Fulham vs Southampton in the FA Cup

It's that time of year.
It seems fitting that "Titanic" has been running on BBC America this past week. The Saints are floundering, tied with Stoke just inside the relegation zone. Mauricio Pellegrino just got the dreaded "vote of confidence" from ownership, and they've got a rash of injuries at the moment. The gaffer says he'll field the best 11 he can, but we'll see, won't we? As for us, it'll be interesting to see who Joka goes with. I liked our "cup" ('B" team) he fielded last season, but this season's hasn't been as good. Why? Who knows, but I'd like to see some deserving kids get a crack, like Stevie Humphrys, Luca de la Torre and even Steven Sessegnon. Anybody up for cup run? It's 50-50 on promotion methinks, so why not get the most out of our stars while we still have them?

 

P.S. Bottom line, we should beat these guys. In fact, we should probably be favored to beat these guys.

 

I haven’t paid much attention to the Premier League this year so I know little of Southampton’s situation. I think, after the four match run that we just had, that the squad will consist primarily of younger and bench players.

One thing that I know for certain is that this match is being broadcast live on Fox Sports 2 at 10am EST.

 

Fulham. FA Cup. TV!?!?!

""We play at home and it's the best cup competition in the world and we must respect this competition and we will push hard and try to pass into the next round." - S.J.

COYW!!!!!!

 

Looks like Joka agrees with you @HatterDon

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2018/january/04/head-coach-presser

“We must respect this competition,” he said in Thursday’s pre-match press conference. “It’s one of the more important national cup competitions in the world, and it’s not a time to rest people.”​

 

On a side note, Evan, that picture is fantastic!!!!!

 

7 am and I do not get along very well. In the unlikely event I'm up then, I'll be in the chat room. I'm recording it, so I'm very much looking forward to watching it. COYW.

 

My 3 year old 55" LG crapped out (backlight element) and one of the best little mom and pop TV repair shops here couldn't find the repair kit for it, so.....I've got a new 55" TCL (with built in Roku, mind you) that looks fabulous. I'll be curled up on the La-Z-Boy with Cooper the maltipoo and an adult beverage of some description cheering the lads on.

 

Well, what shall we say then? Anybody ready to go with the moniker “the gang that couldn’t shoot straight?” I once had a boss (a TV News Director) who would order the assignment editor and producers to stack their newscasts with extra live shots for a week (without telling us, of course). I didn’t figure it out until I returned from the field one day during one of those weeks to encounter him coming out of his office proclaiming loudly that “well, we won again today!” They were counting live shots, comparing them to our competititors’ numbers. Kind of like an NFL team running more offensive plays than their opponent and declaring themselves the winner. Or a hoops team chucking up more shots and claiming victory. Having more possession of the damn soccer ball does not equal winning. Putting it completely across the goal line betwixt the three white pipes forming a triangle more times than the other team does. I don’t know much about sports metrics and how to apply them to acquiring talent to form a successful team. But I saw “Moneyball.” The A’s still haven’t won shit since they started using it. Although Craig Kline is gone, my understanding is that we’re still using some form of this B.S., and we have no strikers. And the Dutch Johan Cruyff “Total Football” has long since been confined to the history books. When your best scoring chances come from a center back, a substitute left back and a midfielder who reminds no one of Danny Blanchflower, you got a recipe for failure. We don’t need a striker. We need SEVERAL strikers.

 

At least it was progressive; Ream's miss was bad, Piazon's was horrendous, and Odoi's was inexcusable.

 

Mr. O’Donovan of getwestlondon.pretty much capsulized this one.

 

For as many times as Fulham passed the ball directly to a Southampton player, I'm surprised that they still had more possession, more accurate passes, and a higher percentage of accurate passes. I guess I tuned out all the backwards and short side-to-side passes. I did notice all the passes (instead of shots) within the Southampton 18.

 

Mr. O’Donovan summarized the proceedings quite succinctly within the confines of twitter.

 

My boy and I viewed most of the haphazard rhapsody and he said this after Piazon's whiff: "Dude, even you could've put that one in, dad."

COYW

 

Easy to see why they’ve struggled for goals without Ayite. Fonte, Kebano, Ojo, Kamara and Sess combined for zero shots. The defense had 3 shots. I retract what I said about possibly not needing a striker. Get several.

I also disagree with Don, I’m not glad to have seen that. Not only was it terrible football, but I liked this team better from just watching highlights.

 

I was the first one at Finn McCools last Saturday, got the match on the big screen with the volume!

Thought Fulham played well enough and had a chuckle when we missed a few easy chances. In the end I had a few pints and loved the fact that for at least a brief moment, we were center stage and Man City fans had to watch on the small TV!

Last 10 matches: 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 loses, 3rd best form in the Championship,
Fulham vs. Boro is on TV this Saturday and our match vs. Wolves will now be televised!

Come on you Whites!
See you guys in the Spring