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Fulham (Home) Saturday September 29th


markjazzbassist

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We never really turned up until we were winning but up to that point of was very lacklustre. Some nice football after that and a great little cameo from Bernard. But there's still a lot of work to do defensively. Result flattered to deceive. Easily could've been 2 down in the first half. The team need to stop giving away such clear chances so easily.

Ā 

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That was a much better second half. In truth there wasnt much between the two halves apart from that in the second half we actually played passes to other blue shirts in the final third.

The back 5 were largely solid however they needed a big contribution from Pickford at 1-0 but in reality that was all he did all game. Bar a poor moment early, Keane was solid, Zouma a mountain and on both flanks Kenny and Digne provided tenancity and quality on the ball. I think Digne is going to be a favourite of mine. He has a lot of quality on the ball but he is also a warrior defensively. He doesnt shirk a challenge.

Just like last week, Gueye and Davies were great, Gueye pipping the captain this time with the sheer amount of times he won the ball back. Davies played a pivotal role in keeping his shape defensively and again playing very disciplined, which is a huge change from last season, and they were both finding quick and simple balls forward into the attacking quarter when they were on for it.

As I mentioned at half time, the front four were wasteful but they were so much more productive in the second half. Richarlison was always the biggest threat and whilst I think he should be laying the ball off a little more, he is giving defenders and keepers a torrid time as they dont know if he will shoot or dribble. DCL was poor bar the build up to the penalty. It didnt work for him in a game we dominated and he is almost at his best when he has to feed off scraps. I wouldnt say Tosun was brilliant when he came on but he just worked the centre back differently, he linked up play that little bit better and in the end he was rewarded with a goal. Walcott got an assist but he was still very quiet on the whole. He made a whole host of poor decisions first half but he did improve and he made some really good runs late on.

The biggest question mark is still over Siggy. He finishes the day with 2 goals but if he didnt then it would be another game where you have to question what he is bringing to the side. I am still not sure what we will do with him in the long run albeit if he scores two every game I am happy for him to stay there!

Ā 

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Just what we needed that, despite a wobbly ten minutes between the half hour mark and half time where Sessegnon hit the bar I thought we looked very much in control today. To be honest I thought we looked great against West Ham and Arsenal until conceding so it's great that we were able to get the first goal today and put the game to bed. A clean sheet too (the first of the season I believe?!) is the icing on the cake. A fitting way to celebrate Jordan Pickford signing a new deal.Ā 

Jordan himself was solid, made a great challenge at 1-0 when Fulham broke free and whilst he wasn't challenged too much did what he needed to. Kenny and Digne were boss on either wing, the latter turning into a fantastic signing and a worthy replacement for Leighton Baines. In the centre, Zouma did well, and I've been critical of him in the past alongside Michael Keane who is turning into the player we all wanted him to be.

Gueye was absolutely everywhere, a bit sloppy in his passing for me which was frustrating but a great defensive display alongside Tom Davies who has come under fire recently - unjustified criticism in my opinion. A great choice of captain for the future so here's to hoping the good performances continue.Ā 

Theo continues to impress, a constant threat on the right hand side and unlucky not to have got himself on the scoreboard. Richarlison as always a danger, lovely to see him picking the ball up and heading for goal as opposed to passing it sideways, knowing where the goal is can be a good habit to have.Ā 

Sigurdsson, mediocre in the first half but came into his own in the second. I didn't feel confident when he stepped up for the penalty funnily enough but he got his head down and scored two great goals - the first seemingly going into the back of the net in slow motion from where I was sitting.

Calvert-Lewin again was poor for me, other than winning the penalty I don't know what he did. Now that Tosun has found the back of the net (finally) then he really should be back in the side with Domenic dropping back to the bench.Ā 

As others have said, we are very much a work in progress, phase one of a much bigger plan. That said we need to win games and it's great to be able to celebrate at Goodison again. Three great goals and a clean sheet, top stuff šŸ‘Œ.

Oh, and Bernard. What a little player we have - loved him at Shakhtar and happy to see he is making the transition.Ā 

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From MOTD highlights looked good second half. Pleased for Sigurdsson, I've criticised him recently, still think he needs to be a match winner on a much more regular basis for us, one game every couple of months is no good. Defence still concerns me despite the clean sheet, Fulham had 3 on 1 twice just like the second Arsenal goal last week, that means something is going wrong either with the set up or the communication.Ā 

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