One of the few positives from Wednesday was this young chap. He has a lot of swagger, real personality on the pitch. I thought he was a real class apart from all other players.
He has technique, vision, mobility and real fighting spirit. Tackles like Scholes, sometimes you need to put in the odd naughty so you don't let physical teams intimidate.
His touch and turn show a real understanding of decisive & effective football. Takes up great spaces and looks for space before flashy nonsense. 1 on 1 he has some steps.
He is a brilliant striker of ball off both feet. Controlled, powerful volleys.
What is his level? Is he going to add presence or finesse? Can you add both? He could probably add a yard of pace and half a yard's leap naturally as he man's up over the new few years.
Definitely PL next year. Keeps with the growth and desire and probably Chelsea. Good luck to him for sure. His game will suit international football.
We do have one loanee who is undeniably world class and that is Leko. In an alleway against cones and bollards, head down run with the ball, he is unplayable. Unfortunately, when on a pitch with team-mates, he doesn't seem to have what anyone else in his team is doing.....world class touch, sunday league vision.
No positives to be drawn from Tuesday's débacle obviously. Curious as to what you saw him doing Wednesday though..?
One of the few positives from Wednesday was this young chap. He has a lot of swagger, real personality on the pitch. I thought he was a real class apart from all other players.
He has technique, vision, mobility and real fighting spirit. Tackles like Scholes, sometimes you need to put in the odd naughty so you don't let physical teams intimidate.
His touch and turn show a real understanding of decisive & effective football. Takes up great spaces and looks for space before flashy nonsense. 1 on 1 he has some steps.
He is a brilliant striker of ball off both feet. Controlled, powerful volleys.
What is his level? Is he going to add presence or finesse? Can you add both? He could probably add a yard of pace and half a yard's leap naturally as he man's up over the new few years.
Definitely PL next year. Keeps with the growth and desire and probably Chelsea. Good luck to him for sure. His game will suit international football.
We do have one loanee who is undeniably world class and that is Leko. In an alleway against cones and bollards, head down run with the ball, he is unplayable. Unfortunately, when on a pitch with team-mates, he doesn't seem to have what anyone else in his team is doing.....world class touch, sunday league vision.
Think Leko will end up playing at the highest level, has clear talent but as you say his footballing awareness isnt there yet - luckily that can be coached. Better that way round at his age than no ability but reads the game well.
I thought he was very ordinary on Tuesday, kept getting caught with the ball, trying to do too much possibly.
I think he's definitely trying to do too much right now. Has ability above anyone else in our patched up midfield, and knows it, and wants to show leadership and take game by the scruff of the neck. It's admirable, but I think you can see he's getting frustrated with the way recent matches have gone and he's trying to force things. Trying shots when he should pass, trying killer balls when the simple pass was the better option.
When a team is on a bad run and confidence is low, it tends to go one of two ways. Players start to over compensate and lose that instinctive good decision making, or they pass the buck a bit a start hoping a teammate will dig the team out a hole. It's human nature and our lot are showing all the hallmarks of a team low on confidence. Connor's firmly in the first camp right now but it'll come back to him. We just need a break right now - a perfectly good goal disallowed on Tuesday, two goals against that should've been disallowed vs Luton, a 50:50 penalty call vs Sheff Weds. These are all examples of things not going our way right now and that tends to be the way when you're on a bad run. At some point we'll get a soft penalty or a bad offside call go our way which will be the catalyst for things to change.
Sadly, and I keep saying this, I don't think we've hot rock bottom yet, though.
we are now realising just how important Cullen is to this team.
Gallagher is an absolute quality player and thrives even better with Cullen, Taylor, Williams, Pratley etc on the pitch with him.....it's a big ask for a 19 year old on loan to be the 'main man'
As I understand it from what Gallen said at the Trust meeting the danger is a premier or championship promotion chasing team may offer a fee plus pay his Chelsea wages in January.
Gallagher is being forced to play out of position and in a role that doesn't suit him, hence why his performances have suffered recently. He's still busting a gut to charge down oppo keepers and giving his all, the lads is class.
I thought he was very ordinary on Tuesday, kept getting caught with the ball, trying to do too much possibly.
The worst I've seen Connor play. He's usually outstanding.
possibly two factors at play here .. 1) He is a wee bit tired and is feeling the 'strain' of a very tough season so far (he's taken and given a lot of heavy tackles, body checks etc.) 2) He is trying a bit too hard to cover for the dire lack of recent midfield support .. We all agree, in a very few years if he maintains fitness and discipline, he'll be a top top player .. problem is I doubt very much, unless the (whisper it softly) 'takeover' happens and we become mega rich as a buying club, it will not be with us
Probably his worst game for us but he's been outstanding all season. When you're the only player in the midfield with creativity I can understand why you may hold onto the ball a bit too long though and get caught in possession, he's trying to make things happen but doesn't have any decent options to pass to.
we are now realising just how important Cullen is to this team.
Gallagher is an absolute quality player and thrives even better with Cullen, Taylor, Williams, Pratley etc on the pitch with him.....it's a big ask for a 19 year old on loan to be the 'main man'
I thought we realised how important Cullen was when he was missing last season.
absolutely - cullen is the glue that knits it all together. williams is the magic man who makes it all happen and taylors the talisman that gives it a bit of razzamatazz - gallagher can feed off that core and is great but cannot replace any of it
Gallagher is being forced to play out of position and in a role that doesn't suit him, hence why his performances have suffered recently. He's still busting a gut to charge down oppo keepers and giving his all, the lads is class.
Agreed, the balance of the team was all wrong on Tuesday and Gallagher ended up playing far too deep as we were being swamped in central midfield. He was picking the ball up in positions where (to me) Morgan should have been playing.
We're clearly overplaying him. Chelsea might feel that too much game time in a poor side is doing him more harm than good. Probably not going to happen but with loan players you never know.
Already been covered in the transfer rumours thread but I will eat my hat if he moves to Burnley on a permanent basis this upcoming window.
Even a PL loan makes no sense at this stage in his development. I’d love to see some statistics on how many times Chelsea have recalled a player playing well and getting valuable first team minutes. I’d bet it’s zero.
Smacks of an agent trying to get the parent club to give him a “proper” contract and not just a contract of a youth prospect.
Unbelievable commitment for a loan player. Even when he's not playing well he gives it everything. He got hammered by some dreadful tackles tonight but still got up for more.
Comments
Gallagher is an absolute quality player and thrives even better with Cullen, Taylor, Williams, Pratley etc on the pitch with him.....it's a big ask for a 19 year old on loan to be the 'main man'
Leco the jury is still out.
2) He is trying a bit too hard to cover for the dire lack of recent midfield support ..
We all agree, in a very few years if he maintains fitness and discipline, he'll be a top top player .. problem is I doubt very much, unless the (whisper it softly) 'takeover' happens and we become mega rich as a buying club, it will not be with us
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7811109/Burnley-line-January-Chelsea-starlet-Conor-Gallagher.html
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10592443/burnley-chelsea-midfield-gallagher-january-transfer/
Even a PL loan makes no sense at this stage in his development. I’d love to see some statistics on how many times Chelsea have recalled a player playing well and getting valuable first team minutes. I’d bet it’s zero.
Smacks of an agent trying to get the parent club to give him a “proper” contract and not just a contract of a youth prospect.
https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-boss-bowyer-reacts-to-burnley-loan-link-to-conor-gallagher/