I think we will and the impression I get from inside the club is the same, do you agree? Here's what Big Mart thinks: "The talk of a rift wasn't just over the past couple of weeks, it was over the last couple of months," Jol said. Zamora, who joined Fulham from West Ham in 2008 , has scored five goals in 23 appearances for the Cottagers this season, and Jol added: "Bobby wanted to move so we had to wait for a good offer and QPR made a good offer. "If you ask your boss to move, I think he will get the impression you don't want to work for him. That is the only impression I got. He wanted to move. It was only a matter of making a decision of whether to keep him or let him go." Fulham secured a point in a 1-1 draw against West Brom on Wednesday night, but the west Londoners looked bereft of attacking ideas for long periods of the match. But Jol remains defiant that the future looks bright for the Craven Cottage club. He added: "We have a good atmosphere here, a good spirit and they all want to play for the club. "You have to appreciate for me the most important thing is that they want to play for Fulham and that they want to play with their heart."
Well said Big Mart. I think we'll be fine. The way we play doesn't suit him any more, and he's nearing the end of his shelf life. Thanks for all the memories, Bobby.
We all already kind of knew this but yes I think we will be better off. Not because Bobby is a bad player, far from it, but because his heart wasn't at the club obviously, and if he was the cancer in the dressing room blabbing to the press every minute then we are better off.
Time will tell if we're better off, but I've been enjoying the 'Are you Bobby in disguise?' chants directed at opposing strikers over the last couple of matches, particularly when a shot from Kenwyne Jones trickled out for a throw in on Saturday. As Bidley says, Bobby gave us plenty of great memories - the screamer against Donetsk, his performance against Juventus, (quote Craig Burley, 'They're just not handling Zamora'), and the recent winner against Arsenal among them. But, we've lost better players than him in the past and survived, so we'll be ok. Incidentally, as well as I thought Pog did on Saturday, apparently the only previous Fulham player to score on his debut in the Premier League was David Healy so I'm not getting carried away yet!
what about collins john two on his debut. so its early days, what is important is the formation with the pog, a good balance
I agree that Zamora did give us a couple of memories. i was a great supporter of his with Hodgson as he was taking a battering from defenders every week and not getting goals. Roy always defended him though, he did a good job which was pretty thankless. However, it's clear that he was perhaps unbalancing things a little by not wanting to play. Looking to the future - Fed the Pog and He Will Score. BTW he reads these threads, hence why he scored on Saturday. We were all so positive for him!! I like what Jol is looking for in his players and not afraid to say cheery ho if they don't agree.
I think it's hard to tell at this point if BZ leaving will hurt us. I can't see how "it's a good thing" as Jol puts it. He was a very effective player playing a difficult role. Pog looks a good player, but he's got a reputation for being injury-prone. If he spends more time running back and forth to the physio than he does the green, green grass, he's of little help to us.
I felt frustrated with Zamora towards the end. Never the same player after the leg break, trust me I know as I've had a tibia and fib break egg chasing. So for me good money exchanged. What I find odd about pav is he is clearly having a look at us too, can he settle etc. this may all be short term, we will know soon enough as we should be offering a long term deal if he makes it.
Hey ho - not sure where I read the stat about Healy but obviously wrong. Just goes to show not everything on the internet is true! Didn't Pog say something about having a wife and children and so having some reservations about making the move? Sounds fair enough to me - much better to have a trial period and it not work out than sign a guy on a three year contract and find out he can't settle.
There's no doubt that Bobby was a pivotal player in a few seasons for us, but also that the manager played to his strength, with the likes of Gera, Davies and Duff combining well with Zamora to hold the ball up. There was only a short period when he combined well with his strike partner Johnson, mainly because of injuries to both players. A new manager has come in and for the tactics he uses, needs a striker that can face the goal, exploiting space in-between a defenses back four. It would seem that Zamora could not adapt his style of play for Jol's tactics, but it was sad to see him throw tantrums on the pitch. It was no good to have a disillusioned player on the pitch disrupting play and not trying. So if Zamora wasn't prepared to change, then it was obvious that Jol would not play him that often. I would think the motivation for Pogrebnyak to play well for us is to get in the Russian team for the Euro as first team striker, and maybe get a more permanent contract with us, if he can settle.
My view, which I've expressed before and is the same as Cottagecravens', is that Bobby was never the same after the leg break. Not his fault and hardly surprising. He was also getting on a bit and he didn't fit in with Jol's system or (I would imagine) appreciate Jol's seemingly bluff and brusque manner. I agree with Jol - you need people who want to play for the team 100%. Pog certainly looked like he did on Saturday and Bobby hasn't looked like that for a while. Therefore, whilst I'll always appreciate what Bobby did for us, I'm not sad to see him go.
I believe that Bobby is not irreplaceable given he last few performances. The timing was the constraint for the decision. Given what we save on salaries and the fee it seems a reasonable decision especially if Pavel can play the role. Smart decision to go for 6 months with an option to extent. We mentioned several times in this board that you can't keep a player if he does not want to be there. The same as a manager or any employee. Especially when he was clearly the one alerting the press of rift within the camp... It's strange that suddenly all discussions stopped. Also have to back Jol in his way dealing with Zamora and AJ. They are both getting paid to score goals, and paid better than the rest. If they can't we have an issue!
Fulhamish, your stat about Healey is not wrong - but just slightly out of line. Healey was the last Fulham player to score on his debut. Not the only one.
I'm sad to see him go, but that isn't the same as not thinking it was the right move for all concerned. Farewell, Bobby, you did good for us for most of your time here. We'll always have Shaktar.
Indeed, indeed. As you know, Captain, you got my son and I watching the Hamburg game again. However of all the DVDs we have of that fabulous Euro tour, the Shaktar one is the one we have re-run most often. I still say that they are the best team I have ever seen at the Cottage. And we beat them ! That was definitely the night we started believing. And not least thanks to Bobby.
After a tough start, with quite a few supporters on his back, Bobby became a key player for a couple of seasons. At times, his ability to hold the ball up or deflect to a midfielder running through was great to watch. But I agree that he was not the same since the injury and then had a new MJ system to cope with. It was a pity to see him demotivated pre-Xmas. Still, I wish him well and he goes with a "Thanks for the Good Times". Going forward, Pog has made a good start and a short-term fix (just compare him to the Eddie/Dio which we've relied on previously), but he might not be the long-term answer. While I may be wrong, we need another striker.
Well January's only just gone and we're being linked with Mayuka of Young Boys and Bokari of Anderlech.
Agree that Bobby was never the same player after his injury. The general feeling I've had around the Cottage at the two home games since he left is that most people aren't too sad to see him go, but there's no real animosity towards him. Funnily enough I actually hope he and QPR stay up. I'd rather have two more local derbies next season than be playing Blackburn, Wigan or Bolton twice. No offence to anyone from Lancashire, but it's good to have neighbours in the PL we can beat for a change!
I hope Bobby does well, but QPR do badly! I'd be quite happy to see them go down, largely because we had more sniping from their fans on this board than we do with most, and frankly I got fed up with it. My eldest can't bear to look at photos of Bobby in QPR kit in his football magazines. Bless.
