I’m not buying the ‘Chelsea Are Actually Good And We Were Just Kidding’ narrative from the media. They still struggle with a low block, they still concede a lot of goals, obviously they are not relegation fodder but I’m not going to start taking them seriously just because of one crazy game against City*.
*Plus City before Christmas are a different animal.
I hear that but our defence is fine. We’ve conceded 1 less goal than Spurs having played Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and City.
We just need to score more goals.
I got him for nothing as a waiver claim in my EPL fantasy league. My big money players have not panned out, but this kid has basically kept me at or near the top of the league all season so far.
So I don’t know if he is the creative playmaker Chelsea fans have craved for years, but I do know that he is a key player for Auba Dabba Doo.
What I’ve been most impressed by Palmer is his attitude on and off the pitch. There are several reports of him working hard to settle at Chelsea and let us please put into context that he is just 21.
There would have been pressure on him too like any other player that moves to Chelsea but he has really impressed everyone.
Good for him. I hope he can deliver in the long term.
On a side note, the upgrade from Havertz and Mount is ridiculous. He is clearly the player they’ve been wanting since ages.
Cole Palmer is everything we wanted/expected Havertz to be
More Mount including penalties which were setting back Mason
Not getting carried away at all I see.
Yeh can’t help but agree with your sentiment. Bro has started his Chelsea career well but let’s not heap on insane pressure so early into his career. Let him marinate and develop, he just got his first Intl callup and it was as an injury replacement. We aren’t under any obligstion to crown him already. He is doing good, let’s hope he continues to do more.
Yeah, I agree when you say that Palmer is what we thought Havertz would be. But he was never that sort of a player in the first place. But to be fair, since his move to the PL, no manager has been able to figure that out either.
Nope, I prefer Kai.
Man scores 4 pens and plays decent football. Media: eNgLiSh mEsSi! Chelsea have needed THIS player for YEARS!!!
I’ve watched Chelsea’s last 4 games from start to finish and I legitimately can’t see what the hype is about so far. The analysis in the article is effectively just praising him for completing basic plays? If Chelsea had a competent striker, they would likely give him penalty taking responsibility and we wouldn’t be hearing anything about Palmer.
JWP playing better at a new club and deserves to be in the England squad. Sterling has been better too.
Yeah sure the four penalties help his popularity among the fanbase but I’m really unsure how you’ve missed Palmer’s contributions. He’s been the most creative Chelsea player with his passing and that is immense for a side that has lacked it for years.
If you watched the match against Brentford, then you would’ve seen how Palmer unlocked their low block on numerous occasions.
And that is just one match. He’s done it many times in most if not all of his games so far.
To your point about the article praising basic things, aren’t all things in football basic? It’s the fact that you do it at a high level. If this was so basic, why did Havertz and Mount struggle to produce the same.
Mount’s last full season he was in double digits in goals and assists without taking penalties, if memory serves? He also carved open City to win the champions league. Havertz was routinely played out of position when compared to his time in Germany.
I think to call him the most creative passer in the team is doing Enzo a disservice. I also think Sterling has been a much more dangerous attacker than Palmer.
We’re still less than a season’s worth of games into Palmers career. I think he has the talent to justify his price tag eventually but as things stand, I’m not sure what he’s done to deserve so much praise.
Mount was great two seasons ago but since then he declined immensely. I was a big fan of Mount myself and I hoped he’d stay but the club decided to move quickly and find another creative player.
And so far, when comparing Mount’s (few) performances at United so far, it does seem that we have likely made the correct decision.
As for Havertz, he did not play in his best position at Chelsea but he is playing as a 10 at Arsenal and not doing well either. So after years of underperformance (especially when it came to finishing and creativity), it was the right move to make.
Enzo is up there at Chelsea too, but he isn’t being played as high as Palmer to be more influential. Check the article again, Palmer slightly overperforms him.
And I clearly mentioned before that I’m talking about creativity through passing, Sterling does that through dribbles. However, I do agree, Sterling has been really good this season and still hasn’t got much attention which I believe he should get too.
Point being, none of this takes away from Palmer’s solid start to his career - something many Chelsea players recently struggled to do in the beginning of their careers.
I’m confused as to why people are mentioning Havertz. They’re completely different players, why would anyone expect Havertz to be doing what Palmer has been doing (for three months)?
When he came to Chelsea that was the expectation. Though he was never that type of a player, it is hard to tell what kind of a player he is at all to be honest. A second striker is the best shout.
When Havertz played in a role that wasn’t false 9 at Chelsea (which despite popular opinion he actually did quite a lot) he was expected to play a very similar role that Palmer has been doing so far. They’re really not that far apart as players and the comparisons are valid.
He was never used correctly at Chelsea.
I mentioned in my other comment, he’s an 8, with some 10 leanings.
He’s absolutely not a false 9, hence his ‘failure’ at Chelsea. They were playing him out of position / role.
He wasn’t only used at false 9 at Chelsea though, something some Arsenal fans seem to constantly ignore. He was given plenty of time in a range of positions. Like you surely can’t think he was only seeing game time as false 9 when Lukaku was there or Werner was playing at striker? He was used in a 3 man midfield a number of times by both Lampard and Tuchel.
We saw plenty of Kai Havertz across the pitch. False 9 is the role where he got vaguely close to being useful at combined with the circumstances around the role with Lukaku leaving etc.
Palmer and Havertz are different players but the idea there aren’t overlaps in their roles for Chelsea is just wildly naive.
How did Mane play at Southampton and how did he play under Jurgen Klopp?
You’re comparing Apples to oranges. Its completely different squad and manager than the team Havertz played in. It’s a pointless comparison.
Obviously, but to say its a pointless comparison is incredibly basic. There’s lots of overlap in what a player is asked to do for one team or manager and another even if their roles or their position in the team may be slightly different. Progressing the ball for Chelsea isn’t fundamentally different to progressing the ball for Arsenal to the point comaprison can’t be made.
He’s scored four penalties… What’s with the media agenda to praise him so much? Man City certainly do not miss him… give it a rest journos
While I appreciate positive takes about Chelsea for once, I wish you would let the man grow gradually and not overhype him. He’s good and deserves praise but nothing is extraordinary. I gotta admit though I did see something in him watching the few times he came on under City and is one of the few purchases I was undoubtedly happy for. I hope he grows better and better and meet expectations and more. Up the chels and hope he makes history with us and for England!