Fulham vs. West Ham

Reigning continental champions West Ham pay a visit to the Cottage on Sunday. Given Moyes' counter attacking teams sitting back, the situation screams another job opportunity for Cairney, but I don't see his knees/legs being ready for another 90 on Sunday. Iwobi, with a little bit of last season's Pereira mixed in, may do the trick and unlock West Ham. Given the recent discovery of goals, I'm optimistic for another 3 points.
And come on Raul!!!!!
COYW!

Notes from the internets:

• Adama Traore and Rodrigo Muniz are "much closer" to fitness, and a decision will be made on the pair after Saturday's training session.
  
  
• Reflecting on Wednesday's win over Nottingham Forest, Silva said: "We were confident before the match. We were in a good moment and we're growing as a team. The best feeling from the game, apart from the three points, was the clean sheet. It shows we are solid as a team."
  
  
• On Raul Jimenez, Silva said: "He’s always a hard worker. He believes with hard work, good things will come. He got his reward for that. The players around him are pleased for him as well."
  
  
• On next opponents West Ham, Silva said: "Even if they are not controlling the game on the ball, they are not on the front foot, they can punish any team in this league. They don't need to really perform great, great, great, but if you are not on it every single moment of the game, they can punish you because they have the quality, they have a really experienced manager as well."
  
  
• Silva added: "They have the quality with Kudus, Bowen and all those players, the quality of Paqueta and Ward-Prowse behind them. They are always a threat."
  
  
• Silva gave an insight into what he expects from the match: "We are going to have the ball, and moments that we have the ball probably are the most dangerous moments for us, because we have to be really assertive, to be always in a good balance, because they are really a threat in that type of situation. They are solid enough, good set-pieces as well, with a great taker like Ward-Prowse. They are always a threat."
  
  
• Silva is confident his Fulham side will be difficult opposition for the Hammers, adding: "They know as well that it's going to be tough for them to come to Craven Cottage to play with us in the moment that we are in right now. I really believe that it's going to be a good game. Both teams trying to win the game. Let's hope we can be stronger than them."
  

 

9:00am EST on Peacock. Be there or be square.

 

I'll be interested to see if the Tosin/Bassey pairing sticks (as I think it should) or if Ream will be rotated in. I agree that Cairney is unlikely to start in this one given his full 90 from mid-week. In his place I'd rather see Lukic get a start over Reed. It would be great if Traore was ready to go again give Willian/Wilson a break with all the games coming.

Despite West Ham's 10 points out of the past four matches I'm also feeling optimistic about this one. Fulham has looked so much better coming out of the international break, I really hope it is a new page for the team and not just a fluke.

 

The starting lineup is unchanged from Wednesday’s match. I imagine a very short leash on a couple of the guys (I’m looking at you Cairney).

 

Just the thought of Wet Spam fans being miserable makes me smile. What a performance!!

 

Wow. Who are these guys? I'm floored. What a win....again.

 

Suddenly we have a juggernaut. Wow!

 

Same starting lineup. Same result.

I think they’re on to something.

This performance was even better than the Forest game due to West Ham actually putting some effort into their attacking.

Fulham played some excellent crosses today and did a tremendous job on their positioning to find the spaces in between the defense. This allowed them to move through the middle of the field with relative ease. And what can I say about the finishing?

 

I was wrong - viva Tom Cairney!!! Top notch and top half of the table!
COYW

 

Nobody pinch me.
I don’t want to wake up.

 

January 29, 2022 - the last time Cairney played back to back games for 90 minutes
February 20, 2020 - the last time Cairney played back to back mid-week/weekend games (right before COVID delayed the season)
October 1961 - the last time Fulham scored 3 or more goals in four consecutive games

What in the world is happening?! Where did this scoring machine come from?! What happened to Tom Cairney's knees?!

I thought there was 0% chance Cairney would start let alone finish out the game! And he played really well directing the midfield. He even made some good defensive plays. Raul was again spectacular by not just scoring, but cracking open the defense with great passes to his teammates. Wilson was so creative it was a thrill to watch him in the attacking half. What an impressive team performance.

Feel free to watch these as many times as you like!

 

This season is suddenly becoming fun!

Things are starting to click in the middle, and I have to give Tom Cairney tons of credit for it. May his knees last. What a performance. He didn’t score, but he completely bossed the game. It sure doesn’t hurt to have Palhinha behind him with all the confidence that must give the attacking players.

It’s clear that Marco has found a solution for our goal drought. The team seems to really enjoy being out there and playing together.

Last season, we started fast and leveled off toward the end of the season. Would it be something if we could reverse that this time around and keep this form going? Anyway, Newcastle is next, and they’re likely to offer tougher opposition than we faced this week, but given our match at Liverpool there is no reason not to feel optimistic.

 

What everyone else said. I’m not gonna try to dissect these past two matches any further, other than to say the obvious, which we all already know: It can’t last forever. Newcastle and Everton will obviously provide stiffer competition away from the Cottage, but…we’re catching toons in the midst of an injury rash. And they’ve got a midweek Champions League meeting at home with Pulisic & Friends. Milan are 3rd in Serie A, but are desperate for a CL win. They will tax Newcastle heavily Wednesday night. Everton have won all three of their December matches but they’re not Scousers or Citeh, are they? Then Burnley at home and down to Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
What’s my point, you ask?
If we can stay healthy and keep playing this way, every one of these fixtures is winnable. Big if. We finish 2023 hosting Gooners, but IF we can win MOST of these winnable matches, I’d fancy our chances against them too!
However…back to today. I’m OD’ing on the replays and highlights of these tremendous wins!
Gonna be watching them on a loop for the rest of the week! FUN!
COYW! KEEP IT GOING, KEEP IT GOING, KEEP IT GOING FULL STEAM!

 

Welp, Milan did what I thought they might do: knock the Magpies out of Europe and making them suck wind for a good chunk of the second half. If we play like we’ve been playing the past two outings, I really like our chances at getting three points on Tyneside this Saturday. Newcastle’s reserves don’t quite seem up to the challenge of big boy football.