Fulham vs. West Ham

Last missive on this topic....the club must have acknowledged what we saw 2+ months ago and that was it needed attacking help. The window comes and goes and on the last day, the club signs a "maybe" striker by Prem standards. The lack of action by the front office...in a year they signed so many loanees in an effort to stave off the drop for one season...is baffling. It's not the first time a similar scenario has played out, so I'm not surprised, just perplexed. It's a professional organization at the very top of the football world and I don't forgive its inaction in this instance - whatever the claimed reasons for Fulham's failure to act may be.
COYW

 

I may be completely ignorant with regards to the tactics and instruction, but I'm not sure that shooting is the main issue. [Yes, there have been numerous shots that should have hit the net but didn't as HD alludes to in his post. The issue is that most of these shots have come from non-strikers or false strikers.] What I see as the biggest issue to Fulham is that they spend so much time playing keep away that they forget where the goal is. Watch how many of their attacks build up from defense and through the midfield only to stop once the ball gets to the opponent's 18. And when the team gets to this point, no one enters the 18. They all stand around it and start passing sideways and backwards. All the movement that I see off the ball are players putting themselves in a position to receive a pass and maintain possession. Nobody is crashing the net or running through the defense to create clear scoring opportunities for themselves or their teammates.

 

From some small experience during my playing and coaching years, yes, while the theory behind taking a good shot is simple (plant leg goes where it needs to be with the toes and hips facing the target, strike the center in the direction you want the ball to go, don't lean back, etc.), what seems to plague us, especially Cavaleiro, is nerves. "Don't lean back," unless you want to sky the ball, is drilled into five-year-olds. He leans back for sitters and skies the ball every single time. It has to be nerves. He knows better. This team needs a few sports therapists to help them with anxiety.