Chelsea 2019-20: Putting the 'sick' in Pulisic

Seven Costanza

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I think someone scored a hat trick this weekend, but I'm prone to forgetfulness.

7 wins on the bounce. United of Manchester on Wednesday in the Energy Drink Cup. KTBFFH
 

tmracht

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I mean the perfect hat trick broke Reddit so I can't blame you for not remembering. The depth is actually pretty amazing considering the transfer ban. The rumored deal for Sancho seems superfluous the way the wingers are playing.
 

Seven Costanza

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Sitting in third & Pulisic is starting to bang them in now and look like quite the finished product.

Who would have thunk it? :cool:

UTC
 

tmracht

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I really can't believe this team is in 3rd, I was hoping for top 6 with the ban, and the injuries to start the year. Yet, they have gotten insane production from: Tammy Abraham (21/22), Mount (20), Pulisic (20/21), CHO (18/19) and starting to get some impact from the likes of Reece James (19). Yes there is a chance any or all could stagnate, but they will have plenty of opportunity for game time.

That looming match away to Valencia on the 27th could really dictate what kind of game time they will be getting a win practically assures CL knockout round time, but at EL time is practically a given barring back to back loses and Lille upsetting Ajax. The FA Cup has kicked off and who knows how far they could get there. This team will really have a change to gel and blossom. So damn exciting.

Pretty amazing start to the season KTBFFH.
 

67YAZ

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I was looking at xgoals, and Chelsea are performing about as expected - xg has them with 10 wins and 2 losses. I was really down on Lampard as manager, but he has got this team playing very well in the EPL since Liverpool..

This next break will be key. Pep will be channeling all his fire into the next match and Valencia is a tricky one. This is where the best managers make their name - making the adjustments and game plans that unsettle the best opponents.
 

Tuff Ghost

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Chelsea certainly seem to have something special with Tammy Abraham. He is a strong finisher and has shown a nice touch, such as on the ball of his chest to assist Mount yesterday. At 22 years old, he already has 11 goals in the Premier League this year, pretty scary.

I have to say I am a little surprised by how good he looks, but that is largely due to my own ignorance, I think, because if I was paying attention to Aston Villa last year, his 26 goals there would have made clear how ready he was for the top-flight.

It was also pretty classy the way that he did not celebrate down by the Villa supporters on his first goal. A nice touch of respect for the fans that were supporting him last year.

He got some lovely service from Willian yesterday, too. Between Abraham, Mount, and Pulisic, they are going to have a potent attack for the foreseeable future.
 

tmracht

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I mean if I'm Pulisic, its a very different side than the Dortmund setup where they knew Pulisic was leaving at the end of the year. With Abraham in front of a threesome Pulisic Mount and Sancho is absolutely nightmarish. You basically replace any minutes Pedro and Willian played (currently about 1200 minutes or on par with Mount) with Sancho and you still have CHO as your swing guy. I think the one that would be more thrilled would be Hudson-Odoi who wanted to leave but was convinced to remain as a player for the future. Though I guess if you think CHO will leapfrog Pulisic soon then Pulisic is back on that swing player spot.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Sounds like FSG balked at paying Timo Werner's release clause post-COVID, and Chelsea have paid Werner's £50m release clause and signed him to £200k / week.

Werner playing off Abraham with Ziyech either in at CAM or off of RM should be a formidable attack for next season
 

67YAZ

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Sounds like FSG balked at paying Timo Werner's release clause post-COVID, and Chelsea have paid Werner's £50m release clause and signed him to £200k / week.

Werner playing off Abraham with Ziyech either in at CAM or off of RM should be a formidable attack for next season
Not that I have any inside knowledge, but those wages look like a stumbling block for LFC. Right now. Salah stands at the top of the wage structure at that same rate. With so many key players tied in for the next 3-5 seasons, the brass may have feared that matching those wages for Werner would lead to a lot of new contract demands.

Edit: But yeah, great signing. His work rate and pressing will create a lot of great chances for those young wingers.
 
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Mighty Joe Young

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Not that I have any inside knowledge, but those wages look like a stumbling block for LFC. Right now. Salah stands at the top of the wage structure at that same rate. With so many key players tied in for the next 3-5 seasons, the brass may have feared that matching those wages for Werner would lead to a lot of new contract demands.

Edit: But yeah, great signing. His work rate and pressing will create a lot of great chances for those young wingers.
there was a report yesterday that Werner had already agreed personal terms with Liverpool on £140k per week .. which seemed about right given there wage structure. there have been reports in the Echo for weeks that Liverpool were reluctant to pay the release clause .. thinking they could negotiate it down. Guessing the Chelsea wage offer turned his head. Of course, this is still a transfer rumour .. so large grains of salt.
 

Tuff Ghost

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Chelsea are officially becoming scary again with Ziyech and Werner bolstering a side that already was on the rise with a good young core. I wonder what will happen with Tammy Abraham, who still does not have a long-term contract. The Athletic had a couple of interesting quotes on Werner and Liverpool:

For context, sources told The Athletic that Liverpool’s recruitment staff, widely regarded as among the very best in world football, rated Werner more highly than either Jadon Sancho or Kai Havertz due to his combination of lightning speed and positional versatility.
Klopp consulted with Fenway Sports Group, then called the striker to explain why the move would not happen. Sources have told The Athletic that the Liverpool manager insisted the reasoning was purely financial, rather than any negative reflection on the player or his proposed role in Klopp’s squad. Werner accepted the explanation and the two men remain on good terms.
https://theathletic.com/1856250/2020/06/05/the-inside-story-of-how-chelsea-landed-werner/
 

Dummy Hoy

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What's the point of having the best recruitment staff in the world if you won't pay for the players they want?

Maybe John Henry should sell some bricks from Anfield to try to raise some funds since he's so strapped for cash.
 

Seven Costanza

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Current rumor mongering is that Chilwell is the remaining big target for Chelsea. Sounds like they'll leave Sancho for Man United.

Ziyech, Werner, Chillwell. Spending that Morata/Hazard money wisely. Marina Granovskaia is an assassin.

Very excited to see what Frank can do for the remaining fixtures with 5 subs and an expanded bench. More youth!
 

Seven Costanza

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Oh, and the Chelsea Women were just announced winners of the Women's Super League on a points-per-game basis.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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What's the point of having the best recruitment staff in the world if you won't pay for the players they want?

Maybe John Henry should sell some bricks from Anfield to try to raise some funds since he's so strapped for cash.
Werner was always going to be a luxury at Liverpool. In the pre-covid19 world they expected to raise the money by sales of Shaqiri and Harry Wilson .. that would have offset Werner’s release clause. That’s not happening now.

i guess it’s being prudent .. If things turn to shite again it will be hard justifying reducing player salaries when they had just spent 50-60 million pounds on a nice-to-have.

Great move by Chelsea .. they are looking scary again (sucks for Abraham)
 

InstaFace

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it's a shame for Leipzig though, which was very geared up to re-sign him for at least one more campaign and give the UCL a real run. It's comparable to the shame of EPL Champs Leicester not getting the opportunity to make a full-strength run at Europe or even defending their title because Chelsea was able to make them an offer for Kante that they couldn't (well, didn't) refuse, and he was their linchpin. Leipzig simply doesn't have Werner-level replacements growing on trees, and honestly in a world where Neymar nets Barca EUR 220M and Gareth Bale nets GBP 100M seven years ago and Lukaku goes for 75M GBP 3 years ago, GBP 50M for Werner just kind of seems like a steal.
 

InstaFace

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Update, I may have been too hasty, it seems RB Leipzig didn't push him out, per se, but thought that this was a one-fell-swoop solution to their FFP risks. From the athletic article above:

RB Leipzig initially supported Werner’s plan to either join Liverpool this summer or stay with Leipzig for another year, though they were mindful of the fact that Werner’s release clause dropped to €40 million next summer and €25 million in 2022. However, financial fair play became a bigger consideration and The Athletic understands the club recently explained that to Werner who, though disappointed, understood he would have to leave for the good of the club. Since promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016, Leipzig’s net spend, according to Transfermarkt is €137.2 million, bigger even than Bayern Munich (€117.5 million).
 

candylandriots

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Sounds like FSG balked at paying Timo Werner's release clause post-COVID, and Chelsea have paid Werner's £50m release clause and signed him to £200k / week.

Werner playing off Abraham with Ziyech either in at CAM or off of RM should be a formidable attack for next season
On a selfish note, god this makes the Wilf Zaha market look horrid now. Or maybe he stays.
 

InstaFace

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Yeah yeah, who cares about the title - Can we talk about Pulisic bossing a match against fuckin' Citeh?

He had a defensive lapse in not following Fernandinho early on, where he thought Barkley would pick him up, and the unmarked header by Fernandinho required a very nice save from Kepa. He had another moment early in the second half where an intuition to charge into the 6 anticipating a cross (which did come) might have netted him a tap-in. But other than that, he was giving Pep Guardiola's back line something to think about on a minute by minute basis.

Oh, and this:
View: https://twitter.com/rogbennett/status/1276244450742882307


Which is just sheer porn. Mendy is still wondering what hit him. And then this:

View: https://twitter.com/cfcbrano/status/1276294681576574976


If Kyle Walker wasn't a Time Walker able to teleport, that'd have been two for CP. Dude's gonna have a long career over there.
 

Zososoxfan

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I didn't notice it until seeing the replay above, but on the goal he lets the ball get way back on him which probably makes the keeper think he can't go to THAT side, and then he buries it tight in the corner. Either that, or it was a funny camera angle.
 

tmracht

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I didn't notice it until seeing the replay above, but on the goal he lets the ball get way back on him which probably makes the keeper think he can't go to THAT side, and then he buries it tight in the corner. Either that, or it was a funny camera angle.
It was every bit impressive as your first take, I've watched that clip from every alternate angle I can find.

As for the FA cup, they looked like absolute dross the first half. Then wholesale changes by Lamps and they looked...ok. If Leicester had taken any of the chances in the first half, Chelsea would probably beheading home. Instead Ross Barkley has such a Ross Barkley second half, with a game winning goal and blown 4v2 chance to seal the game and they are on to United in the Semis.

Back to wonderkid (wonderman?) Pulisic, he picked up a calf injury late in the game vs Leicester and is now questionable for Wednesday, hopefully he hasn't had another injury setback, he had looked to really cement himself as a key player since the restart of the season.
 

Zososoxfan

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It was every bit impressive as your first take, I've watched that clip from every alternate angle I can find.

As for the FA cup, they looked like absolute dross the first half. Then wholesale changes by Lamps and they looked...ok. If Leicester had taken any of the chances in the first half, Chelsea would probably beheading home. Instead Ross Barkley has such a Ross Barkley second half, with a game winning goal and blown 4v2 chance to seal the game and they are on to United in the Semis.

Back to wonderkid (wonderman?) Pulisic, he picked up a calf injury late in the game vs Leicester and is now questionable for Wednesday, hopefully he hasn't had another injury setback, he had looked to really cement himself as a key player since the restart of the season.
To finish the thought about the technique--I've always had a powerful shot but it's one that I rarely use because I hit the ball too clean and can't keep it low. Granted I don't have the nearly the time to practice that I used to, but I've tried shortening the follow thru, 'keeping my knee over the ball', but the only thing that's really worked much for me is hitting the ball with the top of my foot which allows me to strike higher on the ball (i.e. I hit the ball LATER in my swing, or when the ball is farther away). All of which is to say, HOW THE HELL DID HE GET ANY POWER (let alone accuracy) ON THE BALL FROM THAT FAR BACK IN HIS STANCE?!?
 

tmracht

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Important game today, United sitting 2 points back, can't really afford to drop more points after the West Ham collapse.

Playing without Kante is scary, maybe it leads to Jorginho getting back in the side?
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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I can't figure out what I think about Giroud. Even at his best he doesn't make anyone else better but when he's at his best he doesn't need to. He seems to have very little chemistry with Barkley, and not even too much more with Willian or Pulisic -- though he's certainly been the beneficiary of some slick play from Pulisic over the last few games.

Still, it's uncanny how he seems to be in the right place so often even if he doesn't do anything with it. Lampard seems to like him.
 

tmracht

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Still, it's uncanny how he seems to be in the right place so often even if he doesn't do anything with it.
That to me is all that needs to be said, he's a slightly below top tier Poacher even at this point in his career. He is very similar to Van Nistelrooy in that he is just there to tap them in when other forwards aren't.
 

tmracht

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Massive game today if they don't get 3 points they are in trouble for the Champions League. Can't afford to drop points at home against Norwich when you're coming off of 3 points lost to Sheffield and LC and MU are 1 point back. Kante still out, so midfield is Jorginho Kovacic RLC. Hopefully they can create enough, Giroud again in over Tammy Abraham, Pulisic and Willian on the wings with Dave, Rudiger, Zouma and Alonso pretending to protect Kepa the Keepah.
 

tmracht

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Yeah he had been grabbing a bit at the end of the Norwich game prior to being subbed for CHO. With the intense fixture congestion and Kante out, I'm guessing they're using an abundance of caution heading into the last few games.
 

tmracht

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Also from the Ornstein on the Athletic ps I still have 30 day trials if you need one https://theathletic.com/1935897/2020/07/20/ornstein-havertz-chelsea-pochettino-eze-qpr-monaco-warnock-middlesbrough/?source=rss :

"and life may soon get even better for the Blues because they are understood to be closing in on the signing of Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen."

He would be so monsterous for Chelsea in the center of the park. Especially since Kovacic is looking less like a creator. Having another attacking midfield to add to the mix would be great.

Pulisic, Werner, Ziyech, Mount, Havertz along with a recovering CHO would give Lampard some options on how to attack especially with Champions League looking good for next season.
 

InstaFace

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I'd say they have to get a result at Liverpool before we could say Champions League is looking good for next season. Leicester's loss to Spurs yesterday was huge for their chances, though, because now beating Wolves next Sunday for the finisher is no longer an absolute requirement.