I find people being unnecessarily cruel to Zouma and including him alongside Christensen and Rudiger as being highly inconsistent, those 2 have been highly underwhelming and struggled in numerous games. Zouma has been our most consistent CB this season and in my opinion his pairing with Tomori was the one which looked the most promising for us. Its unfortunate that he was turned by Aubameyang for the winner in the FA cup final but I don't really put that goal on him as he had to cover the shot in the far corner, Zouma did what he had to and sometimes you just have to say that we got done with a sublime piece of play by a truly world class striker.

Personally I would keep Zouma and have a new left footed CB play next to him next season.

Good player. Above average, will be top class if he learns how to position himself better.

Would probably be one of the best if he was born in the 50's or 60's. A very blood and thunder CB or as the football hipster calls it very agricultural

Edited August 6, 20205 yr by Deino

17 hours ago, Imran_CFC said:

I find people being unnecessarily cruel to Zouma and including him alongside Christensen and Rudiger as being highly inconsistent, those 2 have been highly underwhelming and struggled in numerous games. Zouma has been our most consistent CB this season and in my opinion his pairing with Tomori was the one which looked the most promising for us. Its unfortunate that he was turned by Aubameyang for the winner in the FA cup final but I don't really put that goal on him as he had to cover the shot in the far corner, Zouma did what he had to and sometimes you just have to say that we got done with a sublime piece of play by a truly world class striker.

Personally I would keep Zouma and have a new left footed CB play next to him next season.

Lets not pretend that we weren't conceding just as many goals with the Zouma and Tomori pairing. Actually I remember people crying for Rudiger to come back at the time including myself. 

Literally. Then we saw that Rudiger disappointed too.

Would be ridiculous if we don't go for a more established CB. 

1 hour ago, Slojo said:

Lets not pretend that we weren't conceding just as many goals with the Zouma and Tomori pairing. Actually I remember people crying for Rudiger to come back at the time including myself. 

Completely agree at the time we had people calling for Rudiger as we were still shipping goals however now with the season over we can look at the performances of all the CB pairings and for me Zouma and Tomori seemed the most secure (With the exception of the odd brain fade from Tomori). Left back was a troubling area and Tomori with his pace had the ability to plug that gap especially when someone got in behind, my point was not that we should go with that pairing for next season but we need to partner the new CB with Zouma as opposed to getting rid of the lad.

Tomori I think still needs a couple of seasons of soft integration into the starting 11 by playing him in the cup games. 

5 minutes ago, Imran_CFC said:

Completely agree at the time we had people calling for Rudiger as we were still shipping goals however now with the season over we can look at the performances of all the CB pairings and for me Zouma and Tomori seemed the most secure (With the exception of the odd brain fade from Tomori). Left back was a troubling area and Tomori with his pace had the ability to plug that gap especially when someone got in behind, my point was not that we should go with that pairing for next season but we need to partner the new CB with Zouma as opposed to getting rid of the lad.

Tomori I think still needs a couple of seasons of soft integration into the starting 11 by playing him in the cup games. 

Oh definitely, we got worse as a team with Christensen and Rudiger at the back, but there were several other factors. The issue is, Rudiger and Christensen can't play it out from the back, neither can Zouma to be honest but he is a bit better (something I never thought I would say). Tomori despite the few hiccups he has had has actually been our best player from playing it out at the back. 

The issue is, Zouma is also mistake prone, he's just the best out of a bad bunch unfortunately. I still think he's got a part to play in the squad next season, but I'm not as confident as you are with him, I think he has many limitations that set him back from being a quality defender. 

5 hours ago, Slojo said:

Oh definitely, we got worse as a team with Christensen and Rudiger at the back, but there were several other factors. The issue is, Rudiger and Christensen can't play it out from the back, neither can Zouma to be honest but he is a bit better (something I never thought I would say). Tomori despite the few hiccups he has had has actually been our best player from playing it out at the back. 

The issue is, Zouma is also mistake prone, he's just the best out of a bad bunch unfortunately. I still think he's got a part to play in the squad next season, but I'm not as confident as you are with him, I think he has many limitations that set him back from being a quality defender. 

Best of a bad bunch. Looks clumsy on the ball and lacks spatial awareness when in the air, which makes you wonder why we would keep him but then you see who he is up against. 

20 hours ago, charierre said:

Best of a bad bunch. Looks clumsy on the ball and lacks spatial awareness when in the air, which makes you wonder why we would keep him but then you see who he is up against. 

It's worth remembering that Zouma has always had these flaws, from when we started scouting him, but he looked like he was going to be so physically dominant it was just a matter of pairing him with the right senior partner and he would be the second coming of Gallas or Thuram.

No one expected him to have multiple injuries that took him from the top-tier of physical attributes to above-average, nor a club crisis that would see him thrust into the spotlight as the supposed senior partner. Part of his journey is re-learning his game from a place where he can no longer count on out-pacing or out-jumping absolutely anybody.

All in all he's done exceptionally well, and I think we should definitely keep him as a squad player, but we need two defenders that are a level above what we have already.

Edited August 8, 20205 yr by SydneyChelsea

5 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

It's worth remembering that Zouma has always had these flaws, from when we started scouting him, but he looked like he was going to be so physically dominant it was just a matter of pairing him with the right senior partner and he would be the second coming of Gallas or Thuram.

No one expected him to have multiple injuries that took him from the top-tier of physical attributes to above-average, nor a club crisis that would see him thrust into the spotlight as the supposed senior partner. Part of his journey is re-learning his game from a place where he can no longer count on out-pacing or out-jumping absolutely anybody.

All in all he's done exceptionally well, and I think we should definitely keep him as a squad player, but we need two defenders that are a level above what we have already.

My argument actually was in a cack handed way of saying he would be the one I'd keep. Next to a good senior left footed partner he could be very good. Rudiger and Christensen would be shown the door first if I had a choice.

On 07/08/2020 at 10:52, Slojo said:

Lets not pretend that we weren't conceding just as many goals with the Zouma and Tomori pairing. Actually I remember people crying for Rudiger to come back at the time including myself. 

That's not really true though ... 15 conceded in 12 games when they played as a pair, and that included the 4 at home to Ajax, but it is still way better than our average goals conceded per game for the season (1.25 vs 1.44)

I would definitely keep zooma,at least he tries and generally does well,as for the rest well as the saying goes "don't forget to shut the door on your way out".

Despite playing in our worst defence for decades, I think Zouma has been pretty good this season. I know his limitations, and he has never mastered the art of timing his jump for either attacking or defensive headers, but he has pace and can tackle, and his passing has improved. Christensen is too frail, physically and mentally, and Rudi's decline has been a real shock. I hoped he had everything a CB needs - strength, pace, aerial ability, indomitability, leadership - but he has lost a lot of confidence playing in dodgy defence. Hopefully with the right CB partner he can get that back.

Tomori is still young enough to improve, but anyone can see we are crying out for a quality CB and LB to play in front of a new GK.

However, like most analysts, I fear the problem is as much about defensive organisation/ shape/ structure as it is about individuals. Good players don't look their best in bad teams.

Edited August 9, 20205 yr by Backbiter

Our best defender again, some vital tackles, blocks and headers .

My MOTM even if he hadn't scored, he was fired up and on it since minute 1 and really set the tone for the defence.

Excellent again yesterday, our best defender.

Unsung hero since the league restarted

15 hours ago, jack_super_class said:

Excellent again yesterday, our best defender.

Hes been our best defender over the past 5 or 6 games in my opinion, and thats not just because the other ones have been guff, he has stepped up his performances well.

1 hour ago, dkw said:

Hes been our best defender over the past 5 or 6 games in my opinion, and thats not just because the other ones have been guff, he has stepped up his performances well.

Yes, he's played very well. Very solid and positionally sound. Will never be a ball-playing CH but seems to know his limitations. I still think he needs to time his jumps far better. If he could, he'd be a fantastic aerial presence in attack and defence. Such a likeable character as well.

Rumours we are going to offload him cropping up. I'd find it mad if we do and hoping it isn't the case. I think he's our best central defender. 

3 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

Rumours we are going to offload him cropping up. I'd find it mad if we do and hoping it isn't the case. I think he's our best central defender. 

We're obviously trying to move one CB on. He and Rudiger have the most resale. For me I think he has been the best as well and will look even better next to Silva who he complements well. 

I still for the life of me can't understand the obsession with Christensen who is neither a good game reader, an organiser or physically strong. It feels like in the same way that we are going to have to learn our lesson around Giroud's quality again this season we are going to have to learn our lesson again about Christensen's weaknesses.

To mad to sell him and stick with Silva and Christensen. He's the only defender with speed and physicality to match against good attackers in the league, and we are selling him? Leicester, who has a better defence than us wants him, that's say it all. The bar for Christensen is so low, as long as he doesn't commit mistakes resulted in goals, he had a " solid game". Yes, he wasn't at fault for those 3 goals last Saturday, but did anyone serious believe he is capable throw in a last ditch tackles to stop the first 2 shots on goal? Zouma has been bailing us out quite a few times in those kind of situations this year. What's happening with Sarr, is he already on loan? I'd think if we do let go a defender go, it's because we could get Sarr in this season.

Would have sold him ages ago but selling now seems a bit pointless given our current situation, unless the club want to cash in while he's still in good form to get max value.

If the rumours are to be believed I certainly would question the thought process of letting our Best CB go especially if it is to bring in Declan Rice.

The only reason I can think of why Lampard may want to let him go is if the club is facing difficulty selling some of the other squad players such Rudiger, Emerson & Alonso.

3 hours ago, Imran_CFC said:

If the rumours are to be believed I certainly would question the thought process of letting our Best CB go especially if it is to bring in Declan Rice.

The only reason I can think of why Lampard may want to let him go is if the club is facing difficulty selling some of the other squad players such Rudiger, Emerson & Alonso.

Well selling Zouma would be an awful response to that issue

Emerson gets the blame for the Tottenham goal but it was actually Zouma. 

The ball was at a height he could have cleared it but he just didn't jump and missed it. Shame as otherwise he had a good game.