4 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

He's the only one who could defend, and has the physicality to handle fast and strong attackers. Put Christensen next Silva and he will still struggle, because he could not win duels against   striker with either pace or strength. Unless Timori improves dramatically and Sarr proves his value when he comes in next season, Zouma is the second best striker we got.

I think you mean centre back. 

I agree if thats what you mean. Yes he made a howler against Southampton but he is strong and good in the air and tackle. Christensen is lightweight and there are too many big guys in the premier league for that not to be taken into consideration. I think Tomori is also too small. I can see the guy is a proper footballer but he needs to fill out or move into the defensive midfield role. I like big central defenders and am struggling to think a really good small one.

It's always a worry when he's got the ball, i just want him to give it to Silva asap, or look at Silva for instructions, with the ball at feet he's as bad as Rudiger, he wouldn't be in the team if we had another world class cb.

But still i love him, in the air he's a proper monster, sometimes he literally jumps feet above everyone else, those outstretch sliding tackles he does have been some of the best tackles I've seen.

13 minutes ago, coco said:

It's always a worry when he's got the ball, i just want him to give it to Silva asap, or look at Silva for instructions, with the ball at feet he's as bad as Rudiger, he wouldn't be in the team if we had another world class cb.

But still i love him, in the air he's a proper monster, sometimes he literally jumps feet above everyone else, those outstretch sliding tackles he does have been some of the best tackles I've seen.

I think you're stating the obvious here. Of course he wouldn't be in the team if we had another world class CB. Like Mendy wouldn't be if we had a world class keeper. For now we have to make do with Zouma. He has at least aerial presence and athleticism to cover for Silva on the break and I would always trust Zouma over Christensen in a last ditch tackle.

Would be interesting to see Tomori start once in a while...

There is no denying he has had a rough couple of matches but the guy is still an absolute titan in the air, he is one of the main reasons we look a lot better defending set pieces and actually look a threat ourselves from corners. If memory serves me right so far this season he has scored 2 and potentially should've had another against Palace & last night, I think with his physicality, pace and language skills he slots in nicely next to Silva. So far the 2 have played together twice and we've got 2 clean sheets, lets get some consistency going in the team defensively. I think Chilwell, Zouma & Silva should be the mainstay's of the defense with Azpi and James rotating.

 

1 hour ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Positionally, I think he's better. 

I don't want this to become a Zouma pile on but he's making the sort of mistakes in the last couple of games that David Luiz would be slaughtered for. 

It's not just the dodgy back passes it's over/under hitting passes when playing out from the back which is allowing the opposition to turn over possession high up the pitch in dangerous positions. 

Seems like Frank sees him as the most suited to that left sided centre back role, maybe he's the most confident playing out with either foot? 

Yeah il give you that one too on position but thats about it. Zouma in his time at Chelsea has given better performances than Christensen has ever done for us. Zouma has made some sloppy mistakes recently but i think him and Silva will make a good partnership. Plus him Silva and Mendy can all speak French. Zouma can make some great last ditch tackles, like he did Vs Palace away last season and Brighton away this season. 

On 19/10/2020 at 13:27, ForeverCarefree said:

He was so bad for the second goal against Southampton. 

Not only the poorly hit back pass to Kepa but after that he basically stood still afterwards making no effort to try and mae amends for his error. 

Yeah, I can’t believe he’s still in the team. The way he didn’t try to make up for his mistake says a lot about his attitude.

This season his attitude has been awful, I hope he gets replaced soon. I’ve lost any respect i had for him after that.

Edited October 21, 20205 yr by dansubrosa

Honestly when he receives a pass, he looks like he has never seen a football, i'm struggling to remember ever seeing such a clueless player, he aint  bad at clearing his line, but on the deck and a simple pass, amateurish at best, i think i could still give him a passing masterclass.

I think Zouma is our best defender and at the best at set pieces.

He does look awkward on the ball yet rarely makes mistakes.

I'm not sure what our best defensive combo is yet think I am in good company as neither does Frank, IMO.

5 hours ago, Strider6003 said:

I think Zouma is our best defender and at the best at set pieces.

He does look awkward on the ball yet rarely makes mistakes.

I'm not sure what our best defensive combo is yet think I am in good company as neither does Frank, IMO.

It's not just about making mistakes, it's the fact that he underhits and overhits passes quite a lot. And when under pressure he flaps. 

22 hours ago, Slojo said:

It's not just about making mistakes, it's the fact that he underhits and overhits passes quite a lot. And when under pressure he flaps. 

That is very true.  His passes are often level or behind a player also - never quite into the space that the running player will hit.  I still think he is the best option next to Silva, but his form has dropped a little.  Few mistakes creeping in, but what is unusual is he is not recovering with the same effort.

We can do better.

I am not too concerned about Zouma when partnering Thiago Silva as I think they compliment each other very well, the alarm bells ring when he is not partnered by an experienced CB. So far he has 2 clean sheets playing alongside Silva this season and prior to this season we saw glimpses of his ability when he partnered Terry early in his career.

I would much rather have a CB such as Zouma who is an elite defender especially in the air with questionable ability with the ball at his feet over someone like John Stones or Christensen who look silky with the ball yet cannot defend. 

 

Last time out Zouma got caught out with a ball over the top, UTD having Fernandes are certainly capable of that.  

I do enjoy seeing Zouma in the team at set pieces he is great at clearing crosses and corners and seems due a goal from one at the other end too.

Outstanding today, man of the match for me.

Another match where without Christensen, we look good defensively and Zouma isn't making random hiccups with the ball... 

Quietly put in a good performance. Apparently tonight was the first time this season that he lost an aerial duel.

Last 4 games we've got 3 clean sheets

So it was Zouma's 26th birthday yesterday; as it turns out he's not permanently 22 years old like most of us had assumed.

I think he and Silva are the obvious pairing.  Kurt is good in the air, and Silva has all the experience so they complement one another quite well.  I remember a stat on twitter about our partnerships last year, and statistically we were most vulnerable when Christensen played; surprisingly, not Rudiger.

38 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

So it was Zouma's 26th birthday yesterday; as it turns out he's not permanently 22 years old like most of us had assumed.

He’s going to be 24 next year somehow though....

It's so nice to see how playing him next to Thiago Silva improves our defense and himself as a player.

Three goals already, we can build some corner tricks on him.

On 01/11/2020 at 01:08, IliyaKrostin said:

It's so nice to see how playing him next to Thiago Silva improves our defense and himself as a player.

Three goals already, we can build some corner tricks on him.

Does he improve him as a player though? He got away with another one at the weekend. If Barnes had any sort of composure we were 1-0 down against Burnley & people would be slating him.
 

Zouma is definitely the best we have after Silva as a CB option at present but I’m still not convinced he’s the long term answer if we want to compete in the PL & Europe. I still think we need another strong CB who is a bit more comfortable on the ball and less mistake prone. Keep Silva, new CB, Zouma & Tomori is a solid 4. Sell Christensen and Rudiger - unless they want Tomori to go on loan to play regularly, then keep Christensen as 4th choice and sell Rudiger.

11 minutes ago, EdinburghBlue said:

Does he improve him as a player though? He got away with another one at the weekend. If Barnes had any sort of composure we were 1-0 down against Burnley & people would be slating him.
 

Zouma is definitely the best we have after Silva as a CB option at present but I’m still not convinced he’s the long term answer if we want to compete in the PL & Europe. I still think we need another strong CB who is a bit more comfortable on the ball and less mistake prone. Keep Silva, new CB, Zouma & Tomori is a solid 4. Sell Christensen and Rudiger - unless they want Tomori to go on loan to play regularly, then keep Christensen as 4th choice and sell Rudiger.

That was a dodgy moment and I wondered if they had a penalty shout.

Perhaps lucky that Barnes had overhit it before Mendy collided with him.

Zouma certainly has an issue under pressure passing back to goal.

I think it is a watch situation before we change him as his all round game is stronger than the other contenders.

Zouma will always be a bit dodgy on the ball and never far away from a mistake.

But he's probably 3rd or 4th name on that team sheet for me. Without his physical presence we would be soft and get bullied a lot more.

And for a big lad, boy can he jump, sometimes he's like 2 foot above everyone else in the air.

The fact that Silva, Mendy and Zouma can speak a common language has to be helping this year ... basically two people who can natively tell Kurt what to do 🙂