Fulham vs Huddersfield Town

This one marks the beginning of the second half of the league schedule as we start to see repeat opponents. They beat us just last month at Kirklees on an own goal by Fosu-Mensah, in what would be Joka’s next to last game in charge. They’ve now slipped below us in the table, having lost all 6 of their December matches. I know it’s the most overused question in sports, but is this a must-win? I think so. If we can’t beat a team on the rocks at home that we owned in the Championship,

 

CR agrees with jump. Me too. The stat that stands out for me: only 3 clubs that occupied bottom of table on 12/25 have survived: WBA (04/05), Sunderland (13/14) and Leicester (14/15). Yes, Saturday is as close to "must win" as the club have faced this campaign. Somebody find Mitro's scoring boots, please.

COYW.
_____

Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri says Saturday's meeting with Huddersfield Town is a must-win match.

Ranieri's Cottagers are second bottom, one point ahead of the Terriers.

"It is a crucial game, we need to win, we need to make three points," says the Fulham boss.

"We are playing well but without achieving the three points. We need to be positive and make sure we can achieve something good."

And the Italian added that his side must not rely on other teams beating their relegation rivals.

"We have to think of ourselves," he says.

"It is a very crucial match but I'm positive because the players follow me.

"And the fans have been behind us and I hope to give them a present on Saturday."

Read more at http://www.tribalfootball.com/artic...is-must-win-match-4262406#tCqoEGg7SbDIzt6V.99

 

I'd like to see Sessegnon get the start, but perhaps he's still not fully fit. Hopefully Vietto proves himself worthy of a starting spot, but I'm skeptical. I am glad to see Cairney back in the starting XI:

Rico
Odoi, Mawson, Ream
Christie, Chambers, Seri, Bryan
Cairney, Mitrovic, Vietto

Subs: Bettinelli, Le Marchand, Cisse, Sessegnon, Ayite, Schurrle, Kamara

 

Kamara?????

 

Great goal to win it. God I was literally pulling my beard out. Huge points.

 

I agree -- good thing Sess and Mitro bailed him out.

 

The paramedics saved me. Joking, but I was ready to beat the dog and whip the wife after that penalty kick cock up. Wasn’t digging our total effort until that point, though it did improve after half time. Kamara needs his pee pee whacked (Cheech and Chong reference) for that conniption fit. Fortunately for him, us and Fulham planet, Sess and Mitro not only bailed us out, but may have saved the season. More later, but here’s GJ and Jamie from the gram.

 

COYW!!!!!!
"I wanted to kill him..." - as did most of us, coach.
http://www.espn.com/soccer/fulham/s...ra-after-he-missed-penalty-meant-for-mitrovic

 

I’m here to state the obvious - that was a HUGE win - and wonder if we’ll see Kamara for a game or few.

The win was deserved but I wish it was far more convincing. The defense seems to have solidified, though we will learn a lot more about that on Tuesday. The offense didn’t create enough chances and looked slow for most of the match.

And unfortunately, not many other results helped us out.

 

Thank you so much for sharing that Jump! As I watched the game I wondered how GJ called it. Classic!



I will not be upset if I never see Kamara on the field for Fulham again. What a selfish move that nearly cost the team critical points. I know he feels he earned that PK - he does those chipped balls in the box regularly and I think this is why - but to ignore his manager, captain, and designated PK taker put his needs above the team's and we don't need any of that. After that PK I started a stream of insults that reminded those in the room with me of Clark Griswold:


Thank goodness Odoi, Cairney, Sessegnon, and Mitrovic combined to save the day - as my son pointed out the game was won by guys who were in the Championship last year. With the way Fulham played in the second half, they certainly deserved the win.

I am concerned about what Ranieri's game plan was. Vietto continued to offer nothing of value, which was put into especially sharp contrast when Sessegnon FINALLY came in deep into the match - so why not start Sess! The team sat back way too much in the first half, which seemed to be what they were instructed to do because later they looked totally capable of applying pressure in Huddersfield's half. If we had put the right people in and played with the same level of effort in the first half as the second this could have been a comfortable win.

The other results today didn't help us as astroevan pointed out, but if results are favorable on Sunday Fulham could hold 18th place and be just a point behind the lowest team outside of the relegation zone: Southampton

 

Phew. I think my vitals are somewhat back to normal. That was...(fill in the blank with numerous adjectives). We were dog poo in the first half. If we're playing almost anybody else, except maybe Newcastle or Palace, we're down at least one and maybe more at halftime. I know we're trying to shore up the defense, but we were packing it in like a Sunday league side. No pressure on the ball whatsoever, token pressure when it got down on our flanks. Still yielding too much room there. But we kept them out. The halftime subs brought more energy, and we started pressing higher up the pitch. Things were looking up until the PK debacle. That was highly discouraging. I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say Kamara deserves the benefit of the doubt. The reason he took, and made, our only previous penalty this season was that Mitro was ON THE BENCH, having been withdrawn at halftime at Old Trafford down 3-nil. And even then, when he made it, he started to wheel off to celebrate, forgetting that we were still two goals down, instead of immediately retrieving the ball to save time and at least try to get back into the match. In a word, selfish. And again Saturday. I don't know what should become of him, because I have mixed feelings about his worth to the club. At the very least, he should have a seat in the stands until he figures out that it's not about him, for however long that takes. The timing, right at the opening of the transfer window, doesn't help him. He's going to have a lot of penance to do before the home support forgive him, that's for sure. We'll see how he, Claudio, and his teammates handle it. Hopefully, it's all positive and we move forward with him. As for the result, well, it kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it? We deserved it, given the improvement and ambition we showed in the second half. I'm also hopeful that Claudio has figured out the Ryan Sessegnon and Mitro need to start and finish EVERY MATCH WE HAVE LEFT THIS SEASON. Cairney too, for that matter. TC's outlet to Sess was so heady. Sess's run and pass to Mitro was world class brilliant. How many footballers, past or present, could have pulled that off? You can count them on two hands. Mitrovic is just a damn fine striker, especially for the obstacle course that is the Premier League. And he knew exactly what Ryan was going to do and never broke stride or made a touch. Lossi's still looking for that ball. Never knew what hit him. Here's reality: #9 and #3 have figured each other out. They've developed a tremendous partnership, and you don't have to be a rocket scientist, or a cheap seat punter, to figure that out. If Ranieri doesn't start them together for the rest of the season, he should be sacked immeditately. If I can figure that out, then it should be obvious to everyone who knows anything about soccer. After all the drama, we got the three points we so desperately needed. Whether or not it will save the season remains to be seen. But I believe anything less would have been the next to last nail in the coffin. We've still got a pulse.

 

Well ho-lee crap. So much to unpack here.

First, although I understand the sentiment, I don't really get why Ranieri had the team in such a defensive shell, at home, against a team that has scored 12 goals all season (note: each team has played 20 games) in the first half.

Second, has anyone on here ever had a groin injury? I did over the summer and let me tell you: they take forever to fully recover from, and are super easy to re-aggravate. Considering the opaqueness of injury reports in footy, I do get why Ranieri is keeping Sess on a tight leash at this point. We really cant afford to lose him for 2-3 months when for now he can be just as effective coming off the bench.

Third, ohhh AK. I dont think we'll be seeing him on the active roster for a long bit. You can't blatantly violate protocol like that and get away with it. It's frustrating because although he isn't technically good, at all, he gives defenses fits because he's so unpredictable. He has no control over his body, but finds a way to "make plays".

Fourth, whereas a few weeks ago the number was at like 2, maybe 3; I think Ranieri has figured out 7-8 of his XI. Progress! Mawson may be out a bit, but Chambers has the role that we thought Zambo would take. Christie is clearly Championship level, but he and Bryan are playing their roles dutifully. Seri has been improving, whereas Cairney is still an enigma and requires the team to be built around him in order to blossom (note: we dont have that luxury). Otherwise, if Vietto and Schurrle could morph into one footballer, he'd be pretty good, as each has the opposite strength and weakness of another.

Fingers crossed we can nick a draw on Tuesday...