Fulham v. Sunderland

Sunderland did play ManUre yesterday (and the name fits ) and not so surprisingly won 2-1. The term Fulhamish was created for a reason, so this is a match not to be taken lightly. While Sunderland has done well in the Cup competitions, they look like they expect something bad is going to happen in league play. Nothing but 3 points will be satisfactory, so 2-1 to the good guys.

 

3 points for the Whites, I want to see Burn start and Molly Hatchet for the rest:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8zTefUMhbI[/youtube]

 

3-2 Whites, and I'll echo HD's sentiments regarding Josmer and RAISE you a hat trick by #32!
COYW! And I'll further echo your sentiments about Mr. Burn. Where's HE been hiding while we've been leaking goals? What a breath of fresh air he's been.

 

Sunderland have only lost once in their last 8 games, including wins over Man U and Chelsea (albeit not league games). The table may show them as the worst team in the league, but their recent run indicates otherwise. This is a scary match.

 

If you're trying to scare me, you've succeeded. :scared-eek:

 

If you want scary, Sunderland have kept 5 clean sheets in their last 10 matches and have only one loss on the road in their last 5. The flip side is that they've only won one of those (1-0 over 10 man Everton). However, two of the draws were 0-0. So they've become rather tough to score on, but they don't come by goals easily either. In the 13 league matches since Poyet took over, they've only scored 10 in 13.

On the other hand, we've conceded 18 goals in 7 league matches under Rene. Throw out the abomination at Hull and it's 12 in 6. In that same span, we're scoring at better than a goal/game with 10 from 7 (1.43/g), and at home that improves to 7 from 4 (1.75/g).

So something has to give here. I'd expect we're bang on for one goal. We're probably a good bet to give one back seeing as we have a paltry 3 clean sheets for the season and only 1 in the last 3 months. So the first question is, can we keep from conceding a 2nd? They played midweek and while the win will give them confidence, they'll likely be a little tired and satisfied with a draw on the road, so most likely yes. The second is, can we break them down and score a second? When you look at our 7 home goals, one was an own goal and the other came from a dubious penalty shout. That would bring our goals/game at home down to 1.25, so I'm thinking no there too.

All that said, we did add Burn and Dempsey, so why not, 2-1 Whites.

And actually, if you really want scary, take a look at our fixture list after this weekend. We'd better win this one because it may be a hell of a long time before we get another 3 pts.

 

Your last line rings true, Matt. Which makes this another. 6 pointer, doesn't it?

 

Rene says Brede is back in training and is up for selection, but trying to read between the lines of his quotes and I think he is probably out for one more week. Sounds like Stockerdale will be between the pipes, and no surprise that Bryan Ruiz will soon be gone.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/janua ... nd-preview

 

Matt, i've been looking ahead on the schedule all week and trying to determine how important the last 4 games of the season will be. It's quite possible they will have to win them all at that point. So, for the hope of avoiding the stress, I'll go with 1-0 good guys.

 

It will be very important game for us! We must win this game and get far from bottom 3

 

I agree with Don in that I'd like to see young Mr. Dan Burn back on the pitch against Sunderland, but apparently he's being sent back to Birmingham. I don't pretend to understand the nuances of loan agreements, but considering the manner in which we've been leaking goals this season, I have to ask why. Why?

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/spor...fulham-defender-set-rejoin-birmingham-6496422

 

Call me Negative Nancy all you want, the surest way to relegation is an inability to defend. And we...can...not...defend. Attractive, attacking football is fine, but if you aren't solid at the back, you're better off playing like Hodgson had us play. Or like Pulis' teams.

Sunderland have been woeful in attack all year. In their last big win over ManU, their goals came from a Ryan Giggs own goal and a penalty. Just like giving up 6 to Hull, surrendering 4 to Sunderland is brutal. And the surest confirmation that we're in dire straits.

We get Stek back and Hangeland as well. There's a chance, I guess, that we can turn it around. But it's the same things, like poor set pc defense, that show that we're not putting enough emphasis on keeping the ball out of our net. Meanwhile, the teams around us at the bottom of the table have shown an improved ability to keep a clean sheet and grind out a result. Do they do it often enough to save themselves? Time will tell. We'll need all the 6 pointers we can get b/c that's our only hope of staying up right now. And we just let one slip today. Next one is @ Cardiff...in March.

 

I wasnt expecting a loss like that. I'm also surprised in that I'm now feeling like it might be better if Berba goes, depending upon what we can get for him and who we can bring in. He looks like he is working hard, but he has lost his confidence or something, certainly his first touch is off. I'm just not sure he has what it takes for a relegation battle. Some players like Parker and Sidwell improve in a relegation battle and some don't.

 

A big :text-+1:

The numbers don't lie...46 goals against, minus 24 goal difference. The next lowest teams are Cardiff and (gulp) Sunderland at 34 against, and Palace and Norwich at minus 18. That, my friends, screams relegation. What to do? Whatever that is, it had better be at solving the leaking goal problem. Not sure Brede and Stek's returns are gonna help that much. Keeping Dan Burn would be a start. Focus now MUST be on defending and goalkeeping. Period.

 

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

While that was piss poor today the season is far from over.

 

Outside of a sending off or serious injury, basically everything that could have gone wrong did. Awful formation, blown calls, missed opportunities in front of net, awful defending. Pretty much the worst opponent for this to happen to.

Terrible result, but some positives are there in terms of underlying numbers: i.e. we're continuing to outshoot our opponents, we're controlling the ball, our shots on target are increasing. It's probably hard to swallow that in light of result, but those are good indicators that we're on the right track. Or seem to be.

What I'm finding most troubling is that we seem to have a plan, and then about the 60-70 minute mark our shape resembles more of a jail break than a formation. We barely survived against a 10-man West Ham in final 20-30 minutes, and paid the price today. Defensively there's no cover. Offensively everyone is standing around//diddling on the ball//dribbling through traffic. Substitutions are consistently the wrong answer to the wrong question.

Maybe it's the collection of players, maybe it's the coaching; probably is both.