Norwich City v. Fulham

My programming guide shows a 2p EST delayed broadcast on FSC. Hoping that's the case.

 

I'll be in the chat. Bummed it's not on TV, though. Really wanted to see Zak Whitbread play.

With Arsensal coming up on a day's rest, can we really afford not to use Bobby or AJ?

What's the story with Sidwell, is he injured? I cant keep track of this stuff anymore.

Anyway, that same lineup is fine for Norwich I guesss, but it cant then be used against Arsenal. Were going to have to throw in Etuhu, Hughes, Sidwell, Davies, Kasami.

 

The line up is a tough decision with those 2 quick fixtures. Is Norwich the best shot to take all 3 points, and if so do you throw eveything you have at them? Or after the last match against Arsenal do you think they are ripe for the picking and favor us at the Cottage?

And I finally made it to "First Team Benchwarmer"

 

Why do I feel Fulhamish about this match...ummm, Swansea revisited?

I hope not...

COYW!

 

Makes me a little nervous but another one where they need to pick up some points. After tough games against ManU and Chelsea, I just hope they don't overlook them.

Still waiting for another outburst like the QPR match.

 

No Zamora or AJ on the bench, same lineup as last time out. Norwich is well coached and the lads better not come out flat. No chat for me either, my brother and his family are staying with us (they are going to the Rose Bowl) and I have to go back to work on getting the casa ready. COYW!!!!

 

That's simply horseshit.

COYW

 

Does Jol not know how to manage with a lead? His tactics are some of the worst in the league. It's obvious that he wants the players to do nothing going forward as that's pretty much what they do, nothing but play it around. This guy is a fucking joke.

 

Despite the poor second half and yet another late concession, there were some postives. Sa finally scored, he, Ruiz and Dembele continue to improve and at least mount some semblance of an attack, and Stockdale continues to impress between the pipes. You just can't sit on a one goal lead in this league, a lesson I hope we've finally learned after giving away two more precious points.

 

There are 4-6 road matches a year where you have a good shot at taking all 3. For a hapless road club like Fulham I would think it's imperative to go for the 3 pts in each of those. And yet, once again, we opted to lay back against a newboy side. At least this time we waited until we had a lead, but playing like we did in the 1st half limited Norwich. Continuing that attack had a much greater chance of yielding a 2nd goal than it did a tying one from them. Then again, it's not the first time I find myself scratching my head over Jol's decisions.

I'm not as impressed with Sa as the Hatter was. Okay, so he'd do well in the Championship, but he goes down way too often and way too easily for a guy his size. He needs work on holding up the ball better too. But he's very young and he's gaining valuable experience.

Frei also looked good again, but he really needs to learn to take it to the byline and cross, even if it's just 1-2 times a game. He never goes left and is entirely too predictable. Once teams figure him out, they'll negate him more easily.

Jol's 4-1-4-1 has yielded 2 1-1 draws. My initial fear with it was that you're pulling your best goal scorer too deep. But Dempsey got forward for a goal against the scum and certainly got forward alot more against Norwich. I'd still rather see 2 strikers out there but given the current situation, you could argue we don't even have one presently (that Jol is willing to play). The other problem is that distribution is heavily reliant on the CDM. Once Murphy comes out, our attacking options suffer. We showed we can make safe, ineffective passes out of it if we're not under too much pressure, but what happens if DM goes down?

To the good though, it does put Clint and Moussa in more central roles and our tracking back from all of the wing/mid positions has improved as a result. Dempsey and Dembele are still working out who covers what when we're forced to rotate, thus leaving the middle open a bit more than I'd like, but you have to think they'll get that sorted in time.

Stockdale looked good again and this should give him the momentum to succeed Mark. I've enjoyed Schwarzer's time with us as much as anyone, but I think the time has come. If not for the duration of this year, then definitely at the start of the 12-13 campaign.

Here's hoping we move with more speed in the transfer window than we usually do and that we can get some effective strikers in and get that position sorted. Then we can get a better feel for what we've got with Jol. I'd have rather he played more to our current strengths and shown more patience transitioning to his system, but that ship has sailed. At least we look safe from the drop.