Fulham vs Charlton

Well, needless to say, Saturday is a big match for us. We have lost three of our last four matches in all competitions and we are struggling to get shots on goal and in defending. That my friends is not a good combination.

What formation would you use Saturday? Who is in your starting XI?

 

Whatever happens.. it will be the players that bring it off.

The formation meant nothing Saturday, but perhaps after taking today off.. they will actually work on passing drills and the attack

 

I agree that passing drills and working on the attack are things that definitely need to be worked on, but I do believe that the formation the team plays is very important. If you are a basketball team that plays good, solid man to man defense and the coach is staying with a 2-3 zone, it brings the team down.

While I am not saying that Fulham is lights out in the 4-4-2, it has obviously been proven week in and week out that the 4-5-1 is not working with this group of players. Changes need to take place and it starts with the formation. If Cookie changes the formation, the players might at least start to think that solid, attacking football is gonna be played.

As it stands now, the players know that attacking is not in the cards in Cookie's system. I do think both the players and the manager are accountable for the situation, but it is the responsibilty of the manager to put the players in positions to succeed. Coleman is not doing that in the 4-5-1. That is not to say the players have been good, because they haven't, but I think some of that is because of this garbage formation they are playing.

In addition, I think there is too much complacency in the team. Where has Boa been? Where has Radz been? Nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, we do not have enough depth to push these players to get better. Boa knows that week in and week out he will start as there is no one behind him pushing him. This brings about a laziness in the players and it unfortunately is reflecting on the pitch.

Some sort of a change is needed to get this ship moving again. If Cookie is gonna stay hard headed and use the 4-5-1 every match, he is gonna be in the unemployment line soon. I think fans such as myself simply want to see Cookie and team try things new and try to show some effort to make things better on the pitch.

 

I think it's worth trying something other than the 4-5-1. The big problem is that we have no variety in the attack, making it very easy for opposing defenses. The only attacking options are (1) trying to drop the ball over the defense to Cole or (2) sending Boa down the left side hoping he can get a cross in. Number 1 isn't working at all and while #2 worked earlier in the season, the defenses have gotten wise to it and are smothering Boa (having Steed back as an option would help there). If those options aren't available the midfielders try to pass the ball around in tight quarters and end up giving it away. They don't seem to trust the inexperienced defense enough to back the ball up, which would open up more passing angles and options. Radz is just lost in no man's land on the right side- he never seems in the right position to set up an attack or go to the touchline and cross the ball. Without Steed in the lineup, we don't have a midfield that gets good first touches or passes the ball very well. Maybe Coleman doesn't want to shift strategy so late in the season but it's hard to see how at least trying a 4-4-2 could hurt.

 

Well, what have we observed about Cookie?

He is a very stobborn man, he KNOWS the 4-5-1 will work.. and it could, another place and time... but his training and fitness program, as well as incidental oddities have "curdled the milk", so to speak.

The team losing faith in the manager is a VERY tough thing to undo.

Nope, he's gonna go down with his ship... any thought of getting help in for him is silly, any thought of him accepting the 4-4-2 would simply be acknowledging that he was wrong.

Seen it before. Think Steve Sampson.

 

Tom has already left and I am about to be on my way. I am praying for a win here. The FFC crowd should be in rare form and an early goal for us would do us some major good.

I hope Cookie swallows his pride and does a 4-4-2, we have nothing to lose and all to gain from this. If anyone would like some Fulham apparal, I will be checking my email while in London and would be happy to bring some proper gear back.

COME ON YOU WHITES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Have a GREAT time!

Lucky guy! Just hope the guys play well.

 

Re: RE: Fulham vs Charlton

I sincerely hope you guys get to see a Fulham victory. Maybe another late header from Papa will seal it for us.

Does anyone know Steed's status? With a fit Steed and an improving Claus Jensen maybe we will see a little better service for the striker(s).

Cheers,
Martin

 

RE: Re: RE: Fulham vs Charlton

Time for Cookie to go...sorry...but it is. We have a good squad but no teeth. Thanks Cookie, you've been a great servant to the club and you ar the best player I ever saw in black and white, but the premiership came too early for you. You need to hit the lower leagues and earn your spurs...could we coax Martin O"Neil from Celtic, or am I dreaming?

 

Charlton

Reading the message board on the uk site after yesterdays game, one point was made that why was everyone moaning so much, we had moved up to 14th, well we moved down to 15th now. At start of the weekend we were sitting in 15th place 8 points away from the drop, we are now in 15th place and only 6 points for the drop. Palace earned a home draw with Man u and we earned one with Charlton, Southampton beat a Spurs side we could not even get a shot at. I think Southampton will pass us, Norwich and wba despite their win today will find it hard to, but Fulham is in big trouble, the manager talks of getting sucked into the releagtion mire, I have news for him we are well and truly in it. Chris coleman showed in his interview yesterday how bad the situation is getting, he showed a side of himself i have not seen in all the time he as been manager, he is getting frustrated and that is not good. He must change the game plan, if it only does one thing by shaking up the players he as got to do and do it fast. We will not get a result at Man U, if he does more power to him and our season will be saved. He should use that game to try some different things and concentrate on getting the results he will need against Pompey, man city, Norwich and even Everton 7 or 8 pts from these games might make us safe, but towards the end of the season teams who have nothing to play for can be beat, so you will get surprise results. Please Chris take a chance the side and system you have now is not working, you have tried it long enough.

 

RE: Charlton

Having seen this before, I believe the well is poisoned.

CC could get a few good games from the team by turning it over to the senior players' consensus.. what is needed as much as anything is a field leader.

But, since we dont know the locker room dynamic, it's not clear who that would be.

 

RE: Charlton

I think AtlantaJohn has a good point about the ManU game. There are no expectations at all so try something different - hopefully something more offensively oriented. If Coleman is insistent on the 4-5-1 at least send the outside midfielders forward more aggressively. A 5-2 loss would be better than 2-0 and might result in some dividends later on in matches that require a result.

 

RE: Charlton

The first thing I want to say is that watching a match in person gives you so much more pf a perspective than you can get on television. On Saturday, I thought for the second week in a row, the defense played quite well. Charlton got a few chances, but the partnership of Goma and Knight looked to fend off most Charlton advances.

Our problem was our lack of anything going forward offensively. It was nice to see Steed back as he was quite effective out there, but Boa Morte was ineffective and Andy Cole once again needs help up front in order to be effective.

Unfortunately, all the teams below us are playing well. I do not see us getting pulled back into the relegation battle. We are getting things together. A point is a point and at least we did not lose.

You have build from the back up and we have shown a lot of improvement in the back the last few weeks. I think we will be fine. Matk April 3 on your calendar. Pompey comes to the Cottage for a big match.

 

RE: Charlton

Always good to hear the review from someone who actually saw the game and is under control. Thanks for the summary - I feel better.

 

RE: Charlton

I will have to concur with Tom. The match wasn't as bad as as it might have sounded and overall there were some great moments and personal performances. Steeeeed was able to keep the ball away from just about everyone, I was right impressed! Cole had some real good moments but again, it seemed like he needed someone else to get him going.

Boa had a very good game as well as did Goma (who did clear a ball off the line).

All in all, what I'm trying to say is that all aspects of our game were solid, it was just our lack of organization in the forward 1/4 of the field. If we can get that right we could be in for some good points before the season is over.

On a separate note, the trip was ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL AND CRAVEN COTTAGE AN ABSOLUTE DREAM.

 

RE: Charlton

Oh, and for all of the NY fans, I have something small for each of you and will give the stuff to you as soon as we link up again.

 

Re: RE: Charlton

I was at the game as well on Saturday and am afraid I can't be as positive about Fulham's performance. I'll agree that Steed was able to keep the ball away from just about everyone, however, most of the time he had the ball he was running around the midfield from side to side. He just did not seem to create much in the way of offense. I thought the defense still looked quite shaky. Charlton definitely had the better chances. Neither Boa nor Cole showed me much at all. The lone striker up front is just not working. I've watched plenty of Premier League games this year and, while I hate to say it, it's not hard to see why Fulham is back in the relegation fight.

This was my second time at the Cottage this year (West Brom was the other) and I have to say that I can understand some of the frustration that many Fulham fans are feeling. Considering what I've spent on tickets and such for the two games I've attended along with pay per view costs, I don't feel like I've gotten a whole lot of value for my money from Fulham. I can only imagine how fans over there who attend every game must feel. It shows in the lack of atmosphere I've experienced at both games. The fans would love to sing more, but there isn't much for them to sing about (I attended the Leeds game at Loftus Rd. last year and I thought there was a heck of a lot more atmosphere for that game than either one I've seen this year. I suspect last years results have a lot to do with it).

With that being said, let's hope Fulham's performances improve over the rest of the year and they make it to safety quickly.

 

RE: Re: RE: Charlton

It's too bad that people aren't getting "value for their money" with Fulham, but that's football. In any sport there are always winners and losers. I don't want to appear as being the devil's advocate, but people need to stop complaining. When you football, you give everything. Sometimes, teams go on bad runs. Nothing unusual and very understandable with Fulham's short history in the top flight. Last year, Fulham did well. This year, the team has had its ups and downs. Consistency has been an issue and people are moaning and groaning about costs. If you want to pay to constantly be watching a team that wins their games, go watch Chelsea or Man U. Fulham isn't at the level yet. What's happening now is hopefully a small dip in results. Everyteam experiences this. Bolton came out firing this season and then dropped. True, Fulham may not have lived up to the expectations placed on them this season thus far, but a true fan would not complain that his/her is not giving them value for their money. You support your team, no matter what. A lot of us have spent money on airfare, tickets, pay-per-view, etc. So what. If Fulham happened to get relegated what would happen then? Would people give up hope in the team and walk away? Hopefully not, Fulham is but a small club that is still relatively new in the top flight of English football. People should not be complaining so soon. Fulham was plauged with injuries until now. We need to give them a chance. Cookie might be wrong about using his alleged 4-3-3. What do you guys wanna see? A 4-4-2?
After watching the Charlton game, I thought the midfield looked good with Claus, Steed, Clarky, Diop and Boa. The moved the ball well, but it was evident that they had not been playing together as a unit for long due to injuries. True, Boa was stagnant, but he can't come out every game to dazzle and race by defenders. People are looking at football as if they've never played it. Fulham is more that high balls to Cole and Boa crossing it in. It just happens that those strategies have tended to work and are utilized more. There was plenty of intricate fast pacing in the midfield during the game. Cole is a target man up top. It his job to play deep, receive the ball and then offload it to the supporting players. Boa has pace, that why he's the player that tends to shoot downt he flank to cross the ball in. As for the midfield's short passes...that's exactly what happens in football/soccer. Midfielders pass the ball around to open space, leave the defense exposed and create opportunies. Most of the time, they fail. If they succeeded everytime, you'd see pletny of goals in every match. This obviosuly doesn't and only rarely happens. Fulham's midfield hasn't been able to make that final pass in the attacking third. Big deal. That's soccer. You can' t expect to always be getting goals. Charlton was a tough one for Fulham. After watching the game though, its evident that Fulham can move the ball around. They were a little dull, but that it to be expected. The team has had a bad run of injuries this season. If everyone is fit and healthy for the beginning of next season, I think people will see a new team.

 

RE: Re: RE: Charlton

It's too bad that people aren't getting "value for their money" with Fulham, but that's football. In any sport there are always winners and losers. I don't want to appear as being the devil's advocate, but people need to stop complaining. When you football, you give everything. Sometimes, teams go on bad runs. Nothing unusual and very understandable with Fulham's short history in the top flight. Last year, Fulham did well. This year, the team has had its ups and downs. Consistency has been an issue and people are moaning and groaning about costs. If you want to pay to constantly be watching a team that wins their games, go watch Chelsea or Man U. Fulham isn't at the level yet. What's happening now is hopefully a small dip in results. Everyteam experiences this. Bolton came out firing this season and then dropped. True, Fulham may not have lived up to the expectations placed on them this season thus far, but a true fan would not complain that his/her is not giving them value for their money. You support your team, no matter what. A lot of us have spent money on airfare, tickets, pay-per-view, etc. So what. If Fulham happened to get relegated what would happen then? Would people give up hope in the team and walk away? Hopefully not, Fulham is but a small club that is still relatively new in the top flight of English football. People should not be complaining so soon. Fulham was plauged with injuries until now. We need to give them a chance. Cookie might be wrong about using his alleged 4-3-3. What do you guys wanna see? A 4-4-2?
After watching the Charlton game, I thought the midfield looked good with Claus, Steed, Clarky, Diop and Boa. The moved the ball well, but it was evident that they had not been playing together as a unit for long due to injuries. True, Boa was stagnant, but he can't come out every game to dazzle and race by defenders. People are looking at football as if they've never played it. Fulham is more that high balls to Cole and Boa crossing it in. It just happens that those strategies have tended to work and are utilized more. There was plenty of intricate fast pacing in the midfield during the game. Cole is a target man up top. It his job to play deep, receive the ball and then offload it to the supporting players. Boa has pace, that why he's the player that tends to shoot downt he flank to cross the ball in. As for the midfield's short passes...that's exactly what happens in football/soccer. Midfielders pass the ball around to open space, leave the defense exposed and create opportunies. Most of the time, they fail. If they succeeded everytime, you'd see pletny of goals in every match. This obviosuly doesn't and only rarely happens. Fulham's midfield hasn't been able to make that final pass in the attacking third. Big deal. That's soccer. You can' t expect to always be getting goals. Charlton was a tough one for Fulham. After watching the game though, its evident that Fulham can move the ball around. They were a little dull, but that it to be expected. The team has had a bad run of injuries this season. If everyone is fit and healthy for the beginning of next season, I think people will see a new team.

 

RE: Re: RE: Charlton

As a supporter of the Whites for almost too many years (about 55 actually) I am often saddened by the critics comments who because they don't win every game. I can remember all too vividly the slump in their fortunes during the late 60s and early 70s. That was indeed the signal for the critics to have a field day. I am sure that with a bit of patience on the part of supporters all will be well in the not too distant future.
I too was at the match against Charlton along with my 14-year old grandson, and we were disappointed with the result. By half-time I had made my mind up that 0-0 would be the logical result and even Charlton appeared quite content with the final outcome. I agree that possibly with a little more adventure in the attack we could have grabbed three very useful points.
Having watched on tv Man U destroy Southampton last Saturday it doesn't look good for Fulham this coming Saturday but you never can be completely sure of the outcome of any match. (If it was always cut and dried where would the bookmakers be?). Who knows, maybe a Papa Diop thunderbolt, a dodgy penalty in our favour and we can repeat last season's result. Here's hoping!

MalcolmH (Surrey England)