OT: Pulisic's first Premier League season compared
Hungry for any sort of sport, I've found myself watching Chelsea matches since the restart. Found this to be an interesting, stats-based read on Christian Pulisic's first Premier League season. TLDR: he's been impressive.
He’s easily the best player the USMNT has ever had
I agree, and it's crazy to think guys like Dest/Renya might pass him up in the next few years for that same title. Some great young talent moving through the ranks right now. Just need a good coach who won't waste them.
Our federation needs to stop wasting their roster spots on mls players
I think Dest and Reyna are both going to be great players, but because of the position they play, they likely won't get as much recognition as Pulisic, especially if he continues to score goals and rack up assists. Dest is a fullback/wing back, has great foot work and will get many assist playing in the Dutch Eredivisie which is not known for defense. Reyna will pull the strings as he gets older and will be a playmaker, similar to maybe Kaka. If Pulisic continues to contribute for Chelsea, he'll be regarded as the best American ever and rightfully so. Tyler Adams is another to watch and I like Weston McKennie as a player. He's a tough minded US national and I think he'll protect Pulisic as Concacaf teams have tried to physically beat up Pulisic. Our Men's national team has more talent than ever, especially at the skilled positions. Add in a little veteran leadership and hopefully we qualify easily for 2022. I wrote this in a post a couple years ago. Concacaf teams have greatly benefited because of MLS. MLS has made the likes of Costa Rica, Panama, Hondorus, Jamaica stronger teams. It's not just the US and Mexico anymore.
Ever since the restart, when he is on the ball, he looks just fantastic.
With U.S. sports dead right now - God help me, but I have actually been following Chelsea and Pulisic's progress. He has been absolutely great over the last month, not only scoring goals, but creating opportunities for his Chelsea teammates. The Chelsea fans love the "young American".
At 21 years old, he appears to be the future of American soccer. And sounds like there are 4-5 other Americans aged 23 and below playing overseas that are developing stars. Would be fun to watch the Americans make some real noise in the World Cup someday.
FYI - I always thought soccer was boring, like many Americans. But the more I watch the strategy, athleticism and teamwork of these elite players and teams, the more I like it.
I've known many people who were not into soccer until they started watching full games. Its a deceptively quick game. 90 minutes with no commercials and a 10 minute half is actually really quick compared to football, baseball, and basketball, which can all easily be 3-4 hours start to finish.
Basketball isn’t 3-4 hours - although it can feel like that with all the stoppages at the end of a game.
Can’t wait for Chelsea vs Man U....a real sporting event that is a meaningful game.
Huge game, especially for Chelsea cause their closing stretch of games is brutal.
I don't think either team will put out their strongest 11 for Sunday's game. The FA Cup semi final just isn't as meaningful as the league games on Wednesday/Thursday. Chelsea will have 48 hours more rest, but the Liverpool game is much more important. With Man United now only 1 point behind Chelsea (and even with Leicester) the last two games in the league will determine the Champions League places.
I wouldn't be surprised if Lampard rests Pulisic and gets him a full week's rest before they play Liverpool on Wednesday in a must win match.
It’ll be interesting to see the teams they put out. This is the only chance for silverware this year for either team, so I could see a strong side for each. Chelsea isn’t going to beat Bayern in the second leg of champions league so they should go all out this week and win all three. Liverpool blew the chance to get 100 pts and title is secure so they have nothing to play for making the Chelsea game to end the season unimportant for them. Both United and Chelsea are fighting for top 4 so it’ll be fun to watch this weekend.
Im a huge man city fan, so I think these other teams are playing for a runners up trophy anyway. I love pulisic though and he has been on fire since the break. His pace and scoring have improved and he has been Chelsea’s best player. I hope he carries on next year. USA has a lot of very good players in Europe that are young and hungry. I expect big things from them in the future.
I'm in the same boat. I would watch the USMNT but not much else. Now that I am watching the games more closely, I am starting to see the strategy and different styles of play. Also, maybe because it's a higher level than I've watched previously, but the Premier league game seems to flow so much better. Ball control, accurate passing, actual strategy... it's pretty interesting!
Yes the quality of play, even with the mid-level teams, in the Premier League is light years above the MLS. There really is not much comparison and its a little sad to see. Part of it is individual skill but I also don't think the coaching is there yet in the MLS.
He's really good, and that's cool. Wish Liverpool could have signed him instead of Chelsea.
What does it mean for the USMNT? Is he going to be a superstar that is enough to make a run in the World Cup (assuming we can actually qualify)? I hope the team around him is enough to not waste his talent. I don't follow international soccer except immediately prior to the WC so I have no idea what the US talent pool is currently.
The pool is the strongest it's been in years -- maybe ever -- but whether it's enough to make a real run is up for debate. They're young and 2022 seems a little early for them to hit.
2022 would be a bit early, but they would be in their mid-late 20's for the 2026 World Cup, which will be in the US/Canada/Mexico. That could be really fun if they continue developing.
‘26 is when this young England generation will hit too; I would love to see a hypothetical USA-England match if these trajectories continue roughly as we all hope they do. Is it absurdly early to pine for a hypothetical game six years from now? Yes, but covid.
They could use a really solid striker though. The defense and midfield are coming together nicely but Josh Sargent needs to step it up and become a regular scorer for Werder Bremen for the USMNT to be elite and compete with the best teams.
What do you mean by "real run" when we've only made it to the quarterfinals once?
I feel like qualifying and getting out of group would be significant. Winning a game beyond that would be unexpected, I think. Maybe in the 2nd World Cup back?
I think making the quarterfinals would count as a real run. We made the round of 16 in back to back World Cups prior to the 2018 debacle, so the round of 16 should be our standard. Failing to make it out of the group would be a disappointment, and making it past the round of 16 would be a success.
That would more or less be my definition. I think they'll be a little green in 2022 (presuming they qualify) but could absolutely get there with expected development from the core guys and maybe a surprise leap or two before 2026.
Go Crystal Palace today! (I want Chelsea in Champions league next year)
Not as good as Pele.
Pele was much better at things like running and kicking.
You must really not like soccer because you post this in every single thread about soccer.
Thanks for you contribution.
Related, I think Brian should entertain starting a USA soccer blog. He almost seems more passionate about it than he does Michigan athletics these days and his posts here and there have been excellent.
Agreed. I've been hoping for some USA soccer coverage on the blog lately since there isn't much going on in the way of Michigan sports.
That would be cool. Don't think he has to go overboard - but any such coverage would sure beat Draftageddon, Reddit CFB Risk, and any COVID related posts.
I think it has to do with all the young talent coming up through the ranks in US soccer and bright future the team has.
Michigan... the bright future is harder to see.
Why start another blog? Just use this one.
There won't be any Michigan sports to cover anyway.
As a lifelong Chelsea fan I was ecstatic when we signed Pulisic. He was passed by Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund & wasn't really being utilized. Their loss, our gain. He is performing at an incredible level after the restart & doing it with minimal rest. Plus he's only 21.
He will most likely be changing numbers this season. Once it's made public I'll be getting his shirt, along with another new signing of ours, Timo Werner (most coveted striker imo right now).
If y'all are just getting into the sport & are looking at Chelsea, you've picked a great time to follow along. Our current manager is a legend at Chelsea, our all time scoring leader Frank Lampard. Keep the Blue flag flying high!!
Yeah Chelsea have had a very good year, with lampard doing a great job with the young players. Hopefully you lock up 3rd place and get champions league. I am a Man City fan and this week has been really really good for us, no ban, no 100 pts for liVARpool, hopefully we will get you guys in the final as long as we beat Arsenal. Good luck Sunday!!!
Pulisic has been fantastic. I think I've only missed one of their games since the restart and the only game he had a meh performance was against Sheffield. All other games he's been good to great, and is easily their most important attacking players. Really, the only big fault I see with his game is he's fairly useless in defense. Lampard doesn't really ask him to defend much (he's typically the furthest midfielder forward), and I hope the USMNT/Berhalter is taking notes and plays him in a similar role.
I watched the Sheffield United match (I was born in Sheffield, so seeing the Blades on their recent run - getting back to the Premier League and finishing in the top half has been nice).
They've made their case with a very careful, well-coached defense. I noticed there was someone on Pulisic instantly whenever he was near the ball. They decided he was someone they had to pressure from the first minute of the match. There's value in being that guy who draws extra defensive attention, too. He wasn't great in that match, but it would have been a very different one if not for Chelsea's defensive lapse early.