poor today, but still think his ability warrants him being first choice. dont agree that zouma is better than him right now

Don't agree with people saying Cahill is average. He's a very good CB he just isn't world class. 

Agree with Davey Babey. Cahill is really average, a great pro but average. It's a shame that David Luiz never got his act together, because on paper he was the perfect partner for Terry.

With Terry and Cahill at the back and Ivanovic at right (which I think is a horrible tactical decision) we are very vulnerable to teams who run at and counter us like Tottenham did today.

If you're going to take the game to the opposition like we do in 80% of our games, you need one pretty quick centre back. Well so I see it.

I feel we get away with a tactical deficiencies because of talent. But we'll never win the champions league taking the game to opposition. Sitting tight and choosing our moments is the only way we'll beat the best with the current back line.

Sorry to go off on a tangent. Simply Cahill is below average for the level we want to get to.

Cahill would be world class if he had pace, that's why i want zouma brought in.he's lightning quick and can give jt better cover. i think he will get a chance next couple of games.

Ivanovic is a right-footed full-back.

we  need to play dave at right back and zouma and jt in the middle. for a couple of games

What keeps letting Cahill down in addition to his lack of athletecism is his psyche. When he gets skinned a few times he loses a lot of self esteem and starts his backing off routine were he is so afraid og making a mistake that he would backpedal out of the stadium if the pitch wasnt boxed off. Doesnt help that Ivanovic and his at times awful positioning keeps hanging him out to dry. I really hope Zouma can grow into the player we hope he can be

At Bolton he looked like this nice ball playing CB,for us he looks sh*t scared anytime he has the ball at his feet when he's getting closed down.

Edited January 1, 201511 yr by jack_super_class

The problem is at RB, less so CB -- Cahill has to cover for Ivanovic's **** positioning and him being too slow to track back. 

 

The solution really is to drop Ivanovic (or play him at CB in place of Cahill) so we have two competent fullbacks not an inverted fullback and a CB there.

 

To add, there are no top teams that have no proper fullbacks playing on their correct foot besides Chelsea.

 

Not so much about Cahill but whatever. 

Jose will never, ever drop Brana. So every now and again he will get roasted by players with pace.

I think you need to f**k off to whatever City or Utd or Arsenal board you came from.

 

Definitely City.

Maybe Kalas should come back, he looked good for us at the end of last season and would give us two other options for CB.

Maybe Kalas should come back, he looked good for us at the end of last season and would give us two other options for CB.

 

He can't even get a game out on loan. Zouma would be the opbvious choice

Definitely City.

Lol

Very good player but definitely our weak link given the ball playing defenders our style of play requires. We need to give Zouma a go or sit back closer to our goal against the biggish teams.

I say it's time to give young zouma and christensen a chance. In my opinion, christensen has looked solid every time I've seen him at CB. Either that or bring kalas back and give him a shot and send zouma on loan to besiktas.

Quite good with Terry. When Terry doesn't save his ass, he is quite.. mediocre. And you can see it in England national team. No Terry = no Cahill. 

Edited January 2, 201511 yr by Pendergast

I say it's time to give young zouma and christensen a chance. In my opinion, christensen has looked solid every time I've seen him at CB. Either that or bring kalas back and give him a shot and send zouma on loan to besiktas.

 

Christensen isn't close to being ready in my opinion. Looked dodgy at set-pieces as soon as the Youth Cup Final last year (if memory serves).

 

Zouma needs a chance, and I'd even look at Kalas but he seems to be unfancied for some reason.

Quite good with Terry. When Terry doesn't save his ass, he is quite.. mediocre. And you can see it in England national team. No Terry = no Cahill. 

 

Terry definitely has the ability to make other centrebacks appear better then they are, I fear for the day he hangs em up. Dont think we will see a player like him in quite some time

Edited January 2, 201511 yr by Xfaxtor

Any more performances like that one last night and we will be in the market for a new centre back in the summer.

Zouma needs to be given his chance now. I hope we don't leave it too late and leave him on the bench for the rest of the season.

Don't think Jose will cut Cahill just yet, and I don't think he should. If he's poor over the next few games he'll have no choice. I'd give him a few more games to sort himself out

Don't think Jose will cut Cahill just yet, and I don't think he should. If he's poor over the next few games he'll have no choice. I'd give him a few more games to sort himself out

The thing is someone like Schurrle gets thrown into a much changed team and is hooked at half time for a poor performance and that's it, chance gone.

Cahill puts in an abomination of a display and will likely retain his place.

He's not looked great at all over the Christmas period and when you throw in his pathetic dive against Hull and his petulant kick out at Kane when he was on the floor last night he's become a red card waiting to happen.

We used to slaughter Luiz for these sorts of things and I don't think Cahill should be any different.

He took those two bangs in the head and hasn't been quite the same... but he will sort himself out in the next game of two. He'll be embarrassed himself by recent games and will want to put it right. I don't think Jose is the type of manager who wants to chop and change the centre back pairings unless it's essential. Fullbacks are easier to switch put but consistency willl bring out the best in Terry etc. Time will tell!

Edited January 2, 201511 yr by Zola

Don't agree with people saying Cahill is average. He's a very good CB he just isn't world class. 

 

 

Would agree with that Sparkz. I have to admit to some bias here as I absolutely love Cahill's attitude and commitment to the cause. I have said it before but it bears repeating IMO, he would throw himself in front of a bus to try and stop a shot on our goal. He is just like JT in that respect.

 

Yes, he was poor last night but so were Ivan, JT and Matic. Last season he had a blinder and I felt he was our most consistent defender just edging out Dave who also had a stormer. For the most part Gazza has not performed at the same exemplary levels this season and the only thing I can put it down to is the amount of football he has played over the past 18 months being a first choice starter for both club and country. He has looked a bit leggy and lost concentration sometimes this campaign, similar to how Oscar was last year. I think he may need to be rested a bit more.

 

To say he is average is plainly wrong. Last season proved beyond doubt what he is capable of, and he was a very good centre-half for other clubs before we signed him. He is not world-class though he had performances last year where he looked like he could make that leap. Personally I just want him to get that belief and consistency back as I don't think there any better replacements around who are available, proven in the EPL, and would make a better partnership with JT.

His attitude is excellent and he will will be a great defender for a purely counter-attacking team with a deep back line. That is not how we want to play unfortunately. We need defenders who can pass the ball out of a tight spot. Cahill will never be one. Hopefully Zouma is. If Zouma isn't up to the challenge yet, I would seriously consider a counter-attacking game plan in every away game (where the current back two thrive) for the rest of the season.

I don't think there's any need to drop Cahill just yet. He has certainly made a few mistakes, which he deserves to be criticised for, but I think some of the reaction has been a bit over the top. Zouma has looked decent enough when he's come in, but I don't think he's ready just yet to be thrown in at the deep end. We do, however, need to sign a new centre half in the summer (I can't see us bringing one in in this month), to provide much needed extra cover and competition. 

Cahill isn't the same player this season in contrast to last season where he was on fire and an absolute rock in the defence alongside Terry. This season he's been more exposed and been considered the 'weak link' by many here and abroad.

 

Cahill seems to thrive in a side with good defenders around him but when errors start occurring he loses his confidence quite quickly and strikers take advantage of this. We saw this in our two losses against Newcastle and Tottenham.

 

I think some are rewriting history somewhat. Cahill was outstanding last season to the point that he pushed David Luiz out of the side even though Luiz possesses more natural talent than Cahill does. Cahill's work ethic and determination is hard to discredit but his confidence can get fragile from time to time. I don't know why he's off-form at the moment but I think a lack of confidence and fatigue after a lot of football are the key reasons for his recent poor form.

 

He's not at the stage of being dropped from the team completely but it would be nice to see Zouma featuring in more games than he does but we need to be wary of the fact that Zouma is a lot younger than Cahill and more inexperienced so when push comes to shove Cahill may be our most reliable CB option going around at the moment to partner John Terry for the rest of the season at least. 

Edited January 3, 201511 yr by Jezz