Kurt Zouma

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

Zouma should have no fear - he is one of Jose's boys now.

[Reddish-Blue 2,218]

No way. Zouma is not pro-active at all. That is his limitations. He is not a technical defender. Cahill is a pro-active defender. Maybe not the best, but certainly better with the ball than Zouma. You must be getting Zouma confused with Ake because as promising as Zouma is his ball qualities are not as good as Terry and Cahill.

Cahill isn't proactive, every time I see him play he's backing off the striker and making last minute blocks.

[Stats 6,980]

Cahill isn't proactive, every time I see him play he's backing off the striker and making last minute blocks.

He does back off a lot but what I mean in terms of pro-active is that he does not just boot the ball out and he is a ball playing defender. He has the confidence to carry the ball out. Zouma for instance does not have the technical qualities to make him a ball playing defender while Cahill does

[The Skipper 20,593]

He does back off a lot but what I mean in terms of pro-active is that he does not just boot the ball out and he is a ball playing defender. He has the confidence to carry the ball out. Zouma for instance does not have the technical qualities to make him a ball playing defender while Cahill does

Sorry, Zouma is technically better than Cahill IMO (this isn't saying much but Zouma has a much better pass and vision than Cahill contrary to the popular belief)

Cahill is not a proactive defender whatsoever. Don't confuse him taking the ball out here or there when there's barely any pressure on him for him being proactive. Any defender can do that.

[King11Didier 916]

What a beast he is! I love watching this guy playing for us. Really comfortable defender with the ball in his legs,something which I liked in Luiz really much.
I just hope he will be stick around for a long time and Mou to give him the playing time which he deserves.

[Stats 6,980]

Sorry, Zouma is technically better than Cahill IMO (this isn't saying much but Zouma has a much better pass and vision than Cahill contrary to the popular belief)

Cahill is not a proactive defender whatsoever. Don't confuse him taking the ball out here or there when there's barely any pressure on him for him being proactive. Any defender can do that.

I probably am getting the two confused as I am saying Cahill is a better ball playing defender. But generally, he is a much better technical player imo and that is how I would describe Cahill. A ball playing central defender. His technical style is evident by the goals he has scored in his career. For instance the goals against Tottenham, Reading (a bit of luck), PSG. Remember his goal for Villa against Birmingham some years ago? What a fucking goal. That being said, I still think personally he is one of the best technically defenders in the league. I don't see how people think Cahill does not have technical ability. Zouma is no way for me better technically than Cahill. I have seen countless times where Cahill does not simply bow down under pressure and kick the ball out but he is assured and uses his feet well to pass the ball to another member. I think he is the best defender in our team with the ball. Terry is the best distributor of the ball but in terms of actually using the ball well, Cahill is the best imo.

[robsblubot 3,212]

I probably am getting the two confused as I am saying Cahill is a better ball playing defender. But generally, he is a much better technical player imo and that is how I would describe Cahill. A ball playing central defender. His technical style is evident by the goals he has scored in his career. For instance the goals against Tottenham, Reading (a bit of luck), PSG. Remember his goal for Villa against Birmingham some years ago? What a fucking goal. That being said, I still think personally he is one of the best technically defenders in the league. I don't see how people think Cahill does not have technical ability. Zouma is no way for me better technically than Cahill. I have seen countless times where Cahill does not simply bow down under pressure and kick the ball out but he is assured and uses his feet well to pass the ball to another member. I think he is the best defender in our team with the ball. Terry is the best distributor of the ball but in terms of actually using the ball well, Cahill is the best imo.

What happens with him for England then?! Isn't it just less protection and a slightly higher defense line?

Disagree.

Cahill scores because of his impeccable positioning, not his technique or lack thereof. You don't need overall technique to score goals - some very successful strikers can attest to that.

Cahill's the opposite of what I would describe as a ball-playing defender. He cannot run with the ball or hit long balls, which imply his tight control is lacking as is his range of passing. Seen him lose possession or show too much of the football when running with it.

Now, contrary to most here, I don't think Zouma has much better technique. They are on par technique wise IMO. Zouma is far more mobile and quick, which allows him to defend up and be a bit more proactive.

The same reasons that made Luiz a good midfielder make Zouma a poor one.

[Stats 6,980]

What happens with him for England then?! Isn't it just less protection and a slightly higher defense line?

Disagree.

Cahill scores because of his impeccable positioning, not his technique or lack thereof. You don't need overall technique to score goals - some very successful strikers can attest to that.

Cahill's the opposite of what I would describe as a ball-playing defender. He cannot run with the ball or hit long balls, which imply his tight control is lacking as is his range of passing. Seen him lose possession or show too much of the football when running with it.

Now, contrary to most here, I don't think Zouma has much better technique. They are on par technique wise IMO. Zouma is far more mobile and quick, which allows him to defend up and be a bit more proactive.

The same reasons that made Luiz a good midfielder make Zouma a poor one.

Cahill has scored some quality/good range goals before that none of our CB are able to do. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I see Cahill as a ball playing defender who has some technical qualities. Both the wiki and Chelsea wiki page describe Cahill as a defender with technical ability as well. While you may have seen him lose possession I have seen him numerous amount of times play himself out of trouble and use the ball well whereas other defenders who are not really good on the ball would simply just kick it out. Cahill is not the quickest but he is not a slouch either tbh. Whereas you don't see Cahill run with the ball, I have seen him carry the ball out of the defence numerous amount of times.

[Unionjack 7,531]

I think if I was Happy I might just regret coming to Chelsea instead of the north Londoners. He would have walked into their 1st team and by now with all the regular playing time would be an amazing young talent and probably one of the best CBs in the world.

IMHO if we dont stop fucking about with him, playing him LB and CM and playing Cahill over him plus IF we are getting another CB will be going even further down the pecking order then I think hes going to say ta ra. Hes far too good to lose him.

[Barbara 15,149]

Cahill, ball-playing defender?

pleeeeease

He's scared of any opponent coming within 2 meters of him and faster than you can blink he'll get rid of the ball. It's one of the things that annoy me the most on him (it's just not worse than his backing away).

He has little confidence to get the ball moving - which makes it even harder to judge if it's lack of technical ability or just that, fear.

Zouma on the other hand, it's more risky, he does try to get the ball up through passes instead of roofing it or getting rid of it. He may not be as good as other defenders passing, but he's definitely much better than Cahill. Actually the only thing Cahill might be better than him is last ditch tackles. Cahill is very good on those, when both him and the opponent are in the run.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Cahill, ball-playing defender?

pleeeeease

He's scared of any opponent coming within 2 meters of him and faster than you can blink he'll get rid of the ball. It's one of the things that annoy me the most on him (it's just not worse than his backing away).

He has little confidence to get the ball moving - which makes it even harder to judge if it's lack of technical ability or just that, fear.

Zouma on the other hand, it's more risky, he does try to get the ball up through passes instead of roofing it or getting rid of it. He may not be as good as other defenders passing, but he's definitely much better than Cahill. Actually the only thing Cahill might be better than him is last ditch tackles. Cahill is very good on those, when both him and the opponent are in the run.

Pretty much this. Some of other team defenders have more confidence and skill when controling the ball than some of our strikers. I wont even go at our defenders who have zero confidence and skill to drive the ball forward (Terry with some exception but he is slow nowdays and Iva who likes to go forward but loses the ball way too many times).

That said I havent been convinced with Zouma when he has ball, he seems quite raw there, but he will improve surely. And I dont think someone like Stones would fix that either. He is good with ball but very young and playing for chelsea or everton is whole new world of pressure and harder games. If we target a CB and have 30m to spend, we should look for established one IMO.

[Stats 6,980]

Cahill, ball-playing defender?

pleeeeease

He's scared of any opponent coming within 2 meters of him and faster than you can blink he'll get rid of the ball. It's one of the things that annoy me the most on him (it's just not worse than his backing away).

He has little confidence to get the ball moving - which makes it even harder to judge if it's lack of technical ability or just that, fear.

Zouma on the other hand, it's more risky, he does try to get the ball up through passes instead of roofing it or getting rid of it. He may not be as good as other defenders passing, but he's definitely much better than Cahill. Actually the only thing Cahill might be better than him is last ditch tackles. Cahill is very good on those, when both him and the opponent are in the run.

You only have to look at the game on Sunday to see Cahill is our best defender with the ball. Cahill is better than John Terry with the ball too. Terry is the better distributor but is not effective as Cahill with using it. It was not just the Arsenal game where Cahill shows effective use of the ball. He has done that in several matches and tbh that is a reason why I think Mourinho persists with him because he likes to play with the ball. I don't see how Zouma has ever been risky with the ball. I can't believe I am like the only one who thinks Cahill is good on the ball. Especially when people say Zouma is better on the ball just completely baffles me. He is probably our worse defender with the ball at his feet. Cahill is the only CB at our club who rather than kicks the ball away, actually plays with it in matches where we are being pressed.

A fellow Arsenal fans who i discussed the game with was comparing him to Koscielny in the way they play and used the exact same words. Koscielny is faster but both have an excellent recovery rate in retreiving the ball and both are very good with the ball at their feet. Zouma may play with the ball but that is when he is not under pressure. Under pressure, Cahill is our best CB and probably one of the best CB in the league with using the ball and that is a bonus rather than someone who just kicks it out.

When AVB signed him he said "Gary has good technical abilities, which is important in the way we want to play and to implement our philosophy, our passing philosophy in building from the back," the manager said. "He has speed of anticipation, is an English international of course, and has values off the pitch". People who will look to rubbish his claim will point out that he is an average manager who does not know what he is talking about etc but he recognised as our manager at the time of the qualities Cahill has on the ball.

After we beat Stoke 2-0 this season on MNF, Carragher even said this: "They’re two proper centre-backs, I love watching them play.“You hear about ball-playing centre-backs, they defend – they can play as well, but they’re proper defenders. Wherever you go, home or away, you want these two in your team.” Even on to our title surge last season, his old manager Coyle praised his overall qualities as a defender, recognising he has great skills as a footballer as he is very good with the ball at his feet.

We are going to have to agree to disagree but unlike some who think Zouma should start ahead of him I disagree because I think although Zouma has a lot of potential, Cahill is right now just more of a complete defender and that is why I think Mourinho has never dropped Cahill out of the team consistenly, just sporadically.. He is one of our most undervalued players by fans. I am a big fan though.

[Billy. 2,739]

Mr Happy is now on Twitter

1. Kurt Zouma ‏@KurtZouma 2h2 hours ago

   Hi everyone

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[termninja 5,290]

I have been left under impression that lots of people here believe Zouma has bad passing and technique, and it surprised me.

For example, look at the cross he sent as a LB against Arsenal? Best cross throughout the whole pre season. Pure technique and skill to send a ball like that.

And usually, he can pick some very good forward passes as a CB. The way he kicks the ball also seems fine to me, rather then clumsy or anything as some make it out to be.

Anybody feeling the same?

[Billy. 2,739]

for me he looks like he cannot pass because he is a tonk bloke, Looks stiff if you get me

BUT he can pass the pass imo

[Jase 43,479]

Kurt 'Angry' Zouma...

https://vine.co/v/eHluIPZMvKu

[Melanicus 5,208]

Kurt 'Angry' Zouma...

https://vine.co/v/eHluIPZMvKu

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

If he played and did that to Arsenal player yesterday, I won't complain of losing.