Fulham v Hull

I was in the car on my way to work when the second goal happened. How and why did we allow that one through

 

Are you saying Westboro Baptist Church was right?!

 

So what happened? We looked good for about 20 minutes (the first 20 of the second half). But then we completely ran out of steam. There are two ways of looking at this:

1) Magath had it all wrong. An odd 3-5-2 setup that relied on too many over-30-years-old players. We started the wrong players and subbed the wrong players at the wrong times. Dejagah and Richardson should have been out there from the beginning, but instead, we played like crap in the first half and Magath felt compelled to make two tactical subs at the half. That left Sidwell (clearly injured) and Diarra (who's barely back in the game) out there hobbled and unable to effectively go the full 90...with only one sub left. And who comes on? Darren Bent. Yikes.

2) Magath actually had the right tactics and made the right subs. The formation actually allowed us to play 5 at the back when needed, so tactically we were well set up. Dejagah hasn't ever shown he can be effective for a full 90 minutes and Richardson seems to be made of glass. Best to use them in short bursts, and it worked! Their entering the match lit a fire and led to us getting our two goals. Sidwell did pick up an injury, but that's unfortunate. Presumably he would have told Felix at the half if he was good to go or not, he probably thought he could go on, or at the very least, told the manager he could.

Take your pick. Either way, I don't see any way back after that match. Any hope, belief, or desire that was in the squad is probably gone now, and we'll limp our way impotently into the Championship.

 

Think Magath did everything he could, even if it was a bit head scratching. He wasn't helped with Sidwell clearly violating his trust (ie saying he was fine when clearly he wasn't); and a crappy team playing far too open when up 2-0.

What killed us Saturday is what has been killing us all season: awful defense.

Why when up 2-0 can Hull even attempt a cross/shot like they did for the first goal? Where are the bodies tracking back?

Why when up 2-1 with ~10mins left does Parker just back up and back up to allow Aluko time and space to LOOK UP and find Shane Long (who made a very, very good run) and deliver the ball on a dime to him ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOX.

What's saddest I suppose is, considering Sunderland's recent voodoo, I don't think a win would have been enough. We need to now pray Villa continue their descent.

 

This is the death knell. Good point and why no pressure on the ball? The squad may have been far too knacked at that point to do anything but concede - but also, there were a couple of odd-man breakaways late in the match where Fulham could've notched a third but they mucked them up.

It's a razor thin margin at this point and the club just sliced themselves.

Still, 6 points remains a possibility. Unlikely, but possible.

COYW

 

Ah, the Sodom and Gomorrah of London.

This was damn funny though. :clap:

 

It's funny. I'd accepted we were going down. Heck, I'd picked us for the drop in the predictions thread at the start of the season. But a couple of results, combined with our run-in and being so close mathematically, I'd started to gain some hope that we might just beat the drop. So the Hull result, especially the manner of it, felt like a kick in the gut.

I question the wisdom of employing a strategy that required two automatic subs with a lineup consisting of Parker and Diarra, neither of whom can last a full 90 and Heitinga, who had just taken himself off with an injury the week before. I understand the value of Dejagah as an impact sub. To a lesser extent, I see it with Richardson. But knowing that leaves you with only one sub with 3 guys out there who most likely won't be able to go the distance is a poor idea.

If you are going to go that route, shouldn't you use the 2 "1st half only" guys to try and wear the other side out, specifically their fullbacks? That only increases the impact of Richardson and Dejagah when they come on. Instead, we never pushed the pace. The first half was like a Sunday afternoon drive and Hull were more than happy to match it. Now on the one hand, it didn't matter as Richardson and Dejagah were able to make a significant impact when they came on. But on the other, Hull had more than enough in the tank to launch their own attack once we backed off. And since we'd used our subs transitioning from a defensive posture to an attacking one, there weren't any left to go back to a defensive stance once we'd gone up 2-0.

It's probably all whistling in the wind though because I suspect Magath feels that we're just not good enough and our options for creating offense and trying to get a win are rather limited. He was unlucky that Sidwell got hurt and he probably wasn't expecting Holtby to have a stinker. I still think it would have fallen apart, given the personnel, but then that's the real problem. We just aren't good enough. We're too old, too injured and too poor and that's been proven time and again this season.

And yet, there's still a chance. Mathematically, at any rate.

 

Wasn't near a computer and/or TV and was periodically checking the score on my phone. From the 'we are staying up' euphoria to the 'you got to be bleeping kidding me' kick in the gut. Did a Fulham blackout for a few days (no reports, no highlights). Just hoping for the traveling fans the team gives them a performance at Stoke to be proud of.