Fulham @ West Bromwich Albion

Fulham will be gunning for their first road win of the season on Saturday at the Hawthornes against 17th place West Bromwich Albion. Fulham lost to West Brom in the 3rd round of the Carling Cup in October.

To me, this is a must win game. While it is only December, this is a six-pointer. Fulham has a legitimate chance of easing any relegation fears in the next three weeks with matches at West Brom and Birmingham City before a return trip to Craven Cottage for a match against Blackburn. Sandwiched around a tough trip to Chelsea on Boxing Day, Fulham will then play Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Newcastle. This is the time for Fulham to distance themselves from the bottom three.

As far as personnel is concerned, I liked Cookie's lineup last week against Bolton. A solid 4-4-2 would be great again on Saturday. McBride and John up front, Steed, Papa, Boa and Radz in the midfield with Volz, Goma, Boca and Liam in the back.

This game is NOT on television in the USA. If you subscirbe to FulhamTV, Gentleman Jim's match commentary will get started at approximately 9:45AM EST/8:45AM CST.

Thoughts, predicitons?

 

If Cookie can manage to produce the same line up he put out last weekend with the only plausible exception being a healthy Claus Jensen in place of Radz and moving Boa back to the outside then a win will easily be manufactured. We've seen West Brom twice already, and will see them this weekend and once more in the FA cup tourney. We are familiar enough to atleast grab some points.

If I see anything but this change... I will go to merry old England and kill the man my self. STOP PLAYING WITH MY EMOTIONS!

Serious injury, such as loss of limb... not including such superficial extremities as toes and pinkie fingers is the only suitable reason I will except any deviation from the above.

Thank you.

Fulham 3 - WB 1

 

Now that we all know Boa is back for this match, we MUST keep the same lineup...even keep Norm in net for consistency.

I really liked seeing Liam on the left since his speed is such an asset and he really can created some great crosses which McBride always has a chance of putting in the back of the net.

Like everyone knows, this game is a huge one just for the fact that it can build some real confidence and we have yet another chance to win two games in a row!! With McBride and John in great form, I'm going for a Fulham win here. COYW's.

 

Kanu and Ellington have been pretty good lately but fulham is playing quite well too. keep the same line-up and i think fulham 2 - west brom 1.

 

I have a good feeling about the match today. I think we will blank 'em. Fulham wins 2-0.

 

Lets go boys!!!! :banana:

 

Boa Morte gets a red card just before halftime for his second bookable defense. Makes it a tough hill to climb in the second half to get a win. Boa will be out of next weekend's match at Birmingham City too. Red cards seem to fly when we play at the Hawthorns. Last year it was Cole and Bouba Diop, now this year in the first half alone, Boa Morte already is sent off.

 

The fans are in great spirits regardless of our play thus far. So far I've hard almost every Fulham song ever.

Lets hope they can spur these boys on and get this game won at a scoreline of 1-0.

 

Before the match I would've been upset with a 0-0 draw but with us playing with 10 men for 45mins., having Volzy get hurt and then not playing our best as a team.

I'm happy with the 0-0.

COYW's.

 

I am torn on what to think...on one hand I am extremely proud of the defense playing together and not allowing any goals with only ten men. On the other hand, I am extremely disappointed in our captain, Luis Boa Morte. I did not see the fouls he committed to get sent off, but the fact that he picked up two yellows, there is simply no excuse for this.

The captain of a team is supposed to lead by example on and off the pitch. Boa Morte not only put Fulham in a difficult spot because of his sending off today, but he also will be unable to play next week at Birmingham City. Boa needs to learn to control his emotions and translate his aggression into productive play on the pitch.

All in all, we did get a draw and that is not terrible. I feel we might look back at this game down the road as one we should have won. I am hoping we can bounce back next week.

 

West Bromwich Albion

Great result today,considering we were down to ten men.

 

boa

Totally agree boa is captain and should act like it, CC obviously thought giving him the armband might bring him around, it did not work. Wonder if Sven is having second thoughts about Beckham, third time this year for him. Last point how many times did #10 get sent off in his playing career as captain of Fulham and England.

 

I suppose we should consider this a moral victory. We held on for a point with only 10 men -- actually a fine demonstration of resolve for us.

Since I didn't get to see the game myself, I have to ask: how did we line up in midfield? From the BBC notes it looked like Boa was in the middle and Steed was on the wing again.

If that be the case, it's no wonder why our captain got into foul trouble.

 

Why does where he lines up matter? He is the one who makes the challenges and rough tackles on the opponents. Perhaps the thinking is that being in the middle of the park he is involved in more of the action. Regardless, he needs to make better decisions in tackling and going after the ball.

No matter where Boa Morte lines up and plays, he needs to be aware of others around him and the challenges he makes each match. We have all seen Boa Morte make rash challenges in matches this season and last as well. As a captain, he needs to lead by example.

He picked up a yellow early in the first half. Therefore, he should be aware that another clumsy challenge could get him sent off. I want Boa Morte to play hard, but he needs to play with a controlled aggression. Boa Morte is no good to us on the bench.

 

Um, easy there, brother. I'm not excusing him, but I am saying that he seems to get more frustrated in the middle. Just an observation.

 

I am not mad at you or anything like that, I guess I think what Boa Morte did was unacceptable on Saturday. We could have really used the three points and he really let the team down with the red card.

 

I agree, he does need to practice better self-control. Before this his accumulation of yellow cards caused him to miss the Boro game. He left us hanging with ten men against West Brom, and he will again be missed at Birmingham.

Hopefully we can still beat the struggling Brummies, but his absence will make it more difficult.

 

He's a @!#%!$#$@% idiot if you ask me.

 

Boa did play hard and the fouls did look genuinly mistaken, they really did look like it was commited play gone a bit pete tong. i don't blame boa for last weekend at all. I have the match highlights on DVD and will give them to AM to see if there is anyway of getting these on the site without taking up too much space.