Many have criticized Chelsea and Frank Lampard’s handling of Christian Pulisic. But it turns out club and manager knew exactly what they were doing.
It would be hard to deny that one of the low points of Christian Pulisic’s young career came not even two weeks ago. As the United States struggled to do much of anything against Canada(!), Pulisic was the first player hooked. Gregg Berhalter can claim all he likes that Pulisic had flu like symptoms but he still A: opted to start him and B: sacrificed one of the few players capable of changing the game for having a bad day when everyone else was as well.
Pulisic was furious to the point of tears but not simply because of that sub. He had struggled to land at Chelsea with the US media (who turns on him whenever it is convenient) hounding Frank Lampard for not playing the American more than the minutes he was already getting. But, as it turns out, Lampard knew exactly what he was doing.
First of all, Pulisic opted to head off to Chelsea quickly after the Gold Cup ended. And while that was admirable and earned praise, he also really could have done with the rest. Whereas Pulisic’s counter parts were able to rest and start preseason fresh, Pulisic had basically gone straight from one season into the Gold Cup and then into Chelsea. Simply put, it should have been expected that his fitness levels were not on par with his teammates. Lampard seemingly confirmed as much.
But even then, Pulisic was a young player in a new league. While it is often assumed that the transition from league to league is a simple matter for a player with experience, that is rarely the case. Even Willian struggled to make the initial jump (though his jump was much greater than Pulisic’s). Eventually Willian did adapt and became a vital part of Chelsea over the years. But it was by no means immediate as was seemingly expected in Pulisic’s case.
Perhaps the most important factor of all was Pulisic returning to a manager like Lampard after that last international break. Though claims of “English bias” have foolish stuck to Lampard over Pulisic this season, there would have been few better managers to come back to after that low point in Canada. Lampard, as a former player, would more than understand the type of frustrations Pulisic was facing. And, with Chelsea being a meritocracy, Pulisic had his chance to fight his way in. Lampard would even be the type of manager to put his shoulder around Pulisic and say “okay, now is your chance” which he did.
Pulisic’s two excellent substitute appearances were not out of the blue. Nor was his excellent, record breaking start against Burnley. It was part of a plan that started in preseason. It was given on merit based on training. And it was also likely the right moment to show trust in a player that saw the world crashing around him after Berhalter pulled him in that Canada game.
As it turns out, all the uproar by fans and media over Pulisic was overblown. The club and Lampard knew what they were doing and the picked the right moment to give Pulisic the keys to the kingdom. It should not be dismissed that the American had to do the hard work to get in that position, but Lampard showed he knew exactly how to handle the situation all along.