Fulham v. Aston Villa

What great timing for a victory. Hopefully they can build some momentum from the last two games.

Hangeland is making a big impact in the back, great signing!

 

Oh dear god...I almost started crying. For real!!!

That was amazing...Bullard, holy crap! AV didn't even score a goal against us...that says loads as AV hasn't lost in 9 games, no?

That being said...we obviously have our fire back (THANK THE MAKER!). Looked a little sloppy at first, though much more aggressive. Seemed a little sluggish immediately after the half, then...holy crap! It was the best I've seen Fulham play...EVER...I think. Hate that McBride's comeback came after that own goal, but the cheer that went up in the bar when he hit the pitch gave me a perma-grin that I still cannot shake!

THIS WAS MY SUPERBOWL!!!

COYW!!!!!

**high-fiving everyone on the board**

BTW- I wore my FUSA shirt today to The Brewy! Coincidence? Or maybe it was the shot of Billy the Badger breakdancing at halftime...whatever- something brought us good fortune, for real!

 

Absolutely incredible.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\

When I saw McBride coming in I was so excited . . . . I couldnt contain my smile as I waited to hear the fans go crazy when he came on the pitch then . . . . the own goal. It took all of the joy out seeing McBride return. I thought, hmmm, I guess things actually can get worse. For me that was the low point of this season. That was as bad as it has gotten, but they turned it around on a dime. WTG you whites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didnt see anybody mention that Dempsey was also awesome today.

 

This was the best I have seen the Fulham midfield play and that was even with Danny Murphy playing poorly today. Bullard, Dempsey, Andreason and Davies linked well today and Hangeland was a rock in the back again today.

Bullard's free kick was fantastic but the Murphy to Dempsey to Bullard to Davies goal looked like it put a real energy back into the side.

 

In the postmatch interview 'Woy' said he did not have to appologies for the win - that summed it up for me. We deserved what we got, after the Reading game it felt like we picked their pockets.

The midfield was creative and functional and as they get to know each other better they will become more potent and incisive, but most importantly a Win away to 'brough could see us out of the relegation zone.

 

I have seen the game on TV with a group of Italian Cottagers and we are simply delighted.
How we'd like to be at the Golden Lion, now.
We love you all, mates!!!!!

 

Okay I just got discharged and the Doc diagnosed my condition as unequivocal joy!

The MOTM was def Davies. There was several instances where he ran the entire length of the pitch, but the was was when he bolted from behind the back line of CB's to hassle Carson who was dallying the ball out wide. Amazing.

And did anyone see the crowd like 10 minutes after Bullard's goal? They were still jumping and standing and singing like we just won a Cup final. I so wish I was there.

It may be Fulhamish to lay an egg up in Boro, but dammit lets not stop this train.

 

When the own goal came I was in tears and my family pretty much left the room as they thought I was gonna get super pissed off. I was WAY too sad to see Hughes put the ball in the back of the net to say anything. Then I was thinking that maybe if we can nick a goal in the next 5 minutes then we could win. That's what happened.


Bullard was freaking amazing out there. Easily the best player on the pitch. People were starting to worry, but I believe that he can get back to his old form after watching this game. He scored an amazing goal and everybody look at Sheffield United last season and it was just as brilliant. He was in EVERY play that was good. He had the assist, the goal, most of the good build-up. I mean he was freaking everywhere.


Dempsey showed some real quality on the right and left sides. He can still do better though. If he gets a run of games on the wing he will show his best form.


Murphy sucks. End of story.

Baird sucked too, I thought. He got himself in way too many bad spots. Time to bring in Stalteri I suppose.

Kamara looks like his national team form is coming over to England. He was brilliant. He needs to start the next game as we look to more of a counter attacking style of play on the road.

Our defense was freaking class. Hangeland might save our season.


Finally to end on somewhat of a sour note, I thought that Hodgson needed to show more urgency. He should of had the team attacking Villa and should of brought in both Mcbride and Kamara after about 65 minutes. He seems like a manager that is confident about everything he does. I know he realises the position we are in, but he does not show it. Any other manager would of been banging the dugout if we were not throwing everything forward. Show a bit more urgency that's all.

 

What Don said.

Don, thanks for writing what you did because I was going to say many of the same things.

A special award for the Fulham crowd. If anyone dares say that Fulham fans are not loud, just show them a tape of this game. From the opening whistle to the end, they were into in it. (An aside--when was the last time we heard such a noise at a game in SW6? Certainly not from down the road. Maybe they can take lessons from us.) The team played with more energy than I've seen in a very long time, and those of you who were there were one of the reasons.

When Bullard scored, I remembered why I'd suffered through some of those terrible matches. This was the reason. This was the moment. This was the season.

I hope Tom Brady was watching this (Go Pats!)--it certainly couldn't help but get anybody psyched up for the "big game".

(I put "big game" in quotes because the real big game of the day ended at about 12:50 EST this afternoon with a roar from SW6.)

 

Today

We deserved today, we have suffered all year with bad calls horrific injuries, games just plain going South on us, today was what being a Fulham fan is all about. When they got the goal totally against the run of play, you really thought we were doomed, but this is the sort of game that can spark a team. I was at the Cottage many moons ago when Fulham were around 8 pts clear at the bottom and Liverpool 8 pts clear at the top, and we did them 2-0, we then went on a tear and avoided the drop, it could happen again.

For a lot of this game Bullard still looked short of fitness but he as quality, we dominated much of the midfield but could not find that perfect last, defence breaking pass, Nevland looked very lively and showed a few very nice touches, a very good debut on a new team at a much higher level than his been used to, very encouraging. The midfield was very busy and energetic, and Dempsey surely can look forward now to playing in a position that suits him much better than the lone Ranger.

Murphy was caught to many times on the ball, and was forced into to many errors, Baird is awful, Bullard was caught a few times but not as much as Murphy and not in such dangerous places. McBride coming on at that time was terrible, I was telling everyone in my house to watch if he come on how loud the crowd would be, then when he does, we have just scored an own goal, and the crowd was about as quiet as they were all day, they must have all felt like I did totally shocked.

It is very hard to tell on TV but it seemed to me when he come on there was a definite opening up of their defence, we suddenly had more space, he did not get a lot of ball but I think defenses have to watch him more closer than others and it softens them up, it showed me how much we have missed him. But the day most certainly belongs to the other comeback kid, and the season as all of sudden gone from the toilet after 70 mins, to the first glimmer of hope we have had for sometime after 93.

 

Woy said Fulham is on the woad to wecovery!

 

Fully agree with your analysis, mate.

 

So happy! Congrats all! Great posts and energy!
Was calling home on the sly from promo post to get score. Then they told me that AV tied us in stoppage time and I started crying at work. Then they told me it was a joke, and we got the win! Pats may go 19-0 later, but just does not matter to me as much as *FFC WINNING!*

 

Stoked for the endeavor we had today, but everytime it gets near Baird, i think he's gonna have a howler. We survived him today, but I hope Stalteri slides in there and Baird does't see the field again.

 

I realized today why we couldn't hold a lead under Sanchez...if you play long ball instead of possession ball, you give your opponents more chances with the ball - kind of like NFL when you have the lead and run a lot in the 4th quarter to kill the clock. To continue the analogy, Sanchez would still be trying long passes with a lead in the 4th quarter.

I thought we dominated all but a few stretches of the game. Their goal was complete luck and against the run of play.

Our team played well-to-great, with a few exceptions.

Murphy was poor. Both his tackling and his passing was below par - he is certainly the one to pull out of midfield when we go to 4-4-2.

Baird was very poor. He gave at least two goal scoring opportunities to AV. There is a reason our movement through the midfield went through Konch in the 2nd half...

Hughes was just OK. I don't blame him for the own goal - if he hadn't got a hoof to it, Carew would've scored. Still, he was only ok today.

Nevland was OK, but in a good way. I wasn't expecting much, as he is not fully match fit nor has he had much time with the lads. Still, he showed his potential and showed that he is an actual striker.

As for Woy's substitutions - I actually understood them. He wanted to sub McGod for Nevland, regardless of what the score was (both both player's sakes). He had originally planned to sub Kamara for Murphy, going to a 4-4-2, but when we tied, he stayed at 4-5-1 (the safe bet because we certainly couldn't afford a loss) by taking Dempsey off. Besides...it worked

 

Great win for Fulham today.

Bullard was great and showed the quality that led Fulham to get him prior to last season. I also don't think it was by accident that both fulham goals came after McBride came on.

Had Bullard and McBride been healthy all season we wouldn't be worried about relegation.

Let's hope the whites can string a few good games together and pull clear of the dogfight at the bottom.

 

Most emotional Win ever?

I've supported Fulham for 40 years. I was born in Hammersmith, not far from the ground. I used to go to every home match right though my teens, and followed them all the way down to Div 3!

I now live in Oz, and got up at 2 in the morning to watch the match on the net.

I reckon when Bullard scored, it was, for me, the most emotional moment I've had in my Fulham supporting life. What a cracking shot. Watching it again in replay brings me to tears. I can't believe it. You'd think we'd won the cup.

What a great all round performance. Credit to Kamara for a great,direct run which yielded the free kick in the first place. And credit to Davies, for perfectly finishing off a very nice footballing move.

Above all, credit to Sir Roy for some great acquisitions, and for moulding this group into a now formidable team.

COYW!

 

RE: Most emotional Win ever?

Good for you .. and all us Fulham fans.

Did you watch the Super Bowl.. that was a good'un too. Sports is finally exciting me again.

 

Holy Cow what a match. As I type this the Super Bowl just ended, and I am still too fired up about the W's performance to care. Bullard's kick was why I love this game -- pretty as it gets. And after the OG (too bad, the defense looked a lot better today), I figured Fulham would turtle up, glad to see I don't know any better. McB warming up perked my ears up, and Davies was a horse today. Baird is a problem -- mediocre premiership wingers make him look lost; the one clearance that he had in the first half to the AV winger was just a complete mental lapse, not looking at what the hell he was doing. Miemi and PK picked up their games noticeably, and the whole team showed some heart today, nice to see after too many late games where they ... ah, it's a great day, why ruin it with bitching.

I htink this was a turning point for the season. People are getting healthy again, this was the most inspired performance I have seen from Fulham all year, I'll bet 50 pushups that their momentum takes them up the table. Look out 'Boro, :3d tongue: you're next :banana:

O yeah, my wife thought PK looks like E.T.

 

I was glad to see McBride on the field again. That was a great moment. Bullard is coming back to form, and it is nice to see the possession game getting better and better.

I am looking forward to seeing the table with FFC out of the relegation zone.