FULHAM v. The Black Craps

Because I thought of it first.

All 3 points, please. And I don't want to hear about anyone being tired from playing against CSKA Sofia. That match is at home, and two hours out of a Thursday to run around should be like a mid-week Training Session.

 

Greening and Baird in the middle won't cut it against these guys. The big Aussie will be called on more than once if we are to get maximum points.

 

What does Fulham's infirmary look like this week?

 

Danny and Bobby are expected to play tomorrow so should be able to play Sunday. It sounds like Etuhu is still not ready to start.

I'm concerned - the Spurs are really good this year.

 

Then it's a good thing the match we're talking about is against Sunderland, isn't it? :lol:

 

or the HotCraps??

 

Oops Saw the Spurs on the splash page of the offal and just assumed that I wasn't aware of ALL of their nasty nicknames

Yeah, Sunderland - we should we able to take them.

 

Really worried about our striker situation. No BZ, no AL, Nevland is hurting, no Kamara. That's our first 4 strikers.

OK EJ (he said while quaking in his shoes), get ready for your last last-chance.

Does Woy play Clint up front?

Really am nervous about this one this weekend. Sunderland always is a tough game for us. Please tell me I am overreacting.

 

Nothing on soccernet:

Considering waiting until 6:30 to catch the replay (there is the Mayor's Christmas Parade on Sunday afternoon here to take up some time, and she was recently convicted of embezzlement...) or just hoping a BBC2 feed is up for MOTD2.

I can see us getting 3 points. Why? Soonderlaand are a rather awful 1-1-5 on their travels with just 5 goals for and 11 against. We are 4-1-2, with 11 for and 6 against.

COYW!

 

A game where 3 points should be expected. Sunderland have obviously improved with Bruce taking over, but as has been said --- away from home they've been pretty much shit. COYW!

 

I'm about to head out in the chill to the pub to watch the match. We have to be the least televised team in America on ESPN and FSC.

With Sunderland's road form and our performances at the Cottage, I like us for a 2-1 win. But if Zamora can't go, it's probably a 1-1 draw.

 

3 points! 3 points! 3 points!

See those who can make it in the cyber-Cottage chat room!

 

Good on Bobby Z!
Another win at the cottage!
But...
#$#@@#$#@!#@#$@!
Another one missed.. no excuses except I'm old and need naps at the oddest times!

 

Missed the whole game for church -- so, without and semblance of an informed opinion other than gathering from the above post that BZ made one and missed one, sounded like a good performance for the Ws

 

we're movin' on up....Good on Fulham!!!!!!

 

Good enough.

 

Here is my review for those who missed the match:

Fulham came out firing early and scored the lone goal of the match at the 7 minute mark when Bobby Zamora headed home John Pantsil's excellent cross from the right. Zamora was a real tough handle for the Sunderland back line in the first half winning almost everything kicked in his direction while creating chances for himself and others. Zamora came close on two more headers going wide once and hitting the crossbar on the second. He also set up Erik Nevland at nearly point blank range when he pulled a Clint Dempsey chip out of the air and laid it at Nevland's feet. Sunderland's keeper, Fulop, made an excellent save on Nevland's initial attempt and Nevland either fired high off the rebound or a Sunderland defender made an excellent clearance of it. Either way Sunderland was awarded a goal kick and Fulham missed an excellent opportunity to go up by 2.

One of two bothersome Fulham trends occurred in the second half when Sunderland put Fulham on the back foot during the second forty-five minutes. Sunderland pressured the Fulham goal while Fulham seemed unable to mount the same threat against the Sunderland goal they had exhibited during the first half of the match. Thankfully, the Fulham backline and Mark Schwarzer was more than a match for the Sunderland attack enabling Fulham to keep a clean sheet and earn three valuable points in December. Beating Sofia and Sunderland, earning the three points and jumping to eighth in the standings was a great way to start December but Fulham must buck two trends that have stood out in recent matches if they are continue to find success in the Premier and Europa Leagues.

First, Fulham must find some consistency. In recent matches Fulham have put together one tremendous half of football and one half in which you wonder if the same team was on the pitch for both halves. I am sure many of the Fulham players are suffering from fatigue due to the large number of matches Fulham have played but I wonder if the stark contrast between halves can solely be attributed to physical fatigue. I will give Roy at least some of the credit for matches such as Manchester City where the play in the second half of the match improved considerably over the White’s first half display. However, in recent matches such as today’s Sunderland match and the Sofia match Fulham has played a wonderful first half of football only to come out in the second half and resort to booting the ball over the top of the midfield directly to the forwards producing a lack of possession and a lack of goal scoring opportunities. Some credit is due of course to the opposing teams playing better football in the second half but some of this inconsistency must be attributed to a lack of mental focus by the players because it is inconceivable to me that during Roy’s half-time talk he is changing the second half tactics.

Nobody epitomized the lack of mental focus today than Paul Konchesky. He was dangerous going forward and most of his crosses were of pretty good quality but on at least three occasions he complexly lost track of where he was and made choices that ranged from extremely poor to someone needing to slap him on the back of his head and ask him what he was thinking. Perhaps his best chance for an assist on the day was on a delivery to Kenwyne Jones from an extremely ill considered back pass intended for Mark Schwarzer. Only an alert reaction from Schwarzer prevented Jones from getting an excellent look at the Fulham goal. A second back pass resulted in a Sunderland corner and on one of Fulham’s best offensive attacks of the day after being put in by Dempsey and beating the first Sunderland defender with a nifty move Konchesky delivered a ten yard pass directly to a Sunderland defender. Fulham must eliminate the mental mistakes and find the mental composure demonstrated by quality teams if they wish to find points on the road this season.

The second trend Fulham must buck is the inability to find the goal mouth. According to ESPN Fulham out shot Sunderland 16-8 but only managed to get 2 of their 16 shots on goal. I don’t know how accurate those statistics are but they do match my impression of Fulham’s offensive futility recently. Someone in the chat room today stated “100% of shots off-goal will miss barring deflection”. This is a simply true statement that has been troubling Fulham for a long time. While Fulham have been getting shots they have not seemed to overly trouble opposing keepers throughout he entire course of a match. This may be the easier of the two problematic trends to address because I am sure that injuries to Danny Murphy and almost every striker on the squad has not helped Fulham’s ability to put the ball on goal. The eventual return of AJ and Kamara may solve this problem but I will not be overly surprised if Roy is writing Santa to ask for a new striker for Christmas.