Fulham vs. Newcastle United

Hard to believe another season is almost over.
Rafa Benitez's men visit the Cottage for this campaign's swan song, one few of us will mind seeing gone. We won't see our man DeAndre Yedlin, however. He's undergone surgery for a groin injury that will put his availability for the CONCACAF Gold Cup next month very much in question. There's a fair chance we wouldn't have seen him anyway, since losing his starting place to Javier Manquillo last month. Still, hope he has a speedy recovery. Berhalter needs him.
Newcastle have been better at home down the stretch than on the road. Wins against Huddersfield, Burnley, Everton, and Southampton, and a near win against Liverpool were all good performances. They won a big road game at Leicester, but they lost to West Ham and Arsenal and manage only a draw at Brighton so, despite fending off relegation, they've been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team, too. Bottom line: we can and should be able to get a result against them. I think we'll cure the hideous defensive error relapse we suffered at Wolves. Scott has done a serviceable job since taking over, especially on defense, and he won't allow another bad defensive effort. When we played them 3 days before Christmas at St. James' Park, we kept our first clean sheet of the season in a nil-nil draw. I'll be surprised if that's the case Sunday.

 

Unfortunately I'm going to miss this one. Maybe I'll catch a replay if it's worth my while. Should be a decent matchup since, even though neither team has anything to play for, players hate to lose.

Anyone care to guess whether Elliott will get more than two minutes of playing time?

 

Hope to catch this live, as I've had to catch the past 4 matches on demand, but I think we can get something out of this. Newcastle have zero to play for, Fulham have at least pride.

Won't be pretty, but can see it going 2-1 and lets never speak of this season again.

 

The last Fulham starting XI in the Premier League for a while and sadly the last time we'll see some of these guys in the black and white.

Rico
Christie, Mawson, Le Marchand, Bryan
Chambers, Anguissa
Ayite, Cairney, Sessegnon
Mitrovic

Subs: Fabri, Ream, S. Sessegnon, Kebano, Babel, De La Torre, Elliott

 

So much for pride. I rather doubt you’ll see any of these guys in white and black again. Just like last time. This match was another example of what has plagued Fulham since relegation and probably before, with the exception of 2 half seasons in the Championship. You can have all the possession and take all the shots you want. If you barely make the opposing goaltender touch the ball it’s all for naught. Less so when you can’t be bothered to defend.

Incidentally, I found myself relieved to be able to flip over to the City and Liverpool matches so early on. Fulham has been losing me for years as access to the club diminished. I thought a return to the Prem would rekindle something but it hasn’t. I didn’t know the players and I despise the way they play. They’re derelict defensively and pointless offensively most of the time. It’s not about winning either. My first 2 years as a Fulham fan were last minute relegation escapes. I was immensely proud of the team who wasn’t very good, but fought like lions. And then Roy helped bring us some glory. But I’m not remotely bothered by their relegation this time. I’m probably more relieved, because I don’t have to worry about watching them out of some sense of obligation. I’ll probably always have a place for the club and check to see how they’re doing, much like I imagine Don does with Luton. But the love and passion that was once there is long gone. Kudos to you guys who have been able to stick with it. Hopefully better days lay ahead for you.