I’m not even the biggest fan of Mykhailo Mudryk in this fanbase, but if he doesn’t start the game on Sunday then for me that’s an instant sackable offense.
Extreme? Maybe. But it’s the stark reality.
I think Mudryk has shown a lot of promise and can certainly do some great things. He is a confidence player and needs to play and feel loved. I think he has some quality but lacks a bit of football intelligence and awareness. He does everything too quick and sometimes needs to calm down and believe in himself more, just like he did last night with his amazing goal against Newcastle United.
The jury stays out for me whether he will be a success at Chelsea or not. But one thing for sure is that he deserves to be starting games right now ahead of Raheem Sterling.
The winger, who doesn’t even get selected by Gareth Southgate at England anymore, has been VERY poor for a number of games now and to be honest, even though he had some bright moments earlier in the season, I wouldn’t say he has improved a lot at all from how bad he was last season.
Last night just proved that again. He had the fewest touches of any player on the pitch for the majority of the game before he got subbed off, and he missed three pretty decent chances to score. His shots were weak and really, in hindsight, he should have laid off a pass on a couple of occasions for a team mate in a better position.
It’s important for me to try and be as balanced as possible and I will say that I do think his defensive side has improved a little this season, he seems more willing to track back and help out defensively.
But overall he just doesn’t do enough and is just not good enough. So why then is Mudryk not getting more game time?
Pochettino brings him in for the odd cameo, he does some good stuff, some bad. But when he does his good bits, why is he then not drafted in on merit and given more starts? He is a player for me who needs a run of games to really gain momentum and confidence.
None of us know if he will take his chance if he got one, but he now at least deserves to get one. I’d understand a lot more if the guy ahead of him was playing well, but Sterling has been so poor lately and playing players on merit needs to be a thing.
Raheem Sterling
When I say that Pochettino doesn’t help himself an digs deeper holes for himself every time he speaks, I truly mean that, and he did it again last night.
He was asked what Mudryk needs to do to earn a run of games. His response?
“It was a very good goal, he scored a really good goal and that is what we expect from a player that came from the bench, an impact. Then it’s about to compete with different players in the position he can play and then deserve to play. It’s more of a question for him than for me.”
It’s about to compete with Sterling, who has been poor?
More of a question for Mudryk? No, it isn’t a question for Mudryk, it’s a question for YOU. Why are you playing a player who has been very poor, ahead of him? Why are you not picking players on merit?
As I said at the start, I don’t even massively rate Mudryk at the moment even though I’ve been willing him on to prove me wrong, but I still know that he has done enough lately to deserve a start over Sterling and he has certainly been more impactful than him.
The truth is, I’d happily see another left winger arrive in the summer regardless. But I do believe Mudryk deserves a run of starts now and should absolutely start on Sunday without question. Sterling should be sold this summer too, without question.
Oh and by the way, I also think Mudryk is much better playing centrally, but this formation doesn’t really allow that unless he drops Conor Gallagher, and that ain’t happening.
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