I can sort of see the logic in it, but I must still side with FC - overall Zouma isn't a natural midfielder and what he may provide defensively probably won't offset the limited impact he'll have on the game in that role.

My personal opinion is that we have to try and move away from being pragmatic, especially in these sorts of games.

The trio of Fabregas, Matic and Oscar are more than talented enough to take the game to Spurs.

They can press and harass the Spurs midfield into making mistakes to turn over possession.

Putting a player as slow and plodding as Zouma I the middle is never going to see us improve or evolve as a side.

 

I see where you're coming from but I feel if we go like that against Spuds we will all have our hands over our eyes during the game, barely able to peek through our fingers.

 

Jose will probably fall between your idealist position and my ultra-pragmatist position and go with Ramires, Matic and Fabregas.

Zouma isn't slow. Just saying.

Zouma isn't slow. Just saying.

 

He isn't slow but I don't like the idea of him playing in the midfield. I know it worked in the final last season but Spurs have moved on since then and if we go negative and play too defensive, I think they will take us to the cleaners. Would much rather see RLC start alongside Matic. At some point we have to start trusting some of our players. That's what the likes of Spurs have done and they are now starting to reap the benefits.

Can also see both arguments.

I like Zouma in that role, he is proactive at shutting down attacks and a serious presence.  However, i think for the Spurs game we will try and nullify their speed by sitting further back and absorbing the pressure, which in that case will defeat the purpose of having another DM, as we won't need him there to break up fast moving play.  Everyone will be asked to defend a little more than usual in the game, and when we have the ball, we will need as many creative/attacking players as possible to shift quickly and hit them on the counter.

 

Would definitely like to see more of RLC but not sure White Heart Lane is the game for it.

 

I definitely tend to lean towards the Davy Baby school of thought on this. Spurs ran a train through our midfield last season and it cast serious doubt over the feasibility of the Matic-Fabregas "pivot" midfield which I don't think has ever really been reversed. It was an absolute disaster. There is a time and place for that pairing but I'm against it when lining up against teams with attacking pedigree who are actually going to have us on the rack for large spells of the game which is inevitable with this one. We are likely to be pulled all over the place and I think it will leave far too much for our defence to deal with.

 

Mind you, I said this before the Arsenal game this season and we set up with Matic & Fabregas and pissed it so wouldn't bet against seeing it.

I'm all for the introduction of a DM and reverting to a system that looks more like the 4-1-2-3 formation for the harder games, but I don't think Zouma is that man, as previously stated by a few people above his distributional skills and technique on the ball are't good enough, yes he will break the game up and win the ball back but he can't do anything with it and often will give it away or prevent any chance of a counter attack, I also recall that in the games in which he was deployed there previously I was of the opinion that he nor Chelsea played very well despite the win, and I'm of the belief that if Mikel was fit or even in the country during these occasions, Zouma would have never been used as a DM and was only deployed there as nobody else was up to scratch.
Therefore if we are going to deploy a DM I would much rather go for Mikel who is by far more suited to DM than the pivot in which he has struggled to get to grips with of recent times or if we decide we don't need to have Matic further forward he would be the perfect player for that DM role and is more than suited to that defensive brief. heck I would even prefer to go for RLC in the DM role than Zouma. All 3 of these are very adept at playing as a DM so I don't think we should need to shove the very square peg of Zouma into that position especially when he has been so solid at the back. 

potential midfield partnerships;
    Mikel / RLC                     Matic                     
Fabregas   Matic       Ramires Fabregas    

Maybe with sometime on the training ground we could eventually set up with 
      Matic 
Oscar Fabregas   
as this would give a much more versatile look whilst keeping our playmakers on the pitch.

I also think you will need to have fabregas on the pitch if we are to revert back to the 4-1-2-3 system as his passing range is almost essential for quick counter attacking football.            

I think the defence was far more of a problem at WHL last season than the midfield. 

Doesn't matter who starts. We're ending their unbeaten run and that's all that matters

 

Tottenham 0 Chelsea 3

I think the defence was far more of a problem at WHL last season than the midfield. 

 

The problem was losing the ball in midfield and leaving our back line exposed, Matic, Fabregas, Willian and Ivanovic we're the main offenders.

Zouma isn't slow. Just saying.

For pace no.

Speed of thought and releasing the ball quickly? He's very slow.

Zouma as a midfielder is as much a hindrance going forwards as he would be a help going backwards.

If it's more defensive qualities we want then we should play Mikel and Matic.

That said, I still think we need to show more ambition. The Matic and Fabregas partnership was fantastic at the start of last season and is, in my opinion, our most balanced pairing.

I agree with fc

Same team as saturday bar Azpi and oscar, for kenedy and pedro. Keep hazard in the number 10.

Last years result was a bit of a freak imo, we didn't defend well enough on the day, I don't think we should need to change things too much because of that result. We beat spurs pretty comfortably at home last season, certainly more convincingly than we did with Zouma in midfield in the cup final.

I'm not saying we didn't play well at Wembley, we did, but it was a tight game that could've gone either way.

So, Fabregas finally dropped, Matic Oscar and Ramires comprised our midfield.

 

It's no Maka, Essien and Lampard but is it our best option for now?

 

I'd still like to see RLC given his chance.

That matic that we saw tonight is an awesome player. Where the heck has he been?

Him with oscar and rlc for me. Ramires on the ball game let's down his work rate.

That matic that we saw tonight is an awesome player. Where the heck has he been?

Him with oscar and rlc for me. Ramires on the ball game let's down his work rate.

 

That sentiment about Ramires is bang on the money. I know because it's so early in RLC's career to make proper judgements on his play and compare him to Rami holistically, but from what I've seen of him he seems more sure of what he's going to do with the ball than Ramires, and he does get stuck in and break up play as much as, if not more than him. Then again that can only be proven if he's given enough game time. No more than the rest of us on here, I'd love to see RLC given the chance but our cries for blooding talent are futile (as always), especially now when the heat is on the lads. Judging from our form and Mourinho's choices this season, and looking at the fixtures, I can't see him getting a good run of games this season. I'll be surprised if he makes 5 or more appearances this season (a most welcome surprise hopefully).