Cole Palmer is the talk of the town once again this week, and on the Overlap podcast this week Gary Neville got into a bit of detail about how he would like to see the attack used.
He compared the England star to Cristiano Ronaldo, who broke out at Manchester United alongside Neville. It’s a pretty bold comparison to make – but Palmer is justifying it right now.
“The big thing for me when I watch Chelsea play – and Ronaldo used to do this when he got to maturity level, 2006 to 2008 at Manchester United – he would play in the area of the pitch where his team needed him, and where he could do the most damage,” Neville explained.
“I actually watched him in a game against Crystal Palace last season where they were struggling in the first half of the game, and he then went on to the right-hand side and he flipped his position. All of a sudden, Chelsea started to play, they started to create problems.”
Palmer needs to be freed not restrained
It’s a well observed piece of punditry – and it nails something that annoys us. Plenty of fans (including those of other teams) and pundits and now demanding that Palmer starts centrally as that’s where he’s been on his good run of late. And there’s no doubt he’s very effective there.
But a player like him doesn’t need to be held down – the whole point is that he should roam free. There are plenty of examples – just like the one Neville mentions above – where Palmer is not getting the space he want in the centre and is actually better off starting wide right. Let’s not forget that at one point a year ago, Blues fans actually preferred him on the right.
As long as he has the freedom to end up where he wants, there are a number of ways he can be used effectively.