Riise no longer wants to be here. Riise is no longer good enough to start every game. So why is Riise playing ahead of Briggs? At least Briggs has youth on his side when he makes mistakes. I won't even start on Sidwell. *grumbles* Anyways, I thought we played okay in parts. Arsenal's game suited the conditions much better and let's be honest, they are not as bad as they've been made out over the last week.
We didn't take our chances to put Arsenal under pressure. Poor defending for the goals, Arsenal knew our weakness was Walcott against Riise, and that was exploited twice. Wenger reckons they controlled the game, but I think he's trying to sucker his fans into thinking everything is alright, if we'd taken the chances at 0-1 might have been different. The second goal gave them the confidence. Arsenal were more direct than us most of the game, again possession and slow build ups cost us. All the new guys had good games. Parker impressed me with his passing, Kasami with his chasing down and putting them under pressure, Adel had a purple patch but some of his passes were poor, Bent did what he's meant too do, score.
Not the worst performance I've seen from Fulham but it was worrying how stifled play was from the back. We were passing it back and forth between the centre and full backs and Parker or Sidwell. They were obviously trying to avoid playing it long but the whole setup of passing seemed to be working toward it. Sidwell and Parker are quite similar players and I don't think it should be our first pairing- I'd treat Parker as a like for like replacement and put Karagounis or Boateng with him ahead. Kasami worked hard and I like his industry- if he was reined in a bit he could develop into a good player. With a bit of discipline I see him as a decent CM but playing forward for so long might mean he'll never get it. Bent scoring means he is likely to drop to the bench with Berbatov taking up his position. Duff's one looks up for grabs but Kacaniklic didn't do much aside from one excellent high ball control- by the end it looked like he was playing in the middle because he completely vacated the left wing. Walcott had the beating of Riise a few times although you can hardly blame Riise when it is obvious he is too slow to defend against pace. Hughes had a great game and might keep Amo out the side for a while yet. Riether looked a bit subdued but has some excellent touches, particularly in the second half when he dispossessed his man and then sent a great ball up the right channel. It just didn't seem to happen for Berba, one flick in our third in the second half stands out where he furiously chased it back after- it kind of summed up his performance, his technique was off but he actually worked harder than usual. Was glad to see Bent get his goal. His movement is fascinating and enjoyed following him in the second half. He seems to slowly drop deep and then suddenly turn, looking for a ball in behind. That movement is perfect if we have CM's that can recognise his intent and put the pass through. Parker maybe can do this but I don't think he is all that creative, he does know how to use his body on the ball really well though- lots of twisting and turning to wrongfoot the defender. Taarabt had his moments and was showing a lot for the ball but didn't seem to get it. After a while he turned off a bit, don't actually blame him. It's too early too judge and fits a bit too nicely into what I thought it would be like before the season to be completely objective or accurate but I do think this lack of a passing central midfielder is going to make our play stuttered. It's not putting us in danger of relegation but based on today its the missing piece between a solid defence and a strong attack- we're playing with 7 defenders and 4 attackers at the minute.
You guys did ok, we were just better on the day. You should be fine for a top table finish if you play like that. PS, Bent+Berbatov will be a good combo for future games.
Cat among the pigeons time: I thought Riise played well. Lots of positives, and I can't help wondering whether the result might have been different if Stekelenburg had been fit. Not that I'm blaming Stockdale for any of the goals, but who knows how things might have been if either of the first two goals had been kept out by a world-class save. I thought the first goal was a bit unfortunate for us, but I also thought Arsenal deserved it. By contrast, the second goal came very much against the run of play and we probably deserved to score in that period. The substitutions were interesting. As silkship says, Bent's movement is very good. He knows where and when to make runs behind the defence. I thought the trouble today was that our midfielders aren't used to picking out those kind of runs, and they weren't reading his intentions. That's something that is likely to change as they work together in training. When Duff went off, Kasami (who I thought was very good) moved out right initially, but then drifted back to his central position. Whether that was on orders or just through indiscipline I don't know. I was thinking that Duff would be the one to make way for Bent, but if Kasami can't hold his position when played on the right, it might cost him his place. All in all, it's not too bad for a 3-1 defeat. I don't recall us making the Arsenal keeper make a single difficult save. We lost because our finishing wasn't quite good enough, and because a lot of our more promising moves didn't quite fall right. The second of those things will improve as the new team gets used to one another; the first probably needs time and work on the training ground. It will be interesting to see whether the Burton game is used to give gametime to the players who have had to sit and watch, or whether it will be used to give the first eleven more time to get used to each other. There's a case either way, but either way we should start with Bent. Best news of the day: they've added Chicken Balti pies to the food kiosk menus; worst news of the day: they got my order wrong and gave me a meat pie instead.
As I said before the match, I'm not convinced Stockdale is a premiership standard keeper and I think we should look for a new second keeper and let Stockdale go and be a number 1 at a championship club, which I am sure is more his level. Like the Capt. I am not looking to blame him for any of the goals or for us losing. I just don't think he has quite the quality needed for the top league.
With Stockdale he hasn't gained a reputation in the Premier, and hence I think our defense lack that bit of confidence, that they would have with Stekelenberg. And the opposition would see it the same, it's just a mentality of seeing a goalkeeper like Stek and thinking he's got a reputation like it's going to be hard to beat him. If Stockdale had done like Vorm at Swansea where he came in and got a reputation of being hard to beat, but he does seem to make mistakes, even at Hull they weren't to unhappy they hadn't signed him. If he had a great game and saved us today it would have helped with his reputation. His one plus was: Thought he was good with a lot of accurate kicking today.
I like Duff and he has given us some great years but his time is up im afraid!!! How he is starting ahead of Ruiz, Dejagag, kaca, Frei and Mesca is beyond me
Difficult game to draw any conclusions. Both Riise and Duff are past premiership level. Riise was the weak link. Duff like Kara can be used as impact subs. Promising though. Kasami was good and run a lot. Come on you Whites..
Typical BBC, just watched the recording of MOTD, and no showing of some of Fulhams shots on goal, what happened to the curling shot from Parker after good passing inter-play, and the shots that Taarabt had in the first half !!!! What were the cards being held up supposed to show ? bit of a disaster if you ask me. Hammersmith was so dark you couldn't see if people were holding them up or not. I see there's no club photos of the display. Was it shown on BT Sport ? Bit of a dilemma for Jol with Duff, last season he was top of the assists, a good corner taker, but playing on the right and cutting in hasn't worked that well for a couple of seasons and his goals have dropped off. He does have better defensive qualities then the others mentioned and helps Riether to overlap. Riise inability to get back into defense position when he has been attacking has stretched our defense over the past season. Need to promote or get some cover in, if Richardson is going to be a walking injury.
Agree completely with this Captain. However it has prompted me to ask the vexed question, "do we actually practice free kicks in training?" Every free kick outside shooting range seems to end up back with our keeper and when we are in shooting range there's comple indecision as to who should take the kick. An exaggeration I know - for instance Kara, when he came on, whipped in some very decent free kicks from our right hand side. But overall we're pretty woeful and it's not as if this is the first time the question has been asked. Somebody obviously gave dispensation to those 'Cluckers' from Motspur Park. Actually I've been wondering what has happened to the 'Chickens Predict' this season.
Captain's point about the midfield applies not just to the runs of Bent, but also those of Berbatov and Kasami. Lot's of movement but it needs some clarity. Parker was impressive, and it almost seemed to work with Sidwell - except when we were outrun when Arsenal broke quickly. Duff was too quiet. Taarabt had some good spells, but needs more consistency. Kara came on had an immediate effect. Up-front we need to get more shooting practice. First on MOTD - Sorry, Arsenal were on first - but they could have shown a bit more of Fulham. Although, Harry made a good point on MOTD about how we manage so many flair individuals. I agree that there were lot's of positives in the match - We'll play worse and get points. Top-Half finish! C O Y W !!
I have said it in the past i like many others do not think Stockdale is a suitable understudy. No command of his area. Bad positional stance on set pieces. lacks the edge on agility. The answer purchase a back up keeper or premote from within. My choice Jesse Jorronin could not be worse.
Obviously Jol has not found the 11 best yet. The game on Tuesday will be another opportunity to try a formation. We need a LB urgently. Also Dejagah back on the starting 11. Him and Riether are a good pair on the right. No comment on Stockdale as we have spoken about him many times. I am optimistic after watching on Saturday. Arsenal were too good at times.
No it wont. Jol will use it to give people game time - no more, no less. I've said it before, Jol does not select a team with the opposition or the location in mind. On Saturday the starting line up would have been fine for an away game. At home, and against an Arsenal weak at the back, not.
Whoever he picks tuesdays game should be nothing less than a decisive win for us,nothing less will do
I was quite pleased with the performance on Saturday. The new players proved welcome additions and a definite improvement. I was particularly impressed with Parker and I am sure this team will get better as the season progresses. We were caught on the counter attack too many times but we knew that was going to be a real threat and Riise had a hard job with Walcott. I was surprised how we did commit so many people forward. Last season we fannied around up front and never had anyone in the box. Yesterday everyone seemed to be in there but weren't as clinical. Anyway, lot's of positives. I saw enough there to think we could have a good season.
I too saw enough to think we'll be ok and perhaps have a decent season. Sidwell was poor but is he holding or the creative of the 2 CM players - if he is the creative CM its not good enough. I'd rather have Karagounis play there but that leaves us desperately short on pace. Where is Trashcan...his link up play with Reither is much better than that of Duff but as mentioned Duff's defensive ability is much better. Duff simply has no pace, the goals have dried up, i'd have him on the bench. Riise - not bad but not good enough. Walcott is world class. They counter attack so well and at pace with plenty of options. Lets be honest they could of had 5 or 6 on another day. I'm still miffed with his formation and getting the players to gel. Seems we have many of the same - Taraabt, Ruiz, Kasami and Berbatov to a certain extent. Not sure you can have them all playing and expect to keep clean sheets - because we're not good enough defensively. Bent looked hungry, his movement looks very good but we're not sending in the through balls. Berbatov's skill to set up Bent's goal was outstanding, have a look at the skill of his feet.
Here is a link to the video highlights, via 'Fulham TV': http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2013/august/26/arsenal-highlights
The highlights still don't show the Parker shot in the first half (not on MOTD either) that he tried to curl into the top left hand corner of the net, there was good build up play for that shot. And on the camera in the JH stand, Why there ?, there used to be a camera on the roof of the Hammersmith one season, but it had problems getting views of the Hammersmith goal line, so I guess they scrapped that. Why not put the camera near Block A Lower where there is an exit Tunnel between Block B ? They have a camera stand on the Putney/Riverside Corner.
