Fulham (away)

[jamiemaher85]

I don't really care about 4th that much tbh as i really never thought it would happen, when we were 3 points clear at 4th they always had a game in hand. 5th is what we need to be aiming at maintaing and we just missed out on a huge chance to go 9 points clear of 6th place.

[Charlie ton]

Thought you were outplayed today, I was watching expecting a route.

 

Do you think that the long season is taking it's toll on the smaller squad?

[Josh Berno]

It's safe to say we have just been knocked out the hunt for europe by a team who is to be frank absolutly bolocks. Unless the shite slip up we will not be getting 4th place.

[Romey 1878]

I'd like to congratulate Fulham today, they outplayed us all over the park and we got exactly what we deserved from this game - Fuck all. I don't care if we played extra time and pens midweek and I don't care that we lost in the end in that game, these players are paid big money to perform and they didn't show up at all today. Do we want fourth? I don't think so. The January transfer window and Moyes' decision to not bring enough players in and letting Faddy go without a replacement is looking like it's going to cost us. We're very short upfront now and there's only one person to blame for that. We'll need to be looking over our shoulders instead of infront of us from now on IMO.

 

 

Howard - He had jack shit to do tbh

Neville - Thought he played well til he had to go into midfield

Hibbert - You're shite lad, get to the conference.

Yobo - Pissed me off royally today. His defensive headers were abysmal, always sideways instead of forward and out of the box. He's to blame for their goal, if you're going to head the ball make sure you do it properly and not half arsed.

Jagielka - He was ok.

Lescott - Will be lucky to get into the next England squad after that, not very good at all.

Arteta - Didn't get into the game at all and when he did get the ball he did nothing with it.

Carsley - Not very good either, commits himself to balls he just can't win time after time and didn't cover the defence enough for me.

Osman - Off the pace completely and was knocked off the ball too many times.

Pienaar - He was rubbish today I'm sad to say.

Yakubu - He was pretty crap too. He had no support at all but that's not the whole reason he was bad today.

AJ - I feel sorry for him and I hope he's not out for too long otherwise our season will fall apart due to our lack of depth.

Baines - Nice to see him back but he was caught out a few times in the time he did spend on the pitch.

[jamiemaher85]

I'd like to congratulate Fulham today, they outplayed us all over the park and we got exactly what we deserved from this game - Fuck all. I don't care if we played extra time and pens midweek and I don't care that we lost in the end in that game, these players are paid big money to perform and they didn't show up at all today. Do we want fourth? I don't think so. The January transfer window and Moyes' decision to not bring enough players in and letting Faddy go without a replacement is looking like it's going to cost us. We're very short upfront now and there's only one person to blame for that. We'll need to be looking over our shoulders instead of infront of us from now on IMO.

Exactley. Champions League was always going to be a huge ask and I don't think everyone had considered it properly. We have a real challenge to keep hopes of a Uefa spot alive let alone think about champions league. If there were still 3 places available from the league i wouldn't be so worried but we could be very unlucky this year, im glad we've applied for intertoto as we need europe at any cost next year. We need european football to keep the upward movement of the club.

[LexKing]

I saw only 2nd half and it was so poor. Fulham earned 3p today. Oh well we would got 1 if they wouldnt scored. They didnt have much chances but we had only 1!!!! Yobos fail header our end cost a goal and yobos miss another end kept us at non scoring. Anyway there werent any bright players at 2nh hals what i saw. terrible passing and looked like they didnt know at all what were their teammates doing with a ball. Did that thursdaynight effort stil that bad? Or have they had finnish way to lose distress at thurdaynight and fridaynight . Well that kind of crappy games we would needed TC to come out of nowhere and score. Bad timing for end our good run in premier league at 2008(we have run good whole season but this was first loss of the 2008)

[MikeO]

Disappointing but perspective needed.

 

This is the first really bad result, the first unexpected loss in the league since St James' Park. That was five and a half months ago. It happens to all teams...it's happened to all the top four this season and it always will happen.

 

A real pain and a missed opportunity but not the end of the world.

[Charlie ton]

We'll need to be looking over our shoulders instead of infront of us from now on IMO.

 

Not sure about that.

 

We've got United at the weekend and then the Derby with you. United don't often hand out change to us at Old Trafford and a result in the Derby isn't inconceivable for you. Then we've got Arsenal 3 times in a row, once in the league.

 

It's not all over, that's for sure.

[jamiemaher85]

Its just constant disapointing results at Craven Cottage that annoy me. You would think that just once we could do something right there. It would have been a different game if AJ had stayed on, we lost our shape when Hibbo came on and Neville moved to canter mid. I would have much prefered Baines to have come on and move Pienaar more central.

[jamiemaher85]

Not sure about that.

 

We've got United at the weekend and then the Derby with you. United don't often hand out change to us at Old Trafford and a result in the Derby isn't inconceivable for you. Then we've got Arsenal 3 times in a row, once in the league.

 

It's not all over, that's for sure.

I must admit your run of games does look ridculous.

 

Manure A

Us H

Arse A

Arse H

Arse A

 

Crazy

 

Still cant see us taking 4 th, sure you have some tough games, but so do we. and if we drop silly points against silly teams (like you did early on in the season) then we will stand no chance. Think we have more chance of loosing 5th than gaining 4th, and thats not just becasue of tday its becasue of how tight it is from 5th to i suppose about 9th

[Blue 250]

I don't think Fulham out played us today!I think Fulham played like their lives depended on not losing!

 

WE lost today because Arteta was well below par, Osman can beat players, but when tasked with beating that last man on the edge of the area, he sems to panic!

 

We played high balls to Yakubu, who was being marked by a giant!......Yakubu's a chest man!!

Go for his chest lads!!......NOT his friggin head.

 

Mid-week must have had affect, their only human, and they gave 110%........let the lads have an odd off day evey now and then!!

 

5th was my target from way back......beat the hammers next week and we should be ok for that.

 

 

I don't even think that was a bad performance today.......just jadded, and Fulham did what we did in mid-week......never stopped running!

 

A bigger squad would have helped...and maybe a couple of our blocked shots getting through.

 

Let's see a recharged Blues pick up the race for 5th next week.

[jamiemaher85]

It will be good to actually have a full week of training under the squads belt also without any mid week fixtures. We have had a real pile up of late so will be good to be able to fully concentrate on the next leage game, when hopefully AJ will be ok and we will have Cahill and Vic back, maybe even Manny.

[Blue4Ever]

As soon as Neville an Carsley were center midfield I knew we would lose, im fed up of moyes and his poor subs, at least put baines on and keep Neville fullback!

 

we were out played by a poor side today am pissed off

[jamiemaher85]

As soon as Neville an Carsley were center midfield I knew we would lose, im fed up of moyes and his poor subs, at least put baines on and keep Neville fullback!we were out played by a poor side today am pissed off

exactley what I thought

[MikeO]

It's safe to say we have just been knocked out the hunt for europe..

 

Is it? We're still red hot favourites for fifth. Villa have taken one point from their last two games...seven points behind us with eight games to go, Pompey are now closer, six points behind but with a much worse goal difference.

 

Don't panic!

[CraccerC]

right i'm here, just gotin from the match ...cold, wet, 50 quid down and without any points to show.

 

first things first, them clappers were fucking annoying, if i hear another one of them i'm gonna break someones face.

onto the football, shite.

 

they were all useless, carsley i blamefor the goal. the back 4 all of em useless, are they blind i nthinking we could win headers over that hangeland. im not sure how clear it was on tele but the lads probably taller the crouch, yak can't even jump that high let alone high enough to win a header, pathetic

 

even more pathetic, phil neville. come over to us i nthe 2nd half and tells us to sing, i was right near him and from where i was he got a fairly unanimous fuck off.

 

not one player in blue looks decent today, no end product whatsoever.

 

simon davies played well though, wish we had him on our side today...i think that says enough for me to finish

[thebluenose]

it really annoyed me coz we saw our best performance of the season v fiorentina. then a few days later see our worst against fulham.

 

shame we lost johnson so early. he could have been a key player today.

 

no excuses blues play like that again and well be lucky to finish 5th. fair play to fulham though in taking thier chance

[rozzie_22]

agreed....today we were fooking awful, a complete turn around from wednesday night.

however, Fulham were equally as poor and didnt deserve 3pts

 

but thats life i suppose

 

first league defeat since boxing day, so lets not press the panic button just yet.

 

just to cheer everybody up, these up coming fixtures could turn everything on its head

 

Everton:

West Ham (h)

liverpool (a)

derby (h)

 

Liverpool:

Utd (a)

Everton (h)

Arsenal (a)

 

and with Villa having man utd away in two weeks and pompey going to spurs on saturday, you are hoping they might slip up in those games, making 5th spot pretty much ours.

 

this isnt over by any stretch of the imagination

 

if we can pick up 7pts from our next 3 games, we are right back in it

[carlmc25]

it really annoyed me coz we saw our best performance of the season v fiorentina. then a few days later see our worst against fulham.

 

shame we lost johnson so early. he could have been a key player today.

 

no excuses blues play like that again and well be lucky to finish 5th. fair play to fulham though in taking thier chance

We dominated Fiorentina because they came to defend for 90 minutes, Fulham actually tried ot give us a match. Today was exactly the reason I thought Moyes should have made more/earlier subs against Fiorentina (as it happens it looks like anichebe may not have been fully fit on Weds) as now all that's happened is, instead of going for it and either winning or losing in 90 minutes we ended up having to play 120 minutes and then losing in the worst possible fashion - penalties, which will have totally demoralised our team and probably led to us losing today as well, so rather than just being out of the UEFA we're now possibly out of the UEFA and the Champions League running.

 

I don't think you can fault the effort today, but without Cahill in the team we lacked threat and balance. I thought it was an odd decision to take off Pienaar as well, although since his return from African Nations I think he has been more solid than spectacular.

[MikeO]

so rather than just being out of the UEFA we're now possibly out of the UEFA and the Champions League running.

 

What the fuck are you talking about?

 

This reaction (not just yours Carl) is completely beyond me.

 

One league defeat (apart from Arsenal & ManU) in five fucking months and it's the end of the world.

 

We've matched the top three point for point for nineteen games....half a season ffs...semi final of the Carling Cup, excellent run in Europe, coped with the ACN and we're only eleven points off the top of the table.

 

Complete fucking dreamland at the start of the season....even more so after a dodgy start and only thirteen points from the first ten games.

 

Get a grip people. We're still red hot with the bookies for fifth. If we were sixth or seventh looking at a team 6/7 points ahead of us and a far superior goal difference with only eight games left we'd give ourselves no chance at all of catching them. That's what Pompey and Villa are looking at!!!

 

Excuse me while I go lie down in a darkened room.

Edited March 16, 2008 by MikeO

[carlmc25]

What the fuck are you talking about?

 

This reaction (not just yours Carl) is completely beyond me.

 

One league defeat (apart from Arsenal & ManU) in five fucking months and it's the end of the world.

 

We've matched the top three point for point for nineteen games....half a season ffs...semi final of the Carling Cup, excellent run in Europe, coped with the ACN and we're only eleven points off the top of the table.

 

Complete fucking dreamland at the start of the season....even more so after a dodgy start and only thirteen points from the first ten games.

 

Get a grip people. We're still red hot with the bookies for fifth. If we were sixth or seventh looking at a team 6/7 points ahead of us and a far superior goal difference with only eight games left we'd give ourselves no chance at all of catching them. That's what Pompey and Villa are looking at!!!

 

Excuse me while I go lie down in a darkened room.

it's not the end of the world, I was saying to everyone last night at my wedding that I thought Everton would struggle to beat Fulham big time but if we could somehow win then I think we could take 4th spot, but we didn't. We're not out of it yet but todays result means it's going to be a LOT harder now and we'll definitely need a result agains Liverpool as otherwise it's all over. Someone printed Liverpool's next 3 fixtures, they seem to be forgetting that we have Chelsea and Arsenal to come anyway, we have an inferior goal difference and it wouldn't surprise me (on current form) if Liverpool beat Arsenal anyway.

 

I'm not at all disappointed by our season, all I'm saying is not making substitutions and really going for it in normal time on Weds (once we were back to 2-2) cost us more than just one match, it cost us today's as well, imo.

[Blue 250]

it's not the end of the world, I was saying to everyone last night at my wedding that I thought Everton would struggle to beat Fulham big time but if we could somehow win then I think we could take 4th spot, but we didn't. We're not out of it yet but todays result means it's going to be a LOT harder now and we'll definitely need a result agains Liverpool as otherwise it's all over. Someone printed Liverpool's next 3 fixtures, they seem to be forgetting that we have Chelsea and Arsenal to come anyway, we have an inferior goal difference and it wouldn't surprise me (on current form) if Liverpool beat Arsenal anyway.

 

I'm not at all disappointed by our season, all I'm saying is not making substitutions and really going for it in normal time on Weds (once we were back to 2-2) cost us more than just one match, it cost us today's as well, imo.

 

Carl!!!!!!...................Congratulations on getting married!!

 

Now get off this fuc%ing forum.......and spend some time with your wife

[MikeO]

After a little lie down I've just realised that I misread your post a bit Carl....when you said, "we're now possibly out of the UEFA and the Champions League running." I read it as being out of the UEFA running for next season when you were referring to being out of this season's competition . Apologies. And like 250 says, congratulations on your wedding!!

 

Still think people are getting unneccessarily out of shape over one result though. Fail to beat West Ham next Saturday and we can start to get a little nervy, but not yet.

[Josh Berno]

Is it? We're still red hot favourites for fifth. Villa have taken one point from their last two games...seven points behind us with eight games to go, Pompey are now closer, six points behind but with a much worse goal difference.

 

Don't panic!

 

Am sorry Mike i meant the champions league... STUPID ME!!!

 

I dont know why we cant beat Fulham away its idiotic yes they have some good players but the actual team is shit baffels me really.

[FairWooney]

i think the game really showed how small our squad was.

 

who's injured, vaughan, Anichebe (what's wrong with him?), Fernandes and Cahill.

 

and all of a sudden we only have defenders on the bench.

 

as mentioned earlier, what happend to gravesson. not saying he would have made much of a difference but he's more attacking than nevillie and carsley and would have saved us sending lescott up front. he seemed fit enough to make the bench on wednesday so what's up with him now?

 

dissapointing game, i think johnson was a major blow, fulham played well in the first half but were lacking a final ball. they got the goal through dodgy defending but they desereved something from it.

 

what annoyed me was the commentator that kept saying that he didn't understand why moyes wasn't bringing on a sub in the last 10. who does he bring on? rodwell, a defender with less than an hours professional football, valente, a left back who's crosses and attacking play can bet hit or miss or Wessells, never heard of him playing an attacking role! unfortuantely the 11 players that started was our best attacking side available and we had no second option.

 

europe definatley isn't over those who suggest it is, champions league obviously now relies on us beating rather than just getting a draw against liverpool, and outscoring them against the 2 top 3 teams we play as well as not dropping any more lower placed sides. unlikely but not impossible.

[barryj]

it's not the end of the world, I was saying to everyone last night at my wedding that I thought Everton would struggle to beat Fulham big time but if we could somehow win then I think we could take 4th spot, but we didn't. We're not out of it yet but todays result means it's going to be a LOT harder now and we'll definitely need a result agains Liverpool as otherwise it's all over. Someone printed Liverpool's next 3 fixtures, they seem to be forgetting that we have Chelsea and Arsenal to come anyway, we have an inferior goal difference and it wouldn't surprise me (on current form) if Liverpool beat Arsenal anyway.

 

I'm not at all disappointed by our season, all I'm saying is not making substitutions and really going for it in normal time on Weds (once we were back to 2-2) cost us more than just one match, it cost us today's as well, imo.

 

 

Are you writing this on your honeymoon Carl????

 

Anyway I have to agree with Mike, all this is a massive over reaction. We were poor, I agree, but to loose Johnson early on was nothing short of a disaster, especially as we had no attacking threat thereafter seeing as Cahill is injured. The pitch seemed small and we weren't given any space to play and we did try and keep the ball down more than Fulham. They also looked poor until they scored (1st shot on target), but after that gained in confidence and chased everything down. We have done well recently in winning games against the bottom clubs and this I hope (and think) is a blip. We arn't out of the running for 4th yet and it was never going to be easy but its possible and dependant on how the 4 above us do in the CL. As for UEFA I'm sure we will qualify easily. Pompy will prob win FA cup and be in Europe from that and Villa, B'burn and City won't do enough, as most games at this stage will be a fight. Lets look at it in perspective first loss in 10 prem games 7 wins two draws and todays loss with only 3 goals conceded. Yere we are obviously shit!

[CraccerC]

nice way to drop in your marriage, but you really should be busy with other things right now rather than tt

 

i get the feeling carl doesn't watch our games.

[chicagoblue]

Just think we looked desperately short of options and had no one at all the bring on. With our lack of fit strikers we're going to be in a bit of trouble here. Hopefully Vic, AJ and Tim are back for the weekend.

 

Knew we were going to struggle when we had to bring Hibbo on for AJ. I know the kid is super young but really I'd have preferred Rodwell into the midfield and leave Neville at the back. It was Hibbo out of position (putting a cross in admittedly) that let Davies break up the wing. Maybe Neville would have been equally caught out but I really count on him for better delivery at least.

 

Oh well, all is not yet lost, hopefully a good week of training and then we'll take West Ham apart.