Cole Palmer

[Cityfan]

Thought he was decent yesterday. Like many of our players he is just back from International duty with no preseason behind him. Chelsea out did our xG for what that's worth but it was largely down to him with some good passing.

He is a credit to out academy and I'm sorry we lost him , but that's life I'm looking forward to Bobb and hopefully McAtee showing us the same or better. They are very good as well and in a different position great performance from Rico, our academy is producing some real talent.

 

[wattle]

Wow. Just shows what three weeks with Southgate does to you! Thought he was no where near last seasons form yesterday.

 

[jimharri]

I still maintain he is not a Pep player—just take note of his defensive work rate compared to Savinho (or even Doku) the next time you watch Chelsea.

Very good attacker but not a particularly gifted all-around player, with natural tendencies that would infuriate Pep.

Yeah; he doesn't bust a gut to get back behind the ball. That'd drive Pep mental.

 

[bluemoon32]

Thought he was poor yesterday but i don't blame him for that.
Chelsea is a basket case club

 

[youngbob]

Thought he just looked tired yesterday tbh. Not much to read in to.

 

[Vienna_70]

Chelsea out did our xG for what that's worth.

It’s worth absolutely nothing.

We scored two goals; they scored none.

 

[Vienna_70]

Wow. Just shows what three weeks with Southgate does to you! Thought he was no where near last seasons form yesterday.

That’s because he hasn’t had a proper rest, I suspect.

Contrast with our finalists; none of them started.

 

[bluemoon32]

That’s because he hasn’t had a proper rest, I suspect.

Contrast with our finalists; none of them started.

In fairness, he only played a total of 144 minutes this summer

 

[Vienna_70]

In fairness, he only played a total of 144 minutes this summer

But all players deserve a decent break away from the game.

Cucurella played nearly every minute for Spain, and he was in the starting XI as well.

 

[SebastianBlue]

Yeah; he doesn't bust a gut to get back behind the ball. That'd drive Pep mental.

I think back to a comment Pep made a few seasons ago that started off about Phil but ended up being a bit more general about the sort of players he wants. He basically said that Phil wants to play in fifth or sixth gear almost all of the time but he needs to learn to play in second or third gear more so he can sustain his performances not only for 90 minutes, but for a full season. But the bit that often gets cut out, is that he went on to say that he needs players that mostly play in second or third gear with the ball, but sixth gear without it. He needs players that know when to double or triple the tempo in the right moment when attacking, but always play with a high tempo when defending (which is not that often, given how we dominate possession).

That is how his system and tactics work.

And a player that plays in sixth gear whilst attacking but third gear when defending is a weak link.