Fulham at Craven Cottage

[Romey 1878]

think mirallas deserved a shout like!!!!

 

I don't usually mention the subs unless they get my MOTM vote. He did make a big difference though, and scored a great goal.

[Matt]

cracking write up as usual Mark

[Romey 1878]

cracking write up as usual Mark

Cheers, Matt .

 

Enjoyed writing it after not doing one for a while and we won!

[markjazzbassist]

Thanks romey it's nice to have these back!

[NyarkosLeftToe]

Boss write up that mate, fair play to you, that would take me about 3 hours to write!

 

Naismith only scored 1 though, the first was an OG

[Romey 1878]

Boss write up that mate, fair play to you, that would take me about 3 hours to write!

 

Naismith only scored 1 though, the first was an OG

 

It didn't take me much less time than that .

 

I thought I'd give it to him because his original shot was going on target tbf, but the FA will probably give it as a Stockdale OG, you're right.

[Hafnia]

Other than maybe the first 5 minutes we were never in that first half. We were absolutely terrible. Far too often this season we’ve started games slowly and yesterday was no different. It’s a good job that Fulham are a poor side and couldn’t take advantage. We were unbelievably lethargic; just knocking the ball around with no purpose and painfully slowly, there was no intensity at all. This allowed Fulham to pressurise us on the ball and more often than not they either won the ball back or we misplaced a pass giving it to them or put the ball out of play. It didn’t help that we pretty much had nobody providing any movement ahead of the play. They were all just stood around waiting for someone to do something. The only player that wanted to make something happen was Deulofeu. He took it upon himself to run forward with the ball, try to beat his man and create an opening. Sure, not much actually came from his efforts but how many 19 year olds will even attempt to take a game by the scruff of the neck? My admiration for him went up after his first half showing. Tbh, we were lucky to go in at half time still on level terms; a better side would have put us away.

 

While the performance in the second half still wasn’t great there was a significant improvement and I put that down to one man – Steven Naismith. While in the first half everything in front of the play was static he provided top quality movement. He was never still and was moving constantly, you rarely saw him stood still. Also, you rarely saw him close to a Fulham player; he made space for himself all the time and that meant he dragged Fulham defenders out of their set positions to follow him, providing more space for the likes of Lukaku, Baines, Coleman, Mirallas and McGeady (when they came on). It’s no coincidence that when he came on we looked much more of a threat going forward. He didn’t just benefit us going forward though; he was a terrier in closing their players down as well so the roles were reversed from the first half. We took the lead early in this half and that also brought a sense of confidence to our play – we had another couple of chances to go further ahead. Fulham did equalise with a spectacular goal and again put us under pressure for a while and had some brilliant chances to go ahead but we dug in brilliantly – we owe a lot to Howard for that; he made some point blank stops. In the past this would have been the signal to close up shop and hold on to what we had, but no such thing happened. Martinez made another two attacking substitutions – McGeady and Mirallas came on and instantly the impact was felt. McGeady played an inch perfect through ball (I love these!), Mirallas expertly controlled it, raced at goal and slotted it home. From that point on I felt we pummelled them and really wanted to finish them off – we had numerous chances to do just that. It took a little while longer to put the game to bed and there was a sense of fortune about it (Baines was offside) but I don’t care.

 

A massive three points for us despite not playing well, but points are what matter. However, we cannot afford to start slowly again next week against Arsenal. They will punish us. Its imperative, IMO, that we get the first goal. It’ll put the fear of god into them and they do not cope well under pressure.

 

 

 

Howard – He gave us the platform to win this one with numerous saves. I don’t think he could have done a thing about their goal even though it was at his near post – it was a ferocious hit and he more than likely didn’t see it ‘til late as well.

 

 

Coleman – Really wasn’t impressed with him first half. I thought he was awful defensively and was caught out time after time. He didn’t have a lot of help from Gerry, granted, but seeing as he was our whole attack I’ll let him off! He just seemed to not have a clue positionally and offered pretty much zero in terms of attacking. In the second half as the space opened up more he became more of a threat going forward at least.

 

Stones – The first half I thought he looked very uncomfortable. But that may have more to do with playing alongside Distin who had a shocking game. He looked extremely hesitant in his play – often the ball was there to be won and he looked in two minds and hung back instead. And he made a pretty big cock up because of this at one point, but he recovered well to tackle back and stop the Fulham attack. However, in the second half it was like a different player and he impressed me massively. The hesitancy was gone and he was all conquering. He’s going to be the heart of our defence, our leader, because he is the perfect defender for a Martinez side – on a few occasions he brought the ball out of defence imperiously and set us off on attacks. He didn’t just see that as his job done though, then he’d keep running forward and stay in the attack. That sort of play is going to be massively important to us as we progress.

 

Distin – He just had one of those games where you actually start hoping the ball goes nowhere near him. He was terrible, particularly in the first half. His judgement was way off and misjudged a lot of things that really could have cost us dearly. And just how many touches of the ball does he want before laying off?! On too many occasions he dawdled on the ball letting Fulham players close him down. And even when they didn’t the majority of the time he either played the ball out of play or launched it to absolutely no one!

 

Baines – Meh. He was OK. I can’t think of anything of note that he did other than the assist for Naismith’s second goal.

 

 

Deulofeu – Like I said earlier; in the first half he was our only attacking outlet, everything went through him. Yes, he could have done better at times but he’s still a young boy and you’ve got to give him credit for giving it a go. He had Riise worried every time he got the ball and deserves praise. I can also remember him putting a peach of a delivery across the 18 yard area and no one had took it upon themselves to get in there – Barkley and Lukaku were like statues. And another time when his shot was saved and the ball came to him and he quickly put the ball back into the danger area only for a Fulham player to intercept the ball before it reached Lukaku. All in all a promising display from him.

 

McCarthy – He loves a slip doesn’t he? He needs to sort his studs out because like in every game he slipped on his arse and this time it cost us a goal. I reckon he’d have stopped Dejagah getting that shot in. Other than that, though, he had a solid game. Certainly better than his midfield partner.

 

Barry – Not a great afternoon for him. He looked very tired and off the pace to me and this allowed the Fulham players to get at him (targeted?) and force him to play the ball quicker than he’d like. He mostly did find an Everton man but the pass was often a hospital ball meaning we lost the ball anyway.

 

Osman – This game showed that he cannot and should not play two games in a week. He was knackered right from the off and he was another player that Fulham really got at and took advantage of. They were on to him quickly whenever he got the ball and forced him to turn over the ball. It didn’t help his case that he drifted infield constantly but then didn’t have the energy to get back to his wing position, leaving a hell of a lot of space for Fulham to exploit.

 

 

Barkley – He just wasn’t on it was he? Totally off the pace and was more a hindrance than a help. Particularly to Lukaku. I felt he sat too close to him, clogging up the space. And he wanted far too much time on the ball and invariably he was closed down and the ball taken from him.

 

 

Lukaku – For the first half in particular he cut an extremely frustrated figure. Like I said, Barkley was clogging up the space and, also, when he was making good runs he was totally ignored and the ball was played elsewhere. I don’t think it helped his mood that balls kept getting launched over him rather than to him. I thought he looked much better in the second half when there was a lot more space for him once Barkley went off, and on a few occasions he used his strength to great effect – it is something that is improving.

 

 

Naismith – Game changer. Pure and simple. He gave us exactly what was needed and what was severely lacking in the first half – he moved between the lines (dropping deep sometimes, which was what Barkley had totally neglected to do), he occupied the Fulham players, he opened up space for all of our other attacking players, his movement was of the highest quality, he used the ball brilliantly, he linked up well with every one else, he harried the Fulham defenders. He topped it all off with two goals as well and should have had a hat-trick! My MOTM.

 

Pretty much agree with all of that. Accurate piece on Naismith, some fans need to "learn" a bit about the game before being so tough on the lad. His intelligence is a great asset, since playing centrally he has looked a different player.

 

I think he has the makings of a real poacher, a bit like Michael Owen was but with a greater team work ethic.

[NyarkosLeftToe]

 

It didn't take me much less time than that .

 

I thought I'd give it to him because his original shot was going on target tbf, but the FA will probably give it as a Stockdale OG, you're right.

 

 

To be fair I thought they should have give it to him, the original strike was defo going in, would have been gutted if you had him to score first!

[Romey 1878]

 

 

To be fair I thought they should have give it to him, the original strike was defo going in, would have been gutted if you had him to score first!

 

I think he'd have been gutted too if that one that smashed off the post had gone in for what would have been his hat-trick!

 

 

Pretty much agree with all of that. Accurate piece on Naismith, some fans need to "learn" a bit about the game before being so tough on the lad. His intelligence is a great asset, since playing centrally he has looked a different player.

 

I think he has the makings of a real poacher, a bit like Michael Owen was but with a greater team work ethic.

 

I don't think he'll ever be a starter (not a regular starter at least) but he know his strengths and weaknesses and he uses what he's got brilliantly. And, like I said in the thread about him, he's the perfect squad player because he gives you everything he's got and he's got enough quality to make a difference. Those qualities are excellent movement and the ability to be in the right place at the right time.

[Hafnia]

 

I think he'd have been gutted too if that one that smashed off the post had gone in for what would have been his hat-trick!

 

 

I don't think he'll ever be a starter (not a regular starter at least) but he know his strengths and weaknesses and he uses what he's got brilliantly. And, like I said in the thread about him, he's the perfect squad player because he gives you everything he's got and he's got enough quality to make a difference. Those qualities are excellent movement and the ability to be in the right place at the right time.

 

Many clubs would love to have a player with his attitude on the bench, Man City have Dzecko i'm not comparing him to him - but having a decent player with the right attitude is a big plus. Other clubs have to balance out the egos and sulks.