in the scoreline (officially) when that happens. What I saw Liverpool try to do to him on Wednesday is neutralize him with numbers. They rarely do that, especially against quality teams, because they have the individual one on one defenders to handle most forwards (IMO, Alexander-Arnold is the weakest individual defender of the 4 starters but for obvious reasons you can't not start him).
CP is in much better physical shape now and as he gets older and continues to build that physique, he'll be able to endure more. I'm also hoping CONCACAF refs give him the benefit of the doubt world star status they give to guys like Chicharito and Raul Jimenez (both are flopping fishes on the pitch). I've also long held that CONCACAF needs to use other federation referees in any match involving the US and one of the primarily Spanish speaking countries (Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras). I have never felt the US gets a fairly called match with refs from Central America, especially when playing Mexico, when they allow Mexican defenders and MFs to go for CPs ankles constantly. Before that it was Donovan and before that it was Claudio Reyna (why do you think Reyna was hurt more than he actually got to play when it came to USMNT?) Bring in refs from Europe, Asia, or Africa to call those games.
Well, maybe not "hugely important". Guess whose name is being mentioned about joining Liverpool? Thas rite, none other than Christian Pulisic. It kind of makes sense. Chelsea has signed Timo Werner & Hakim Ziyech & are closing in on Kai Havertz. Forget about Jadon Sancho & his 120 million euro xfer fee. Havertz is the real deal & 50 million cheaper.
So, if Havertz signed, where does that leave CP? All 3 of the above are excellent attacking players with Werner a 9 & the other 2 on the wings. I get the idea that CP & his teammates are not getting along. It's just something about body language during goal celebrations, interviews with players & other things I can't put my finger on. Anyway, there is a buzz around Anfield about CP joining the Reds.
Who knows but CP could put Liverpool over the top for a 2nd consecutive EPL championship, not to mention his relationship with Klopp.
Oh, & one other guy is being mentioned. Wes McKennie joining L'pool is another rumor. He will be somewhere in the EPL next season & why not with the champs. Don't be too shocked if either happens. Bla will love it at least.
So, if Havertz signed, where does that leave CP? All 3 of the above are excellent attacking players with Werner a 9 & the other 2 on the wings. I get the idea that CP & his teammates are not getting along. It's just something about body language during goal celebrations, interviews with players & other things I can't put my finger on. Anyway, there is a buzz around Anfield about CP joining the Reds.
Who knows but CP could put Liverpool over the top for a 2nd consecutive EPL championship, not to mention his relationship with Klopp.
Oh, & one other guy is being mentioned. Wes McKennie joining L'pool is another rumor. He will be somewhere in the EPL next season & why not with the champs. Don't be too shocked if either happens. Bla will love it at least.
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I’m trying to figure out where CP plays if he goes to LFC? He’s essentially the same player Mane is at this point. Are any of the big 3 forwards at LFC talking about getting out? And McKennie would be a decent fit in the role that Keira and Ox have been playing and you could even maybe slot him back into the Fabinho role as well. As much as zi would like to see either of those players at LFC, unless LFC loses a bunch of players I don’t see it. Where I could see them go is a place like Arsenal. CP is a perfect fit with the style Arsenal are playing right now and it would reunite him with Aubemayang.
Although CP didn't have his best game vs Wolves, Chelsea beat them 2-0 to gain Champions League next season. That's another huge dividend for the club & Abramovich(around 150 million US) for qualifying. No one can dispute that CP was very, very important in getting them there. A win vs Arsenal this weekend in the FA Cup final will prolly mean more cash for them.
Maybe they'll buy a couple of central defenders needed desparately.
Maybe they'll buy a couple of central defenders needed desparately.
CP was directly involved in their first goal, breaking down the Wolves defenders and getting a pass off in heavy traffic that Mason Mount pounced on an put in. Teams realize CP has the skill to break down 2-3 defenders and extra defenders come to help freeing up all sorts of space in dangerous areas.
Well, I sprung for at least a month($5.) of espn+ just to watch Chelsea vs Arsenal in the FA Cup final. If for no other reason than to see who wins the Pulisic/Aubameyang battle. Aubam has had a stellar year for Arsenal, top 2 or 3 in League goals scored. And they are apparently good buds(off the pitch) after being at Dortmund together. Will be interesting.
Pulisic opens the scoring 5 minutes in. He started the attack with a nice through ball to Mount who then played across the Giroud who was well marked in the area. Giroud makes a nice little back heel lay-off to Pulisic who took a touch around the defender and a nice finish.
Bad news: Pulisic just went off a minute into the 2nd half after taking a ball at midfield and racing past the Arsenal defender into the box and he got a shot off but went down with what looks like a pretty serious hamstring injury.
Bad news: Pulisic just went off a minute into the 2nd half after taking a ball at midfield and racing past the Arsenal defender into the box and he got a shot off but went down with what looks like a pretty serious hamstring injury.
He may have made the hamstring worse than it could have been by his effort. On the slo-mo replay you could see him pull the muscle and start yelling 2 or 3 steps before actually taking the shot with the injured leg. Hopefully he’ll recover completely but there’s no way he’ll be ready for the Champions League match against Bayern.
And some guts to continue & get a shot off, in pain. Did anyone else think that ref had too many calls go against Chelsea? Not too mention getting screwed out of 2 to 3 minutes of stoppage time for the last "injury"
I doubt LEC is the typical Arsenal fan. Several of them in London are getting torn, spindled & mutilated by the press & several retired stars for cheering just after CP's injury. Not too mention Arteta after Kovacic' foul got a 2nd yellow. Before sending him off, Arteta is waving the imaginary yellow(or red) card. Also criticized over there for being classless. Not to mention that ref. Also being criticized in the Brit press for some questionable calls, all of which went against Chelsea.
But, anyway, good luck in the Europa League while Chelsea might make some real noise in the Champion's League.
But, anyway, good luck in the Europa League while Chelsea might make some real noise in the Champion's League.
Arsenal have been mediocre for so long, I don't even follow them much anymore. But nice to see a victory with a trophy on the line. I'd rather see a healthy Pulisic though.
Mesut Ozil was one of my favorite players in EPL but he seems to have disappeared completely. Emery wasn't a big fan of Ozil. To be fair, Ozil did seem to coast through things the last year or so. Ozil and Petr Cech were the only reasons I ever watched Arsenal. Never been a Chelsea fan, mostly because when I started watching, Mourinho was in his finest form of dismantling what should have been a really good team. And ManU reminds me of the NY Yankees. Let's spend money like its going out of style. Of course, I'm an LFC fan probably because of their association with the Red Sox (same owners).
CP still on the shelf for four more weeks at least. He'll likely miss the first 2 or 3 games of the new EPL season or more. So what's new? (CP ends 1st season w/ 11 goals & 9 assists in all comps, about half & half starting or subbed in 23 games).
Tyler Adams is in the ChLg quarterfinals w/ Leipzig.
Tyler Adams is in the ChLg quarterfinals w/ Leipzig.
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Tyler Adams just scored the game winner for Leipzig over Atletico to set up a semifinal game vs PSG. Americans showing well overseas
There are rumors flying around that Weston McKennie and Sergino Dest are headed to bigger places this transfer window.
Looks like Southhampton in the EPL for McKennie, and possibly Juventus with Christiano Ronaldo or Barca with Messi et. al. for Dest.
I had heard McKennie to EPL but I think I had heard Leicester was one option and someone mentioned his name with Arsenal as well. I hadn't heard about Dest....if he goes to Juve and gets to play that's a really good thing.
Dest has quite a few high quality suitors actually, but Juve's actually made an offer. Apparently Barca, Man City, and Bayern are all interested in him.
https://www.90min.com/in/posts/serg...a-in-the-race-for-ajax-youngster-01ed98tj66f1
If you haven’t already heard of him already, Brenden Aaronson will be on your radar soon. His brother and sister too probably.
Plays for Philly. Homegrown and Academy. This isn’t a typical MLS overhype. He can play.
Maybe the most savvy and soccer smart player in a decade. Showed very well for a youngster in MLS is back. Dortmund mulling making an offer.
Says he’s a 10, but he’s an 8 with spice in a diamond or bucket and that’s where he will play. Not well suited for Berhalters flat wide four though.
Plays for Philly. Homegrown and Academy. This isn’t a typical MLS overhype. He can play.
Maybe the most savvy and soccer smart player in a decade. Showed very well for a youngster in MLS is back. Dortmund mulling making an offer.
Says he’s a 10, but he’s an 8 with spice in a diamond or bucket and that’s where he will play. Not well suited for Berhalters flat wide four though.
Aaronson is a freaking stud. I'd love to see him and Pulisic team up on opposite sides and have a physical 9 who can hold and draw defenders to give Pulisic and Aaronson the wide spaces. I know there is not really a 2 or 5 in the world who can win 1 v 1 battles vs Pulisic more than Pulisic wins those. And Aaronson's vision and delivery of quality passes in MLS is Back was really eye-opening. Twellman gushed about him, and it was warranted.
BTW, Twellman is really good at the analyst stuff. He knows the game very well and his candor about bad play, bad decisions, maybe bad coaching strategy is refreshing (he also dishes out plenty of positives when warranted). He was in a Twitter battle the other day where he made a comment about baseball play and some baseball guy went off on him and told him to stay in his lane. Twellman's response was " Yeah, because I didn't play baseball on a scholarship at UM (Maryland) or offered a pro-contract to play baseball". Didn't know that but apparently he is the Danny Ainge of soccer.
So not a US player, but for a player who was just in USL 3 seasons ago before spending a year plus with Vancouver, has anyone's star from CONCACAF risen faster than Alphonso Davies? The kid's 19 and a freaking stud. Another one of those great outside wing backs like Alexander-Arnold except I think Davies may be quicker and have better technical skill with the ball at his feet. I was reading an article where MLS asks it's players to forgo the 10% of the transfer fees that is customary when they move clubs. For Davies that was 1.13M Euros (transfer fee was 11.3M Euros). He was making $72.8k annually in MLS. How can you ask a kid who earns his 1st big pay day to forgo that? On top of that, MLS will usually force the player to forgo it and let MLS keep it or they will deny the transfer if the player is still under contract. That's crap. And maybe if MLS started paying their stud young players more of them would stick around rather than looking for the first flight to Europe. Granted, Davies went to one of the Euro super clubs in Bayern, it's not like he went to Shakhtar or Benfica.
That’s been going on for awhile. It’s why Stu waited six months, risked injury and getting nothing, and went on a free.
Adding to the insult, that ten percent does not go to the club that developed you but instead it’s divided according to a formula around the league. Imagine being told as a Galaxy youth player with immigrant parents in working class jobs that you have to give three times their salary to Columbus for no reason at all.
Adding to the insult, that ten percent does not go to the club that developed you but instead it’s divided according to a formula around the league. Imagine being told as a Galaxy youth player with immigrant parents in working class jobs that you have to give three times their salary to Columbus for no reason at all.
It's a bad model. SUM and Garber getting rich off of kids who turn into superstars for literally doing nothing at all. I think USL has a better stability model despite the amount of money involved being significantly less. US soccer needs to take a much harder look at trying to develop a model similar to the FA in England. If you succeed, you move up levels and you get add'l money...if you suck because you don't spend money, you go down.
Mckennie to Juventus. Learning from Pirlo is going to be a great experience for him. I can only remember two American players in Serie A-Lalas and Bradley and neither of those clubs were on Juventus's level. Those guys were only there for 1 year stints too. I hope he goes and plays. Is this biggest club any American has transferred to? I think Juventus is a bigger club than Chelsea.
That's iffy. And Steffen is property of Man City right now although he's on loan to a German club I think. Juve may be the same level as ManCity, but I don't think it's necessarily above
Tim Howard from MLS to Manchester United at their peak is probably still the biggest signing. Among field players, Jonathon Spector to Man U in their prime, Erik Palmer-Brown to City a few years ago was huge. Chelsea and Juve are about the same but admittedly one stock is up and the other is down. Brad Friedel to Liverpool after three previous clubs couldn’t get him a permit was a big deal. Onyewu to AC Milan was a significant Serie A signing, if for no other reason than as soon as he got there he threatened to sue Anderlecht and Belgium soccer for failing to stop on pitch racism. As soon as that was calmed down, he played in the Champions League, punched Zlatan and then got hurt just before the World Cup. That was a blessing though. It opened the door for DeMerit. Him signing with Watford without any pro experience was a miracle btw. Highly recommend the biography of his life.
I’ll see if I can think of more.
It’s cool he signed for Juve, and exciting, but there are three USA youngsters signed to Bayern playing reserves and youth. Each of those is arguably more significant and might see time before McKinnie, especially with his injury history.
I’ll see if I can think of more.
It’s cool he signed for Juve, and exciting, but there are three USA youngsters signed to Bayern playing reserves and youth. Each of those is arguably more significant and might see time before McKinnie, especially with his injury history.
I would say the US should be hitting their 2nd golden age of soccer with the amount of talent out there and playing in the top leagues internationally. One big thing the US must figure out is how to keep all the kids born in CA that have Mexican heritage playing at home and for the US. Can we strip citizenship? (j/k but really they come here for opportunity, they get that opportunity and education here, and then they bolt? It's one of the really frustrating things about FIFA and determining national team eligibility and status).
And we still can't find a good center back or keeper
CP still healing from that mild hamstring tear but now he has an extra 14 days in isolation (at least) after he, Tammy A. & Mason Mount had some fun in the sun on Mykonos, Greece. Don't know yet if any of these tested positive or if it's imposed after returning from a foreign country.
However, there are at least 4 other Chelsea players who have tested positive. Kind of screws up pre-season practice for the Blues. Frankie should have kept them on the reservation during the short break between seasons. Chelsea starts on 09/14, maybe.
Jesse Marsch is kind of lobbying for a position on the MNT. Why not after Beer?halter's less than stellar start as coach. Marsch (no doubt) bleeds red,white & blue. Here's his recent quote: "....I hope to one day be involved in the national team in whatever capacity". He'd be a step up, imo.
However, there are at least 4 other Chelsea players who have tested positive. Kind of screws up pre-season practice for the Blues. Frankie should have kept them on the reservation during the short break between seasons. Chelsea starts on 09/14, maybe.
Jesse Marsch is kind of lobbying for a position on the MNT. Why not after Beer?halter's less than stellar start as coach. Marsch (no doubt) bleeds red,white & blue. Here's his recent quote: "....I hope to one day be involved in the national team in whatever capacity". He'd be a step up, imo.
I second Huffy's rec on the DeMerit bio. I haven't seen my DVD in a few years, but I know it's in there somewhere. The production value isn't the greatest, but it's got some awesome footage. I bet it's streaming somewhere. Hell, probably on youtube.
I chipped in $20 for the Kickstarter to help raise the licensing fee to show the EPL footage. They wanted like $30,000 for less than five minutes of footage. The Championship told them have at it.
It’s really worth your time. If you’ve ever suffered through the unsufferable because you’ve got a dream and no place else to go and believe in yourself when nobody else will, it’s something you have to see.
It’s here. Free of charge. Pour yourself two fingers of whatever and enjoy.
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Jesse was always one of my favorite MLS players because he ran his mouth and tackled with two feet. Just like me.
But he burned a lot of bridges. And he only had like 2 courtesy caps. They want someone who has played in a WC and speaks Spanish. He’s learning quick and could be special soon. That could mend some bridges he’s burned. Not this cycle though.
Epic speech deserves a 10th listen. “Zu Veil Respect for the Geg Na!” Lol
If you have youngsters and money, he runs a soccer and self motivation camp for kids up near Vancouver with his wife an ex model and Olympic skiing medalist. She’s gorg. The camp is less about how to dribble, and more about we can teach you to dribble but what are you going to do if you can or can’t dribble. How to actualize your dreams. And he lived the American dream. Started with nothing with no talent and totally discounted. Chased a dream. Reached the top. Cashed out a millionaire in a mansion with a model wife who’s a millionaire herself.
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