Fulham @ Blackburn

[americanmike]

What an important match this is to both Clubs but it is desperation time for Blackburn...I was actually hoping Samba would be sold by the time the game kicks off.

None-the-less, Fulham could use the win to continue the form and move up the table. Blackburn are desperate and desperate teams can be dangerous...thats why we need to score early and none of this game of two halves! Up for it for 90 minutes is what we need.

Line-up kind of picks itself if Zamora is in the starting 11.

[DCHeather]

What an important match this is to both Clubs but it is desperation time for Blackburn...I was actually hoping Samba would be sold by the time the game kicks off.

None-the-less, Fulham could use the win to continue the form and move up the table. Blackburn are desperate and desperate teams can be dangerous...thats why we need to score early and none of this game of two halves! Up for it for 90 minutes is what we need.

Line-up kind of picks itself if Zamora is in the starting 11.

Yes, Fulham are playing a desperate team away from home. And when was the last time Fulham won 3 games in a row? April of 2010. So I don't have a lot of hope for a victory. This one will end 1-1 me thinks.

Unfortunately this one is not being shown on the tele. I don't see any replays listed yet. However, it's a good excuse to fire-up GJ and the chat room. We had excellent turnouts and results for the last 2 games. May the streak continue.

[LaxAttack]

According to my TV guide, it will be on tape delay on Fox Soccer Plus on Saturday at 4:30 PM Eastern/1:30 PM Pacific.

[SCFulhamFan]

Agreed. Just look at Bolton at Everton. Came back from the freak Tim Howard goal to get all three points.

[SoCalJoe]

The home fans will have their knives ready if our boys can give them reason to turn on Kean. I watched their miracle at ManUre and they certainly gave effort. Agree w/Heather and sense a 1-1 result.

[nevzter]

Big chance for the Whites to take all 3 - even if on the road.

COYW

[Clevelandmo]

Predicting a 2-0 victory for the good guys. COYWs

[HatterDon]

I think we'll find out on Saturday whether Jol is confident enough in what seems his mini-squad of 12 or 13 players to let the leash slip on the road. We certainly have the creativity to dominate Rovers and to get three points there. If we're tentative and timid as we were at Norwich, we'll be lucky to get a point.

Rovers key player is Samba. He is a monster in the air and, for some reason, whether the manager's name is Coleman, Sanchez, Hodgson, or Hughes, we've gone up there and punted high balls into the middle that he's cleared away like last night's dishes. We have to resist the temptation to play to what is, really, THE ONLY DEFENSIVE STRENGTH THE ROVERS POSSESS. They have a Potempkin Keeper, a creative winger at LB and disaster of the month at RB.

The only area in which they should trouble our now excellent defense is on dead ball situations. Samba is a great deliverer of the 2nd ball. Invariably he nods on to someone in position to score. You have to pressure him in these situations, and I like Etuhu in the lineup for this reason.

The X-factor is the fans. They're ready to jump down Kean's throats at a moment's notice. If we get an early goal against them, it might be game over. These guys have the look of a team that's expecting things to go wrong. If we give them what they're looking for, we could jump on them early and hard. The longer we DON'T take advantage, the stronger they get.

The BEST way to lose to these guys is to play for 0-0. Let's go gettem, Jol!

I'll be in the chatroom for Gentleman Jim and whoever drops in to visit The Senator and me. The View from South Texas will appear VERY late.

COYW

[DCHeather]

See you in the chat room Hatter. And thanks Lax for the tv heads-up. Unfortunately I don't have Fox Soccer Plus available from my cable provider.

I'm feeling a little more confident that Fulham can get a victory on the road. Might change my prediction to 2-1, good guys.

[nevzter]

I'd love to be in the chat - but, my two wee ones don't allow a moment's notice on the keyboard on the weekends - hence, my absence from the chat, despite listening to numerous past GJ broadcasts.

COYW

[jimsig]

Not sure if I'll make the chat room this week, the little one has her tumbling class and it's supposed to be my turn to take her. Have to see if I can beg and plead to swap weeks

[MisterF]

Definitely a winnable game, especially if the Fulham from the Arsenal match shows up. However, with it being an away match I'm just hoping for a draw. Gotta keep collecting points.

[CarolinaTim]

I think we'll find out on Saturday whether Jol is confident enough in what seems his mini-squad of 12 or 13 players to let the leash slip on the road. We certainly have the creativity to dominate Rovers and to get three points there. If we're tentative and timid as we were at Norwich, we'll be lucky to get a point.

Rovers key player is Samba. He is a monster in the air and, for some reason, whether the manager's name is Coleman, Sanchez, Hodgson, or Hughes, we've gone up there and punted high balls into the middle that he's cleared away like last night's dishes. We have to resist the temptation to play to what is, really, THE ONLY DEFENSIVE STRENGTH THE ROVERS POSSESS. They have a Potempkin Keeper, a creative winger at LB and disaster of the month at RB.

The only area in which they should trouble our now excellent defense is on dead ball situations. Samba is a great deliverer of the 2nd ball. Invariably he nods on to someone in position to score. You have to pressure him in these situations, and I like Etuhu in the lineup for this reason.

The X-factor is the fans. They're ready to jump down Kean's throats at a moment's notice. If we get an early goal against them, it might be game over. These guys have the look of a team that's expecting things to go wrong. If we give them what they're looking for, we could jump on them early and hard. The longer we DON'T take advantage, the stronger they get.

The BEST way to lose to these guys is to play for 0-0. Let's go gettem, Jol!

I'll be in the chatroom for Gentleman Jim and whoever drops in to visit The Senator and me. The View from South Texas will appear VERY late.

COYW

Don, you are both clairvoyant and succinct...what it comes down to, for me, is who gets a breakthrough on set plays ..whether we get one or not, I don't know. Even with my "cough, cough" wealth of sports knowledge, I've never done that well in Vegas. COYW

[MisterF]

Interesting article from the Fulham site about McBride and his take on Blackburn and the current Fulham season

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsA ... usive.aspx

[jumpkutz]

If we are to move from a lower mid table team to an upper mid table team, and justify expansion plans, we gotta start turning the corner on away matches...and that means WINNING them when they're winnable, as this one clearly is. At this juncture, a draw in a match like this is a setback, regardless of the circumstances of the contest. I believe we're as ready as we'll ever be to do just that. No predictions....except a win for Fulham! COYW!