Fulham FC v. Norwich City

Fantastic. :music-rockon: Good times in the chat room. Hoping for 37 more like that.

 

Massive. Fin.

 

great start, great time in the chatroom

 

Top of the table already. Didn't see this coming. QPR in deep do do already. Starting off how they finished last season I guess.

 

How does even watch the games each week. I'm new so I only see what's on fox soccer and the epl live app I downloaded. But would live to actually watch a fulham game

 

Wow !!! Sorry to have missed the chat - I was on kid duty. Granted it was Norwich, but they looked damn smooth out there.

 

Wow where to start! What a home opener the White's treated us to this season. There are so many tempting bits to start with but one thing stood out over and above everything else for me in today's match and that was the combination of Dembele and Diarra in the center of the pitch. I was fearful entering this opener that the absence of Danny Murphy would cause major hiccups in the Fulham offensive flow but even at it's very best under Murphy I cannot recall seeing a Fulham team move the ball so smoothly and confidently around the pitch. In large part that can be credited to our two central midfielders and their ability to link the defense with the front line. One or the other of the pair always seemed to be in position to receive the ball when we were in possession and both seemed to always be in position to slow Norwich's attack when we were not in possession. Diarra looked trimmer, fitter and far faster then I recall him being last season. Moussa looked like, well, he looked like Moussa and was a joy to watch and when in possession of the ball it looked like it would require a small forklift to separate either them from the ball.

The new boys didn't do half bad today either did they! I like the look and speed of Sascha Riether and though I am normally pretty reserved about going out on a limb and making predictions I am going to say after one match that Mladren Petric is the best striker in a Fulham shirt since McBride. In fact, I don't think it is really even close and the two goals are only a small part of the reason why. Who was the last Fulham striker to pull on a shirt that demonstrated touch, vision, a nose for goal and the subtle nuance to pull off the pass he split the Canaries defense with to put Ruiz in on goal and the back heel to set up Kaka's? Add the two goals and I am far more impressed with Petric's opener than I was with Pog's last season.

I was thrilled with the combination of Kacaniklic and Riise bombing down the left side. I am still waiting for Riise to see the ball fly into the back of the net and when it does I expect him to become a more regular contributor on the score sheet. Duff and Riether did fine for the opening sally with the defensive stoppers of Schwarzer, Hangeland and Hughes putting in another stellar shift.

The lone bit of criticism, if any can be leveled at Fulham's play today, I will reserve for Ruiz. For the most part he played an excellent match but there are times that it just looks like he cruises along a little too much and lacks that killer instinct you need in front of goal. I was certain he was going to score on the through ball Petric fed him yet he did not even get off a shot. Full credit to the Norwich defender for tracking back but I am hoping in time that Ruiz will learn a bit of urgency and begin to put those away. I have a feeling Ruiz will wind up being one of my favorites so perhaps I am being a bit harsh.

All in all it was a :banana-dance: :banana-dance: :banana-dance: :banana-dance: :banana-dance: display by the White's.

 

Excellent start. I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm b/c it was Norwich at home and they're neither a good defensive team nor good on the road. But the new boys (Petric, Riether, Rodallega) looked good (or great in Petic's case), as did those returning from injury (Ruiz and the Ginga Ninja).

I agree with alot of what Barry said (well done sir). I still think Ruiz is more of a distributor/facilitator than an actual scorer but we'll see. He's cheeky with those chips and almost made Ruddy pay for his early miscue. Also agree on Diarra/Dembele being just fine with Murphy gone. I also agree with Don's View as well, aside from his continued inability to select a proper MotM. Jol over Petric? :angry-banghead:

My lone criticism would go to the big Aussie. He gave the ball away rather egregiously later in the match but we were able to deal with it and keep the cleansheet. There wasn't a lot to choose from in the critical column today.

I remember there was a time when Turner was thought of as a being close to/on par with Hangeland. He was terrible.

We're going from one of our easiest fixtures to one of our toughest in a week's time so I'm looking forward to see how we stack up. I feel a lot more confident after watching us pump in 5 though as goal scoring was/is my biggest concern.

 

:clap: Good crowd in the chat for the opener. Great posts on the thread, and the usual excellence on the View from South Texas. :clap:


**Also great to see names like Lyle, sacffc, dneville80, and our favorite teacher from Georgia, terrih73 chime in.

 

Just saw the short highlights on FoxSports (the ones on the FFC site still aren't up and I didn't want to wait any longer), which only shows the goals- but they were lovely goals and set up by some moments of brilliance. I enjoyed Don's "View from South Texas" as usual, but after seeing Petric's brilliant back heel to Special K in addition to his goals, I can't give a Man of the Match to anyone else. It was a nice chat and nice listening to GJ, but I'll be excited to see the match on TV next week- unfortunately, it's a rare Saturday I have to work, so I won't be in the chatroom and will be watching it at night.

~ Steve

 

Thanks to Martin Jol's Blawharmy for a very enjoyable Sat. morning in front of the "telly". Sorry I wasn't in the chatroom. I'm sure it was great, but I hate to type and I'm lazy....COYW, Let's take it to Manure!!