Fulham @ Arsenal

Fulham travels to North London to take on a pissed off Arsenal team that lost to Chelsea 1-0 on Sunday. Fulham has never won at Highbury and is unbeaten against Arsenal in their last 12 league matches against the Gunners.

After Saturday's abysmal performance against Blackburn, it could get ugly. On the other hand, it would be very "Fulhamish" to get a good result against Arsenal.

One thing I was thinking about that bodes well for Fulham is the fact that Arsenal is a finesse team and Fulham is as well. Both teams are not physical at all and have a hard time matching up with tougher teams as we saw against Blackburn for Fulham.

Arsenal has more talent, but perhaps we can nick a goal or two on the counter.

What does everyone think of this game? Lineups? Predictions?

My lineup is as follows:

Warner
Volz, Knight, Gome (if healthy), N Jensen
Elrich, Steed, Papa, Boa Morte
Collins John, McBride

 

It always seems that Fulham gets up and plays really well against the big guys. That's been the trend at least the last two seasons. However, they tend to just be too strong for us most of the time. We drew with Man United at home and drew 0-0 with Arsenal at Highbury last year.

Its annoying becuase if we played as well as we did against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United as we do against teams like Blackburn we'd be sitting in 6th or 7th place every year.

 

whooops...just looked at the score at halftime

 

Damn, my post didn't show up!!

Ok, I thought we did quite well as a team today. We put up a fight against Arsenal in their home ground and came away with some positives.

-We created plenty of chances on net
-The midfield played quite well together and fought for every ball.
-Tony Warner has gained my respect with his display tonight. The guy was amazing and if he continues this form, he should stay as our number 1.
-McBride won many of his headers althought wasted two very good chances on net.
-Radz had 1 or 2 moments but that was it.
-Zat and Zesh?! Simply Crap.
-Volz and N. Jensen are playing well and were solid defenders.
-Diop did well in the midfield and looked real strong, same goes forC. Jensen, Boa and Steed. Although Steed shielded the ball well, his passing wasn't the best.

My overall assessment is that a brave performance was given but we need the same this weekend to come away with 3 pts.

 

I thought we played very courageously and fought very hard against Arsenal today. The final 4-1 scoreline is not very indicative of the way the game was played. My observations from the game:

1. Warner was absolutely fantastic in goal. He made save after save after save. He is a good keeper and should keep the #1 shirt as Mike said.

2. We played hard, committed football all match long. We came to Highbury to win and we did our best. Credit to Cookie and the players for giving the kind of effort needed. Now, if they can give this kind of effort every match, we would not be in a relegation mess like last season.

3. The midfield did play well together. There were some nice 1-2's in midfield and they were also able to create scoring chances for the forwards and themselves. That part of the game has been absent from the team until tonight.

4. Volzy and Niclas Jensen did well. Both in attack and in defense these two worked hard and played well.

5. Zesh and Zat were brutal as Mike touched on before. If Warner did not make some of the saves he did, it would have been bad. Warner was able to cover up a lot of the mistakes these two made tonight. We need Goma back and hell, why not give Boca a go there as well.

6. I liked the formation we played. It was listed as a 4-3-3, but seemed more like a 4-4-2. It was a very free-flowing formation and Cookie seemed to give the players a lot of freedom on the pitch. I would like to see more of that.

Overall, a 4-1 loss would be considered terrible, but tonight, I do not think that. Arsenal is one of the best teams in Europe and we hung with them for quite some time.

I really hope the team can try to build on this somewhat and play with the passion and intensity they did tonight on Saturday against Everton.

 

I hate to say it lads...and maybe I am a 'doom and glooom' merchant...but I thought we were extremely poor last night and had a stay of execution thanks to Tony Warner's magnificent performance.

Starting at the front, Radz just looks lost somethimes and when he does get a cross into the box, there is never anyone waiting there on the end of it. He plays too deep to be paired with McBride - not a criticism, just a fact. McBride needs someone like CJ playing with him, feeding off the scraps he provides around the penalty box.

As for midfield, I maintain that Steed is the classiest player that I have had the pleasuyre of witnessing in a Fulham shirt, but for most of last season and the first three games of this season, he has been poor. None of those mazy runs, no cutting passes and very disappointing shots on goal. I also have to say that Boa has not shown anything yet this season (sorry Mike!) and needs a firecracker up his arse. Papa has been poor too, giving the ball away far too easily, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because of match fitness.

Finally, our real problem area - defense. Zig and Zag are far too young to be leading the back line for a premiership team and its not fair on them to expect them to do so. If they continue to play toegther at the back, not only will it increase our chances of relegation, but it will seriouly harm their confidence and careers. Some people love Zat, others hate him, but its not fair t judge him in these conditions...partnered with another 'kid' against a team like Arsenal at highbury. As for Voltz, I loved him when he first came to us but the honeymoon period is over and he needs to develop his potitional skills better - he gets caught out far too often.

Here is where I really get shot down. Last year I think I was the first here calling for Coleman's head - resulting in a poll that I actually get the axe and not him. To be frank, he;s done nothing this summer to change my mind and while the team obviously tried its hardest last night - and I never expected anything from the game - our defensive performance alone should result in his resignation. He's made some astute buys, but has no tactical nouse and insists on letting Dave 'well its somewhere to park the car' Beasant and Steve "the Reading bus driver' keane train our team.

Chris, I loved you as a player and you signing for us was the start of a miracle for all fulham fans who stood for years on the terrace in the rain watching us loose to Hayes non-league team in the 1st round of the FA Cup. But mate, its time to step aside and let someone else have a go. We have a resaonable team, so take pride in what you hav e built and realize you canot take it any further. I'll always cheer for you when you return to the Cottage.

by the way, this is not a knee-jerk reaction three games into the season...its a continuation of the problems we had all of last year when we just missed relegation.

 

Re: RE: Fulham @ Arsenal

I will not shoot you down at all on this one. As I have said in other threads on here and other boards, Fulham is continuing the same bad habits they displayed last season. Laziness, lack of enthusiasm on the pitch, no motivation or desire, etc. While the boys did show some fire last night, Fulham always seem to give it 100% against the big boys like Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea.

However, it is the performances agains the Blackburns and the West Brom's and the Charlton's of the world that make me question Cookie's abilities as a manager. Why can't he motivate them to play hard, effective football every game? I do not get it.

I will pose this question though......is this all Cookie's fault or does some of it fall to Al Fayed for putting Cookie in this spot?

My opinion is that it is a combination of the two. I think Cookie is not cut out to manage this team right now and I also think Al Fayed has tightened the purse strings so much that he has set the club up to fail with mediocre players on the pitch.

This is the best league in the world and we have some players who have no business being in the Premiership, let along playing in the league. Al Fayed needs to sort it out.

I am greatful for all he has done for the club in getting them here, but if he does not want to help support the club, sell to someone who will. Because he is just prolonging the inevitable drop down to the Championship and perhaps further down if he continues this way.

The club needs a fresh start managerially and in ownership. The sooner, the better.

 

Re: RE: Fulham @ Arsenal

Chris, I loved you as a player and you signing for us was the start of a miracle for all fulham fans who stood for years on the terrace in the rain watching us loose to Hayes non-league team in the 1st round of the FA Cup. But mate, its time to step aside and let someone else have a go. We have a resaonable team, so take pride in what you hav e built and realize you canot take it any further. I'll always cheer for you when you return to the Cottage.

by the way, this is not a knee-jerk reaction three games into the season...its a continuation of the problems we had all of last year when we just missed relegation.[/quote]


I would totally agree with this, Chris you were a great player for the side but I believe you don't have managerial skills to motivate this side. we were poor last year and seeing what I saw in Columbus this year is going to be one big struggle in the premiership. and I'm not just saying this because we only have one point from three games, get out now while someone else has a chance to turn this eason around.

I really hope we can survive in the premiership and I HOPE I'm wrong.

 

RE: Re: RE: Fulham @ Arsenal

I think someone missed the memo that went out before the game that Henry has scored 185 goals for Arsenal in his career and it would probably be a good idea for someone to mark him every once in awhile. It was shocking to see how open he was on that second goal.

Its also embarassing to let that doofus Cygan score two against us on set pieces.

 

Re: RE: Fulham @ Arsenal

As I didn't get a chance to watch the game, I won't comment on the performance, but will comment on Tom's statement...

I think there's a continuum on the "getting up" for matches... for a team like Fulham who has that "We're just happy to be here" approach (I think a result of leadership, both management and ownership), it's tough to get fired up for the lower table teams. A win against them and they get no press... a win (or even a draw) with an Arsenal or Chelsea and suddenly everyone is paying attention to you again...

For the mid-table teams, they get up for every match... and you can tell because they actually look like they're ENJOYING playing... God Forbid someone enjoy playing a game... these teams have the drive to beat both the low- and top-table teams because it's their goal to get to Europe and make a name for themselves at least for a season or two...

On to the Chelsea/Arsenal/ManU trifecta... Have you ever noticed it doesn't look like they're having any fun when they play? They are so clinically good that they don't really get all that fired up (except for Rooney... that guy needs a Valium)... They know they're going to beat you so they go through the motions and they have the players to do it...

So FFC is stuck in that first "we're just happy to be here" group... Heck even Wigan and West Ham have more fire and aren't just happy to be there... they're treating themselves as if they were in the second "let's have some fun beating up on the teams we know we can beat and playing like hell against those we can't" group.

I'm not calling for resignations or anything of the sort... but a little fun goes a long way... the survive-and-advance mentality is great for tournaments but not for a 38-game season...

 

Re: RE: Fulham @ Arsenal

Well said Jeremy! There is no reason Fulham should be in a survive and advance mentality as you stated. The fact that this team cannot get up for the lower table teams and continuously struggles against these outfits is a sign that something is wrong.

Fulham can't expect the press to come a calling and looking for them, they need to do something to make the press have a story to write about. And hopefully, it is a positive story at that!! Although, you never know.

It bothers me, but within this club, both players, coaches, big whigs and even fans, there is a sense of being content. Yes, I know 10 years ago we were way, way, down in the third division, but now, we are not. We have progressed so unbelievably well over the last decade that it is disappointing to see this upward trend come to a stop.

I am not saying we need to be the "Manchester United of the South," but it would be nice if the board showed more assertiveness in trying to bring a more competitive, enjoyable team for the fans to watch each match.

To me the lack of desire and motivation has trickled down from Al Fayed to the players. If Big Mo does not want to spend even a little cash on some players, what is this showing the players on the team? It is no wonder our team does not show up against the lesser teams. They are going through the motions on the pitch the way the execs and big whigs are going through the motions off the pitch. The board and the players are just picking up paychecks as they say. That is just wrong!

Whether it be the lack of marketing in Columbus, the FulhamTV prices, the unorganized state of the Fulham's sponsoring a player fracas or just hoping each season that the team survives and stays in the Premiership, this club is showing right now that they have no drive or motivation to make things better. And that my friends, is not right. That is no way to attract new players and get positive results in the toughest league in the world.

 

A Treat for you...

Ah yes, do I have a treat for you lot!!

1st half highlights
http://www.streamload.com/gimp6/FFC-Arse1st.mpg (60 megs)

2nd half highlights
http://www.streamload.com/gimp6/FFC-Arse2nd.mpg (53 megs)

Claus' Goal
http://www.streamload.com/gimp6/FFC-Arse-Claus.mpg (6.5 megs)

Please DO NOT distribute these links...they will only be available for a limited time.

 

Re: A Treat for you...

OH Sorry...and enjoy.

 

Re: A Treat for you...

Very nice.

Did you notice the announcer say, "Claus Jensen has scored an absolute screamer here for CHARLTON!"

No respect, I tell ya. No respect at all.

 

Re: A Treat for you...

I didn't notice, but have watched it again...what a pr!ck!

 

RE: Re: A Treat for you...

Speaking of "did anyone notice" topics, did anyone notice that Jose Antonio Reyes looks an awful lot like our very own American Mike?

 

Re: RE: Re: A Treat for you...

Are you friggen kidding me...another one?!

Hey Ky, please see here:

http://www.fulhamusa.com/index.php?name ... =4711#4711

Ummm...you may have to join the other two clowns on fulhamusaexiles.com.

 

RE: Re: RE: Re: A Treat for you...

I just call em as I see em!

 

RE: Re: RE: Re: A Treat for you...

Wow...independent confirmation

 

RE: Re: RE: Re: A Treat for you...

reyes looks rathr like Dean Gaffney....