Fulham v the Scousers

Thanks to HD for his "View" and thanks for the highlights posted on the front page. Don, agree 100% w/having to suffer through McManaman (who I actually like) doing a Liverpool match.

One thing that looks indisputable is dissension within the ranks. Darke mentioned that Jol said this has been 'toughest managerial job in his 20 years', and that the players were given a 'gag order' by the club not to talk about any locker room issues.

Ruiz could probably stand on hitting the weights and put on ten pounds of muscle, but he certainly looks like he can play at this level. One of my biggest pet peeves is the 'he's not Prem quality' assessments after a player has been given a limited amount of minutes (the vast majority of non-American supporters dismissed Dempsey initially. He needed a year or two to figure it out). You can only develop a player so much on the training ground, they need time on the pitch and the patience to let them grow. With the injuries we have in the midfield Ruiz should get a run of games and I'll be surprised if he doesn't grab the opportunity with both hands.

 

I stand by my view that Ruiz could be Murphy's replacement. He can do a job in the middle - put an Etuhu or "Makelele" next to him and he'll produce. Against 'pool, he tracked back and comfortably distributed from the middle of the park. Add to the fact that: 1) he's quicker than Murphy; and, 2) he'll learn to pass (like Murphy) in England and I'm hopeful he's the man in the next year or two. Even better if Murphy retires after this year and stays on with Jol as a coach to mentor him. If you can't tell already, I like Ruiz and he'll come good for Fulham.

C
O
Y
W

 

Great result. I look at the goal diff of the teams above us and wonder how in the hell some of them are up the table on us.

The boy from Nac the leading US scorer in the Premier League, freaking love it!

 

"There's only one Clint Dempsey, only one. ......."

 

A Liverpool fan I know was conspicously quiet after the loss the other day on his Facebook account. Needless to say I posted somehting on his wall about it Told him I could not resist as it's not often we get an upset like that. He said he didn't know weather to laugh or cry.