Chelsea: Meaningless buzzwords don’t make Mason Mount a better player

Mason Mount has had his fair share of (unjust) criticism this season. Now a buzzword is attached to convince Chelsea fans he is good after all.

Over the summer, there was a very significant part of the fan base that was adamant Mason Mount was not good enough to play for Chelsea. Much like Jorginho was made to be the avatar of Maurizio Sarri, Mount was made to be the avatar of Frank Lampard. Many of those that were against the appointment of Lampard were automatically against Mount.

Anyone that has actually watched a Chelsea game this season will know that Mount is important to the Chelsea side and very much fits in. But even still, there are many who think he has no place in the starting XI. Simply hop on Twitter and see how many will claim Ruben Loftus-Cheek will kick Mount out of the lineup despite the two not being mutually exclusive. Now, some are seeing the tide shifting and they are scrambling to land on the right side of the debate.

To do this, they are dubbing Mount a “raumdeuter”. Just like how Jorginho is a “regista” even though the term really does not mean a whole lot, Mount is being called a raumdeuter seemingly to make him more unique and thus a better and more valuable player. Except meaningless buzzwords will not make Mount a better player because he is already one of Chelsea’s best despite the cries of those that were against him from the start.

Raumdeuter roughly translates to “space investigator/interpreter”. It is a term completely made up by Thomas Muller before losing the Champions League final to Chelsea to describe himself. Basically, it is a player that looks for space to move into (or out of) to create an unexpected shot or pass.

It is about as unique as it sounds. Perhaps in the 1980s when Arrigo Sacchi first tripped up the world with his style, a raumdeuter would have been a valuable and dangerous player. Now it is simply called a player that knows how to play the modern game.

Virtually every attacker in the modern game understands the role of space. Muller is no more unique in his role than Frank Lampard was or Lionel Messi is. Some want to make raumdeuter out to be a position or a role when it is simply a trait every modern attacking player possesses on some level. Extending that notion out further, Willian fits the description. Pedro fits it too, as would Eden Hazard. But the term was never applied to to them because they did not need the extra fluff to earn respect.

At least this is an acknowledgement on a thin level of Mount’s quality, but it is only coming as a way to convince people that were against him that he A: is unique and B: is therefore good. Much like the term regista really does not mean anything in regards to Jorginho, raumdeuter does not mean anything in regards to Mount.

Mount is a good player and a star in the making. That was the case back in the summer as well but because Mount was not Jorginho and Lampard was not Sarri, lines were drawn. Dubbing him something players are simply expected to be now is a silly way to try to save face.

Mount and Jorginho are good players not because of the buzzwords used to describe them. They are good in general and the buzzwords are there to hype them beyond that for those that do not buy their quality in the first place. But rather than label them a term made up by Muller and popularized in Football Manager, just watch the game and let their quality stand up on their own.