Christian Pulisic - Official

[haviet1]

At the end of the day you just got to trust the coach's decisions, and no one knows what goes inside Frank's head but Frank himself. So we all cam make guesses and assumptions, but won't get to the truth unless Frank speaks.

But I don't think it's completely out of place to question Frank's decision here. 

As it stands, Pulisic has 4 goals and 4 assists from 573 minutes since restart. That gives him 1 g/a per 71 min, that's just absurd. He's not only the most in form attacker on Chelsea but probably the most in form attacker in the EPL at this moment.

You come into a game needing 1 point to secure CL play for next season and you leave your best attacker on the bench. You claim he's carrying a knock and not ready to play, so you left him on the bench. But then you went 4-1 down and you bring him in the 60'? Did you think he was going to create 3 goals in 30 min? He came close, but with all due respect, even Messi can't be expected to create 3 goals in 30 min against Liverpool. So this proves he was more than healthy enough to play and be effective, so the he's not healthy reason is not quite accurate.

And also by bringing Pulisic into the game late, it shows that you wanted to earn points against Liverpool, and not resting him to face Wolves. So therefore, the reason for not starting him is to save him for Wolves because you don't care about the results against Liverpool; and if you didn't care then why bring him on and risk injury if you were saving/resting him for Wolves? So the resting him for Wolves reason is out the window.

And as mentioned earlier, you want your best player on the pitch all the time from minute 1, not minute 70 to go against tired legs. You don't know what could happen in the first 70 min, you could be down 4-1 or 6-1 instead of up 2-0 or 3-1 with your best player starting on the pitch.  So the theory that you save your best players for tired legs is not credible, and if a player is only effective against tired legs than he's not your best player. Pulisic has proven through the season that he is just effective, if not more, starting from minute 1 instead of minute 70 or 80.

So with all that said, I think there's a bit more to it behind the scenes; whatever it is only Frank and Pulisic knows. But I do hope to see Pulisic continue to grow and able to help Chelsea win games whenever he's called upon, whether that's from the bench or in the starting 11.

 

 

[General]

Nice to see that the Russian Bird has signed a quality player who has really come on leaps and bounds under Frank this season. He does like frighteningly good at the moment and I hope he starts the next 2 matches, he's well up for it and is now a potential game changer a la Eddy imo. I've been in the States 32 years now and he's the best player I've seen from over here in that time, knew he had potential when signed but never dared to hope this much.

With the addition of Werner and possibly Havertz we will have a fast and fluid front 3 to rival the Bindippers and Scum United, throw in the other new boy Ziyech, CHO, Tammy & Olly and our attacking line up is complete. 

Now RA get the check book out and get us a DM, CB, LB & goalie.

 

[jack h]

Pulisic having a massive impact on the game at 4-1 down at 60 minutes in does not equate to him making a proportionate impact from the start. There were a number of reasons why he didn't start. The injury, keeping the same team that were superb against man utd (not always a good thing to do but very common from even the most experienced managers) and probably tactical thinking from Frank as well.

I really don't mean to sound condescending but I get the impression some of the recent American members may not have watched football for that long, if that is the case then you're gonna need to get used to the idea of "star players" sitting on the bench at times for a variety of reasons, especially when those players are young, recently injured and still finding their place in the game. Again, sorry if that's condescending, just the impression I've got reading some posts.

Despite his brilliant form recently Pulisic certainly hasn't "made it" and he needs to be managed properly as well as having his, managments and our expectations kept in check. Playing young and promising players all the time isn't always a good thing for their development and the last thing we want from Pulisic is burn out, a serious injury like Hudson-Odoi has had or expecting too much of him and putting him in Hazard's shoes where we turn entirely reliant on him.

 

[haviet1]

21 minutes ago, jack h said:

Pulisic having a massive impact on the game at 4-1 down at 60 minutes in does not equate to him making a proportionate impact from the start. There were a number of reasons why he didn't start. The injury, keeping the same team that were superb against man utd (not always a good thing to do but very common from even the most experienced managers) and probably tactical thinking from Frank as well.

I really don't mean to sound condescending but I get the impression some of the recent American members may not have watched football for that long, if that is the case then you're gonna need to get used to the idea of "star players" sitting on the bench at times for a variety of reasons, especially when those players are young, recently injured and still finding their place in the game. Again, sorry if that's condescending, just the impression I've got reading some posts.

Despite his brilliant form recently Pulisic certainly hasn't "made it" and he needs to be managed properly as well as having his, managments and our expectations kept in check. Playing young and promising players all the time isn't always a good thing for their development and the last thing we want from Pulisic is burn out, a serious injury like Hudson-Odoi has had or expecting too much of him and putting him in Hazard's shoes where we turn entirely reliant on him.

 

 

Not at all, nothing condescending. And I do appreciate the honest and direct feedback.

I've been casually following soccer for about 2 decades now, but obviously I do not follow soccer/football as closely as most of you on the other side. I/we mostly tune into to watch our Americans play, whether they are in the EPL, Championship, Bundesliga, etc.

I understand there are intricacies and complexities of football, and try to keep an open mind to learn more about it.

It makes complete sense for Lamp to continue to use the same 11 against ManU because they had a good game and he wants to reward them, or perhaps he felt confidence he can get points against Liverpool with the same 11/tactics; although sometimes that might not be the best choice. I am just interested to learn what Frank's thoughts process were and what drive his decisions, because simply saying Pulisic was injured so he didn't start but then came on and made an immediate impact, just doesn't seem to make lots of sense to a casual fan. But again, of course Frank does not need to answer folks like us. I just like the question being asked and try to get Frank's insights on the decision/situation.

[jack h]

50 minutes ago, haviet1 said:

 

Not at all, nothing condescending. And I do appreciate the honest and direct feedback.

I've been casually following soccer for about 2 decades now, but obviously I do not follow soccer/football as closely as most of you on the other side. I/we mostly tune into to watch our Americans play, whether they are in the EPL, Championship, Bundesliga, etc.

I understand there are intricacies and complexities of football, and try to keep an open mind to learn more about it.

It makes complete sense for Lamp to continue to use the same 11 against ManU because they had a good game and he wants to reward them, or perhaps he felt confidence he can get points against Liverpool with the same 11/tactics; although sometimes that might not be the best choice. I am just interested to learn what Frank's thoughts process were and what drive his decisions, because simply saying Pulisic was injured so he didn't start but then came on and made an immediate impact, just doesn't seem to make lots of sense to a casual fan. But again, of course Frank does not need to answer folks like us. I just like the question being asked and try to get Frank's insights on the decision/situation.

Wasn't aimed specifically at you to be honest, there seems to be a lot of American fans joining recently which is cool in a way and they're understandably focused on Pulisic. Lets face it, if he continues his current form for 2 or 3 years at least and wins a few trophies including the league or Champions league with us (which we all hope he does) then he'll have already eclipsed anything a US player has achieved in the game (unless I'm forgetting someone obvious from the US).

You're unlikely to get a completely honest answer from a manager on why he left a player out. It could show tactical naivity, lack of forsight or cause a bullsh*t controversy, especially at higher profile clubs where scrutiny is intense, constant and unforgiving. Chris Wilder at Sheffield utd or Sean Dyche at Burnley might get away with brutal honesty in terms of their management style and media relationships but for me Frank is right to be more reserved.

Also the idea that players coming on fresh later in the game is definitely a thing, some players have made careers out of being a good substitute and many high profile players have been left out of starting lineups in huge games with the intention that they come on later to optimise their impact. It can be risky if it backfires but not uncommon at all, most managers simply don't explain their tactics in full to media though. Given how hard liverpools full backs work during a game there is definitely an argument to be made that that was what Frank intended with Pulisic all along on Wednesday regardless of his injury or fitness, the fine lines for him are seeing how long to wait to make the subs and for me that was about 5 or 10 minutes too long.

[DumbYank]

37 minutes ago, jack h said:

Wasn't aimed specifically at you to be honest, there seems to be a lot of American fans joining recently which is cool in a way and they're understandably focused on Pulisic. Lets face it, if he continues his current form for 2 or 3 years at least and wins a few trophies including the league or Champions league with us (which we all hope he does) then he'll have already eclipsed anything a US player has achieved in the game (unless I'm forgetting someone obvious from the US).

You're unlikely to get a completely honest answer from a manager on why he left a player out. It could show tactical naivity, lack of forsight or cause a bullsh*t controversy, especially at higher profile clubs where scrutiny is intense, constant and unforgiving. Chris Wilder at Sheffield utd or Sean Dyche at Burnley might get away with brutal honesty in terms of their management style and media relationships but for me Frank is right to be more reserved.

Also the idea that players coming on fresh later in the game is definitely a thing, some players have made careers out of being a good substitute and many high profile players have been left out of starting lineups in huge games with the intention that they come on later to optimise their impact. It can be risky if it backfires but not uncommon at all, most managers simply don't explain their tactics in full to media though. Given how hard liverpools full backs work during a game there is definitely an argument to be made that that was what Frank intended with Pulisic all along on Wednesday regardless of his injury or fitness, the fine lines for him are seeing how long to wait to make the subs and for me that was about 5 or 10 minutes too long.

I hear you man,  and agree about Americans, but It seems most of your countrymen in this board also don’t understand how you sit Pulisic with the form he’s shown keeping Chelsea in the CL hunt since break because he’s too injured even though there are only two games determining placement and then bring him on in the 60th down 4-1.

[haviet1]

49 minutes ago, jack h said:

Wasn't aimed specifically at you to be honest, there seems to be a lot of American fans joining recently which is cool in a way and they're understandably focused on Pulisic. Lets face it, if he continues his current form for 2 or 3 years at least and wins a few trophies including the league or Champions league with us (which we all hope he does) then he'll have already eclipsed anything a US player has achieved in the game (unless I'm forgetting someone obvious from the US).

You're unlikely to get a completely honest answer from a manager on why he left a player out. It could show tactical naivity, lack of forsight or cause a bullsh*t controversy, especially at higher profile clubs where scrutiny is intense, constant and unforgiving. Chris Wilder at Sheffield utd or Sean Dyche at Burnley might get away with brutal honesty in terms of their management style and media relationships but for me Frank is right to be more reserved.

Also the idea that players coming on fresh later in the game is definitely a thing, some players have made careers out of being a good substitute and many high profile players have been left out of starting lineups in huge games with the intention that they come on later to optimise their impact. It can be risky if it backfires but not uncommon at all, most managers simply don't explain their tactics in full to media though. Given how hard liverpools full backs work during a game there is definitely an argument to be made that that was what Frank intended with Pulisic all along on Wednesday regardless of his injury or fitness, the fine lines for him are seeing how long to wait to make the subs and for me that was about 5 or 10 minutes too long.

 

Thanks for the context, that was very helpful. Look forwards to him playing a part in helping secure CL spot this Sunday. 

[Bonzodog29]

11 hours ago, jack h said:

Wasn't aimed specifically at you to be honest, there seems to be a lot of American fans joining recently which is cool in a way and they're understandably focused on Pulisic. Lets face it, if he continues his current form for 2 or 3 years at least and wins a few trophies including the league or Champions league with us (which we all hope he does) then he'll have already eclipsed anything a US player has achieved in the game (unless I'm forgetting someone obvious from the US).

 

In the interest of being a massive right on pedant, US MALE player 🙂  

[coco]

13 hours ago, jack h said:

Pulisic having a massive impact on the game at 4-1 down at 60 minutes in does not equate to him making a proportionate impact from the start. There were a number of reasons why he didn't start. The injury, keeping the same team that were superb against man utd (not always a good thing to do but very common from even the most experienced managers) and probably tactical thinking from Frank as well.

I really don't mean to sound condescending but I get the impression some of the recent American members may not have watched football for that long, if that is the case then you're gonna need to get used to the idea of "star players" sitting on the bench at times for a variety of reasons, especially when those players are young, recently injured and still finding their place in the game. Again, sorry if that's condescending, just the impression I've got reading some posts.

Despite his brilliant form recently Pulisic certainly hasn't "made it" and he needs to be managed properly as well as having his, managments and our expectations kept in check. Playing young and promising players all the time isn't always a good thing for their development and the last thing we want from Pulisic is burn out, a serious injury like Hudson-Odoi has had or expecting too much of him and putting him in Hazard's shoes where we turn entirely reliant on him.

 

You are officially given the post of shedend global ambassador, we needed someone to explain to some of our new members the minutiae of the game, thanks for volunteering.

 

 

 

[smallsnc]

12 hours ago, DumbYank said:

I hear you man,  and agree about Americans, but It seems most of your countrymen in this board also don’t understand how you sit Pulisic with the form he’s shown keeping Chelsea in the CL hunt since break because he’s too injured even though there are only two games determining placement and then bring him on in the 60th down 4-1.

For those of us Americans wondering why you bring him on in the 60th if he was too injured to start, there are plenty of examples in pro sports all over the US where guys minutes, plays, at bats, etc. are limited because of a knock but they still play part of the game.  Difference is in soccer, you don't have the luxury of playing them for 5 minutes at a stretch or using them only as a DH.  They are either on the pitch or not.  No problems with what Frank did plus, he gets 30+ minutes of match play/fitness without getting overly fatigue which is when reinjury typically happens.

[dkw]

14 hours ago, DumbYank said:

I hear you man,  and agree about Americans, but It seems most of your countrymen in this board also don’t understand how you sit Pulisic with the form he’s shown keeping Chelsea in the CL hunt since break because he’s too injured even though there are only two games determining placement and then bring him on in the 60th down 4-1.

Its not necessarily that hes injured, its more about his fitness and readiness. These players are constantly monitored during games, after games and during training. This is all analysed and often decisions are based on this data, the software then gives managers and coaches a analytical view of their readiness and if they are in the red zone (Or borderline) then they may not start them. I think the original software they used to use was called Prozone or something like that. 

[Slojo]

Klopp smiling after that goal kind of gave me goosebumps lmao, it was like a "Yep, he's living up to his potential". 

Absolutely ridiculous what he did for that assist though, went through Fabinho, Trent and Gomez like it was nothing and he still had a lot to do after that, perfect squared ball on his left that just went past Van Dijk. We've seen Willian and Barkley f**k up simple squared balls and Pulisic just does that, oozes in class. 

The thing is, when he first came he looked quite fragile, but he's just saying, f**k it, I'm getting on with it. Meanwhile you've got Pepe at Arsenal who had huge hype around him, entering his prime, and a lot more physical and he still can't get to grips with the league, he's really struggling to make an impact. He's one of my favourite Chelsea players already, I hope he gets better and the injuries he takes don't take a turn on his career at all, that's the only thing I don't like seeing for someone his age, he has had a good amount of injuries. 

[haviet1]

1 hour ago, Slojo said:

Klopp smiling after that goal kind of gave me goosebumps lmao, 

 

Glad it wasn't just me that saw it.

Pulisic still have lots of respect and admiration for the man who brought him from the USA to Germany, and into Dortmund's senior team.

[evissy]

Pulisic's attitude is excellent. I love a player who is super focused and willing to just make things happen. He is a leader in our team now and he sets the example of how his teammates should approach the game. After the restart he has been without any competition our most important player.

[Argo]

2 hours ago, Slojo said:

Klopp smiling after that goal kind of gave me goosebumps lmao, it was like a "Yep, he's living up to his potential". 

As much as he's probably proud of Pulisic that wasn't the reason he was smiling, for some bizzare reason Klopp is reguarly snapped grinning like a Cheshire Cat when Liverpool let in a goal.

[haviet1]

 

 

[DumbYank]

7 hours ago, Bonzodog29 said:

In the interest of being a massive right on pedant, US MALE player 🙂  

Nerd alert.  Nerd alert.  Nerd Alert.  Aaaaaaoooooogaaaahhh.   AAAAAooooooohgaaaaah.

[jack h]

8 hours ago, Bonzodog29 said:

In the interest of being a massive right on pedant, US MALE player 🙂  

Turns out I didn't forget a single player, just a whole gender of people!🤣🤦‍♂️

[Amputechture]

 

 

[mwblue10]

Provided Willian leaves, I think it’s likely Pulisic gets the #10 shirt.

[haviet1]

2 hours ago, Amputechture said:

 

 

 

What I noticed here is that his strikes are quicker, compare to his earlier years with Dortmund. The ball seems to leave his feet a half second quicker, the shots looked determined and sharp; if that's even a way to describe it. 

[haviet1]

1 hour ago, mwblue10 said:

Provided Willian leaves, I think it’s likely Pulisic gets the #10 shirt.

 

He does wear the #10 shirt for his country.

[DumbYank]

12 hours ago, Amputechture said:

 

 

If you like to score, just run square with Pulisic.

[Munkunku]

59 minutes ago, DumbYank said:

If you like to score, just run square with Pulisic.

Easier said than done!

[haviet1]

https://www.liverpool.com/liverpool-fc-news/transfer-news/liverpool-transfer-news-christian-pulisic-18656325

 

So now he's surplus and Liverpool should buy him. I guess the media has to make up stuffs to attract the clicks.

There's no reason for Pulisic to want to leave Chelsea, and I am sure he will have a role here next season.