I suspect Rene's appointment will buy Jol some time - if our results don't improve he can now point to the changes being implemented and the need to wait for them to come into effect. Looking over our fixtures until New Year we've got quite a tough run. Beyond Swansea and Villa at home, both teams now playing with some coherence, I'm not sure where points will come from (and I don't know whether we will pick them up there). We're on 10 points now - wondering what others think is a realistic target for the run to January. I've put my guesses in below Fulham v Swansea Sat 23 Nov 15:00 3 points West Ham v Fulham Sat 30 Nov 15:00 1 point Fulham v Tottenham Wed 4 Dec 20:00 0 Fulham v Aston Villa Sun 8 Dec 13:30 1 Everton v Fulham Sat 14 Dec 15:00 1 Fulham v Man City Sat 21 Dec 15:00 0 Norwich v Fulham Thu 26 Dec 15:00 1 Hull v Fulham Sat 28 Dec 15:00 1 That would take us to 18 points at the start of the New Year - a very poor place to be in with us then needing to pick up atleast 22 from the remaining games. I'd set a target for us to try pick up 14 points from these games, sadly I think that might be unrealistic given the current state of affairs.
As a passer by, and no wummery involved, I think you have perhaps been a little generous for your away games, suggesting you will not lose any of them. I don't see it, as of today, sorry.
We more than likely will lose one or two but a realistic target for us away to the likes of West Ham, Everton, Norwich and Hull is definitely a draw. It would be incredibly harsh to say that a draw is unrealistic in any of those games. In fact I'd say a win in one or two of those games is a realistic target.
That's the problem with the current form and display. We have given every team the right to feel comfortable winners...
Very True, Madness. Teams will look forward to playing Fulham the same way regular people look forward to holiday weekends. Frankly, in our current form, I'd be surprised if we got more than 2 points from that entire list: perhaps a point against Swansea and a point against Norwich. Positionally, I think Sunderland will pass us and we'll be second from bottom by Jan 1. If we can't get rid of Jol before December 14, I don't think any incoming manager will have enough time to find replacements for our god-aweful players, and, thus, we'll be ill-equipped to fight for our survival the remainder of the year.
bizarrely our away games have resulted in 2 wins. Surely you remember us getting 2 wins away all season? or less!
It was bizzare, but our away wins were against Crystal Palace and Di Canio's Sunderland, two teams in horrible form at the time. So I'm not reading too much into those results.
getting a draw at everton? no chance I think we will have 17 points by xmas, we have been lucky to win the games we have so far, breede out for long time that's a big worry
Not at all Our form is so up and down it's impossible to know from one week to the next what's going to happen. That said, I would be disappointed if we lost at home to Fulham of course, as we generally do not lose more than 3 homes game in a season (well, since our return this time at any rate). I just thought it quite bold, considering where Fulham are today, that 4 away games without a defeat somewhere was/is quite optimistic, no more, no less
It seemed like a fair comment (your original one, that is) to me. As others have said, our current form marks us out as the club everyone hopes to pick up points against. My brother-in-law is a Norwich fan, so the result against your boys is one of the most important of my season.
Yeah, but it was also supposed to be realistic I wont comment much about our game, and a draw is a realistic possibility, though hopefully a home win. The one that really raised an eyebrow though was Everton away - while not impossible, as anything can happen on the day, I would not consider it realistic. More in hope perhaps, and that would apply to any team in the lower half of the league facing a trip to Goodison Just so you can hopefully accept I am not on the wum here, you have every chance of getting something at home to Man City though - their away form has been poor so far
Hello to visiting fans - apologies if you were upset by my original post - I can understand why you would expect to take 3 points from us, home or away, at the moment- we have a very soft core at and appear to be devoid of any team spirit. Worryingly we finished last season very poorly and as it stands we must avoid that to have any hope this season. Our upcoming fixtures do look tough and we might stuggle to build any kind of momentum. With no disrespect to Rene, being AM at UTD isn't a bad gig with top level coaches and players all over the shop. This will be a real test of his ability not only to organise but also motivate. I hope it proves to be an inspired appointment and he forms a Batman and Robin partnership with Jol, solving the crimes at Fulham and bringing justice to the fans. My experience of watching the team last season and this makes me a bit jaded though. Whatever happens we are not going to be safe until quite late in the day - if at all (fingers crossed). City at home will be an interesting one, I remember a game not too long ago where we went in 2-0 down and came out and played some of the best football I've seen at the Cottage, brought it back to 2-2 and very nearly got the win. Back then we had some unity though, and the defence looked stronger with H block in full operation. Now we've got one half of the Chuckle Brothers (and the other, Mr Bramble, is free agent so we might end up with the two together) and an untested hothead I think they will find us easy prey. Our only hope is to score more, but given our stats this season, goals and shots, it's not looking good. Everton away controversial I know, as things stand. What now seems like a long time ago I would have expected a draw, despite our away form. I always considered us to be about level with Everton - unfortunately not this season.
SilkShip, I never get upset at what you guys on here say as I consider you to be among the most level-headed set of fans on not606 Just didn't fully agree with your 'expectations/realism'. That said, it's football, and it's a funny old game. I hope Fulham can get the points they need, but from the outside they look weaker than the have ever been in the PL.
Fulham v Swansea Sat 23 Nov 15:00 3 points Actual - 0 West Ham v Fulham Sat 30 Nov 15:00 1 point Actual - 0 Fulham v Tottenham Wed 4 Dec 20:00 0 Actual - 0 Fulham v Aston Villa Sun 8 Dec 13:30 1 Actual - 3 Everton v Fulham Sat 14 Dec 15:00 1 Actual - 0 Fulham v Man City Sat 21 Dec 15:00 0 Norwich v Fulham Thu 26 Dec 15:00 1 Hull v Fulham Sat 28 Dec 15:00 1 The last two games before Christmas are crucial now. We can't rely on teams around us dropping down as the league is so mixed in terms of results now. If we can get 6 out of 9 from the last three we've exceeded my target. For the all the optimism Rene has brought to me, reviewing this has left me a bit glum.
