We can argue about Zidane's philosophy, as if the current squad left any margin to change the structure of the team, or the style of play," Juanma Trueba, formerly AS' Real Madrid correspondent for two decades and now of El Transistor radio show, says.
"Real Madrid has a lavish team, but with a rigid structure. In attack, the "BBC" has a privileged place, almost strategic if we consider the demands from the marketing department. From there the coach must try and balance a team with three forwards who hardly help at all in defence."
On taking the job, Zidane quickly made his one big selection decision: promoting holding midfielder Casemiro to a regular starting spot over more glamorous options like James Rodriguez or Isco. So the current problems stem not from a lack of understanding of the issues facing the team, but from a lack of other options in his squad to cover.
"There are only three midfield places, and few midfielders to choose from," Trueba adds.
"Zidane's achievement, and it's not a small one, was to include an unglamorous worker like Casemiro as a fundamental piece in the team alongside Modric and Kroos. That way he won the Champions League, and that's how you can explain the current problems in the team. The absences of Casemiro and Modric have taken the lid off the box."
So it appears that Zidane may be no tactical genius, but he has managed pretty well so far to manage a Madrid squad which is packed with some of the world's best players, but which is also horribly unbalanced.
The international break has at least given some breathing space -- and October then brings winnable looking games against Real Betis [A], Legia Warsaw [H & A], Athletic Bilbao [H] and Alaves [A] during which some new tactical ideas might get trialled as Zidane looks to fill the midfield void.
The next big examination is the derbi at Atletico in mid-November, but by then Zidane will hope to have both Casemiro and Modric back in his lineup. If he can't find a way to balance the side in the meantime, all the issues which have revealed themselves for Real Madrid over the last few weeks could start to seriously impact their season.