Sat down last night, and thought I'd watch a bit of Fulham in Europe. (Just so you know I'm not here to WUM, a bit of background..... As explained elsewhere, my late Father was a FFC supporter for many years, so I like to keep an eye on your results....especially now he's no longer with us.) What did you think of the performance, overall? I thought that considering Jol has only been in a short time, and how it WAS still June, Fulham actually played very well.....A bit rusty, perhaps, and took a bit of time to get going, but a decent result, which will be enough to see you through to the next round. Anyway, good luck in the Europa League, and hope you play on the Thursday evening before you play us LOL!!! P.S. Dad woulda been so proud to see the boys in Europe again!
I think I'd go along with that, Mango. I only saw the second half, but it looked to me like a decent, professional display - no more than that, but no less either. Given that the opposition are several games into their season and we were ring-rusty with little training, it's maybe to be expected that we weren't firing on all cylinders. Before the game I thought 3-0 was the minimum result that I'd be content with. Even 2-0 would have left us vulnerable to an early goal and 90 minutes of tension. As it stands, we should be safe enough for the second leg, giving Jol the option of resting some of the older legs and allowing them to miss a less-than-ideal journey to the Faroe Islands.
Yeah, but I think that in something like 4 seasons, the Faroeses haven't scored more than 1 goal in ANY leg! So, 2-0 would probably have been enough too!! Good to see that you appear to have kept a majority of players, and those that are now cup-tied are unlikely to move?
I think we were ok. We performed poorly (due to it being so early to return) and I think you could tell our lads had not played for a while. I think that even though we were poor the opposition were so poor it really helped us out. Zamora seemed a bit heavy with his touches which was out of character were as I think Etuhu has a great game and I was surprised to see him subbed off. Dalle Valle nearly scored with his first couple of touches which was promising. All in all we won the game healthily and it was a good watch, I think had we played the same way that we did against Arsenal last game of the season we would have been looking at at least 6 goals. We will get better as the lads get back into their stride Bring on the next leg..
Blimey WWDW were we at the same game? Etuhu was awful. Sure he saw plenty of the ball but what did he do with it? Never once did he run forward with the ball, despite having no opposition players within 30 yards of him. It was his usual' 'hot potato' one touch, invariably square pass. I grant you one superb 30/40 yard cross ball to Rise just before he (Etuhu) was subbed but that hardly constitutes a 'great agme' Difficult to be harsh on young Valle, but in the words of Harry R "the wife could have scored that".
Was at the game and was not over impressed,we did ok,but one must remember the quality of the Faroes team Blue square prem at best.I would have liked to have seen a few more youngsters given a run out .
They could have been a League One team. It's hard to tell when they just pack players behind the ball. Davies had a bad (ineffective) game, which caused us some problems. When a team packs the centre, you have to be able to use the width. We didn't. Duff was better but looked a bit rusty. I lost count of the times Etuhu gave the ball away or killed forward momentum in the centre. On the plus side, Briggs seemed much more motivated/committed than everyone else which was nice to see. That said, it was a pre-season friendly and we put in a decent effort all things considered. 3-0 was the minimum I expected, but it should be enough to allow some youngsters to play in the return leg.
I don't think anyone had a brilliant game - and frankly hadn't expected it. But a good enough performance after a shortened summer break, 1 week's training, new manager, rtc etc. I agree with WDWW Etuhu played better than most. We are very likely through to next round - a more convenient journey to Belfast, still weak opposition and our lads will be getting sharper. Cheer up!
I bow to the view of those who were actually there, but the commentator on the live feed - and I only saw the second half - seemed to think that Etuhu was having a great match. What I saw looked his usual, dependable, no fuss self.
Perhaps people did not see Jol take Etuhu by the arm, about 15 minutes before subbing him, and gesticulating what he (Jol) expected and where he (Etuhu) would otherwise be sitting.
