robsblubot

He did play well against Liverpool. His end product is still poor, with that last pass or shot still not really happening, but everything else was there. He was beaten by Salah a couple times, but that's unavoidable.

You are probably right, but does it even matter if he scores goals or not? He did not flop at united for lack of goals, but for his overall play. United were simply better without him. They won more and played better with a more technical and mobile young striker. The whole point of the game is to win, not to have your striker score useless goals. Lukaku had a good record at united, but even that was a bit misleading because he'd often vanish in tougher matches. He's a bit quirky in terms of characteristics: he's tall and powerful, but not a great target man. He's a poacher without a whole lot of mobility and one who does not really make those off-the-ball runs that poachers need to make. He's got some pace for a big guy, but top teams rarely enjoy a lot of space behind the opponent's defense line. His valuation poses a problem as well, because he will want to play and perhaps he shouldn't start every game for any top club. And no, he's a not a fit athlete.

He could go up one or two notches and we should still be looking for someone better. Zouma does not belong in the starting XI of a top club. Just look at the type of players other top clubs employ. also, cb pairing demands complementary skills, not similar ones. Without a solid passer, rudiger is hardly it, we would be easily pressured by high press sides like city or even Tottenham. Mistakes can be forced too.

Generalizations like this do not quite work. I liked RLC from the get go because he always had the most important: technique tammy does not, so even if he becomes a reliable striker in the future, his ceiling will be lower than someone like Cho for example. Very similar to lukaku in my view - who was also overrated around here. good for you if you want to trust franks judgement right now based on very little. I think he is a work-in-progress the same way many of our younger players are. frank is playing with fire here. As limited as giroud may be, he would've been more likely to score these goals Tammy consistently misses. Another few results like this and he will be facing a sack. Make no mistake, his stardom at the club, and even the ban situation will only buy him so much time as a manager.

Pull some pics of Eden when he joined... hope pulisic doesn’t bulk up the same way Eden did...

Good performance against Liverpool! Really good on the ball. Makes great off-the-ball runs and shows good vision for his age. His shooting looks impressive too. cant wait to see how he develops under frank. Expecting great things form him in the future.

Heh fair enough. we just have differences in what we looks for in different players and positions. i thought I saw enough of zouma to know I’d like someone better to start for us. But yeah hope he can become a good/decent squad player for us since we will def need it.

France has many good players, but they are the best team in the world because of two players who just are able to routinely influence games, esp the big ones: kante and mbappe

Heh the irony is lost here... after one game. yes, and I completely disagree - another mediocre game by him. He’s just not very good playing footy. Did not think my comments were nasty, just joked that you started your post by pretty much accusing folks of judging him by a single game. Even though most of us have been watching him play for a very long time... kinda weird actually.

Hmm they scored immediately on his side after an uncommitted tackle by him. if Andreas is not injured that was a very strange sub given other players were tired and cb don’t have to run as much.

Not a penalty for me but I will take it.

Think frank might be thinking Ross a little lower on the pitch, like CM

Kepa!!!

Azpi tackles from behind and got enough of the ball and player to disrupt the finish. It was mane all alone, because zouma was asleep, who passed into the net. when attackers get behind the defense line it’s the entire defense problem.

Poor by zouma at something I thought he was actually good at.

And going forward... amazing player!

UCL season they will all play a lot of games. sorry for the dp - on phone

Agreed, but You have to believe docs and fitness coaches would not clear him otherwise. hopefully the the recent issue is more like a knock and nothing that could get worse.

Much stronger starting XI 👍

Partially disagree. while organization and focus would definitely help, player characteristics are hard to ignore. cant ask players to do what they don’t know how. I mean you can, but they won’t be able to do it.

I’m sorry, but were you born last Saturday by chance? We’ve been watching zouma play for quite a bit of time - at Chelsea and on loan. it’s fine if you disagree, but please don’t accuse people for being hasty here. I’ve always thought he’s a poor footballer and united game did not surprise me one bit. My prediction: he will crumble when under pressure because he does not have the technique to control and move the ball. He will do better against the smaller sides and poorly against the stronger sides who more often employ a high press.

Folks who say they are not worried should be. Bad results and poor performances can really become a deterrent to youth development. Ah regarding your second point, that’s worrying. I say that because I don’t think we have the players for the high press esp defense. The left side is ok with Emerson and Andreas, but the right is for a diff style.

Yeah that’s exactly where frank err and where I disagree with you and @Tomo that match shouldn’t have been about the future! Play the senior to stabilize the team which will also help the younger players. I’ve seen younger sides go into losing spirals quite easily. Starting Tammy over giroud in that game was a massive mistake and I do t even like giroud. even the shape was poor... bring one of the ams back into cm as Oscar used to do. Make it compact. Sorry very naive strategy and formation. I hope it was a one-off tho.

^ frank looks like he’s about to kick that football perhaps he should...

heh yes, but it really shouldn't be. Andreas and Rudiger are by far our best defenders. Zouma, disregarding last game, is way way below that level. Passing from the back is kinda important, and Andreas is probably our best passer atm, even if rudiger is fairly good at that too. We don't really have a team to sit back and we have to play with a higher line. Just can't see zouma being comfortable in that type of setup.