Needs to be played deeper, don't think he's ever had a good game when he's been deployed that high.

Not a good game from him last night, him and Kai really struggled to do anything of note. 

He's never going to realize his potential and become the player he could have been. Injuries played a part, yes, but it's the mental aspect of his approach that is much more important. He just doesn't have the drive, the intensity to prove himself. In a high pressure environment like competing for playing time in a top football club, it's not enough to just have a big talent, that's a given. You need to apply yourself, fight for every ball, excel both in training and actual matches. RLC strikes me as a nice quiet lad but also someone who isn't willing to go extra mile to to win. I don't think Mount has more ability for example, but he has belief and the right attitude, he plays like someone who is confident that he belongs in a side like Chelsea. Ruben plays like someone full of doubt and fear, that's why he always goes for the safest option, he's basically hiding. I don't know if it's his personality or his injury history or a combination of both, but that's what I see.

1 minute ago, abramovich said:

He's never going to realize his potential and become the player he could have been. Injuries played a part, yes, but it's the mental aspect of his approach that is much more important. He just doesn't have the drive, the intensity to prove himself. In a high pressure environment like competing for playing time in a top football club, it's not enough to just have a big talent, that's a given. You need to apply yourself, fight for every ball, excel both in training and actual matches. RLC strikes me as a nice quiet lad but also someone who isn't willing to go extra mile to to win. I don't think Mount has more ability for example, but he has belief and the right attitude, he plays like someone who is confident that he belongs in a side like Chelsea. Ruben plays like someone full of doubt and fear, that's why he always goes for the safest option, he's basically hiding. I don't know if it's his personality or his injury history or a combination of both, but that's what I see.

Its actually quite upsetting to see him like this, we all know he has the ability to become anything he wants, he genuinely could be a world talent for club and country. But seeing him play as a complete passenger while the game passed him by last night was horrible. As you say it looks like a combination of mental and physical, he looked scared to get involved at times, almost as if he is just expecting the next injury.

He didn't even look matchfit honestly. Which is a surprise as he's one of those who's actually had a pre-season and he should have been ready to go from the start.

Yesterday he almost didn't look like a footballer. Everything was off and unfortunately it's been the case almost every time he's been on the pitch since the return from injury.

Given the fact that he's 25 and falling down the pecking order it's not looking that great for his future here.

Barkley outperformed him. Won't get many more chances with the amount of competition for places we have in midfield. 

Needs to start stepping up a gear or he's going to become a lost cause. 

This was his 2nd start for us in well over a year due to a serious injury and covid. Absolutely outrageous that some are writing him off. He didn't have a good game last night, but neither did Mount or Havertz (Havertz had a shocker - passed the ball out of play a number of times under no pressure at all). These guys need a run in the team to get up to speed.

That being said, I think he needs to be played deeper to get the best out of him. That's where we will get the best use out of his main qualities - Strength and ball carrying ability.

15 minutes ago, DannyVblue said:

This was his 2nd start for us in well over a year due to a serious injury and covid. Absolutely outrageous that some are writing him off. He didn't have a good game last night, but neither did Mount or Havertz (Havertz had a shocker - passed the ball out of play a number of times under no pressure at all). These guys need a run in the team to get up to speed.

That being said, I think he needs to be played deeper to get the best out of him. That's where we will get the best use out of his main qualities - Strength and ball carrying ability.

Don't think anyone is writing him off but even his biggest supporters must now be having their doubts about RLC.

Injury after injury and then he comes back and needs time to ease into the team. That could happen years ago but now there is no time to wait for a player and RLC has had more chances than anyone. Havertz was equally poor last night but is only just 21 and that was his first game in a new league.

Don't think either will start v Liverpool.

5 minutes ago, Nibs said:

Don't think anyone is writing him off but even his biggest supporters must now be having their doubts about RLC.

Injury after injury and then he comes back and needs time to ease into the team. That could happen years ago but now there is no time to wait for a player and RLC has had more chances than anyone. Havertz was equally poor last night but is only just 21 and that was his first game in a new league.

Don't think either will start v Liverpool.

That's the thing I disagree with though Nibs, I think it's a myth that he's been given loads of opportunities to impress. He sat on our bench for years as the club thought he was too good for a loan, but Mourinho and others didn't give him a chance when he first came through. He then went and had a very good season with Palace on loan and broke into the England team (getting a man of the match for England too). Then under Sarri we were all screaming for him to be given more of a chance in the first half of the season, but a combination of Sarri being stubborn and niggling injuries meant that he didn't get a chance until halfway through the season. When he did get his chance he really shone and was one of our best players that season until his serious achilles injury. Since then he's only had 2 starts.

When you play for a top team you have to hit the ground running personally. In Havertz case it was his first game with the team plus he was played out wide when we should be using him in midfield.

I'm assuming that Ruben is training well hence the selection, but you need to take your chance when it comes in the first team.

Great talent, very unfortunate with injuries. But we can't be too patient and keep giving him opportunities if he's going to keep playing like that, we can't afford it. RLC has to take the initiatve and take it upon himself to improve and get back in there. 

It's not completely over though, Ross Barkley is still playing, and this time last season you would've sworn Barkley was completely finished, never to be seen again, yet he's still here and I think Ruben is far more talented than him. 

Very bad performance against Brighton, he completed only short passes, nothing more than that.

It's far away from the RLC we all see two seasons ago, I think he's lacking confidence and mentally he isn't strong enough. I feel so bad for the lad, I think he's very talented player, he's 24 and at this age players already becoming 80% of their ability on the pitch.

I'm not a fan of Barkley but he came on and was better than him in everything. 

This might be his final season with us if he won't put himself up and start working harder than everyone in the team, it's all in his hands and he has a serious battle to fight against. I believe in his talent but with the time I'm starting to lose my hope about his ability to become that player we all wanted to see. 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/premier-league/ruben-loftus-cheek-tipped-for-25m-chelsea-exit-after-brighton-showing/ar-BB193JFk?li=BBoPWjP

Journalism in this country

28 minutes ago, Imran_CFC said:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/premier-league/ruben-loftus-cheek-tipped-for-25m-chelsea-exit-after-brighton-showing/ar-BB193JFk?li=BBoPWjP

Journalism in this country

Some "tip", they're literally just reporting some nonsense that Neville and Carragher blurted out on Sky Sports.

2 hours ago, DannyVblue said:

That's the thing I disagree with though Nibs, I think it's a myth that he's been given loads of opportunities to impress. He sat on our bench for years as the club thought he was too good for a loan, but Mourinho and others didn't give him a chance when he first came through. He then went and had a very good season with Palace on loan and broke into the England team (getting a man of the match for England too). Then under Sarri we were all screaming for him to be given more of a chance in the first half of the season, but a combination of Sarri being stubborn and niggling injuries meant that he didn't get a chance until halfway through the season. When he did get his chance he really shone and was one of our best players that season until his serious achilles injury. Since then he's only had 2 starts.

I disagree, I like him but he has had more poor performances for us than good ones. When he played under Mourinho or Conte he did not shine and some thought he was lazy. He went on loan and, when back to Chelsea, Sarri played the cards well integrating him slowly, and only then we could see the wow factor everybody knew he had. Unfortunately, he got injured and he is reverted to the pre-Sarri state. He's highly talented, but he has only shown it in one season. He is reaching his peak and shouldn't be performing like he did yesterday. Now, it's only one game into the new season, so we shouldn't write him off. I hope Frank talks to him because he has shown what a good player he can be, but I think he lacks some confidence.

15 minutes ago, RMH said:

I disagree, I like him but he has had more poor performances for us than good ones. When he played under Mourinho or Conte he did not shine and some thought he was lazy. He went on loan and, when back to Chelsea, Sarri played the cards well integrating him slowly, and only then we could see the wow factor everybody knew he had. Unfortunately, he got injured and he is reverted to the pre-Sarri state. He's highly talented, but he has only shown it in one season. He is reaching his peak and shouldn't be performing like he did yesterday. Now, it's only one game into the new season, so we shouldn't write him off. I hope Frank talks to him because he has shown what a good player he can be, but I think he lacks some confidence.

 Last season was a write off for him due to injury, but he had 2 very good seasons before that. Under mourinho he was a teenager so to judge him harshly then is pretty ridiculous. 

He's had 2 starts in 16 months and had a serious injury. I cannot believe how impatient some of our fans are. Mind boggling. 

31 minutes ago, bluedave said:

Some "tip", they're literally just reporting some nonsense that Neville and Carragher blurted out on Sky Sports.

I journalismed today

3 hours ago, DannyVblue said:

 Last season was a write off for him due to injury, but he had 2 very good seasons before that. Under mourinho he was a teenager so to judge him harshly then is pretty ridiculous. 

He's had 2 starts in 16 months and had a serious injury. I cannot believe how impatient some of our fans are. Mind boggling. 

I'm not writing him off as it was the first game of the season but, two good seasons? Under Mourinho he was average, and so under Conte. Only Sarri was capable of bringing his best out and he had excellent games. The the unfortunate injury, but he's reverted back to his apparent lazy state that was obvious under Mou an de Conte.  As I said, I hope Frank and Jody have a word with him because he can be class, but he has had opportunities but hasn't been that good except for a season.

8 hours ago, EdinburghBlue said:

Not a great game for him last night by any stretch but let’s try and keep a bit of perspective. It’s our first game back with a pretty much non existent pre-season. No one played particularly well last other than Werner, Zouma & Christensen - in my opinion. Admittedly RLC was the worst of the lot but it’s early in the season. I don’t think we should be writing any players off at this stage or saying we should sell them based on one performance.

 

I do worry about him long term though, I think he will pan out to be more of a squad player for us. He’s 24 now and he’s got a history of being made of glass. On top of that, it was a horrific injury he suffered which some players just can’t recover from.

So how long do we give him before we acknowledge that he isn't good enough for where we want to be?

After all his injuries and at his age RLC needs to be the main man. He has sky high potential but he needs regular game time and to be free of injury to get there.

I dont believe that will be here. Too much pressure on Frank to deliver this season. A loan is not helpful for RLC imo. A Madrid style sale with buy back options would be best imo. Best for RLC career. Best for us if for a couple of seasons he stays injury free and really moves forward.

I really hope he can make it to his potential. Been a fan since he first started appearing for us.

8 minutes ago, RMH said:

I'm not writing him off as it was the first game of the season but, two good seasons? Under Mourinho he was average, and so under Conte. Only Sarri was capable of bringing his best out and he had excellent games. The the unfortunate injury, but he's reverted back to his apparent lazy state that was obvious under Mou an de Conte.  As I said, I hope Frank and Jody have a word with him because he can be class, but he has had opportunities but hasn't been that good except for a season.

Prior to the season under Sarri he had a very good season on loan at Palace which culminated in his breakthrough with the England team, and even a few good showings at the World Cup. I do worry that he will struggle to return to the form under Sarri but that is largely due to the injury he had. That being said some fans will likely always be frustrated with him due to his languid style that makes him seem to be strolling at times. Those same fans will probably also grow frustrated with Havertz as he has a similar style. He is not an all-action midfielder

8 minutes ago, forbzy said:

Prior to the season under Sarri he had a very good season on loan at Palace which culminated in his breakthrough with the England team, and even a few good showings at the World Cup. I do worry that he will struggle to return to the form under Sarri but that is largely due to the injury he had. That being said some fans will likely always be frustrated with him due to his languid style that makes him seem to be strolling at times. Those same fans will probably also grow frustrated with Havertz as he has a similar style. He is not an all-action midfielder

It's not about the languid-style. He is just slow and ineffective in the last game. He can't play as a hybrid 10/free role in the middle which made it look worse. Doesn't make space, doesn't run into space, didn't pressure White or Dunk at all even. 

He didn't even attempt to drop deeper to get the ball. Heck, Werner dropped way deeper than him to get a move going and Werner was pressing all game. Even Havertz did a gut busting run to prevent a goalscoring opportunity.

A midfielder can't play like that. Yaya Toure looks languid because positionally he was on point most of the time so he didn't need to run like crazy.

Didn’t we give him a wild 5-6yr contract? Transfermarkt has him under contract till 2024. We have so many options in the middle of the park, 2 too many IMO it might make sense to send him on a loan deal to a Palace/West Ham.

His performance against Brighton was up there with the worst I’ve seen from a young Chelsea player with great potential. Tammy had a few shockers last season but none at the level RLC was yesterday. He done absolutely nothing right all game and hampered the team. 

3 hours ago, forbzy said:

Prior to the season under Sarri he had a very good season on loan at Palace which culminated in his breakthrough with the England team, and even a few good showings at the World Cup. I do worry that he will struggle to return to the form under Sarri but that is largely due to the injury he had. That being said some fans will likely always be frustrated with him due to his languid style that makes him seem to be strolling at times. Those same fans will probably also grow frustrated with Havertz as he has a similar style. He is not an all-action midfielder

I’m not sure he was that good at Palace, given the quality of the team he was playing with. And I don’t think it was about languid style. Before Sarri he wasn’t impressing the coaches, and he wasn’t putting much effort defending. It can’t be that two coaches (and Sarri in the first half of the season) did not see all that he had to offer. But I give it to him, he has quality and has shown it for us (I don’t watch Palace or the English national team that often). Yesterday was the first game of the season and the whole team underperformed, but when Barkley came on we were a much different team. He needs to somehow find that form Pre-injury because it’s his crucial season at Chelsea.

On 01/08/2020 at 20:27, jack_super_class said:

Am i the only one who feels Lampard doesn't rate him that highly?. Like Hudson Odoi i dont think Frank feels he works hard enough of the ball and doesn't trust him defensively.

Spot on. But also there is no guile any longer. Nothing to confuse the OPPO or make them wary. The extra yard these blokes have is in that level of uncertainty they can bring on to the opposition. Not any more. Surely it's not a lack of confidence. We've only played 90 mins of a brand new season.

Also with RLC when do we acknowledge that he is our Wilshere. Lots of potential rarely realised, loads of injuries until ultimately his level is found. West Ham, Southampton or back to Palace. Yep our Wilshere or Huddlestone