Fulham v. Tottenham

Will have our hands full for sure w/a dangerous Spurs team. London derby, Jol against his former team, and the Cottage will be buzzing. I'll go w/2-2 in an entertaining match.

**Jens, if you are lurking out there for the match w/your 2 favorite teams, come on back and let us know how the HS team you coach up in Washington State is doing.

 

Dempsey to score on Friedel to set the US scoring record in the Prem.

Should be a crazy match.

 

O.K., I'm gonn get stupid crazy and go WAY out on the limb here and say we finally begin to get it all together this season. A hat trick for Dempsey and the D and Mark earn a clean sheet against one of the most potent sides to date. AJ stays hot and gets the other in a 4-0 thrashing of Spurs. COYW!

 

We seem to find some form heading into int'l breaks...so I'll go with a draw. 1-1.

Since giving up 5 goals to City, Spurs have allowed just 8 in their last 11 matches in all competitions. They kept a clean sheet in 5 of them.

 

Ok I need demps to get a goal or two to get back on top of the fulhamusa EPL fantasy league and another league from my company in England plus i have a 10pound wager with a cold spur fan. No pressure Demps. Jump I hope you are right re the hat trick.

In reality, I see a tough match. But the I give the whites the ad with the cottage mojo. If I recall this is on FSC. I think we may jump to 10th with a W, but going from memory.

 

HD....ER....what happened...may have missed another post. Hope you just stubbed your toe amigo.

 

I like HatterDon's crystal ball. 2-1 good guys.
Winning gets contageous, no matter how you do it.

 

Excited that I don't have to stream this one for once since it'll be on FSC. I think we can at least manage a draw but I'm crossing my fingers that they can somehow pull out the win.

 

I'll second HD's thoughts... about his staying out of the ER. Hope nothing serious

 

Ugh extremely unlucky not to at least get a point out of this one. Tons of great chances but just couldn't finish.

Shame we didn't get that handball call in the box either.

 

Could not be more pissed than I am now. How do you not call the handball? He hugged the ball. Literally gave it a big fat hug. It couldn't have been more obvious.

Then Defoe scores and my phone nearly went through a wall. What the deuce!

 

Glad to hear you're okay Don. That's good advice, btw, moreso as folks get older.

On to Fulham and the Good, the Baird and the Ugly.

I was encouraged to see us take a more attacking approach on the day, especially given some of the uninspired efforts we'd put forth in the Prem lately. It was also apparent early that Spurs weren't on their game. We had a lot of shots, we generated countless turnovers by pressuring Spurs back four and Dembele had one of the best matches I've seen from him. He was fantastic defensively.

While we had a ton of shots, I didn't think many of our chances were dangerous, especially in the 1st half. We shot from outside the box most of the time and they were either comfortably saved by Friedel or deflected out for corners. The threat level of our shots went up in the 2nd half and we were unlucky not to score or get a penalty from that flurry that resulted in Walker hugging the ball. However, we probably got away with one on the other end on the Sidwell tackle right on the edge of the box.

I agree with Don about King and Zamora. He owned Bob in the middle and we were unlucky to catch him healthy and in form. However we adjusted in the 2nd half and Bob started taking up a position out wide which gave him some room to maneuver and gave us some much needed width. It seemed like the quality of our chances improved once we made that adjustment.

The other issue we had offensively is the same one that has plagued the club since I've followed them. We don't have enough strike options. In the first half, King was in Zamora's back pocket and effectively took him out of play. That left Dempsey in the box alone most of the time. Despite playing a good game, Dembele just isn't a striker. He retreats too deep and doesn't get into the box. He's getting better about taking shots from outside, but that's a low percentage option. In the 2nd half, once Bob moved out wide, we were usually left with Dempsey and Sidwell in the box. Obviously on set pieces that wasn't the case, but from the run of play we're playing ourselves into situations where the opposition have too much of a numbers advantage in front of net.

On the defensive end we find ourselves undermanned at cb due to injuries. I've thought Baird was struggling there for several weeks, especially on balls in the air, but today was really not his day. I don't fault the first goal that deflected off of him. It was blasted and was going in anyway. But on the 2nd goal he retreated too much and then got skinned and he was largely responsible for the 3rd. If he leaves his spot to close down behind Brede, he can't let that cutback get by him. It did and Kelly and Schwarzer were defenseless to stop Defoe from there.

That's not to put it all on Baird. The other half of that equation was Grygera. For my money, Kelly has been the better rb whenever he's played. He has better pace and recovery, he gets forward more often (and further) and he supplies better crosses. But the biggest difference, especially on this day, is that he doesn't get suckered as much when teams play triangles to get by him. Grygera got torched by that on a number of occassions and let Bale or Lennon get loose down the sideline. On both of their goals, Grygera was chasing the play from behind. Once Grygera left injured, Kelly shut that down for the most part. Oddly Duff, who's usually good at providing cover for his rb's, wasn't today.

Going back to the offensive situation. The way Dembele is playing his position offensively, it's essentially rendering one of the cm's irrelevant, imo. I think we'd almost be better off going with just one and adding an extra striker (AJ or Ruiz). His passing still leaves a bit to be desired for that role, but his defensive work continues to improve. I think we could get away with it and get better chances as a result.

All in all, I thought we were unfortunate not to get a point out of that one. But I was encouraged by how we opened up our play offensively. Hopefully that continues on the other side of the int'l break, unlike last time.

 

Matt, nice write up as usual. Thanks. Agree completely about Dembele's defense and your idea of using him as a CM so we can add another striker is interesting. I'd like to see that for at least part of a match.

I thought Baird's defense on the second goal was terrible - nothing but retreating with his back to his man. I thought he showed Lennon way too much respect, but perhaps the own goal put too much doubt in his head.

I would like to see Dempsey rested. Coming off a much deserved rest over the summer, Clint was looking sharper and more dangerous than ever at the start of the season. The last few games his play is mostly frustrating me. Jol's tactics or lockeroom issues may play a role but he clearly does not look as sharp. At least he doesnt have to travel across the ocean for the upcoming friendlies.

While the hugging of the ball was ridiculous so was Sidders shove in the box.

Heather's comparison of Fulham to the US MNT in another thread is now pretty much spot on because of the recent injuries to our defenders. We have good strikers but no one truly menacing as an individual, we have a wealth of good midfielders and wingers that represent our biggest threats, we have a shaky defense, and we have a great goalkeeper. USA = FFC?

 

Watched the second half last night after my wife's favorite team; the Steelers lost a heartbreaker and was as equally frustrated as she was. Not to get a point out of that was a punch in the gut. The commentators mentioned that the ref had only given one pk in his last 30-something matches which in many ways is commendable, but the Spurs' player literally hugged the ball. Without a doubt Sids fouled Parker, but the announcers were wrong that it should of been a pen because the contact was made outside the box. Freidal, Modric, and King with brilliant plays to keep out the tying score.

I wonder if people had this same quandry. Is it better to play horrid and get a result ala Wigan or play some great football only, but not get the result?? I know I felt better after the boys got the 3 points.