Fulham v. Portsmouth

It would be nice for Fulham to get a win and distance themselves from any talk of relegation. I find it very hard to think Fulham can get relegated, but the more they lose and such, the more the pressure will build on them to perform and win.

I expect the team to come out and play to win. This will be big as some Fulham supporters have been criticizing Coleman and his tactics. Thus, I think the Cottagers will come out and get a win.

Another positive is that the last few seasons, the Whites have played very well in April and May. Now, Saturday's game is still in March, but the 31st is close enough.

Should be a good match and with the home crowd behind Fulham, I expect a win.

 

Right, so, what do I think the line up will be? Since you asked.

Superhero

Liam -- Christanval -- Knight -- 3U's

Routledge -- Brown -- Bouba -- Radz

McBride -- HH

I believe that Montella will come in at halftime for HH in order to give him a fairly good run and maybe score a goal...or two. I also just read that Volzy (on Volzy.com) is gutted to be left out of the side again and in my opinion he should be upset. But who would you choose? Liam or Moritz??

We alway seem to play Pompey at home at this time of year, in this type of situation. A spring Saturday, at Craven Cottage, only a win or two away from safety...

COYW's

 

That's a tough call Mike. Personally I really like both of them. If the midfield is too crowded going in to next season which it likely will be, I almost think you have to sell one of them, because you can't leave one on the bench all the time. Of the two...i think I'd sell Rosie...just because I think you can get more for him then Volzy. Of course, had we challenged for Europe...we could have kept them both to have a deep squad. The other option...which would be very unlikely...would be to loan one of them to a team that gets promoted to the Premiership....but i don't see that as a viable option.

 

I would play Liam ahead of Moritz, simply, he is a better defender.

When you make a direct comparison between them, Volz is more likely to miss a tackle, both get up and down the wing, they are both full of running and both are quick. Moritz is a better passer of the ball but Liam is a natural defender.

Liam can be distracted and has frequently tried to cover other player, which has meant his profile has suffered. He can't pass for toffee, but education can help. He should get the ball and play it short to someone who can pass.

That would be a job for CC and the coaching staff. I would imagine the conversation would go something like this:

CC: "Liam, you know David Beckham?"
LR: "Yes"
CC: "You are not him, do not try a 50 yard raking cross field ball with fade and backspin. You cannot pass for s***. Instead, get the ball and either pass it the the centre back, right wing or a midfielder. You are not allowed to make a pass over 5 yards".
LR: "Right"
CC: "We will work on it in training"
LR: "Right boss. That seems fair since I am awful at passing the ball"

I would not let Volt go. Volzy has grown this season, he is a better player now than 12 months ago. He is inteligent and has passion. That is the only position in the whole squad where we really do have competition.

 

good comments GBFC

 

I endorse this post.

We need a goal in the first 20 min. We have to come out strong and not sit back. Pompey will run rampant if we do and if Liam is not playing 100% he needs to be taken out and let volzy have a go. It seems Volz wants it more from his website. I'm still not happy with Liam's antics last game...

 

Heh.

Hey, having both guys is a decent dilemma to have. It's better than having NO viable options for the spot.

 

I don't want to put the kiss of death on Saturday's game, but we need three points. There are a lot of games this weekend that will shake up the bottom of the table and I would prefer to be above all of that mess.

COYW

 

i missed the match, so what exactly happened?

 

Alright boys get out there and play a game. Just play the game. We haven't won for two months so none of this sit back and hope for a draw sh*t that we pull against Villa and Wigan. If I wanted to see that I'd watch the German third division. Just go out and take it to them.

 

With the long layoff, I'm not too optimistic. That being said, if Montella plays, I give FFC a good chance. Three points would be terrific.

It seems I've not seen a match in a lo-ong time. Curse you Setanta! How come it'll be easier for me to see it on JetBlue than at home? Ah, well.

Anyone in NYC willing to come out of their den and meet up?

 

question, if dempsey does not play should we be worried that fulham wasted an aweful lot of money? It seems to me coleman has no faith in dempsey and frankly his play has been quite ponderous. My prediction is 1-0 Fulham on a 2nd half montella goal.

 

I am not sure how many of you were around when McBride came on board for Fulham in January of 2004, but he hardly played at all that first half season. Many thought he was a bust, etc, but over time he has clearly proven his worth.

I guess what I am saying is that while Dempsey has not played well for the UMNT, Coleman also has a propensity to hold newbies back a bit unless he really is lacking depth as was the case last season with Simon Elliott. Don't give up on Dempsey and do not think we will know for certain one way or another if he was worth the money that was spent on him.

Give him next year to determine that stuff. Like McBride, he could prove himself once he settles in England and acclimates himself with the Premiership. Time will tell.

 

If you're expecting Clint Dempsey to play tomorrow, well, it's not happening. Neither if you want to see Christanval in center back on Saturday (though I can't imagine too many of you being heartbroken over that loss).

Source: Fulham website

As far as Clint goes; he's what? 23, 24? I'm sure he'll be a fine player, as Tom said Fulham was patient with McBride and they reaped the rewards (and continue to do so). It wouldn't surprise me if something similar happened with Dempsey.

 

I'm going to be downtown at around the time of the Fulham match (waiting in line for Rage Agaianst the Machine tickets). Anywhere around there that would be showing it? Somewhere around the Financial District?

 

I will be at Union Sq. sometime tomorrow. I know that Nathan Hale's is no longer (although they never DID open until 4pm -- and this was a footy bar??), so I might be tempted to meet anyone at the Red Lion or (gasp! ugh!) Nevada's.

 

I don’t want Coleman out, but a lot of his decisions are perplexing to me. Firstly, Moritz Volz has been one of our best players all season, but suddenly he finds himself frozen out of the squad, not even on the bench. Why?

Next, why do you name a lineup with three defensive midfielders? Perhaps one of them should have been replaced by an attacking midfielder, such as Claus? Alternatively, and here is a shocker of an idea, maybe play with two wingers?

For the frontline, surely Montella should have started. He is the type of player that plays better at home and under good conditions, plus he has been out for 3 games so he is dieing for action. He must be a better option than Radzinksi at striker, although Radzinski was decent today. I fear that today our chances of keeping Montella went from very slim to nil.

As for the bench, why name one with no defenders? Why do we need three strikers to backup two? Even if you sub both of your strikers, which we did, why do you need an extra backup? It is a waste of spot on the bench, Heidar had no chance of coming on today, zero, so why put him on the bench? And how is John still in the squad? We tried to pawn him off on Watford of all places! And Coleman was bullish on him after he rejected the transfer and said he had no future with the club, and yet here we are, with John taking Mcbride off for 25 minutes! Ridiculous.

And why use all your subs by the 65th minute? Was putting John out there really worth the risk?

I hate moaning, I don’t want Coleman out, I just don’t understand these issues. Even if we did nick the win today I still see a lot of silly mistakes by Coleman, or maybe I am wrong, who knows?