Fulham v. The Undead

I was very disappointed with the result after being, once again, up 1-0. How many times is this type of thing going to happen?

We worked hard the first half, played nice, smooth passing football and after some hard work went up by 1. I was praying for that second goal but it didn't come.

The 2nd half, the scum took control and took their chances on that corner and drew. We then reverted to the long ball again! WHY!?! Chelsea then got lucky with the second penalty and that was it, we had minimal chances.

We looked better but I am in full agreement that we are not a 'team' yet, too many pieces not connecting. Kamara for one, I don't think he did that bad of a job...simply didn't get the passes he needed.

With all that said, COYW's.

 

Didnt see the game but here's a quote from TIMESONLINE:

Apparently everyone but the ref knows that about Ballack.

However, it's sad we can draw at Stamford Bridge but cant do so at home when they have so many starters out. Urrgh.

 

Yeah, I was awfully confused by why Ballack fell over forwards when he was being pulled backwards.

 

A real promising performance I thought. It was fairly predictable as I listened to and watched the game online. You knew we'd probably crack after going up, you knew they as Chelsea would get some critical calls (not only the pen but the fk that led to the first goal) and once you saw Chelsea push at the beginning of the second you were certain we'd crack and once it was one it was almost guaranteed to be 2 maybe 3 or 4. That said its still burns to lose to Chelsea.

We've had good performances against Arsenal and Chelsea away this year but Hodgson has to be able to get the team to do it against the lesser sides, to get the three points when we can. I'm optimistic after today but I can feel the fear mounting in my stomach. 19th after New Years day is a real cruddy place to be. Roy HAS TO be the right man! or else :3d nervous:

 

I dont know - playing against a 2nd string team. We needed to create more chances...

That said - I dont know that many realistically thought we would get points in this match - so - learning experience under Roy... Now lets get some help in January and claw our way out of relegation.

 

Having looked at the highlights, I'm b***gerred if I can see why Chelsea got a penalty. I reckon 9 times out of 10 it would have been let go.

 

Yeah, that spot kick given to Chelsea was odd, in that the ref had been letting a lot of little things slide and allowing the game to be played. If he was trying to make up for the Stefanovich hand ball in the first half, then this reminds me of the commercial where the referee admits he missed the call and will penalize the other team in the second half for no good reason, just to even things up. But, as we all know, things are never evened up.

Ugh.

 

Ballack is a voodoo master. In addition, I'm pretty sure Stefanovic had his back to Ballack when he got booked for fouling him!

 

Niemi either needs to come off his line more or sit the bench. I mean seriously he is costing us points and putting the defense under enormous pressure that can easily be avoided. He is not that good at crosses alright, but he could of certainly came off his line for the 1st scum goal.


The scum absolutely dominated the 2nd half. I mean it looked like a damn practice match for them. They won every ball, had all the attacking play, was under no pressure etc. I keep saying if this kind of 2 halves thing continues we are in trouble and now I think it is starting to get to be a lost cause. I keep saying a win in the next game is huge and well the West ham game needs to be a win to get our confidence up. A loss there and I think we are done.

 

I know we palyed the 2 string, but their 2 string would be 1 string in most EPL clubs. Volz.... he really killed us on that corner, he got beat so bad it wasn't even funny.

I thought we played well in the 1st half, but as usual we lost it in the 2nd half. Live and learn; i just hope we get it together soon.

 

The post match comments of Hodgson were rather on point. It appears that he has taken a look at nearly everyone healthy and will now spend the next nine days of practice determining who will play and who will disappear. He said we have too many of the same kind of players. Wrong mix. The Third Round FA Cup match might have a really interesting lineup. Some might play for their futures at Craven Cottage. Since the defense looks a bit better, he might be considering adding a forward or two in the transfer window. Notice McBride was supposed to be back in December and no word on his status. I am sure his status will have a lot to do with what Fulham will do in the Transfer Market. I thought it was the wrong time to start over with so many matches in a row over the holidays, but this long window without a League match is probably the best time for an experienced hand like Hodgson to take the reins.

 

I certainly hope so. It's going to take a lot of work to avoid relegation...

 

I've read that McBride and Bullard are both estimated to be ready by late January. Should be true for Bullard, I only hope it's true for McB.

I like what Hodgson has said so far too. He also said something about not making too many changes and risk ending up with players possibly worse than what you had. Makes you wonder if he was referring to Sanchez' acquisitions.