Fulham @ Bolton {pre and post-match}

this was the first match since the chelsea tie that i was able to watch on television. that being said, i noticed a lot of things that raised my blood pressure a copious amount, and things that made me kinda happy. here they are:

1) Our D overpursues. I think Q was doing it the worst, but Brown is also guilty. Although it is a trite cliche, everyone was running around like a 'chicken with their heads cut off' when Bolton was dominating. I dont know if thats Coleman's strategy (again, i havent been able to watch a match in over a month) but it didnt seem to make much sense from a defensive standpoint. Bolton was able to lacerate our D, especially on that second goal.

2)We didnt play that poorly. I understand that this statement will probably be chastised, but Bolton played VERY well for a majority of the first half, and 10mins or so into the second. Before and after that, it was ours. There was a graphic shown during the telecast that revealed Fulham dominating possession 15 or so minutes into the match (i think it was like 60-40), and seemingly immediately after that Bolton turned it on. The percentages shown next completely flipped to 75-25. Therefore, this wasnt reminiscent of the Sheffield U match where it was a total embarrasment and I wanted to stick my head into a fireplace. Instead, Fulham played a strong team whilst on the road. And indictative to how this season has been going, it ended in defeat.

3)Coleman's changes. I actually applaud some of the moves he made. He knew it was going to be tough, and that this season within the Premiership is kinda a wash so why not see what the new and recent healthy have to offer? I was kinda confused at first as to why Rout wasnt starting, let alone subbed in. But then I thought that Coleman is obviously preserving a strong FA run. Therefore, why not start Diop and Davies, and sub in Smertin. I didnt think Davies or Diop played particularly well (kinda like the whole team), but i think Coleman needed to see their performances rather than just speculate about it. Although not even having Dempsey and/or Boca on the bench was a bit questionable.

4) Is the Bolton coach a ninny, or is it just me?

I think this weekend's match is going to be a good one. Tottenham is very hungry, as is Fulham. Although, does anyone know exactly what the "Setanta Pub Channel" is? Like, should I call around and ask? Thanks.

 

timmy, the Setanta Pub Channel is only availabe in pubs that offer Setanta. Go to Setanta.com and use the venue locator feature to find the pub with this channel nearest you. You will also be charge probably $10-$20 if you go to the pub to watch it.

One other comment you made about saving Routledge for the FA Cup does not really apply as he will NOT be able to play on Sunday against Tottenham because he is on loan from that very team.

That being said, I would have liked to see him play yesterday against Bolton. I do not have any major beefs with Coleman about yesterday other than that small one.

 

I don't want to see Zat Knight in a Fulham kit ever again!!! I'm so sick of seeing him hoof balls forward that go over everyone's head right to the opposition. I don't care that he scored that goal, it was pure luck. Also, on the first goal, he had a chance to clear the ball and he does some stupid "lower the head and take your eyes off the ball" move...and completely misses, leading to the penalty. On the second one...he's just standing at the near post, which Lastuvka had covered....not even looking for anyone to mark. As far as I'm concerned, we're way better at the back without that piece of crap. GET HIM OUT!!!

 

No routledge and paying to watch tv at a pub?? RATS!!

 

We lost on the road again because we were too open. Usually we let teams attack us and that really hurts us away from home. Why is it that Anelka could get the ball on the halfway line and then run at us? When Mcbride got the ball Be Haim was right there waiting to put a tackle in and when Anelka got the ball Knight was nowhere near him allowing him to create constant danger. That penalty shouldn't of been called, but our team needs to get over that call and play like they did before that happened. Instead though Bolton was allowed to put in danger crosses and we did nothing about that. The 2nd goal was because we allowed Nolan to run into the box without anybody tracking him. That is stupid as everybody knows that this is the type of player Nolan is. We could of got a point, but we really didn't deserve it. I hope that we start to play better as we have a tough run of games coming up and we need to get points before we get dragged into a relegation battle.