With Christopher Nkunku finally nearing full match fitness, Nicolas Jackson could soon see himself marginalized at Chelsea FC. The striker certainly hasn’t done much to help his own cause, given his how he’s accumulated seven yellow cards already, in just his first 12 Premier League matches.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has warned Nicolas Jackson that he needs to better understand the league’s rules, and how they have changed. Hitting five yellow card accumulation got him suspended for the Fulham Road derby win in October.
Chelsea FC vs Brighton & Hove Albion FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Dec. 3, 4pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
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Premier League Standing:ย Chelseaย 10th, 16 pts,ย ย Brighton 8th, 22 pts
Google Result Probability: Chelseaย 56%ย Brightonย 22%ย Draw 22%
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And he’s already got two cards down towards the next set of five.
When you analyse the team, starting XI or players who come from the bench, thereโs not too much experience of the Premier League,” Pochettino said at his Friday news conference ahead of Sunday’s home march with Brighton & Hove Albion
“We are talking about Jackson, he came from a different league. He needs to understand the rules have changed and where is the limit to talk with the referee. Like this, many other players, or players who play less than one year. We cannot underestimate the Premier League.”
Jackson moved over from Villarreal, for ยฃ32m in June, and yes, some adjustment period was to be expected. However, a lot of Chelsea fans are really starting to lose their patience with the forward, and it’s easy to understand why.
Pochettino continued to extol the virtues of the English top flight.
โThe Premier League, you can arrive here, but it is the toughest league,” the first year Blues boss continued.
Sometimes, as a team, we need to be more mature to manage situations, and then sometimes, we make a mistake. There are many factors, but these two are principal. You need to learn quickly; if not, you pay for it.”
Nicolas Jackson has certainly paid the price a bit, but his situation could get worse if he doesn’t figure it out and make adjustments.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
Heโs written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News,ย Sports Illustratedย andย theย Chicago Tribune.ย He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for theย International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the websiteย onย Twitter.
