Bolton 0-0 Fulham: Fortunate, Fortunate Fulham

This match will certainly not feature in the pantheon of footballing history but it was a good result nonetheless.  Bobby Zamora joined the ranks of the injured with a 48hr flu virus meaning the Fulham frontline looked especially weak.  Whilst David Elm put in a good performance up top, showing off his excellent first touch, Erik Nevland easily had his worst game in a Fulham shirt.  I don’t usually question the wisdom of Roy Hodgson, but if I had the choice between a 32 yr old 5′9″ poacher or a 6′1″ powerhouse to play against Bolton I would certainly choose the latter. I would hope that this signals the end of Nevland as a starter, but I doubt it.

The game itself was scrappy. Bolton were certainly not scintillating but Fulham had decided that a point was enough, and they did not want to go for any more. Jonathan Greening nipped at the heels of any Bolton player who got near him, producing a large number of niggly fouls that went largely unpunished, creating an disjointed performance from the hosts. Bolton seemed happy to hoof it long to Davies (who had an excellent match) and go from there.  Schwarzer was the Fulham saviour, pulling off several excellent saves and generally controlling the box. When a Kevin Davies flick led to Mark Davies firing hard and low from around the penalty spot I was sure that it was all over for Fulham, only for Schwazer to get down and block with his legs and send the ball spinning up and off the bar to safety. His second super-human save was arguably better. As Chung-Yong Lee burst into the Fulham penalty area, Schwarzer stuck out an arm and diverted the ball away from goal and Lee to be cleared by Baird.

Fulham brought on Chris Smalling and Okaka up front for Elm and the ineffective Nevaland. I spent the remainder of the match daydreaming about a possible Smalling goal ( I think he has one in him before he leaves Fulham) and enjoyed Okakas energy and willingness to run at the opponents defence, one of which resulted in a free kick in a dangerous position (a la Dio Kamara against Villa in the great escape season). In truth Bolton should have won, first when Elmander was one on one with Schwarzer but contrived to screw it wide, and then more legitimately when Davies put the ball in the back of the net, only to have it ruled out for a push only Mark Clattenburg could see.

I get the feeling this was a big point for a squad that is being stretched to its limit, a bit of luck came Fulham’s way and is greatly received. If Fulham can continue their fine home form against Burnley on Tuesday night this will have been a great few weeks and should allow us the luxury of focusing on the various cup competitions we are still competing in.

Relief: Fulham 1-0 Portsmouth

Going into this game, Fulham had one of the worst form records in the league having lost the last five games. Roy Hodgson’s threadbare squad was being pushed to the limit and even with a few deadline day additions there was a great deal of nervousness from the fans prior to kickoff. Were Fulham going to be dragged into a relegation battle? For many, this match was going to be a litmus test.

Fulham passed the test, but certainly not with flying colours. The first 45 minutes were a very nervy affair, with wave after wave of Portsmouth attack being repelled by the now restored duo of Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes. Fulham could not get hold of the ball and Portsmouth went close on several occasions, most notably with Piquionne firing at Schwarzer from a tight angle after “beating” the offside trap.  O’Hara and Prince Boateng ( Both of whom I would love to see at the cottage in the summer) peppered the Fulham goal from range and the atmosphere in the ground was tense; it felt like it was going to be a long night.

However, Fulham gradually got themselves back into the match with Okaka missing a glaring opportunity to head Fulham in front from point blank range. Better passing returned and once half time rolled around you fancied Fulham to get something from the match. The second half was really all Fulham.  Kelly was hauled off by Hodgson, having had a pretty awful game, and Kagisho Dikacoi brought on with Baird moving to right back. I feel for Kelly, he was really trying but nothing was coming off. With the added steel of KD in the midfield, Murphy came to the fore and was able to get his passing game back up to nearer his usual high standards. With the time ticking away, Fulham got the goal they needed.  Belhadj dwelled on the ball and Duff was there to challenge, fire a low hard cross across the face of goal which was deflected into the path of Greening who passed it into a practically unguarded net. Fulham got a bit nervy as they tried to maintain their one goal lead, but in the end there was little to worry about and a crucial win was in the bag.

Observations:

Duff- What a match he had. For some reason this was the first time I could really appreciate what he brings to the team. He was everywhere and by far the most dangerous Fulham player on the pitch.  He has been an excellent signing and he looks to be really enjoying his football despite looking like the worlds angriest Irishman whenever the camera focused on his face.

Shorey- Fantastic debut by the left back. Composed both in defence and attack with some solid crossing mixed in, it looks like we have the ideal replacement for Konch. I don’t know what Martin O’Neill did to him at villa but hopefully he will continue to regain his form with us.

Okaka- Soild debut from the youngster. He didn’t know the definition of giving up last night, preferring to charge around the pitch and run with the ball whenever possible. Once he gets acclimatized to the English game fully (there were a few examples of him going to ground a bit easily and looking for the foul) he will be a huge benefit to the team. I like the idea of him and Zamora softening up the oppo defense before Nevland is unleashed in the last 20mins to work some magic.

Baird/Dikacoi- Baird was very good last night. He started in central mid before moving to right back. He is simply a player transformed. I think he will now get a run at right back (his forward runs were hilarious last night as he overlapped Duff; he seemed to be absolutely busting a gut, and his crossing good too). Dikacoi impressed me yet again. I think that his presence really allows Murphy to concentrate on being the playmaker, much like Etuhu. He has really long legs and when he goes into tackles always either disrupts the other player or steals the ball. Against Bolton on saturday his presence could be crucial.

January Transfer Roundup Pt. II: Goodbyes

Chris Smalling, well what can we say about that? Comes from Maidstone Utd as a promising youngster 18 months ago, makes a few appearances both in the Prem and Europe and then signs for Man Utd for somewhere between £7m and £12m incl. add ons. To describe this as a meteoric rise would be an understatement. For Fulham this represents fantastic business. Will he be worth it? For me, I think he will. He will be at Fulham for the rest of the season before joining Utd in the summer. When he does go, good luck to him. For now, it is good to have solid backup for Hangeland.

I have dealt with Dio already below, good luck to him.

Kallio, had fallen out of favour and could not even make it on the pitch despite Fulham’s problems at left back. I think this may be the last we see of him in a Fulham shirt.

Eddie Johnson, off to Greek team Aris FC. As above, I would be very surprised to see him in a Fulham shirt again. He came and did little for Fulham, but good luck to him. Maybe he will refind form alongside fellow compatriot and former FM wonderkid Freddy Adu.

And the rest (on short term loans): Stockdale (Plymouth), Matthew Briggs (Leyton Orient), Wayne Brown (Bristol Rovers), Matt Saunders and Uwezu (Lincoln). Of those it is only sad to see Wayne Brown go, I was hoping he might start to play a part in the first team. For the rest, it will surely be good experience.

January Transfer Roundup: Three is the Magic Number

So, according to the Fulham website, business has ended in terms of transfers. Time to look at who has been brought in.

1) Stefano Okaka: This one has been on the back burner throughout January, and whilst I was not holding my breath, there is little surprise that this has come to pass. It appears to be a six month loan deal, although both player and agent are making noises that it may be extended for another year if things go well. This seems to be good business for Fulham, who get a proven (well, sort of) Serie A player with lots of potential. After watching his farewell goal for Roma against Siena, I feel that we may have a replacement for the creative yet inconsistent Kamara. I hope Roy puts him in the starting line up against Pompey (heres to hoping) as he will help to freshen up a jaded squad.

2) Nicky Shorey: Finally, the left back we were all hoping for. Whilst he is unlikely to set the world alight, it is great to get some cover for Konch in a position that we really needed. I assume he will definitely go into the starting line-up for Wednesday’s game with Kelly moving back to the right and the usual suspects returning in the centre. This move gives us the stability that we have been craving at the back at what is probably a very reasonable price. Whilst there have been some doubts over his ability due to the fact villa were very reluctant to play him, I have a feeling that he may be a ‘Roy’ player who, after a bit of training and guidance, will slot in and do a good job.

3) Christopher Buchtmann: Unexpected but gratefully received. One of the players that Malcolm Elias brought to Liverpool, Buchtmann looks to have a bright future after being named one of Uefa’s top ten stars of the future in May 2009. Certainly he looks quite the prospect when you watch the Uefa U17 champs highlights. Add to this that Liverpool fans are, for the most part, pissing blood over this and we seem to have ourselves one for the future. It is great to see some investment in youth and there are further rumours that we offered £1m for Dalle Valle, the finnish striker, also. One to keep and eye on.

Overall, I would say this has been a successful window for Fulham who have brought in a small number of players and avoided any panic buys (read James Beattie). I look forward to seeing all three of them in action over the upcoming weeks, months and years.

A rundown of the player who have left will come after the deadline has passed.

Deadline Day: Goodbye Dio

Goodbye Dio.  You will always be remembered for your goals against Man City and your outrageous overhead kick against spurs.

This is a strange one for me. Great for Kamara who gets to play regularly in a league that he will probably dominate, but interesting for Fulham for whom Kamara added just that little bit of difference and spice in games. If you break down the reasons for him leaving however, a pretty clear picture emerges:

Positives: Pace, creativity, good cover

Negatives: inconsistent form, nearly 30 and injury prone, not as pacy as people like to think, defensive liability, angling for a move for a while because he was not starting, high wages.

Add to the list  the fact that we appear to have signed Okaka ( who for me has more than a little Dio in him, especially after his goal against siena) and this makes more sense than not. I guess the only real question is why this is only a loan? I suspect the answer is that Celtic are pretty potless, like most scottish clubs.

Goodbye and Good luck Dio, it has been exciting having you.

Fulham 0-2 Aston Villa: The Losing Streak Continues.

Another game, another loss. 2010 is starting poorly for Fulham. I have not dusted off the keyboard in a while and expressed my thoughts due to a combination of work and very little to positively talk about with regards to Fulham.

Whilst Fulham had lost their last four games, we were all able to hide behind the ‘poor away from home’ excuse. Not so anymore. Villa did not do much, but walked away with an easy win. Gabriel Agbonlahor is a very good player, and a promising young English star. Two goals from him, one a bullet header, the other sweetly turning Hangleland before curling the ball into the far corner, silenced the Fulham crowd and left Roy Hodgson wondering how we had become so porous in defence. Fulham put in a weak performance, obviously missing two bombarding full backs and Clint Dempsey, the tireless and attack minded midfielder out for several months courtesy of a forceful Blackburn challenge.

The difference in the fullback position had been the one that has interested me the most. So often we have heard the mantra that if you stop Danny Murphy, you stop Fulham. Yet against Villa, Murphy had lots of space in both halves, and whilst he created a few chances, we still looked impotent up front. The lack of confident full backs has been crucial. Fulham are a team that play a very narrow game, especially away from home. They force the ball into wide positions which are theoretically less dangerous; and this usually works with the towering Hangeland heading away any aerial threats, and Hughes sweeping up any leftovers. But for all the defensive solidity playing narrow affords Fulham, it poses challenges in attack. The usual remedy is to use the overlapping fullbacks as an ‘out ball’ or to pull the opposing fullbacks out wide allowing Duff and Dempsey to cut inside into space. Without the fullbacks we have little width and teams find us easy to defend against, with the opposing midfield simply dropping deep to stifle our creativity.

So should we be worried? Not really. Fulham have been struggling with injuries and this will get better. Upcoming games are also all very winnable (not that it guarantees anything) with lots of home games. Fulham only need 13 points to reach safety, or in other words four and a bit wins, which with so much of the season remaining is extremely possible. Finally, the teams below us are not very good. Hull, Pompey and Burnley look the most likely to go down, and will probably all sabotage their own seasons with a combination of poor defending and turgid displays.

Wednesday will be interesting. Pompey are struggling on and off the field and have lost their best player. Fulham are looking to end their losing streak. The bookies will favour Fulham, but I am worried about Avram Grant. There is no doubt that he is a good manager, lets just hope Roy can outclass him in a tactical battle.  On Saturday we will face a resurgent (sort of) Bolton under the guidance of Owen Coyle. This will be a tough test, and whilst I dont think Fulham have much of a chance, you never know.

Ultimately, injuries have forced our season off track in terms of the league. I for one hope that we go all out in the cup competitions as our premier league status is fairly secure and finishing 16-10 is certainly not the end of the world when you consider where we were a mere two years ago.

Some Quick Transfer Thoughts

I love the January transfer window.  I know it makes little sense and can be dangerous for a team like Fulham, but I love the crazy speculation and overflowing BBC gossip column that awaits me each day.

Fulham have been linked with many names already this window, but the one that keeps popping up is Stefano Okaka. He is of course the promising young striker playing for Roma who is looking to move due to the recent arrival of one Luca Toni. We have already been able to catch a glimpse of him in the Europa league, and whilst he didn’t overly impress me at the cottage, he did score Roma’s second goal at the Stadio Olimpico in our highly controversial match in Rome.

I think Okaka would be a good addition on loan, especially if we have an inbuilt extension clause in the deal. He is definitely raw, but not only would he offer some competition to the excellent Bobby Zamora, he may also flourish under Roy’s tutelage. This seems very low risk and financially viable. Okaka would join compatriot Marcelo Trotta who joined us this summer so he might be able to adjust to life here more easily. My one reservation is that coming into the premier league, especially at his age, he would either struggle or not make a huge immediate impact and could receive criticism from the fans. I am certainly not expecting him to be some magical wonderkid, I just hope people temper their expectations. Extra points go to this potential transfer because Okaka is a bit of a football manager legend of previous years.

Other stories include the recent on featuring Jamie O’hara on the radar again. The stumbling block here would be the fact we seem to have tons of midfield options and a possible 3 club rule restriction. I personally would rather see us get some cover at the back as injuries have limited our options and whilst I think Kelly will settle in and start playing confidently sooner rather than later, I would like some cover/competition for Konchesky who is carrying an injury.

One final word, not so much to do with transfers: Brede Hangeland and his knee injury. I may be being overly pessimistic but I feel there is a hidden story in this. His knee appears to have flared up/got infected and there were mutterings that he has been plying through the pain for a while now. I don’t want to be alarmist, but so often with taller players these kind of injuries can become a problem. Having recently signed a new contract lets hope that he doesn’t become a player who spends more time on the physio’s table than on the pitch. I mention this because I follow the Boston Celtics and Kevin Garnett (an outsanding player) has been struggling with knee issues of his own. I know he is both older and plays a sport that is more demanding on the knees, but his recent struggles got us thinking about our very own big man Brede who does a lot of jumping himself.

Stoke 3-2 Fulham

Unfortunately for Fulham the two goals clawed back against Stoke very much flattered an inept Fulham performance.  Many Fulham fans, myself included, fancied this match as some rare points on the road. At the weekend I saw this game as ‘make or break’ in terms of our season, but on the way home after work I realised that was a stupid snap judgement to make. Even if we lost the game (which of course we eventually did)  we wouldn’t have changed position so no danger of slipping down the table. Of course full credit to Stoke for taking advantage, they played well and wanted it much, much more. I like Pulis and his honest approach to the game so good luck to them for the rest of the season.

Now, the fun part, recounting the game. 3-0 down in the first half hour, all from terrible defensive mistakes and organisation. The first goal was simple. Corner swung in, Huth with the flick, finished by an unmarked (!!!) Tuncay on the line. Things only got worse as a foolish and hot headed Konchesky challenge resulted in a free kick in a dangerous are (where have we heard that before). Again, free kick swung in, no one there, Faye taps in at the back post.  Final goal, Etherington the creator, flicked on by Higgenbottom (who appeared to be offside bu wasn’t) and volley in off the ground by Sidibe. Game over. What was the most shocking was how dire the defending in the lead-up to the goals was. 2 years of Roy Hodgson have made us feel safe and almost impenetrable at the back, but tonight we got a nasty reminder that we are not Chelsea/United/Birmingham. We are fallible.

So where did it all go wrong? Firstly, Hangeland was obvious seriously unfit as he was consistently out of position and missing headers that are usually his bread and butter. It would be easy to blame the coaching staff for letting him play, but to be honest, before the match I was hoping he would start. I just did not know how injured he was. Secondly, we just played badly and Stoke played well. They were first to every challenge and pressed us off the ball in a similar fashion to Wolves a few months ago. Particularly poor performers include: Baird, Konchesky, Murphy, Kelly and Hangeland.  Thirdly, we did what we always seem to do when pressed or against more physical teams; hit the ball long. This for me was the worst part of the performance tonight. We were never going to win an aerial battle with Stoke yet time and time again it was back to the fullbacks and hoofed up field for Zamora who was chewed and spat out by the Stoke defence. I can see why we hoofed it under pressure but why did we not even attempt to pass round them? Our movement was poor and  there were hardly any through balls on the ground for AJ to chase. The key to beating the Stoke defence is pace, and rather than using BZ as a target man he should have been running the channels with AJ as he arguably has more pace.

The other option and one I am keen  on is to play 4-4-2 at home but revert to 4-4-1-1 away. This means Gera gives extra protection to Murphy and we have more possession to play with. It will be interesting to see what Roy does in future.

Other worrying things about tonight?: BZ injured. Lets hope it is not serious or it is a serious blow to our season. Hangeland struggling- lets hope he returns to full fitness, although Smalling played extremely well when he came on. Our full-backs, I think this was more of a blip than a trend but not easy to watch nonetheless.

Good Omens: Nevland came on and looked sharp. Smalling was excellent when he came on and even won some good headers in attack in the dying embers of the game. Gera played well considering he was back on the wing and everyone around him was poor. Clint came on and was a game changer-what a great goal and good performance from the subs bench. Once we started attacking more we actually looked dangerous away from home and could have snatched an unlikely draw. We play a severely depleted and demoralised pompey next (not that I am going to take anything for granted!)

In a few weeks/months this will be remembered as another away loss as we are poor away from home. Lets put things back on track this weekend!

Fulham 3-0 Manchester United

In March of this year, Fulham put in an excellent display against a 10-man Utd to earn a hard-fought victory that helped propel us into 7th in the league. Who would have thought a famous victory could be replicated a mere 9 months later? Before the match pundits were predicting a Man Utd win or at the most a draw, usually backing up their comments with lazy nods towards the results of previous seasons. For me, United were in line for a beating like this. How they escaped with a win against Wolfsburg astounded me but they have been fairly average this season and with the injury list at such a length things were going to get worse before they started to get better.

However, Fulham played out of their skins and completely dominated Utd all over the pitch. Even with their defensive frailties, Utd still had a very potent attack but this was neutralised by an excellent Baird and the usual suspects in the back 5.  Utd were limited to speculative long-range efforts, embarrassing considering the riches they have going forward.  Fulham were unstoppable going forward with Zoltan Gera playing ‘in the hole’ behind the rejuvenated Bobby Zamora, and Duff and Dempsey making dangerous runs forward.

The first goal came just after Kuszczak pulled off an outstanding save to deny Gera after Zamora nonchalantly chested the ball to Gera who looked to apply the finish with an accurate side foot. I have to admit, with Kuszczak apparently on form I was fearing another Vito Mannone performance against us. Luckily this wasn’t to be. Murphy robbed a poor Paul Scholes in midfield, took a few strides, set himself and then blasted home from 2o yards out. As Rich over at CCN has pointed out, this was due to a clever piece of deception by Murphy. This sent Fulham fans into a state o Euphoria and the match ebbed and flowed until half time with Fulham very much in the ascendency.

As the second half kicked off I was wondering whether our lack of ruthlessness in not putting away Utd in the first half would come back bite us a la Burnley.  My fears were allayed as duff swung an excellent right footed (!!) cross deep for Dempsey to head back across goal and Zamora to apply the finish. Utd were left in shambles and the win was sealed. Alex Ferguson changed things around, bringing on Wellbeck and Berbatov. This made for a brief Utd resurgence before Damien Duff killed the match. A free kick from the half way line was swung into the box, Zamora again chested it down expertly for Duff to power home on the volley.  Three quality goals to top off an excellent performance.

Overall an excellent team performance. Stand-out players were Zamora (again), Duff, Dempsey (who defended as well as he attacked), Murphy and Gera. I think we have finally found the position Gera revels in and I whilst I do not believe he should oust a fit Andy Johnson from the team, I think we may have found a new formation to make us more potent on the road. What really stands out for me from this game is that Utd did not score. I thought that Owen was awful and should not be going to South Africa and Rooney cut a frustrated figure, running all over the pitch and collecting the ball from left back and central defence. Credit to Hodgson’s defensive solidity that was derided by some as too negative for much of last year.

Fulham now go into next weeks clash full of confidence and with a full week of rest and uninterrupted training behind them. Tottenham did not play particularly well against Blackburn this weekend so Fulham should be confident of getting a result. The match will be tough but Fulham are at home and players are returning from injury, so there is every reason to be optimistic.

Fulham through to the last 32!!

Well, who’d have thought it? After the poor second half display against CSKA Sofia at the cottage and Basel seemingly unbeatable at home Fulham have pulled of an excellent win to get into the knockout stages. Of course I was stuck on a train as the game was being played (damn 6pm kickoffs), hoping that we could pull of a victory, but the rational part of my brain was preparing myself for bad news. I am going to have to see about going away to Europe now against our next opponents (Juventus please!) and the knockout factor will give it that extra bit of oomph.

Since I was unable to see the game, I will have to make do theorising about Fulham in Europe ( For extensive coverage of the game head over to CCN and HammyEnd).  Roy Hodgson makes me laugh. His pre-game comments about not playing the strongest team were jumped upon by many journo’s but we all knew him better than that. With the injuries we have had and the suspensions incurred we were always going to put out a mixed bag of a team, not that anyone outside the Fulham fans were ready to do a bit of research or acknowledge these facts. Roy has stuck with several “second team” players in the Europa league including Zoltan Gera and Bjorne Helge Riise and they have flourished. I really think we are almost designed to play in a style befitting European competition and the experience of Roy helps us no end. What disappoints me is the fact that the media have not picked up on the fact that despite the many setbacks we have had this season in Europe (and in the league, to be fair) through injuries and poor refereeing decisions, we have made a good show for ourselves in Europe. We have had a ‘never say die’ attitude that has really pleased me and reminds me of why I love Fulham so much.

I have always liked the UEFA Cup/Europa League as a competition, enjoying th progress of English teams and of Inter, my Italian team. It is nice to catch a glimpse of some of the ‘lesser’ clubs in European football and the unpredictability of the competition adds another dimension that I feel the Champions League is missing. People label the Europa League a ‘Mickey Mouse’ competition and I think that not only is this unfair, but goes to show how ignorant people can be about football. I am excited about the next round and it will probably be the highlight of Fulham’s season, regardless of who we draw.

Now for a prediction. I think Fulham have an outside chance of doing something in this competition. Whilst expecting to get to the final is a bit much, I can see a victory over a big side or reaching an advanced stage of the competition. Feel free to come and laugh when Fulham get knocked out by Salzburg after an inept performance, but if we can come through a tough group (one which we arguably should have won) then anything is possible. For now, lets hope for a good draw in the next round and an easing of the injuries we have suffered so far. Bring on Manchester United this weekend!