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United today - a test for Mark Hughes

Discussion in 'Fulham' started by frogman27, Apr 9, 2011.

  1. frogman27

    frogman27 Member

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    Morning all,

    Beautiful morning in SW6, sun is shining, weather is sweet, Bobby's going to score with both of his feet.

    I am excited about the game today, going to be test for both defences. Although if you look at the stats are chances of 3 points are smaller than Fergie's horse winning the national.

    Today will be a real tester for Mark Hughes. Does he go out all guns blazing, or give united some credit and hold back a bit. Personally I think we should attack them as much as possible, force Valencia and Nani to defend and keep them as far away from our box as possible.

    That said if we allow the 2 wingers to get forward we could find ourselves in difficulty. I think Baird will be able to hold his own but I worry about Salcido, but to be fair to the guy he has improved recently.

    Danny Murphy loves playing against united so hopefully he will impose himself on the game and Bobby is loving playing again. This could be 2 reasons why we could get something out of this game. Demps will need to turn it up a notch, when better to do it against John O'Shea, who is a quality player, but I feel Demps could exploit him.

    Can we keep their strikers quiet? If Berbatov plays then I think we can control him, but Hernandez is class. I expect him to drop off a bit so Etuhu is going to have to be aware of him.

    Dembele could be the key. He is capable of dissecting any defence. What better stage to do so than Old Trafford.

    My heart tells me 3 points are there to be won, my head is telling me don't be stupid. Somewhere in between would be a more realistic outcome me thinks.

    With national at 4.15, maybe then would be the time to full on attack with Fergie slightly occupied with matters elsewhere.

    COYW
     
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  2. Bandit

    Bandit Active Member

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    If Sidwell is fit, will Hughes choose him over Etuhu given last weeks performance? I'd be tempted to go with an unchanged side, but I fear this is one game that Etuhu is likely to struggle in. My head says a 2-0 win to Utd.
     
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  3. rocky57

    rocky57 Member

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    I've had a bet on Fulham winning 2-1 today, worth a shout.

    One thing though - can we stop this idea about Salcido's improvement as a full back? Sure, his attacking play is looking penetrative once more as it did when he first came, but defensively forget it.
     
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  4. FFC4L

    FFC4L Member

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    Over the last 2 games Salcido's defending has improved dramatically. He is no longer making silly errors. And now he has more options upfield.

    I am interested in who would play in place of Duff if the worst happened and he didn't play. Kakuta? Davies? Etuhu rarely performs well in the big stadiums. He makes silly passes under pressure in my opinion. I would prefer Sidwell.

    Otherwise, COYW! :)
     
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  5. GeraScores

    GeraScores Well-Known Member

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    I'd love a win, and even a bore draw.especially since were done 3-0 last time I was there.
    Yes to Sidwell over Etuhu today.
    COYW
     
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  6. Hizmo

    Hizmo Active Member

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    First of all, you shouldn't be predicting for a Manchester United win, it will be a tough game for both teams. Fans losing hope before the game has even started isn't something that would motivate the players. Hernandez's movement over the past few games isn't something that I'd mention, the Chelsea game is a obvious example. As you all know this is Hernandez's first season with United, we've got to give him time to develop as a player. Well, what can I say about Rio's return? Both Vidic and Rio will surely keep your strikers quiet.
     
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  7. Fulham COYW

    Fulham COYW Well-Known Member

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    I thought the team let themselves down today. They were quite poor, especially first half.

    We were stangely better when Gudjohanssen came on for Dembele in the 2nd half. Gera also came on second half and really showed his frustrations but for all my willing him on, didn't set the place alight.

    Nice day out in a great stadium despite result. Many things I've seen today though makes me glad I'm a Fulham supporter and not Man U.
     
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  8. frogman27

    frogman27 Member

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    I envy you FulhamCOYW, I have never been to away fixture in the premiership, let alone to Old Trafford. I know there are not too many Fulham fans who make the trips away but as someone who does, do you notice that we play differently than at home? It is common knowledge that we underachieve away from the Cottage but it still remains a mystery to me. I know MH now has the players travelling up on the train at times, not sure if this is a new thing or not, may be trying to change the structure of the away games.

    As for the game, I can only offer my thoughts from what I saw on MOTD. It loked like we started OK, Kakuta carving out an opportunity an then Bobby had a great opportunity. A slight lapse in concentration from Baird left Berbatov unmarked and a terrible decision by Schwarz and some desperate defending let in Valencia. We looked to have created some decent chances but did not bury them.

    I am intrigued about Gudjohnsson. He is armed with some serious skill both as creator and finisher. But has he the fitness levels to be a contender for the starting line up.

    FulhamCOYW, from my experience in Europe, fulham fans are a pleasure to be around, good fun loving people. Hope the United fans did not spoil your day.
     
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  9. FFC_Madness

    FFC_Madness Well-Known Member

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    Bandit, good prediction. Matched the newspapers both Sun and Mail.

    Disappointed with the ref assistant and the offside on the first goal. Think that allowed Utd to get the break they wanted.

    Other than that I am getting worried with all the mix n match results happening around and the fixtures lined-up. We need a good result against Wolves and Sunderland...

    COYW
     
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  10. rocky57

    rocky57 Member

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    I'm going radio rental with this Salcido's not making errors & is defending better. No he's not, he's slow, he ball watches and as a consequence is frequently out of position.

    I'm in the JP fan club but can see there are pros and cons. However, sitting where I do at the Cottage I get to watch Salcido up close for a whole half, and believe you me he was wandering out of position for much of the Blackpool game for example; Luckily the opposition wasn't so effective. I just can't see for the life of me how anyone watching him sees a defender! Only pro - he crosses well but has to come back on his right, but we have plenty of midfielders who can do this better.
     
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  11. Bandit

    Bandit Active Member

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    I could only watch the highlights on MOTD and it looked as if we were sleeping throughout the match, which is a shame considering our recent results against Utd. I predicted Etuhu would be back to his usual self and that Sidwell should have played instead. I'm absolutely dying for Dembele to be dropped, or at least be repositioned. HE IS NOT A STRIKER. The guy can find space and create chances but his shooting is absolutely woeful. Both of his goals against Wolves were incredibly fortunate, both hit along the ground at a not so fast pace.
     
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  12. Fulham COYW

    Fulham COYW Well-Known Member

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    Our away form this season has certainly been more attack minded and if there was a common link to all our games I would say we generally have a better second half.

    In the Man U game we started well and had a couple of opportunities. We then lost our heads and showed panic. At two nil down it was game over and I think Utd even took the foot off the gas. We could have, and perhaps deserved to get, a goal second half and perhaps if we did it would have been a much lively finish.

    I think we are getting better at these away fixtures though. We need to forget about our past records which are always quoted, even by Mark Hughes before the fixture. We may have a poor record against a team in the past 30 years but that is history - We now have a good team - A team that can win.

    I don't know about Gunjohansson either. I just felt in that match we certainly improved after he replaced Dembele. I'd need to see more of him and even then, thinking aloud, he is not the longterm solution.

    Totally agree with comments on Salcido and Sidwell. JP over Salcido anyday !
     
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