The saga of Chris Jullien continues today, with his latest lengthy Instagram post where he seems to be suggesting that he “struggles alone.” I’ve got to be honest; reading any professional footballer writing about his struggles right now seems just wrong to me when ordinary people are going through 99 kinds of Hell worrying about the cost of living.
I guess within the bubble, though, there is genuine suffering to be found in those players who aren’t getting regular football.
It is good to know that Jullien still knows how to work his mobile phone though. I just wonder if he applied himself on the pitch the way he does to moaning off it if he wouldn’t be closer to a first team place at our club.
I look at guys like Ralston, who had to read all through the early part of last season that he was a stop-gap until we signed someone, and who is on the bench at the moment, and players like Abada who finds himself in the same position, getting on with the hard graft and taking their chances when they come along, talking ever about the “good of the team” and I wonder why this guy can’t see what it is that he’s getting wrong in his approach.
I wrote over the weekend about these guys, and how every club needs “good soldiers.”
Chris Jullien isn’t one of those at the moment.
Ange has made a point of saying that every player who is currently at the club will be in his plans as long as they are on the books. He is entirely correct to say so because you never know when you might be struck with an injury crisis or something else.
But Jullien did himself no favours with his mouthing off after we’d wrapped the title up, and he continues to undermine his own chances of getting in the side. He ought to just work harder and impress people with his diligence and application; as it stands right now, no party is going to benefit from having him at the club beyond this window.
The worst thing is, if he gets a reputation as one of those guys who niggles from the sidelines when he isn’t playing, he will find it increasingly hard to get a move and that doesn’t help him and it doesn’t help us either. He needs to focus and do his talking where it matters; on the pitch, whether that’s playing or on the training ground.
I think given the chance that Chris Julien would be a ‘good soldier’, but I doubt very much that he is going to get that chance. His long term injury, when Ange arrived and stared building a new team, meant that he was not able to become one of Ange’s building blocks and he slipped down the defender hirarchy as a result. His short time appearances in the pre season friendlies did not really give him the opportunity to assert himself and jump that queue, and with the Moritz Jenz signing he has been pushed even further back. Everyone is different and I see no problem with him bumping his gums at his lack of appearances, it just means he is human and aggrieved that he is being overlooked. James McCarthy does not complain about his lack of game time, but does that make him a ‘good soldier’ or a ‘weak soldier’?
I do think Chris’s time is up and he would be better moving on in his own best interests.
His problem is that he plays in the same position as CCV .. If he could play on the left hand side then he may stand a chance of game time.. If Ange is to be believed and they are arranging bounce games to get the likes of Starfelt up to speed then maybe he will feature, however is he going to replace CCV? If not then we should be looking to move him on … because we can hardly afford his high wages for him to sit in the stands .. too old for B team and there is no reserve league here so his wages could be better used in other areas … purely my opinion
It’s a French thing the same with edoard nitcham look at pogba at United it’s down to attitude
Whit? I don’t remember French Eddy or Ntcham grumbling all that much.
It must be my bad memory?
“…all that much.”
As far as I’m concerned ANY public bitching is too much. Shut yer gub and get on with it you shower of privileged man-babies!!!
Julien was lucky not to be completely ostracised after his last self-pity party…if I was Ange I’d send him to train with the B team for this new whinge. We don’t need a toxic greetin’-faced sod stinking up the joint around the 1st team ffs…
My point was, why mention Edouard and Ntcham at all, they have nothing to do with the topic.
And as for Julien, I prefer a bit of backbone to a cowardly silence.
Therefore we beg to differ.
I believe Julien should move on now but not for this misguided pathology. He is at a club and under a manager that don’t want him here now and Ange has through his actions made that clear last year and this. Julien quite rightly has the right to state his view and delusion on that abandonment and impact.
Its one thing to be, as you say, a good soldier but its also a good thing to have good leadership and to be led by a good general. My point isn’t that Ange isn’t a good general, its more the inconsistency and changes of leadership and generals in Julien’s short time here and their inconsistent mixed messages and approach to him. He is a victim of consequence and time has unfortunately moved on during Julien’s time out injured, received while doing his best in a Celtic shirt.
The whole Julien scenario seems rank disrespectful to me and I don’t believe its a Julien led one way street or deserving of fan persecution, strong word I know.
Well said.
If truth be told, none of us really know what private conversations had gone on previously between Chris and Ange, but I am fairly certain that there would have been talks before CJ decided, as a last resort, to go public. In doing that he was putting himself in the shop window and telling other Clubs, who may have been interested, that he was available. Good luck to him, I hope he gets his wish and I certainly will never bad mouth a player who I have previously loved and supported.
Well, with the very odd exception.
Players like Jullien actually get more than a decent wage from the club, I understood that as being part of a contract to utilise their services. He should get round the hospitals with the other lads (who do so quietly) and get his appetite back for the game on the pitch.
Eh…he has his appetite for playing, in fact it neve left him, and that is why he is
complaining about not being chosen more often.
I believe he has an appetite for playing too, his gripe is that the manager won’t give him a chance to play as he, the manager, had to move on during Julien’s long term injury period, had to replace him with CCV and the Starman last year and is showing loyalty to them.
That’s not a problem, what else was Ange meant to do last year but it does leave Julien in the lurch with a manager showing him that he wants him out the door by his actions, and whose words about all being treated the same, he knows are just that, words. He’s stated that he’s not getting a chance. He’s not. He’s on a high wage so now the club want him out with the hope that a small portion of the transfer fee paid can be recycled. I get that though think its tough on him but it is simply the reality of the situation and it would be better for him to move on from a club that no longer wants him to a club that does. I hope he gets the move he needs for his career and wish him well