Season opener at Cardiff

Discussion in 'Fulham FC News and Notes' started by HatterDon, Aug 6, 2015.

  1. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    I can't believe that we're kicking off at 0600 Central and we're NOT on television, nor on either beIN Sports Connect-TV or Sky. I guess it's GJ for me.

    It's too much to expect the west coast crowd to get up in the middle of the night to listen to the radio, but if anyone in Central or East is up, I'll be in the chatroom waiting.

    Once upon a time, we used to view these threads as an opportunity to pick starting lineups. Frankly, I haven't a clue who Kit will pick, I'll be cheering for them to win.
     
    #1
  2. AggieMatt

    AggieMatt Well-Known Member

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    For lineups, my guess is:
    Smith
    Pringle Ross LVC Cairney
    O'Hara
    Kavanaugh Burn Bodurov Richards
    Betts

    Back four is a crap shoot except for rb & I won't be surprised if it's Cauley instead of Smith.

    Think I'll pass on Jim at 6am. May change my mind though.
     
    #2
  3. SoCalJoe

    SoCalJoe Well-Known Member

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    Walnut, CA
    So much for setting the dvr, Leeds v Burnley is on instead. Usually have to take the mutt out pretty early so might be able catch the final 15-20 minutes. Would gladly take a point and press on, but not going to overreact to a road loss if it happens.
     
    #3
  4. jumpkutz

    jumpkutz Well-Known Member

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    Louisville, KY
    I'll be in SW Indiana in the Central Time Zone at the digital island known as my wife's mother's house. BarryWhite, HELP! Will try to follow as best I can and if I get some connectivity, I'll try to join you in the chat, Sir Hatter. I think Matt's lineup forecast is spot on. I think Grimmer is an outside shot to start in the back, but other than that, yeah, Smith or Woodrow is a toss up, probably based on what Kit saw at Motspur this week. I'd lean toward Cauley, given that he sent Smith to the Colchester warmup instead of keeping him at home for Palace, but that's just a hunch. Cardiff have owned us recently, to the tune of three victories and a draw. They appear to have the nucleus of their midfield and defense returning, losing Kevin McNaughton and Adam LeFondre. Kenwyne Jones is supposedly out with a muscle problem of some sort, but Sean Robinson, whose loan goal beat us in January, is fit. I think we'll start faster this season (how could we not?), so I'm predicting a 2-1 victory for the good guys.
    COYW!
     
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  5. dcheather

    dcheather Administrator

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  6. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    you up, Senator?
     
    #6
  7. AggieMatt

    AggieMatt Well-Known Member

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    Disappointing to concede late from a winning position, especially since that's been a problem for us in recent years. However, I'd have been happy with a point on the road v Cardiff before kickoff, so onwards & upwards. Conceding only 1 goal would seem a positive as well.

    Looking forward to see if there will be full replays on the Offal later or condensed versions to see how we looked.
     
    #7
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2015
  8. SoCalJoe

    SoCalJoe Well-Known Member

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    HD, what did GJ think of our performance? From the brief match report it sounds like it was a very solid performance and it took a 25 yard cracker for Cardiff to share the spoils.
     
    #8
  9. sacffc

    sacffc Well-Known Member

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    Only 1 point? Against Cardiff? We're relegated for sure. :(
     
    #9
  10. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    He thought it was pretty even, and the stats bore that out. I don't fault them for conceding that goal. That's the shot you BEG for them to take. What I liked was how, after they equalized, we didn't roll up into a ball and protect the point; rather, we went all out for our second and -- according to GJ -- we really should have had it. Moussa laid off to Ross in front of goal and he scuffed it.

    Concerning the goal we gave up, I suppose if you want to you can make every goal about defensive failure. I know that people all over Fulham world are trying to figure out who was closest to him so that he could be blamed. They say that in a perfect match the only possible score is 0-0, but I prefer pretty much anything over that. To make a judgment about this season's defense on the basis of one long shot seems petty. By my count we conceded six corners and were only remotely troubled by one.

    Is our back four better? Perhaps. What WAS better today was the midfield and that improves both attack and defense.
     
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  11. dcheather

    dcheather Administrator

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    Well, here's 4 minutes match highlights:

     
    #11
  12. dcheather

    dcheather Administrator

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    Jul 29, 2005
    And now the 90 minute version:

     
    #12
  13. MicahMan

    MicahMan Administrator

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    Mar 4, 2014
    I just got back from cruising the Mediterranean for the past week and I was really hoping that the ship would have a sports bar that might have the match. So such luck. They only carried the Premier League matches. I met a bunch of folks from England, but no Fulham fans - and only a handful that cheered on Championship clubs. One family from Huddersfield was split between them and Burnley. I said "That must be fun for you all when they face off" to which they responded "Mmrrrr". Maybe not.

    I'm pleased with getting a point on the road, although I'd have expected McCormack to do better with that late opportunity and I'd really like to see someone other than Voser on the left side. I missed seeing Bettinelli start, but Lonergan seemed solid from the bits that I saw. Cardiff had 7 corners and I feel like last year that would have been enough to give them at least 1 goal, so that's an improvement.

    Let's get things going at home with a win against Brighton! If we can pull that off we'll have as many points in 2 matches as we did last year in 9.

    Edit: While catching up on stuff I saw that Garbutt was out with an injury which explains the presence of Voser. So I guess I'll get my wish in about a month.
     
    #13
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2015
  14. jumpkutz

    jumpkutz Well-Known Member

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    I've only seen the highlights so far, so I'll limit my observations to these: They were lucky to get a point on a pretty indefensible shot that may not have occurred at all if Pringle stays afoot. Yes, they had more possession, but possession doesn't win, more goals than the opponent does. And Ross buries that sitter 99 times out of 100, so we were just unlucky to get all three points. Will hopefully sit down tonight and watch the whole match, but I'll echo what others have already pointed out...we're way ahead of where we were this time last year. It's a long season, but we'll definitely be more competitive than last season. I can only surmise that Kit saw something in practice that explains Lonergan over Marcus, and Dembele over Woodrow. But why only one substitute? If Kit has a glaring fault, it's the unwillingness to effectively use subs to tip the match one way or another, hopefully in our favor. Why not use all three if you don't have an injury?
     
    #14
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