Fulham v West Ham, Jol's Last Stand??

As usual, I think HatterDon's View was spot on (congrats to Luton Town on reaching the 5th Round by the way). I can echo his sentiment that this was the first Fulham match I enjoyed watching in quite a while. I actually didn't nod off, start messing around on the internet or fast forward on the DVR in frustration (which with our form have been the defaults lately). West Ham came out ready to prove they weren't as bad as the thrashing they took and we came out trying to prove that we could embarrass their defense. We could have scored a couple more, but so could have they (I think I held my breath for the first few minutes Andy Carroll was on the pitch- as it took a moment for Hangeland and Senderos to adjust to him after being immediately overmatched). As per usual, we were shaky in defense- but there were also actual bright spots- Riether did a pretty good job on Jarvis and Hangeland showed flashes of the player he was as recently as a year ago. The attack was a total 180 from what we've seen lately, West Ham's defense is weak- but we were much more aggressive, not afraid to take chances and both Berba and Hugo were ready to charge into the box with reckless abandon rather than pass the ball backwards to be kicked around in the midfield.

Duff was brilliant and his two assists both immensely helped Fulham and the Miami Fakebloods (my fantasy team), but I'm going to go off the beaten path and pick Hugo as my Man of the Match. Duff may have been better on the day, but it was Rodallega's best match in a Fulham shirt- he created chances, took chances, ran all over the pitch, used his strength to overpower to defenders and actually finished. He probably deserved another goal or two for his efforts- but he looked great and I can only hope this starts a solid run of form for him. Especially since, given the nagging nature of hamstring injuries, I wouldn't be surprised if Berba misses 2 or 3 matches (hopefully, I'm wrong on that- although I expect him to sit out v. ManUre as a precaution). I'm all giddy, just glad to really enjoy watching a Fulham match for the first time in a while...

~ Steve

 

Didn't get to watch the match yesterday, 72* on Jan. 31st in N.C. meant 36 holes of golf for me, but so happy with the result, and an obvious change of attitude, formation, and game plan. That's how we do it, boys!

 

As others have stated, that was a welcome relief, both in the result and the way we played. If we continue to play in this manner, I have no doubt we'll be safe from the drop zone. The only downside is that the last time we played fast and direct in attack was against Newcastle and then we abandoned it for the next 10 matches, playing the slow down possession game instead. Hopefully we don't repeat that mistake.

It does beg the question, what in the blue hell took so long? It should also put to rest the "talent" questions. I'm glad we brought in reinforcements, we did need them, but the idea that Jol was helpless with this group should be dispelled now. For me, a good bit of the improvement was down to Damien Duff. He was the engine that propelled our offense forward most of the time. Rodallega gets credit as well for pushing forward and stretching the Spam back line. Most of the team had a good match though. Let's keep it up boys.