Fulham v Neverton

I did notice Don. My husband has enlightened me numerous times about the value of diagonal runs. AJ is a first rate player and I am so glad he is back sooner than expected.

Let's hear it for the Whites today :banana:

 

:banana: :banana:

It's good to have Murphy, et al. back in the first XI...the bite in attack returned.

COYW!!

Off to Europe.

 

I was reasonably impressed by Stockdale today. He look confident at times and showed a lot of promise. I think he has a bright future.

Dempsey seemed lost at times. He just made a few decisions with the ball that left me scratching my head.

But overall it was a great comeback and was easily the best part of my day.

 

Holy smokes!

The thing I liked best was that I saw fight in the team after the lousy 1st half. I saw right away that there was at least one goal in the Ws, and hoped for two. Sweeeeeeeet!!

Strange because in the first half, I was thinking oh no, this is rough -- Hangeland got beat twice badly, once in the air, and at times I was seriously worried about the big man.

I only asked no one in particular why Duff was on the right (in actuality, the wrong) side about 48 times until he scored the goal. Perhaps that is another reason Roy never listens to us.

Nice game by young Stockdale, he had nice command (and some fortuitous help) of his area.

 

Some other highlights.....nice save by Stockdale....then stop by Murphy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz36Vm9-k80

 

I'm watching a replay of the game on FSC right now. Duff is not as bad as people made him out to be in the first half.

He has a nice touch with his crosses to the back post.

Dempsey has also been a little frisky likes he really wants to score on Howard. He plays so much harder for Fulham, it seems, than he does for the USMNT.

 

How bout those Mighty Whites! They showed some heart today. My airline points are growing, Mike....Help me pick out a good weekend to fly over.... I'd hate to see two good men drink alone,
COYW!!!!!!!!!

 

Haven't seen it mentioned here yet, but also nice to get Simon back. When he's fit to go a full 90, does he take DD's spot in the starting 11?

 

Leave Duff outside and either have Davies or Dempsey play inside with Murphy with the other playing outside.

Although I can't see Roy not playing with a more defensive-minded CM next to Murphy if you take out Etuhu.

 

Mike I will take you up on that offer. I walked by quite a few nice looking/inviting pubs. However, I am going to miss the Arsenal game so maybe we could target the Hull or Liverpool game or one of the home fixtures in November. I'll touch base as we get closer to match day. Cheers!

I did see quite a few faces that I recognized from the Cottage at the Lion yesterday.

 

Happy Week. Fulham won!

 

Dempsey was my MOTM - what did he have, 8, 10 shots?

I had to chuckle at the game announcers, who couldn't figure out why Duff was on the right and Dempsey on the left. Duh! It's so they can come inside and shoot with their good foot and allow the fullbacks to provide width. Did the guys take a course in "announcing MLS games" during the international break?

I have to laugh out loud at the calls for Greening to replace Etuhu. Greening was awful against Villa and Etuhu does what he's tasked to do: be the midfield enforcer.

Fulham are a much better team with Zamora and AJ up top; I'm looking forward to Thursday.

 

Good to know that Stockdale can get the job done. To paraphrase the Captain; 'We gave ourselves a bit of breathing space and can look to progress without the feeling that we have to get a win'

The "Diet Heskey" w/a brilliant knockdown to AJ to set up the Duff smash.

Will be very interested to see how Roy mixes and matches this week.

 

Do we play Everton again in our next match?

 

Nice win. I liked the offensive pressure Fulham exerted in the second half.

 

Contrary to the impression one might glean from Don's literary piece, I had a good time and enjoyed this match. I'll admit, I enjoyed it a bit more after Konchesky levelled, but I thought we looked the better side and more attacking overall. Most of my thoughts on the match have already been stated, so I'd like to address Don's writeup on the match instead.

It was interesting to read Don's channelling of Harkes to my Dempsey. :lol: In my defense, I'm a realist, somewhat cynical and have a dry sense of humor. I prefer facts and numbers when making an opinion. Don on the other hand is a wide-eyed optimist, something of a renaissance man/hippie, and is in dire need of a hearing aid, it would seem. He's apt to go with "feelings" in his opinions. No surprise then that our pov's diverge.

I do love how he omits his grumbling about us getting screwed on calls at home while I'm pointing out the leeway Etuhu and Danny were given early on or how I get no credit for being the loudest one cheering in the bar when we scored. But that would be "fair and balanced" and we all know the Hatter loathes that concept. :lol:

For the record, I said a lot of people had said Duff was past his prime when we signed him and I was beginning to get the nervous feeling that might be the case. Then he scored and despite Don's senior moment, I said the Chelsea thing predates my following the league, so I don't care, and yes, he's all good in my book for now. I even listed him in my preferred midfield with Dempsey playing the attacking CM, Danny holding and Simon on the opposite wing whereas Don thought he should be relegated to the bench when Simon comes back.

All that said, I can't wait to do it again. See ya next time, HatterHarkes. :lol:

 

Thank (insert preferred deity here)! I was starting to think every game I watched was an automatic loss. The first half had me a bit scared, but things started looking up quickly in the second half.

Beautiful game winner by Duff. As much as I love Timmy, that was one goal I could watch over and over.

It's amazing to me how Clint can practically be a nonentity in a qualifier and then show up so fiercely for his club. As a fan, I'm not complaining; but as a fan, I'm complaining. Ya know?

COYW.

 

I know the most talented XI doesn't necessarily translate to the Best XI, but if we ran out this side?:

---------------------Schwarzer----------------------------

-----Pants---------Hughes------Hangeland-------Konch----

-----Davies-------Murphy------Dempsey-------Duff---------

-------------------AJ------------Zamora-----------------------

Not enough bite in the midfield? Too offensive minded?