Fulham at Luton Town on Boxing Day

Fulham goes on the road to face Luton Town on Boxing Day. This match is the last one for Odoi's red card suspension, but everyone else who's been a regular starter should be available. Back in October when the Hatters came to Craven Cottage Mitrovic got a hat trick (how appropriate). Luton has the worst defense in the league, so hopefully we can see the league's top scorer add to his total. The game will only be available on FFCTV.

 

We gave up three, but also scored three. So.... yay?

 

We just flat out gave them two goals. Served ‘em right up on a silver platter. Most days you’ll take a draw on the road. Not today. Two points dropped, plain and simple. I know that almost everyone who manages this game prefers to “play out from the back.” (Or at least say they do).
But...there are a variety of reasons why that method may or may not succeed. One of them is when your opponent chooses to press aggressively and abnormally high up the pitch. Unless you’re Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona teams from the middle of the decade we’re about to exit, you’ll probably have to change tactics. Mawson and Bryan are a wash for me.
Fa-russ-strating.

 

On the last goal for Luton I put more of the blame on Ream (although as GJ would say "None of them covered themselves in glory."). It didn't show on the highlights, but Ream got the ball on a long clearance when everyone was in the Luton half. He looked like he was going to send the ball back up the wing, but then Ream started to turn back toward the Fulham end-line and found himself under pressure. Ream then gave a terrible soft pass to Bryan that put him in a really bad spot.

Prior to the first goal Luton had put Ream under pressure on a goal kick taken inside Fulham's box and Fulham barely got it away then. It was clear from Fulham's first possession that Luton were going be on top of Fulham no matter how deep. Fulham showed better decision making when playing from the back against Leeds, often abandoning it entirely - and it worked. I hoped they had made a permanent tactical change, but apparently Fulham thought that Luton was of such low quality that they could play out whenever they wanted. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Credit to Luton for identifying Fulham's Achilles heel and going at it with tenacity. Fulham needs to treat every team like Leeds and consider situational appropriateness of playing up from the back.

It was an exciting match to watch, but both teams really played terribly. You would have thought this was a match between two relegation contenders. Luton's defense put their keeper in terrible spots a number of times, but he made a couple of good saves to keep them in the match. Fulham meanwhile blew a couple of opportunities, like when Cavaleiro was headed for a 1-1 with the Luton goal keeper, but had a bad touch and lost the ball. Fulham was also a little unlucky that the ref didn't recognize the handball on Luton's second goal. It was hard to see in real-time, but the ball went off the Luton player's arm before he shot it.

On the plus side, Bobby DeCordova-Reid looked really good and I was always most optimistic something would develop when he had the ball. I frankly think that Mitro's best supporting cast are Reid and Kamara rather Cavaleiro and Knockaert.

EDIT: Luton just released these highlights that show a little more of the build-up on the last Luton goal and some more Keystone Cops moments from the Fulham defense:

 

Dammit I just wrote a long thoughtful post but the internet ate it.

Basically, there's a lot to be frustrated about!

 

It is fantastic that Fulham can rally from being down but it is disheartening to watch a team repeatedly give away goals. It’s one thing to be carved open by a creative attacking side it’s another to keep shooting yourself in the foot. There is a reason Andy only gave Barney a single bullet.

 

Same. And we had 12 shots on target right? were they duds or did their keeper make some good saves?

 

(Okay lets try this again...)

Going back 20 years to the Tigana era, Scott Parker has the 3rd highest win % of any Fulham manager, behind Slav and then Tigana himself (fwiw Keegan has the best if you go slightly beyond 20 years). But is he the man to take us up? I really don't know.

Now it's not Scott's fault that his only 2 CBs are either in need of a rest (or in need of a benching considering recent performances).

Nor is it his fault the active squad has 1 traditional CM (and not a CAM hybrid) who just returned from injury. And that our shape goes out the window whenever said CM (Reed) is not playing. Meanwhile the other, Arter, is in...therapy? purgatory?

And yet there are still so many individual issues around the pitch that should have been "coached out" by now: lack of shape, mental lapses, defensive errors, shot selection, etc.

Yes this is the Championship and there are no gimme games, but clubs like Fulham should be beating clubs like Luton 2/3-0 at a canter if they want to get automatically promoted, or at least cruise to the playoffs.

The next two matches are similar to Luton in scope. We need to win both.