Is Chelsea about to become "America's Premier League Team"?

[IthacaMatt]

I have been a Premier League fan for 10 years now, enjoying the morning buzz and afternoon nap lifestyle. LOL

Over that time, I first became a Chelsea fan from watching the Carlo Ancelotti juggernaut that won the Double, and kept on watching through 3 Premier League titles, a Champions League title, 2 Europa Leagues, a couple FA Cups and a couple League Cups. A ridiculous amount of success, more trophies than any other English team during the last decade.

And yet, for all that success, Chelsea has always been 'The Evil Empire' of English Football. Roman Abramovich was the first, but certainly not the last, foreign owner to buy a team, and then buy a championship.

Now, with Chelsea facing a one-year transfer ban for improprieties regarding signing teenage prospects to contracts too early, it has become a blessing in disguise. All these young players who they only regarded as "investments" in a sort of "Player Value Stock Market", now will have to be tested to see how many of them can play at the level of a Top 4 squad.

Bringing back untested Frank Lampard (team legendary scorer, but with only 1 year of coaching experience) buys a lot of goodwill from the fans. Hopefully the owner, a Russian Oligarch who is close to Putin and was banned from getting an English passport in the aftermath of the spy-poisoning scandal, will give Frank a couple years to break in the new kids without crazy unrealistic expectations. This is the one chance, because of the ban, for young players to break through to the first team.

So this will be a very exciting season anyway. But then you add Christian Pulisic moving to Chelsea, and wow, this is going to be off the charts. I was at the Y working out tonight, and a young guy saw my Chelsea shirt and quickly recognized it with a big smile and comment about the US's finest-ever talent, playing on the Big Stage.

I think because Eden Hazard is gone, Pulisic, Pedro, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Willian will all have the opportunity to become a more important scorer for the team. Pulisic has looked electric in the pre-season. Pedro has looked very good, too. Hudson-Odoi is recovering from a torn achilles, probably until October, and Willian is joining the team late after playing in the South American championship with Brazil. He has under-achieved these past couple years, and needs a big year or he will be gone.

Anyway, I think we are on the verge of seeing Chelsea become America's Team, because of the Boy Wonder. I think Pulisic, if he stays healthy, is going to be terrific. I could see him scoring 10 goals and getting 10 assists in his first season.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I have been a Premier League fan for 10 years now, enjoying the morning buzz and afternoon nap lifestyle. LOL

Over that time, I have gone from the Carlo Ancelotti juggernaut that won the Double, through 3 Premier League titles, Champions League, 2 Europa Leagues, a couple FA Cups and a couple League Cups. A ridiculous amount of success, more trophies than any other English team during the last decade.

And yet, for all that success, Chelsea has always been 'The Evil Empire' of English Football. Roman Abramovich was the first, but certainly not the last, foreign owner to buy a team, and then buy a championship.

Now, with Chelsea facing a one-year transfer ban for improprieties regarding signing teenage prospects to contracts too early, it has become a blessing in disguise. All these young players who they only regarded as "investments" in a sort of "Player Value Stock Market", now will have to be tested to see how many of them can play at the level of a Top 4 squad.

Bringing back untested Frank Lampard (team legendary scorer, but with only 1 year of coaching experience) buys a lot of goodwill from the fans. Hopefully the owner, a Russian Oligarch who is close to Putin and was banned from getting an English passport in the aftermath of the spy-poisoning scandal, will give Frank a couple years to break in the new kids without crazy unrealistic expectations. This is the one chance, because of the ban, for young players to break through to the first team.

So this will be a very exciting season anyway. But then you add Christian Pulisic moving to Chelsea, and wow, this is going to be off the charts. I was at the Y working out tonight, and a young guy saw my Chelsea shirt and quickly recognized it with a big smile and comment about the US's finest-ever talent, playing on the Big Stage.

I think because Eden Hazard is gone, Pulisic, Pedro, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Willian will all have the opportunity to become a more important scorer for the team. Pulisic has looked electric in the pre-season. Pedro has looked very good, too. Hudson-Odoi is recovering from a torn achilles, probably until October, and Willian is joining the team late after playing in the South American championship with Brazil. He has under-achieved these past couple years, and needs a big year or he will be gone.

Anyway, I think we are on the verge of seeing Chelsea become America's Team, because of the Boy Wonder. I think Pulisic, if he stays healthy, is going to be terrific. I could see him scoring 10 goals and getting 10 assists in his first season.

Oh, by the way - David Luiz forced his way out of Chelsea on deadline day after going on strike when Frank Lampard wouldn't guarantee Luiz would start. Well, what do you expect? Chelsea have been giving up 2 or 3 goals in every preseason game. Of course Lampard was going to try some other combinations in the back. Luiz showed what a Me-First player he is. He can be very good in a back three, like Antonio Conte ran the last time Chelsea won the title three seasons ago. His outstanding passing and offensive game shine in that alignment. But in a back two, he takes too many chances and is too unreliable a defender. I have seen it for years now.

So, addition by subtraction for me by letting Luiz go. You avoid a problem in the dressing room. Hazard was a problem, too, and quit on managers two separate seasons of the seven he played at Chelsea. Hazard, Diego Costa and David Luiz (and frankly, Willian, too) are the faces of too much player power at Chelsea. Good for Frank Lampard to get (hopefully) the last of the troublemakers out of the dressing room, and let him manage the young talent at his disposal.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Oh, by the way - David Luiz forced his way out of Chelsea on deadline day after going on strike when Frank Lampard wouldn't guarantee Luiz would start. Well, what do you expect? Chelsea have been giving up 2 or 3 goals in every preseason game. Of course Lampard was going to try some other combinations in the back. Luiz showed what a Me-First player he is. He can be very good in a back three, like Antonio Conte ran the last time Chelsea won the title three seasons ago. His outstanding passing and offensive game shine in that alignment. But in a back two, he takes too many chances and is too unreliable a defender. I have seen it for years now.

So, addition by subtraction for me by letting Luiz go. You avoid a problem in the dressing room. Hazard was a problem, too, and quit on managers two separate seasons of the seven he played at Chelsea. Hazard, Diego Costa and David Luiz (and frankly, Willian, too) are the faces of too much player power at Chelsea. Good for Frank Lampard to get (hopefully) the last of the troublemakers out of the dressing room, and let him manage the young talent at his disposal.

For those who want to know more about Christian Pulisic's team, here is my pre-season profile:

Chelsea's offense starts with three center forwards who all offer something different, but none are considered "elite". Michy Batshuayi is a 25 year old Belgian international who has been loaned out by Chelsea a couple times to get playing time at other clubs. He has had some successful loan spells, and some that were not. He has scored a few significant goals, but is inconsistent and wasteful in front of goal, and he doesn't really hold the ball up as a target man, if you are being pressed in the back.

Olivier Giroud is a 30 year old French international who won the World Cup in 2018. While he hasn't scored a ton of goals in recent seasons, he is an elite target man, he acts as kind of a "point center" and distributes the ball well when it is booted upfield for him to capture to break an opponent's press. In the Europa League last year (for newbies, think the NIT tournament for European soccer), Giroud was the top scorer with 10 or 11 goals. So he still has it, but can he do it consistently, and against the very best competition?

The youngest kid, Tammy Abraham, is about 20. He scored 20 goals last year for a team that got promoted to the Premier League from England's "second division", The Championship. He's tall, lean and quick to run behind defenses. If he can provide that outlet, and that interplay with the wings, he could be special.

So, none are really "proven", all have flaws. A couple have to produce.

Among attacking midfielders, Chelsea has Pulisic, who looks the real deal, Pedro, who used to play for Barcelona and scored 11 goals last year. Willian had a bad year, and simply dribbles sideways across a defense these days, seldom threatening the opponent's goal. He has a scowl on his face a lot, and doesn't work that hard on defense anymore. At age 30 or so, it's probably his last season at Chelsea, and if he's a pain in the neck, I wouldn't mind to see him go before the rest of Europe's transfer window closes at the beginning of September.

Hudson-Odoi has been pursued by Bayern Munich, and nearly left Chelsea because he didn't think he'd get a real chance to play under the previous coach. He likes Lampard, but has been dragging out signing an extension of his contract. He's talented, but he doesn't currently have the "end product" (finishing skill) of a Pulisic or a Pedro, who has sublime skill. So this kid might turn into a pain, but it's good to give young talent a chance.

In midfield, Ross Barkley has been playing really well and may resurrect his career here under Lampard. Barkley is actually kind of a Lampard style player, so this might be a really good match. I think that when Ruben Loftus-Cheek returns from his own achilles injury (also probably in late Sept or Oct), he will give Chelsea another young dynamic attacking player. Throw in perhaps the world's best defensive midfielder, two-time Premier League Champion and World Cup winner N'golo Kante, and then your alternating choice among Jorginho, an Italian pass-master, and Mateo Kovacic, a Serbian player with grit and some skill. He can make a tackle and pick a pass. He seldom scores, but he interplays well with others in midfield and the attack.

Among the youngsters, Mason Mount played for Frank as a Chelsea loanee at Derby County last year, where Lampard was the head coach in his only year of experience. Mount has also looked quite talented, although his build is a little sleight for the Premier League. I could see him playing a big role in the Cup competitions, as the number 10 on the "second team", so to speak.

On defense, you're looking at Antonio Rudiger, a young German World Cup winner, as the new alpha dog. He's a terrific player. Alongside him, when he too returns in October, will be Andreas Christensen, a young Danish player with very good composure and skill on the ball, and who is also a German Bundesliga trained defender. So he's very talented, but a bit thin and can be muscled off the ball sometimes. The third central defender is Kurt Zouma, a young African player who plays for the French team, who is physical, like a Jeremy McNeill kind of defender. Like McNeill, he is a bit rough on offense, but he has closing speed and can put in a tackle, although he seems to stand a little too far off the offensive player (which gives them room to shoot), so far this preseason.

On the left wing, you have Emerson, who has beaten out Marcos Alonso, who is an outstanding offensive winger. He gives you a lot of goals from that position. In a back 5, he plays closer to the attack and has more cover behind him. He was part of Conte's Title winning team, with Victor Moses on the other side. In a back four, though, he doesn't have good enough speed or defensive instincts to provide elite cover on his side. Emerson is a more defendable defensive player, and offers a good amount going forward.

On the other wing, you have Caesar Azpilicueta, one of the best one-on-one defenders around. But he has aged a bit these past couple years, and has begun cheating toward the center of the field, so as to avoid getting exposed by offensive players out on the wing. He over-commits toward the center when he is on the weak side of a corner kick. That leaves openings at the back post, which he should be covering. It reminds me of when John Terry (Leader, Lecher, Legend ) started losing a step, those last couple years. They cheat deeper and try to read the game. That's easier to do when you're centra.

Frank is moving Brazilian Kenedy to the right wing, to give him a shot there to push Azpi.

Finally, in goal Chelsea have a young Brazilian named Kepa Arrizabilagga (something like that - they call him "Kepa"). He's a very promising young goal keeper, but he's still a bit young. We don't have an elite backup. Kepa's distribution is fairly good, but not elite. This sometimes leads to awkward and dangerous turnovers deep within your own half. Chelsea has done this an alarming number of times already this pre-season. This is probably Lampard's biggest job, to be honest - getting the defense in order.

We'll see what happens. It should be a really exciting season.

Liverpool only lost ONCE in 38 games last year, and finished with something like the 4th or 5th highest point total in league history - and they lost the title by ONE POINT to Manchester City.

Tottenham and Arsenal have strengthened at the very end of the transfer window. Man United has let a lot of players leave, but may have a better culture in the locker room for it. They added a couple good defenders late, including Harry McGuire.

 

[Orangezoo]

It's odd being an Arsenal supporter to be so intrigued to now watch a forever hated foe. Pulisic has looked really good. And I have to break the hate to root for our Wonder Boy this year. Same to a lesser extent pushing for Everton and Fulham in the past. This is different though. If he lights it up.. it's a gigantic step for US Soccer. Let's just hope it can carry over to the USMNT which still seems to be a mess.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

When we were looking at schools for my son to play soccer, we looked at Duke. There was a Pulisic playing goal (I assume brother or cousin). He was listed at 5'10". I had to wonder if he was there on his name, because that is really small for a goalkeeper in big time soccer.
It's not impossible to be really good at that size, but that would be the exception.

 

[rrlbees]

When we were looking at schools for my son to play soccer, we looked at Duke. There was a Pulisic playing goal (I assume brother or cousin). He was listed at 5'10". I had to wonder if he was there on his name, because that is really small for a goalkeeper in big time soccer.
It's not impossible to be really good at that size, but that would be the exception.

Cousin.

And the duke kid is really good. 2nd team all ACC. Has also played with several national teams.

 

[orangenauburn]

I've got to go with Spurs for me.

I've been a fan of The Hurricane and I use them exclusively when playing FIFA on the PS4

It seemed like for a long time, people in The States have been fans of Manchester City or United moreso than any other

 

[orangenauburn]

I'm kind of rooting for Sheffield United this year

 

[storange]

Pulisic Bench. I know it’s first game and all. But if this is Lampards long term plan on how to use him then it blows. USA needs its best player on the field 90 minutes.

 

[orangenauburn]

Pulisic Bench. I know it’s first game and all. But if this is Lampards long term plan on how to use him then it blows. USA needs its best player on the field 90 minutes.

Well Chelsea is losing, so I'd imagine he will see run about fifteen minutes into half 2

Though I agree

He needs to be in the game from the start in a game of this magnitude to start off a season

 

[Orangezoo]

Have to figure the plan is similar the the friendlies. On now at 60'.

 

[orangenauburn]

Hasn't had an ideal start. Got bodied out on the 2nd goal, turnover led to the 3rd.

 

[Orangezoo]

Hasn't had an ideal start. Got bodied out on the 2nd goal, turnover led to the 3rd.

Sucks because he isn't going to get much time to prove he belongs.

 

[orangenauburn]

Sucks because he isn't going to get much time to prove he belongs.

After today, I don't think Lampard is either

 

[orangenauburn]

United clearly outplayed them in half two and made necessary adjustments

Chelsea is all sorts of out of sorts

 

[Orangezoo]

United clearly outplayed them in half two and made necessary adjustments

Chelsea is all sorts of out of sorts

Yep. Also - the loss of Luiz hurts. Leadership and stability matter and that one is going to sting all year. I'm surprised he came over to the Gunners. Not sure he will be used properly. To me Emery has done little to show he is changing anything.

 

[Orangezoo]

Also no doubt it's not been the start Pulisic wanted.. that said Chelsea's defending as a whole- yikes.

 

[orangenauburn]

Liverpool next in UEFA then Leicester City upcoming

Frank Lampard may feel some heat on his underside soon - they will need a result v Leicester City

 

[skurey]

Gonna be a big no to OPs question

 

[creatorsgam]

I've got to go with Spurs for me.

I've been a fan of The Hurricane and I use them exclusively when playing FIFA on the PS4

It seemed like for a long time, people in The States have been fans of Manchester City or United moreso than any other

Prior to oil money I don’t think I ever saw a City kit about.