The View From South Texas -- First half report card

A, B, C, D, & F -- as well as I for "Incomplete"

Mark Schwarzer -- D -- Still an excellent shot-stopper with quick reactions, but a poor and slow distributer. He's also indecisive and tends to flap. He should have been watching Stockdale since October.

Sacha Riether -- A -- A brilliant defensive fullback and our best wide attacker by far. We'll never see him again after the end of the season, but I'm going to enjoy him while he's here.

Steven Kelly -- I -- I continue to like Kelly's defense, but Riether's excellence has kept him off the pitch.

Philippe Senderos -- C minus -- He's looked strong going forward, and is hard to muscle off the ball, but his decision-making is questionable. I think he's better paired with Hughes than Hangeland

Aaron Hughes -- B -- He's much improved over last year and has been our best central defender by a long mark. Like the rest of the back 5, he's let down by a woefully weak midfield, but he's been very consistent.

Brede Hangeland -- C minus -- a shadow of his former self. He continues to be useless on set pieces, but his defensive dominance is only a faint memory. His positioning is good, but his decision-making is so poor that it's negated.

John Arne Riise -- C -- He started off strong but has looked out of form since. He's getting visibly worse and should be benched in favor of either Briggs or Richardson.

Damian Duff -- A minus -- This little guy continues to be a dangerous attacker and an excellent defender. He's a "minus" only because of his fitness.

Askhan Dejagah -- C plus -- He has a lot to learn, but he possesses the skills necessary to be an effective midfielder in this league. He's a rarity this season: a good signing.

Bryan Ruiz -- I -- We suffer so when he's not on the pitch. The problem is that he seems to be off the pitch more than on. What he's shown when he's played makes me feel that he's capable of a high grade for the second half if he can play 16 or 17 more league matches.

Steve Sidwell -- B -- If Fulham had the midfield strength we've enjoyed over the last 3 or 4 seasons, Sidwell would be a bit player. As it is, he's key to our fight for Premier League survival. He's playing his best football -- perhaps ever.

Chris Baird -- C minus -- I love Bairdihno, but this season has shown that while he is an adequate stand in at central midfield, he's not up to it on a regular basis. Perhaps the best long-range passer in the squad now that Captain Danny is gone, even this skill has gone missing. If I were rating him just on his play since mid-November he'd get an F.

Mahamadou Diarra -- I -- This should be his time to shine, but he's been injured so much that he's had little impact. This is what I had feared when we signed him. A brilliant, skillful player with a LONG history of poor fitness. If we are to survive, he needs to play like what he is: our most skilled central midfielder.

Georgious Karagounis -- F -- Too old, too slow, too unsuited to the English game. He kills whatever pace the team may have when he comes on the pitch, and Fulham seldom have enough pace in the first place.

Kieran Richardson -- D -- This is a very talented player who looks like he has no idea what to do on the pitch. I believe much of this is due to it not being made clear to him what his role is on match day. I was happy when we signed him, but he's not really showed up yet.

Alexander Kacaniklic -- B minus -- This is a work in progress. He's got a huge upside, and he has much to contribute to the team. What he needs is consistency, but this is what all young players need.

Kerim Frei -- I -- I can't understand why he was loaned out. He should be the first player off the bench if nothing else. He needs to play on the right as he's woefully right-footed, but it may take a new manager or a new club to realize his full potential. I think he has a great future, and I hope it's with us.

Mladen Petric -- B minus -- A real goal-scoring striker who only looks good in 10-15 minute stretches. This is yet another signing of a player whose style is counter to that of his manager. I'm glad he's here, but I wonder why we signed him. If Jol stays, I think Petric will go to a team where his style is better appreciated.

Hugo Rodallega -- C minus -- He's done better than I expected, but I expected next to nothing. He's best up front and absolutely useless on either wing. He deserves his start on most days and deserves to be substituted when he starts.

Dimitar Berbatov -- A minus -- This is the most highly skilled player I've ever seen in a Fulham shirt. I love his calmness in the box, his deft touch, his quick and accurate layoffs, and the high standards he believes his teammates should reach. I DON'T like the fact that, when he's upset with his teammates' play, he does everything in the world to make that obvious. His habit of standing still and glaring tends to doom pretty much any opportunity we have to recover from that mistake. Still, he is gorgeous to watch. He's a piece of flawed jewelry. I don't expect to ever see a player more talented than Berbatov in a Fulham shirt, so I'm going to enjoy him while he's here.

Martin Jol -- D minus -- Our manager gets this rating because his game tactics are difficult to determine most of the time, his team's second half performances reflect no discernible shift in tactics, and his substitutions are baffling. Add to this the fact that many of his players seem short of fitness leads me to believe that he is a poor game day coach and a poor training ground coach.

 

Yup, the only player in defense that deserves high marks is Riether. Sadly, I am not optimistic we can keep him at Fulham much longer either.