Tag: Oliver Glasner

Richards: Crystal Palace boss Glasner sees me as center back

The USMNT defender is happy to be back in his natural position after a spell at defensive midfield

Chris Richards is back playing his natural position, and he looks set to stay there for the foreseeable future.

Richards has played center back his entire career, but started in defensive midfield for a stretch of Premier League matches earlier in the season.

But under new Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner, the U.S. international has returned to his natural position, starting four straight games at center back under the Austrian before suffering an injury last month.

Speaking to Palace’s website, Richards said he was happy to return to center back after being shifted around earlier in the season under Roy Hodgson.

“Centre of defense, preferably,” Richards said of his ideal position. “It was a lot of learning this year, playing right back, center back, center mid.

“[It was] a lot of positions that I’m not quite used to, but again, like I said, I’ll do whatever to be on the pitch and help us win. I think it’s been good to play in different positions because you learn a lot.

“We played against [Glasner’s] teams in Germany, so I think he remembers what my best position was.

“But coming in, we did have a small conversation, and he just kind of said that for the future he sees me playing center back. All the games I played for him have been at center back.”

Richards provides injury update

The USMNT defender has now missed three straight games with what he revealed to be a knee injury.

Speaking before last weekend’s match at Liverpool, the 24-year-old said he was targeting this Sunday’s game against West Ham for a potential return.

“I think frustrating would be a good word for it,” Richards said.

“I feel like I worked hard over the last two seasons that I’ve been here and I think I was finally reaping the benefit of that. It’s always nice playing games.

“I have a knee injury. Hopefully, what we’re aiming for is West Ham. I’m just kind of taking it day by day, hoping that it continues to heal and that’s what I’m aiming for, at least, is the West Ham game.”

Prior to his injury, Richards had gone the distance in 16 consecutive Premier League matches.

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Richards out 2-3 weeks with injury, Crystal Palace boss Glasner confirms

The USMNT defender had played 16 straight league matches before his injury

Chris Richards is set to miss between two and three weeks with an undisclosed injury, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed.

Richards suffered the injury in Palace’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest last weekend, then missed his side’s midweek defeat to Bournemouth.

With the Eagles set to face Manchester City on Saturday and Liverpool next weekend, Glasner said at a press conference that the U.S. men’s national team defender would be out for both matches.

“We will look from day to day — one day it looks better and then the next day not so,” Glasner said.

“But I think he will miss at least the Liverpool game and then we will see. He will be out for two or three weeks.”

Prior to the Bournemouth game, Richards had gone the distance in 16 consecutive Premier League matches. After starting the season on the bench, the 24-year-old has become an ever-present for Palace — first playing as a defensive midfielder before shifting to his natural defensive position.

Richards also played the full match in both of the USMNT’s Nations League encounters last month, as Gregg Berhalter’s team beat Jamaica and Mexico to retain the title for the third straight tournament.

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Chelsea turn back time as Frank Lampard appointed caretaker manager

For a limited time only, Lampard is back at Stamford Bridge

They say you can’t go home again, but if you’re Frank Lampard, you can at least stop by for a prolonged visit.

The former England midfielder has been appointed Chelsea’s caretaker manager, returning to the club where he spent around 15 years as a player and coach.

“We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge,” co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement.

“Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season. We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.”

Chelsea found themselves with a managerial opening after dismissing Graham Potter just seven months after hiring him to replace Thomas Tuchel. It doesn’t take a particularly robust memory to recall that Tuchel was himself sacked back in September as Boehly seemed to believe that cleaning house was essential after buying the club last summer.

Lampard will be the fourth person to act as Chelsea’s manager this season, following Bruno Saltor’s one-game role as an interim boss saw the Blues and Liverpool battle to a scoreless draw on Tuesday.

Lampard will hold the role through the end of the season, with Chelsea reportedly considering a list of candidates that includes Julian Nagelsmann (jobless after being shockingly fired by Bayern Munich), Mauricio Pochettino, Sporting CP manager Rúben Amorim, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Oliver Glasner and former Spain boss Luis Enrique.

Chelsea’s roughly one-and-a-half season run under Lampard from July 2019 to January 2021 was a decidedly mixed experience. In 2019-20, Lampard guided Chelsea to a fourth-place finish in the Premier League, an FA Cup final, and to advancement out of a potentially difficult Champions League group.

However, they were 33 points behind the Liverpool side that won the league, lost that FA Cup final to Arsenal, and crashed out of the League Cup (to Manchester United) and Champions League (after a 7-1 thrashing by Bayern Munich) earlier than the club had hoped.

The following season started off well enough, with just one Premier League loss in their first 11 matches and an emphatic first-place finish in their Champions League group. The wheels would fall off in December, though, with Chelsea taking just seven points from his final eight league matches in charge.

Lampard’s struggles would end up in sharp relief after his successor Thomas Tuchel would lead the Blues to a Champions League trophy and a climb back into the top four.

Opportunity for Pulisic

Chelsea were clearly hit-or-miss under Lampard, even if we’re being generous, but one player who thrived for at least part of his time in charge is Christian Pulisic.

In the 2019-20 season, his first following several seasons with Borussia Dortmund, Pulisic produced 11 goals and 10 assists. That made him Chelsea’s most prolific set-up man, and only Tammy Abraham scored more goals for the club.

That represents Pulisic’s best season as a professional, and his time in London since has largely been a pursuit of that kind of form and consistent place in a given manager’s team. Even under Lampard, it must be said that the 2020-21 campaign saw Pulisic score just two goals in 17 appearances across all competitions.

Still, a new manager is always an opportunity, and Pulisic will be looking to force his way back into more regular minutes. Whether his long-term future is with Chelsea or not, it’s a big moment for the U.S. men’s national team attacker.

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