Fulham vs. Blackburn [R] -- T_o_Ms Last Match at The Cottage

That would be Jason Roberts. I thought he played well for Blackburn today.

There were points in the game that I thought Fulham played well enough to win and times I thought Blackburn played well enough to win so I guess a draw seems appropriate today.

Dempsey was creative in his passing today and fought hard to win the ball. Neimi's shot stopping today was superb but he still scares me on balls put across the goal in the air.

 

Yes, Emerton's goal was offsides, but so was Kamara's, and our penalty was a bit dodgy too you must admit!

 

Great effort out of Fulham today and most notably Niemi. His back line let him down at times, but when called upon he made some brilliant saves. Fulham's second goal had a fantastic build up and the ball was simply passed into the back of the net. Can't beat that.

Craven Cottage was packed today and all of the supporters were in good voice. My friends had a fantastic time and it is a shame that it is the last Fulham match we'll have a chance to attend for quite some time. I think a few of them could latch onto Fulham as their club... or at least I hope so.

Great to run into Mike and some other Americans at the Golden Lion. Thanks again Mike for all of your help while I've been in London. Hope you enjoyed the Pride.

 

what do you mean by that don? that a snide comment at what the pundits think? because although i agree with you, the bottom isnt as far off as it may seem. (although we dont have a -13 GD!!!!!)

 

Before we start talking relegation, look around us.

Boro are absolute rubbish, lost 3-0 at home to Villa. Or look at Sunderland, 7-1 they lost. Reading aren't too clever either. And I don't think you have to say much about Wigan or Derby.

 

I agree with you andyns, There are teams that are much worse than Fulham. I think as the season goes on we will separate ourselves from them. Of course last year I thought we had, and then we had a string of bad results and dragged ourselves back into the relegation fight. With Derby and Wigan being so dreadful, and as you said Boro, Sunderland, Reading and even Bolton(although they had a good result), and Spurs could be a relegation candidate, though I doubt it.

I look for Fulham to finish between 12-15 and not get caught up in the relegation battle down the stretch. Who knows, if what the announcer of todays game was true, that McBride, Cook, and Bullard are all around 3 or 4 weeks away. That is a lot of quality coming back to the squad, maybe we could finish even higher, if we start sustaining our leads.

 

It was a great game, from the perspective of a fan of the game. I thought Dempsey played very well and proved that he needs to be in the central midfield - his pass to Kamara (that Jo flubbed and kicked right at Friedel) was simple perfection.

 

Damn FSC had some serious technical difficulties today. I me clevelandmo and her family at the Richmond Arms in Houston and it went out at halftime. Came back on around the 85 minute... but really choppy.

 

Yeah... maybe if we draw every game, somehow we'll end up top four.

heh...

 

Through my own stupidity and unfortuntly no one else's I saw the score before I was able to watch the replay. Made watching it a somewhat depressing affair.

That said we're close. If we can figure out this whole hold a lead thing we'll be in business. In the last two seasons I felt that the majority of our win were due to good fortune rather than good play. This year its the opposite. This leads me to feel relatively optimistic about the direction of the club.

 

I agree with andypalmer. I was pretty disappointed with the midfield. Couldn't hold possession and no creativity. Dempsey was by far the best playmaker. He needs to be leading the attack from center mid. His play could lead to a lot of goals for a guy like Healy if he's playing off of a proper target forward.

 

Agreed. I can see why he was one of our transfer targets over the summer.

 

Having watched the match a second time on the FSC replay last night, I must say the Dempsey was the only one who did anything in the first half -- he was hustling, winning headers, providing nice feeds, fighting to put in good crosses. That sweet little flip to Kamara down the left was a thing of beauty. Who says Americans don't play with flair?

In the end, though, while a point is a point, the result is just more wasted points. I thought it was funny that even the announcers started talking about Fulham's after-the-80th-minute woes. Amazingly, they even noted that in terms of first-half performance, Fulham would be at the TOP of the table. :shock: All that proves, however, is just how many points have been lost with dismal second-half play.

Honestly, I just don't get it. Is it loss of focus? Are Fulham getting tired? Are we playing too aggressively with a lead instead of packing it in? Are the substituions flummoxing things up down the stretch?

I swear, the next time Fulham have a lead with 15 minutes to go, I want to see a 10-0-0 formation. :lol:

 

Funny, I thought Dempsey was largely anonymous.

I believe Kamara was offside.
The law, from FIFA:

A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:
- Interfering with play or
- Interfering with an opponent or
- Gaining an advantage by being in that position

Kamara was clearly in an offside position when the pass was made out wide, and in my opinion, by occupying that space, he was committing all three offences outlined, and thus, offside.

 

Tried to watch my first Fulham match in an English-style pub devoted to soccer and like many of you missed the second half so it wasnt quite what I was expecting. Does that qualify as Fulhamish luck? I did meet Lyle - great guy. Any of you other Houstonians should plan a Fulham outing to the Richmond Arms with Lyle and liven the place up!

Anyway, if anyone hasnt seen the second half yet, FSC is showing it today (Tues) at 5pm and tomorrow at 3pm (EST). Lyle, hope you got or get the chance to catch it.

 

Kamara would have been offside, if he met any of those three qualifications, but became back onside once the ball was dribbled in front of him.

Kamara was never interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, nor gaining an advantage when Davies was passed to then dribbled forward.

Beers, please!

 

Ok, well it's all discretion, but I certainly believe Kamara was interfering with an opponent, because someone has to mark him.

And lets not forget the guy who received the first past out wide, Davies maybe? He was offside too, normal offside.

But that's enough.