[R] Villains v. Fulham

wow,
dempsey scoring & keller starting (and having a busy first half it seems). sweet...

 

Fulham in 18th spot already.

Relegation battle on our hands?

It is early, but changes need to be made. IMO, Volzy for Baird and it was nice to see Dempsey get the full 90... keep him on.

 

Another disappointing loss. This is the 4th straight game in which we have had the lead at half and only once have we won. This is the second week in a row we have conceded a winner in the last five minutes of a match. That is not good my friends.

Ashley Young worked Chris Baird all game long on the left wing. Young was probably more disappointed about Baird's sending off that Baird was. He just had his way and was the first goal scorer for Villa and really dominated play for Villa on that left wing. He was the facilitator for all things Villa did.

It was nice to see Dempsey score a goal. Surely that boosted his confidence. Unfortunately, after the Fulham goal, Villa controlled the match and was in complete control.

Something needs to be done to stop these late goals and these second half meltdowns. It is not as though the team is playing horribly, but they are just not playing well enough to win or even draw right now. There does NOT seem to be a sense of urgency in the squad and they seem to rest after getting the lead. That is not good enough and Lawrie must make sure the players hear about that.

Next week is big at home against Tottenham. It is not a must win, but it is a must play well match.

 

Volzy shows that he deserves to get more of a run out. He was quick put pressure on the strikers and wingers, went forward well with only 10 men and he didn't give the ball away cheaply.

Healy was non existent today, kind of baffles me a bit that he had such a big impact in the other mathces but went missing today. Zat was unlucky to score the goal, but to be honest Villa could of beat Fulham by at least 2 or 3 goals today. The defense needs to build some confidence and take some pressure off the keeper. The late goals are becoming predictable and the players have to realize the match is 90+ minutes... not 80.

A positive start, but a bad finish. I am not sure what the answer is, but the defense is on life support. 6 goals in 4 matches isn't good and hopefully Fulham isn't again the league's worst in terms of goals allowed.

 

It was good 2 see duce finally getting rewarded for his solid performances. And although this will fall on deaf ears to many, Boca Del Vista is constantly out of position. Konchesky had 2 clean up his mess 3 times alone in the first half. If he ain't scoring goals he's just a liability. Healy's success is a product of a more physical compliment up front to play off, i.e. Mc Bride. Like I mentioned before, Heidar wouldn't be that bad of an option right now. But don't get me wrong Kamara played well. Just not the type of player to get the most out of Healy. Just my opinion.

 

I've been MIA for a bit, but I got out to a pub and watched the game today. I agree with everything you said Tom, but that last part. The Tottenham game is a must win game. If we are not going to win on the road then we must get points at home. If we keep blowing these small half time leads we will be in the same boat as last season. Is this what £25 million buys?

 

Ah man. Have to stop letting leads slip away.

Was nice meeting all you folks at Nevada's though.

 

Every season relegation will be an issue for Fulham. I don't think wholesale changes need to be made. Not many changes can be made. Fulham has actually played well, in my opinion, all four games. We just haven't gotten the points that we should have gotten out of them.

I think Baird laid off Young because of the early yellow card. Although he was going to get torched regardless because he's not fast. Volz will have to be the RB for the next game for sure now.

Davis had a great game I thought. Smertin was kind of quiet. Dempsey did well. As someone wrote above, Healy needs a taller, stronger centre forward to play with. Kamara is not that... but Kamara shined today I thought. Almost got a great goal in the second half. He more or less created Dempsey's goal as well.

Konchesky is a stalwart.

Knight is really not to blame for the own goal.

Davies was adequate.

Keller was very good for not being on a team earlier in the week.

 

Lyle... not sure that I eluded to "wholesale" changes, but changes in the starting XI or defensive philosophy need to be made. There is no doubt depth in this side and a fair bit of quality. The right mix needs to be found in the backline and midfield in order for this side to progress up the table.

The backline of Konchesky, Zat, Boca, Baird hasn't been stellar, but fairly solid. I believe Volzy deserves a run out in the RB position and if Liam isn't going to be sold he could be in the mix as well. When Hughes becomes match fit he adds valuable depth to the CB position. Boca and Knight be weary of your starting XI spot.

 

re: whatever you guys are whining about

I'll come out every weekend to see them lose, I don't care.

Kellar was stellar, despite conceding two. Glad to see him starting, he did well I don't care what anyone says.

We need to learn to score like . . two goals . . we did it v. Bolton (*cough*and Boro*cough*, why can't we do it v. Villa or Arsenal?

Also glad to see Volzy get some minutos. Hooray for that.

Lets get it on, friends.

 

Wholesale is my word, not yours. You just eluded to changes. The thing is though is that there were changes today. Kamara started as a kind of left midfielder who floated behind the forwards and attacked whenever he could. Dempsey played in a forward position. I think attacking wise it was our best game because Kamara and Dempsey got to start. Kamara was dangerous all game long. Dempsey got himself in good positions often.

Hughes hasn't played because he's knicked up. Volz and Liam aren't Sanchez's guys, and Liam is to be sold. Volz will get a chance, but Liam will more than likely be sold before the transfer deadline passes. If not, maybe he'll get a shot. Neither Liam or Volz are great RBs though... although they do have Premiership experience.

The team simply isn't going to change a whole lot, at least until the January transfer window. So when in your in London in the fall you're going to be watching the same stuff.

I never wrote that Baird was a great RB. I wrote that Volz and Liam are not great RBs EITHER.

 

You can't honestly claim you think Baird is a *great* RB either, can you? Look, Sanchez is the coach, and going with "his guys" is his prerogative, but it's pretty clear that that's the case, no?

 

Lyle... Changes were made in attack and they looked dangerous in the 6 minutes that they were going forward, because after the opening goal Fulham was on the defensive the rest of the match. The changes that I spoke of all dealt with backline personel and philosophy. Volzy is better at defening than Baird. I know many will disagree, but I rate Volzy over Baird. Hughes does have a knock and has been training to get back to match fitness. Once fit he should provide more competition at the CB spot.

I don't believe the same side that has been featured in the first 4 matches will be the identical side that I will see while abroad. Cook, Hughes and possibly even Bullard could be back in the side, providing more options in defense and going forward. It should be an interesting time in London and I believe that there will probably be one more signing before this transfer windown closes as well.

 

Damn... just damn. How many leads are we gonna lose like that.

 

Baird is probably a better out-and-out defender than Volz. He is also Sanchez's guy and the guy he wants to move forward with. He's only played 4 premiership games so far and he needs time.

Maybe Cook will feature in the near future, but he's nothing special and will play like Davies I bet. Bullard may be back, but may not be the same guy. Hughes will be given a chance for sure. My point though is that Fulham's style of play won't be changing. We'll get on a roll and win some games, but it will be with the same kind of play we're seeing now. the team just isn't going to get much better than it is right now.

 

few things:

baird is not a premiership player but a hobbit.

i was shocked to see pearce not get either the red card or the own goal. seriously.

kamara needs to shoot more.

i may not light myself on fire with knight as captain as i promised i would.

john made some silly decisions, but at least he was a threat (unlike Healy).

much like last season, 1 goal leads are meaningless. i thought cookie showed us that but i guess ls is further proving the point?

thats the second straight game where we got hosed. i know this is beating a dead horse and i know we're fulham but the handball in the box and the winning goal scored offside not being called is ridiculous. sure, fulham shouldnt have been in that position, but they were and the calls were not made. blaming the refs is so trite, but this is getting absurd a la the NBA.

blah blah blah


bring on the spurs.

 

Wow! And not in a good way.

Great posts everyone. Two things:

1) In my mind Tottenham is a MUST WIN;

2) Liam is currently not a great RB, but he's better than the rest at Fulham and COULD be great.

 

Didn't see the match but was gutted (again) to see the scoreline. It's too early to be pessimistic but Lawrie has to get these guys to be tenacious and hold on to a lead. We HAVE to be able to win 1-0 or we're going to be mired in relegation battles forever.

Come on you whites!

 

Another devastating loss today, I having trouble letting this one go.