Not that it counts for anything but still not quite my tempo, happy that he continues to impress though. Needs to play week in week out to gain experience/gather momentum, just can't see it happening here unless we're happy to risk dropped points.

RLC is a B2B midfielder never a striker

RLC is a B2B midfielder never a striker

I think Conte would prefer him to do more work, including defensive work, pressing in the opposition box rather than ours. I think it's just a question of semantics here and that Conte wants him to stay more in the attacking third.

For what it's worth, b2b players like Gerrard, Lampard, Kevin Nolan etc have had their outstanding goalscoring seasons when pushed forward into attack.

I think Conte means more of a no.10 then a striker but with a more box to box role then a traditional no.10

He said He wants him as as a striker when we attack and as a CM when we defend. Nothing wrong with that. It's up to Loftus-Cheek to play with the correct intensity and not let the game pass him by so much.

Call me crazy, but he is better off on loan playing weekly than sitting on the subs bench even if its in the championship. Saw a stat somewhere that he hasn't played 5 full games of senior football. I will be surprised if he gets more than 450mins on the pitch this season.

Call me crazy, but he is better off on loan playing weekly than sitting on the subs bench even if its in the championship. Saw a stat somewhere that he hasn't played 5 full games of senior football. I will be surprised if he gets more than 450mins on the pitch this season.

If we loan our players out then if they are that good surely going to another premier league team is better than the Championship. Yes i know the argument about potentially more game time but if they cannot get a game at the likes of Sunderland/Palace/West Brom/Watford etc then they will never make it at Chelsea.

Call me crazy, but he is better off on loan playing weekly than sitting on the subs bench even if its in the championship. Saw a stat somewhere that he hasn't played 5 full games of senior football. I will be surprised if he gets more than 450mins on the pitch this season.

 

Not saying I disagree, just curious. Do you mean in all comps or in the EPL?

Just checked its In the league. He has 670mins of top football experience. Think I saw somewhere that his wages might be prohibitive for all but four teams in the league (bar UTD, City, Arsenal, Liverpool), as he would be in the top band of earners which might be hindering a loan move.

Can't wrap my head around giving a kid such a fat contract with little top flight experience, and this might be why Conte is just sticking him so far up the pitch to please the higher ups. Ideally he needs to be played in a 3 in the middle, but lacks the work rate needed at the top level. IMO he should have gone on loan to the bundesliga or step down to the championship where he will play regularly, but yeah his wages again might not make this feasible.

He is not going to improve much this season as things stand and come next season, he won't be a prospect any longer. I draw parallels with the Rashford situation, albeit a younger player with much senior footie experience and international footie to boot. We are made to believe Rashford will learn more by sitting for meals next to Zlatan and having shooting practice with him. Surely 600mins last season, should mean he should aim for a reasonable 750-900mins this season? I just can't see it.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2658612-antonio-contes-use-of-ruben-loftus-cheek-shows-how-hes-innovating-at-chelsea.amp.html

Nice article on how Conte wants to use him.

I'm still not really convinced he's any good.. He's big and strong but that's about it. Can't see him getting many minutes this season then he'll probably join the loan to sell army. 

He is not a bloody number 10, no idea what his best position is though.

Disappointed with him against Leicester, but I still do believe that he can be something for us, matter of time.

Just now, jack_super_class said:

He is not a bloody number 10, no idea what his best position is though.

He's not disciplined enough or good enough defensively for DM, nor creative or attacking enough for AM, only role he could probably play is classic CM bit more box to box, but again, not sure he's really got the ability. 

Still don't see anything to get excited about from him.

Not sure what it is he is supposed to be good at?

He has some strengh, a burst of pace, decent dribbling, some good size, a good pass and decent finish (?)... He doesn't have enough stamina, I think for the box-box role which he'd probably excellent at.

 

I'm not going to pretend he had a good game tonight, but what do you expect when he just does not get enough playing time in order to improve.

He is technically good, and I like the way he can bring the ball out from deep, when he looks good he almost glides along. 

He should be playing next to Kante, as the up and down midfielder, he just needs to play better than Matic, which can't be that hard.

 

As you all said, didn't really have a great game, although I'd say he probably had a better game than Matic or Oscar did on the weekend.

But it wasn't the sort of performance that if you saw him playing for another club, you'd be wishing we signed him.

I think we have been experimenting with him too much. He's not an attacking midfielder and he's definitely not a striker. He's a central midfielder. All of his best performances for us have been from central midfield, we just don't give him time there or the minutes to prove if he can make that position his own.

Edited September 21, 20169 yr by Scott Harris

About giving him minutes and all that, Chalobah has got less playing time than him and yesterday day looked much better! I don't think RLC is bad, I just think he is not working hard enough, jogs rather than runs and he hasn't got the confidence to show himself for the ball to his team mates. But I wouldn't get rid of him, he surely can play a role.

Just now, RMH said:

About giving him minutes and all that, Chalobah has got less playing time than him and yesterday day looked much better! I don't think RLC is bad, I just think he is not working hard enough, jogs rather than runs and he hasn't got the confidence to show himself for the ball to his team mates. But I wouldn't get rid of him, he surely can play a role.

This pretty much sums it up - I wonder if that bumper contract has gone to his head a bit. He doesn't seem as hungry as you'd expect a young player to be. Chalobah was always asking for the ball and looking to play neat, positive passes.

You can see he has talent and athleticism but for me he just doesn't do enough, I think Nathan is a better CM 

3 minutes ago, DonAntonio said:

You can see he has talent and athleticism but for me he just doesn't do enough, I think Nathan is a better CM 

Are you referring to Chalobah or the guy we have on loan at Vitesse? If Chalobah, then I'm inclined to agree and from what I've seen, both Ake and Baker appear to be ahead of RLC in their development but then they are getting more game-time.

 

29 minutes ago, Nibs said:

Are you referring to Chalobah or the guy we have on loan at Vitesse? If Chalobah, then I'm inclined to agree and from what I've seen, both Ake and Baker appear to be ahead of RLC in their development but then they are getting more game-time.

 

Indeed I was referring to chalobah, non proficient speller of foreign names and an uncooperative iPhone, I forgot we had a Brazilian called Nathan sorry for the confusion, also I do think RLC is the more talented and athletic however he needs a good loan at a Lower table pl club that will play him and a manager not afraid to keep his boot up his arse until he gets The work rate up, keeping him on the fringe and not actually playing won't help confidence or development, then again you may think when he does get that chance he would run his socks off....

Edited September 21, 20169 yr by DonAntonio

I think Loftus-Cheek has the potential to be a very good player but to me he seems more suited to being the most advanced man in a midfield three.

That said, I was very disappointed with his performance against Leicester, he struggled to get a meaningful touch. He got absolutely schooled by Drinkwater who has had a fantastic start to the season; it seems like now he is out of the shadow of a more exciting midfield partner (Cambiasso, Kanté) he is making the most of his opportunity to shine.

Read that Chalobah has played 6000 more senior minutes (67 full games) than RLC. Understandable that he's a bit more composed. 

I still think there's something about RLC that's impressive. Hopefully both of them are given a bit more game time.