Ref is doing his best to let the game flow, but he needs to get his card out for some of these cynical Everton fouls. EDIT: Karagounis clearly fading from the game now. If only we had Karagounis on the bench to send on to shut this game down...
Congratulations to the team and Martin Jol. Sound edge like we really showed character and were the better team in the second half. Really big result and can hopefully kick on from here
My initial thoughts... Positives: - We won, and it was a deserved win. - Our second half performance was much more positive. You could see what Jol's game plan was, drawing the Everton players forward in the middle and then playing the ball in behind them towards Kaca and Bent. - Goals for Berbatov and Bent, both of which were good finishes. As Bent seems to slowly regain match sharpness, he'll offer a much needed outlet. He stays forward when Berba drops deep - much needed when we play at home. - What on earth has happened to Kasami this year? He is growing with every game and is starting to look like the £4m we paid for him was a good deal. He has energy and vision, always looking to play the ball through to whomever the striker is. I hope that lots of first team football will give him the maturity needed to drop back into central midfield. Who knew, sometimes blooding youngsters is a good thing... - I thought Zverotic looked good. Not only does he offer good cover for Riether, I think Zverotic will offer a good flexible option from the bench. - To be honest, nearly all our players could be positives tonight. Hangeland looked calm and confident (as usual), Stockdale made some good saves and Parker put a real shift in tonight. Kaca did a surprisingly good job on the right and Kara was all over the park until he ran out of steam. Negatives: - Why didn't we turn up in the first half? Given how much better we looked after the break, I just don't know why we looked so poor in the first. - Playing central attacking midfielders on the wing. It wasn't Ruiz today, but Taarabt. They leave the full back exposed and by drifting inside they congest the middle and take away our threat on the wings. - Lack of cohesion in our defensive unit. For whatever reason, we just don't seem to be clicking defensively. We didn't seem to have that secure rock to play forward from; it is hard to gain confidence when we look weaker than the sum of the parts in the back five. - We looked very tired in the last ten minutes. This is somewhat inevitable when your central midfielders have a total age of 68. When your option on the bench is Sidwell (who would not be my choice to shut down a game, given his style of play/temperament), that age catches up with you late in the game. We need to look at the way Kasami is improving and start blooding younger players into our squad.
While your negatives are all justified, Surly, I would point out that (I don't think) this was our first-choice team. The lack of defensive clicking could be put down to four of the five not being first choice. Same with Kara, good as he was.
Can anyone tell me what formation we were playing when Taarabt came off for Bent? Was it a standard 442 or did Kasami move to the wing and Berba drop behind Bent? At times it looked like Bent was out wide left.
Indeed, Bidley. In fact, of our back four tonight only Hangeland is likely to start on Saturday. However, Hangeland/Senderos/Riise have had over two years of playing/training together. It's just a little frustrating to watch. That said, none of my negatives should take away from the fact that we won and we finally put together a decent performance at home.
MJ's rocket seemed to work at half-time, and Fulham deserved the win. Yes, we had some poor patches, but on balance there were a lot more positives. Berbatov and Bent can be a good combination, especially at home - I agree that Bent gives that extra outlet showing what he can do as he gets more match fit. Add an ever-improving Kasami and I thing we start to get something a stable force going forward, even without Ruiz. And I do remain concerned about Taarabt's role, or roles, and how he fits in. Praise for Stockdale for some really good saves which kept us in the game. Hangeland was massive and Zverotic shows some promise. And I didn't realise that Amorebieta could play left back - nice surprise. Hopefully some of the few Boo-boys will see enough to keep quiet - it was not necessary on 45 minutes. Onwards and upwards - 6 points at home from out next 2 matches please - C O Y W !!!!!!
Definitely an improvement on what we have seen,but the critical time for us is the next 4 matches,we need to pick upat least 7/8 points. Must agree Tarby looked good tonight lets hope he realizes he can become a great team player. For me Parker is a great steading influence in the centre,and Stockey looked more confident.
I agree with all of that, Ros. The next couple of games are important for us and we need to build on the second half performance tonight. It was nice to hear the Hammersmith End chanting and no boos at the end; I hope the lads take a buzz from our win and turn it into 3 points this weekend. I have a family party, so I won't be there... so it'd be typical after the dross I've seen thus far.
Captain, You were spot on (as per usual). I'm backing us on Sat, so no doubt our curse the start of our winning run. Slight concern for my Cardiff mate I'm going with on Sat. Did anyone see this or know about our policy/dodgy stewardship?; @richardosman: Two of my friends almost got kicked out of the game tonight for 'not being Fulham fans'. Is that club policy? It was v weird #ffc #COYW
I went to the Fulham vs Peterborough FA Cup tie a couple of years ago with my brother who is a Peterborough fan and we weren't allowed into any of the home stands as he was wearing a Peterborough top. Had to settle for seats in the Putney end, very disappointing.
Didn't see this one coming. A welcome relief and some good partnerships being formed. Continuity is the key in the key areas for me. Parker looks assured and as mentioned steadies the ship. Praise also for Stockdaoe, who I rate incidentally, great saves. We're in the last 16 woohoo!
Richardson might be our starting LB, if he gets knackered bring or move Amorebieta to LB, looked very good when he came on. Riise is done at this club. Slow, exposed yes but offered nothing. Jol was clearly frustrated and his best peice of managing was making the change. Parker my MOM, won so much ball. Especially when Berbatov and others lost possession. Karagounis offered decent distribution as well but surely Sidwell comes back in. George can’t do 2 x 90 mins in a week but he did a job and gave Sidwell a rest. Adel Taarabt – not a winger but he’s the only player that we have who shoots on sight. One will go in, many will miss however. Zverotić – did really well. I was impressed. Pushes the RM spot. Only 26 years old. Kasami – all about effort. Worked so hard. Difficulty for him is does he play on Saturday. I’m sorry but its standard fare - not wearing the other teams colors whilst sitting in the Fulham end. Asking for trouble. Boos at HT but we got a reaction and crucially came from behind to win.
In response to the almost being chucked out point. Would you sit in the Matthew Harding stand at the bridge with your Fulham shirt on? What about the Kop? The answer is no, probably not. Why should Fulham be any different? That's what the Putney end is for.
Positives: Came back well in the second half, Berbatovs early goal boosted confidence, and a good assist by Taarabt, but when Bent came on he gave them more problems as we were less static up front. Parker did really well despite getting booked early on. Karagounis was like a wasp around their midfield. Hangeland was solid in the second half and cut out a lot of their through balls. Steady first game from Zverotic. And another good performance from Amorebieta when he came on to stop the flow down the left hand side. Kasami full of energy and some good passing. Negatives: Riise has lost it as a defender, he is a weak link. I still don't like playing left footed players on the right wing and visa-versa. To me Kacaniklic struggles with it and so does Ruiz Duff and Taarabt. Wonder who Berbatov was having an argument with in the dugout in the secondhalf? Our crowd were in a better mood with a smaller crowd, despite some boos at halftime, got behind them after the goal. A funny moment when Taarabt was asking for a drink from the dugout when he realised the game was still going on when then Everton player ran past him with the ball, one second he's shouting at the bench for not throwing the bottle the next second he's trying to chase after the player.
Cheers for the Hammy end advice. I can assure you my mate won't be wearing any Cardiff colours (I'll be the one giving him a slap if he does)! Apparently Richard Osman friends were also wearing neutral colours. My worry is if my mate cant control himself and cheers/celebrates if Cardiff score (however I very much doubt this will happen)! I've heard some horror stories about stewards in the Hammy end, hence I generally sit in the Riverside stand (plus I prefer the view). I wanted Putney tickets, but got a "bring a mate for free" email offer (only in the Hammy end). Fortunately my mate sounds posher than Prince Charles with not a hint of a Welsh accent, so I'm hoping we'll be okay.
