I see after your mammoth 3-0 win against Bolton that you are safe, This is great to see this happen for you as you didn't deserve to be down the bottom, I think Hughes is now starting to get it right and it was right to keep him as he is turning into a good manager. Well done, Hope for a few Fulham fans views tonight.
Massive result tonight, could not get to the game but looking forward to the highlights on Sky sports 2. Read that Dembele got a rousing reception when he was subbed. Really pleased for Dempsey, he has looked a little flat for a couple of games, great to see him scoring again. Hopefully enough points to guarentee safety. Well done to all the team and the coaching staff for getting themselves up for a huge game. COYW
Went to the game tonight, while dembele was a bit frustrating in his inability to get shots on target, he largely dictated play and was a handful all night. Really felt he deserved a goal. Dempsey's 1st goal was a fine strike, with his second a good take as well, though he still drifted in and out the game as he can do. Still can't be too critical as he was largely superb tonight. However, the special praise must go to simon davies, who was fantastic. Showed pace, strength, good footwork and most crucially a cracking final ball, particularly for dempsey's second goal. Real dilemma for hughes when duff is back, as both dempsey and davies would be difficult to leave out in this form. Davies form also demonstrates why in a 4-4-2 we should stick to playing wingers on the same side as their stronger feet (davies right and duff left). Works so much better! Also bobby scored a fine goal disallowed for handball. Hit his arm though might have been ball to hand. Was a terrific finish regardless. COYW!!!
I saw the replay this morning. It was a very entertaining game, although the score flattered us a little. Schwartzer made several fine saves, including one in the first minute. Dempsey got the glory, but I thought it was a very good team performance all around. Gudjonson had a good game and was unlucky not to score twice. Dembele, too, dictated the game from the front, holding up the ball nicely. Murphy and Sidwell were great. No complaints.
I'll ask the same question I asked after the Wolves game: how was Gudjohnsen in terms of holding the ball up and being a targetman/focal point for the attack? When we signed him I hoped he would offer an alternative (back-up rather than a rival) to Bobby in that area. Does he look like he can do the job, or do we need to be in the market for someone else to do that?
He made a decent contribution. Lovely flick for dempsey's second and his chip which hit the post was nice. He has similar assets to both zamora and dembele. He often drops off a lot deeper than zamora. So won't always hold the ball up quite as effectively nor is he such a physical player as zamora. This said I liked the way managed to bring others into play, particularly davies last night, and I imagine Duff when he returns. He also gives us some control with the ball at feet with his range of touches and passing, particularly if murphy for example is not at his fluent best. Would make for a valuable squad player behind dembele and zamora i think. Interestingly captain, my mate who I went with last night was suggesting that the reason why gudjohnsen is getting a run in the team is part of hughes' plan to convince him to stay on next year. This might explain why he's above johnson in the pecking order and why zamora has been left on the bench, although I don't know how bad zamora's recent injury has been. Saying that, I think gudjohnsen would happily sit on the bench all next season just as an excuse to get out of stoke!
Thanks, Robespierre, very helpful. When we played Bolton in the cup, we were crying out for someone to take Bobby's role. The difference he made once he came on as a sub made that clearer than ever before. Whenever the ball was played up to AJ, he was being beaten in the air by Wheater (not surprising). AJ's running into channels and work rate is great, but he doesn't provide the same focal point that Bobby does. I think if Bobby was playing and Dembele injured, AJ would still be ahead of him in the queue. It sounds as if Gudjohnson possibly can deputise for Bobby, although in a different way. What does everyone think - do we need to sign a back up targetman, or have we already got one in Gudjohnson?
I'm not sure Gudjohnson is like for like replacement for Zamora. He can't head the ball and has no pace. However he does have good feet. Having said that 1 in 3 seem to work, the other 2 going wrong. He's a good squad player but I don't think he'd score more than Andy Johnson.
