Fulham v. Wigan, 29 Oct

Let's start the thread now since the game is on Wednesday.

Since the Pompey game can be somewhat oversimplified as being 85 minutes of pig excrement and 5 minutes of OMIGOSH!!, we have something to build on, if certain changes are made in the linueup (Deuce for Gera from the get-go!). And Wigan got used and abused at home today by Villa, losing 4-0, so we can be catching them at a good time.

Zaki is dangerous, how did Villa neutralize him? We can do it, our D isn't bad, if maybe a llittle reckless. Schwartzer has been a blessing. I love good goalkeepers, they make up for a lot of shortcomings.

Lineup:
--------------Schwartzer
--Paintsil ----Hughes -- Hangeland -- PK
--Davies ----Nevland --- Murphy -- Deuce
----------Zamora -----AJ

Zuberbuhler, Kallio, Stoor, Bullard, Seol, Gray, Andreasen

COYW!! Let's build on today!

 

Glad to see Roy go to the bench and be a little creative (a Nevland sighting at last :banana: ). Stealing a point late on the road will have the lads flying around at the start of this one, so its time score early and often. A win will keep us in contact w/the group of teams in the middle and keep the gd down (or erase it w/a 2 goal victory). AJ to open his account (don't be surprised if its more than 1). 3 points for the Men in White.

 

Ab-so-lutely! Lion & Rose at either Park North on 410 or Stone Oak works for me unless you know somewhere better.

As for the match, normally I'd expect something Fulhamish here, but we haven't won a match in so long we're due. 2-0 for the good guys. We need it, as I figure we're looking at some mix of Newcastle, Stoke, Bolton, Wigan, WBA, and us at bottom. A win would put us at the top of that heap.

 

Awesome, and of course! I'll be sporting that #23 away strip.

 

I'm going with something different this time:

--------------Aussie--------------
Stoor-Hangman-Hughes-Konch
--------------Murphy--------------
-Nevland--Dempsey--Davies---
-------AJ---------Zamora--------

 

I'm working about 11 hours today, so I hope to duck out early on wednesday and (hopefully) watch the match.

This should be interesting, because Wigan have the same gd as us (-2), but they've scored 11 (five at Hull) and conceded 13 (four yesterday).

We're last in scoring (6), and fifth -- which is outside the top four -- in goals conceeded (8).

It'll be tough, but if we can contain Zaki and neutralize Valencia I like our chances.

 

I like the lineups posted so far. Bullard either needs to do better, step aside and let Murphy run the attack (possibly at the expense of our defence), or sit the next one out. As I said in the last thread, Dempsey is a better Bullard than Bullard *right now*.

 

Here's my lineup ...

................ Schwarzer ...............
Pantsil .. Hughes .. Hange .. Kallio
................ Andreasen ...............
Davies ...... Bullard ...... Dempsey
......... AJ .............. Zamora .......


If Leon was introduced as a defensive midfielder with Bullard pushed forward a bit from his of-late withdrawn midfielder role, perhaps he could become involved in the attack more frequently. It would require Davies and Dempsey to do double work going back and forth but Davies and Dempsey are both cleaver and good enough passers of the ball that I think they'd feed the strikers well and get Jimmy the ball in a position where he can actually distribute it effectively in attack.

Defensively I think we're going to have to be strong and physical and not allow unchallenged runs into the box and the defense will have to be sure when playing the ball out of danger. Pantsil will have to be far more careful then he was against Portsmouth.

If we are thoughtful with the ball and take our time I think we'll be able to put a few in the back of the net. Sure, Wigan has been pouring in goals but they haven't been too stingy in giving them up either.

 

What I'd like to see:

Schwarzer
Stoor - Hughes - Hangeland - Konchesky
Andreasen
Dempsey - Murphy - Davies
Zamora - Johnson

What I think we will see:
Schwarzer
Paintstil - Hughes - Hangeland - Konchesky
Dempsey - Murphy - Bullard - Davies
Zamora - Johnson

Edit to add: One of the reasons I wasn't crazy about the choice of Murphy as captain is that I think you want your captain to be someone who's both a leader and a guaranteed choice to start every game as long as he's healthy. That's why I thought the Hangeland rumor sounded like a good choice. Murphy brings useful skills, clearly, but he's not young, could do with a rest from time to time, and could be a guy you might want to take out of your starting line up for tactical reasons (though Bullard's current poor form makes this moot for the time being). I think the choice of Murphy as captain handcuffs Roy a bit in this regard.

 

The only thing livesoccertv.com says is delayed coverage at 6pm ET on Setanta Sports Canada.

 

Bullard has not been in the best of form but this is the one match that I would not pull him for. I think if we are going to see Jimmy bounce back playing against Wigan is the time he will shine.

Oh, thanks HD!

 

That's a fair point, Barry. Due to the timing of his injury and the duration of his rehab, Jimmy hasn't played against Wigan since joining Fulham. Could be interesting to see how he performs against them.

 

Works for me. Still wanna shoot for around 2:15?

 

COME ON YOU WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITES!!!!!

Honestly, maybe we don't yet put Dempsey back in for a full match. But for this match closer to start of second half. I want him absolutely starving for a start once he gets back in full time, not feeling he got it for one absolutely fantastic goal to save a match.

 

We shall see if Clint's late equalizer has made a big enough impression on Roy to earn a starting nod.

My feeling is that Roy enjoys having a viable option off the bench and that Dempsey is being used as a "super-sub" of sorts...

Zaki was fairly contained in Wigan's last match, but I think some of that can be attributed to the absence of Valencia.

This match will pose an interesting challenge for the Fulham midfield and backline.

Jimmy B. has had a serious dip in form as of late, but I expect to see a re-invigorated Bullard for this one.

Aside from the slight chance that we see Dempsey for Gera, I fully expect Roy to stay the course regarding the starting lineup.

COME ON YOU FREAKIN' WHITES!