Kurt Zouma

[zzz2012 14]

11 hours ago, Antonio8 said:

ehm wait 

I mean 33 years old Cahill. Prime Cahill is twice the player Zouma could be. Zouma pretty much the same player 3, 4 years ago. Still very awkward on the ball, poor positioning. And he seemingly incapable of timing the jump, which led him to jump very high to compensate for it, that's the reason lead to his injury. Cahill right now might lost the pace but at least he would rather back down instead of giving away such a cheap penalty like yesterday. Even his ball playing is not as bad as Zouma, although its still average

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

He would maybe do ok in a deep defensive line but the way Frank is setting us up, he looks totally lost.

[Superblue 6,370]

15 hours ago, Jason said:

Think Zouma will do well in a defensive system, just not in an attacking one. 

 

23 minutes ago, Bosnian Blue said:

He would maybe do ok in a deep defensive line but the way Frank is setting us up, he looks totally lost.

This is exactly the problem for Zouma. What Chelsea fans remember is a promising centre back before his injury when he was under Mourinho's management and as a result was protected under a conservative manager. It is easily forgotten too that his run in the team coincided with the mid table season we had (not that I'm blaming Zouma for that).

His loan spell at Stoke went pretty well despite them getting relegated and he obviously had a good season last year at Everton but again he's not being expected to play in an expansive way with a high defensive line. The games I saw last year at Everton where he actually looked good were against big teams like Liverpool and United where they were sitting back and soaking up pressure. 

One trait Zouma had even before his injury was his positioning was always a weakness but he had an uncanny ability to get back extremely quickly and had one of the best recovery tackles I've probably ever seen but I do think he's lost some of his athleticism and acceleration after his injury and the more space in behind him the harder that recovery can become.

 

[LAM09 6,744]

Think Zouma will do well in a defensive system, just not in an attacking one. 

He certainly wasn't as suspect at Everton and they aren't exactly managed by a defensive coach.

[communicate 2,703]

Zouma problem is that he is a bit clumsy and on the ball he is just really poor. But we can remedy that with kova-kante midfield, two ball carrier in midfield mean we can minimize the amount of time that Zouma need to bring the ball forward. 

[Pizy 18,368]

Zouma is who Zouma has always been since his first spell in our team a few years ago. A physical powerhouse with very poor footballing ability and someone who panics under pressure (because he's not confident in said footballing ability).

Perfect for a perennial Europa League level club like Everton but not at all good enough technically for a top club like Chelsea. Ask yourself, would the likes of City or Liverpool even consider Zouma if he was available for a small fee? No chance.

He'll have solid games for us this season, don't get me wrong. But he'll be a David Luiz-like liability against the top sides. 

[Jase 43,479]

3 hours ago, LAM09 said:

20 hours ago, Jason said:

Think Zouma will do well in a defensive system, just not in an attacking one. 

He certainly wasn't as suspect at Everton and they aren't exactly managed by a defensive coach.

Doesn't mean he was great either and maybe, clubs like Everton are his level. 

[Jase 43,479]

4 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

One trait Zouma had even before his injury was his positioning was always a weakness but he had an uncanny ability to get back extremely quickly and had one of the best recovery tackles I've probably ever seen but I do think he's lost some of his athleticism and acceleration after his injury and the more space in behind him the harder that recovery can become.

It's obviously great if a defender has great athleticism and pace to make recovery tackles etc but if they have to do constantly do that, then it says a lot more about their weakness than strength. 

[the wes 7,212]

Why everybody targeting Zouma performance against  utd Christensen performance was poor aswell I have been saying this well over a year Christensen needs sold he's not suited for the PL the German league is the place for him I rather have zouma - rudiger partnership than Christensen - rudiger yes Christensen good on the ball but sometimes his defending is poor 

[Superblue 6,370]

19 minutes ago, the wes said:

Why everybody targeting Zouma performance against  utd Christensen performance was poor aswell I have been saying this well over a year Christensen needs sold he's not suited for the PL the German league is the place for him I rather have zouma - rudiger partnership than Christensen - rudiger yes Christensen good on the ball but sometimes his defending is poor 

Because after a bright start the first sniff of momentum for United and encouragement for the fans was from Zouma's misplaced pass in his own box and then just minutes later his rash tackle for the penalty. He never looked comfortable after this both defensively and on the ball.

Christensen wasn't impressive and was obviously part of the defence as a whole which struggled but he didn't make glaring and schoolboy errors which put us massively on the back foot and/or led to goals from what I can remember.

[LAM09 6,744]

Doesn't mean he was great either and maybe, clubs like Everton are his level. 

He was adequate at a top half team, not Cardiff. Sheep in headlights for large parts of yesterday's game.

[Vesper 28,776]

1 hour ago, the wes said:

Why everybody targeting Zouma performance against  utd Christensen performance was poor aswell I have been saying this well over a year Christensen needs sold he's not suited for the PL the German league is the place for him I rather have zouma - rudiger partnership than Christensen - rudiger yes Christensen good on the ball but sometimes his defending is poor 

dont often disagree, but truly do on this

AC is streets ahead of Zouma for me, he has matured nicely and I have seen relatively few errors over the last 6, 7 months

Zouma is a trainwreck atm

hope he buckles it up and comes good quickly

[robsblubot 3,502]

58 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

Because after a bright start the first sniff of momentum for United and encouragement for the fans was from Zouma's misplaced pass in his own box and then just minutes later his rash tackle for the penalty. He never looked comfortable after this both defensively and on the ball.

Christensen wasn't impressive and was obviously part of the defence as a whole which struggled but he didn't make glaring and schoolboy errors which put us massively on the back foot and/or led to goals from what I can remember.

Couldn’t agree more.

That misplaced pass looked just as bad as the pk. United should have scored then and there.

andreas was having a solid game while zouma looked bad from the first minute. His hands sticking out to make the easiest pass is very bakayoko like and a big 🚩 

[Jase 43,479]

48 minutes ago, LAM09 said:

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Doesn't mean he was great either and maybe, clubs like Everton are his level. 

He was adequate at a top half team, not Cardiff. Sheep in headlights for large parts of yesterday's game.

Are you agreeing or disagreeing with me?  

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, the wes said:

Why everybody targeting Zouma performance against  utd Christensen performance was poor aswell I have been saying this well over a year Christensen needs sold he's not suited for the PL the German league is the place for him I rather have zouma - rudiger partnership than Christensen - rudiger yes Christensen good on the ball but sometimes his defending is poor 

Christensen isn't perfect but overall, he's much better than Zouma. Zouma has poor technique (he's like the Lukaku or Bakayoko of defenders), is highly suspect position wise and just looks so cumbersome every time he has to do something. Christensen is technically good (which is important if we're gonna play a passing game), decently quick. Tactically/Mentally, he can be a suspect but it's easy to forget that he was actually good when he started playing under Conte up until that Barcelona game happened. If Lampard can help him regain his confidence and belief, then I believe we have a good, solid defender in him. 

[LAM09 6,744]

Are you agreeing or disagreeing with me? [emoji38] 

Both. Lol!

We played a side that are on par/just ahead of Everton and he looked a nervous wreck. Players at the top shouldn't be so brittle.

[Jase 43,479]

Just now, LAM09 said:

Both. Lol!

We played a side that are on par/just ahead of Everton and he looked a nervous wreck. Players at the top shouldn't be so brittle.

He has looked like a nervous wreck every time he has been put under pressure. 

[Vesper 28,776]

8 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

 

This is exactly the problem for Zouma. What Chelsea fans remember is a promising centre back before his injury when he was under Mourinho's management and as a result was protected under a conservative manager. It is easily forgotten too that his run in the team coincided with the mid table season we had (not that I'm blaming Zouma for that).

His loan spell at Stoke went pretty well despite them getting relegated and he obviously had a good season last year at Everton but again he's not being expected to play in an expansive way with a high defensive line. The games I saw last year at Everton where he actually looked good were against big teams like Liverpool and United where they were sitting back and soaking up pressure. 

One trait Zouma had even before his injury was his positioning was always a weakness but he had an uncanny ability to get back extremely quickly and had one of the best recovery tackles I've probably ever seen but I do think he's lost some of his athleticism and acceleration after his injury and the more space in behind him the harder that recovery can become.

 

best analysis yet