Fulham v. The Undead [R]

Tough early match. Come on boys! Good thing is that it is on FSC Sunday.

 

I'll go with 1-1. Don't think missing AJ impacts much in this one as he hasn't had any success against chelsea's larger defenders. They've been more susceptible to balls played through the air than those played in on the ground. Could be a good match for a guy like Duff for service and Bob, Clint and whomever replaces AJ up top.

No clue what Roy's going to do with the XI if Davies returns. If he doesn't, than I expect the usual suspects but with Duff on the left, Dempsey on the right and probably Nevland up top, although I almost think Kamara would be better in this matchup (depending on form). If Simon plays, then I'd like to see Clint up top with Bob unless he's given some much needed rest.

 

2-1 Fulham (Dempsey, Zamora)

Duff on the left, Dempsey on the right. Gera on the bench.

I'm going for the surprise and am predicting EJ on for AJ. Style-wise, he's the closest to AJ and has the requisite physicality to match up with the Chelsea defense.

 

I don't think this is the match when Clint will get his much-needed rest, especially with him having scored twice against them in this fixture last year.

I'm intrigued by Andy's suggestion to give EJ a run here, but I don't imagine Roy is going to see it that way. I think it'll be Nevland up top; he seems pretty clearly to be the #3 forward in Roy's mind.

I also don't think Roy is going to make this Simon's first start of the year; seems like the wrong time for it. I'm going to guess that if Duff is fit to play 90 minutes (or 75, at least), he'll take Gera's spot in the lineup. Everything else the same.

 

Couldn't help but notice that there has not been one single draw yet in the Prem. Have to think Roy won't hesitate going to bench. Deuce to partner with Bobby, w/Double D to start. Ancelotti to cry in his gelato, 2-1 to the good guys

 

Personally, I think that one of our actual strikers should start in AJ's stead. In a perfect world we'd play an arch shaped 3 man midfield with demps slotting in behind the two strikers, but I'd like to see Nevland start and Kamara off the bench as a super sub. I think that Demps creates too much from the midfield to stick him in at striker without Davies healthy to come in on the right. JMO

I'm hoping to see more of Duff and less of Gera. If Duff can consistently cross as well as he did to set up the third goal against Amkar then it'll definitely be a welcome change. That will definitely help both BZ and Deuce since they're both decent in the air.

I'll go with a 2-2 prediction ... good guy goals coming from Duff and Demps.

 

I dont like predicting the score so I'll just take the WIN!

COYW'S

 

For those with XM Radio - Channel 102.

COYW!!!

 

No score or lineups just a big COYW's!

 

We were outplayed in quite literally every respect of the match. The main route of offense in the first half came in the form of long ball which was ultimately ineffective at best. Gera was again the worst player on the pitch and Roy was quick to notice it in the second half. He puts in the effort, but he is in over his head at the premier league level.

Duff did well for me and so did the rest of the side. Would of liked to have see more effort out of Zamora, but everyone has their off days. Lets regroup and get ready for the long trip to Russia. Here's to hoping we have an injury free quality win.

Also... hope Murphy's injury was just a minor knock. Lord knows we can't lose his for any long stretch this season.

 

I found this match to be similar in ethos to the others against the big four under Roy: containment.

Yet Chelsea pulled off two quick, perfectly timed runs and it was game set match.

Not much to argue or complain about, all things considered.

 

On the train back to Henley. Not much to be proud of from this match. No one had a game worth calling out. Except GEra....he is the only guy I can single out....The guy pretty much sucks. Great day for a match tho.

No offensive threat to mention.

On the upside, I met laxattack. Great guy with a very interesting job. Beers before, during and after the game (and put up with my cigar smoke!). Had some interesting interactions with both Chelsea and fulham fans. All on the up and up. But if there had been a scrap, I like my chances with a 6 foot plus dude from Texas! For those have not been over....you have to make the trip.

We hit the lion and the cottage before the game. Rumors are true, the cottage is going bye bye.

Blackberry posting so sorry for the typos.

 

I can't entirely agree with T_o_M in that I thought Duff was mostly invisible, not significantly better than Gera.

 

Chelsea is good.

 

After watching today's game I think that Gera needs to be sat down for good. I don't think that Clint and Bobby worked particularly well together because there was no midfield control. We were pressured pretty quickly upon receiving possession and gave it away pretty consistently. The only time we really started going forward at all was once Clint got moved back to midfield, when Kamara and Nevland were in.
I really think that Clint lends a lot more creativity to the midfield then some people realize.
It's not the end of the world ... 2-0 to Chelsea isn't too bad and a lot of other decent teams will undoubtedly suffer the same fate as we did ...
I just hope that Roy sticks with Duff on the left, puts Dempsey on the right (or slotted behind the strikers) and starts either Kamara or Nevland up top with Bobby.
Oh well ... we've survived to fight another day ... hopefully we'll give em' hell at Stamford Bridge. COYW!!! COYW!!!

 

Chelsea played against the back four of Fulham today No Midfield and nothing up front pretty much sums it for me, Ive been saying for along time that Gera and Etuhu are wasted in the premieship, there just not good enough, I hope both Duff and Greening replace them Both, Bobby do me a favour go sign for Dulwich Hamlets there looking for a reserve striker you fit the bill.

 

Ok so we lost to Chelsea today. They were the better squad on the day and I am not going to spend to much time crying over this one unless the lessons Fulham should have learned were missed. What should we take from this match IMO?

1. We are a much better squad with Dempsey in the midfield. IMO he has been the only real threat to score in our midfield so far this season and adds some creativity we otherwise lack.

2. Dempsey and Zamora did not work well as a combination up top possibly because they play too similarly or possibly because they received poor service. In all probability it is some combination of both. They both need someone beside them to make the incisive run and pull the defense out of shape. I did not look at the final stats but I can't remember a single offside call against us today which means nobody was keeping the Chelsea defensive line honest. I think it is safe to say the Chelsea back four had an easy day.

3. Gera's level of play was not good enough today. He gave away too many balls from a poor first touch throughout the entire match. I don't want to flog Gera as a whipping boy because he by himself did not cause Fulham to lose the match. However, between the dreadful first touch he has been displaying and the frequency that he gets caught in possession by defenders Simon Davies cannot get back fast enough so Gera can resume his role as a late match defensive substitute.

This is one match in a long season and one not to dwell on. Here's to next weeks match. COYW's!

 

I thought Fulham played well for the most part. Roy complained afterwards about the energy levels, which is fair I guess, but generally Fulham played good football could have just as much won 2-0 as lost 2-0 with some breaks. Chelsea is Chelsea though and they've got the likes of Lampard and Drogba to do their thing.

Not a bad loss in my opinion.