Forgot to mention Hoogland in my earlier post and you are absolutely correct SuperBri. This is clearly his natural position and it showed in a very confident performance. Maybe it was the new haircut that made him (almost) 'Alonso-like'.
Definitely better performance building on Tuesday's win. The formation worked very well in the first half. Second half seems that David got tired together with Parker. Chihi showed some good attributes. Our passing needs to me slicker and faster. There were points that we could have opened them up very quickly for the ball to be played in the wrong side if the pitch! Positive overall and glad for the point! Set pieces and crosses need to be improved. Maybe some practice during the break?
Have to agree with super bri and Kunye here. Have just watched the highlights on the the football league show and we looked really good. From what I saw McCormack looked very good even though he was on the wing, his movement and passing looked class, also got in position to get some shots off. Parker looked to be playing very well as well, seems to be playing higher up the pitch and distributing the ball quicker. David and hyndman were very tidy. Having seen the first couple of games and some highlights of yesterday, there are plenty of pluses: Our control of the ball is great, and distribution of it is crisp and intelligent. The fitness levels, especially in comparison to last season, are superb ( as you would expect under McGath ) There seems to be some balance in the team against cardiff I feel we are suffering with teams beings happy to let us have possession and then playing deeper to defend the box. As much as we are passing the ball round effectively we are not creating enough penetration in behind defences. I really rate Woodrow and dembele and given a few years they will be superb players, however, we are in need of a striker who plays on the shoulder of defenders and is willing to gamble on making runs in behind. This will stretch defences and give us more space to exploit. Secondly, the championship is proving a cruel league. I cannot comment on the derby game as I have not seen any highlights ( a friend is a derby fan so it hurt too much to watch !! ). Defensively we are being punished clinically for mistakes being made. Yesterday, burn should have anticipated jones' movement, we concede. The same against Ipswich, a couple of lapses of concentration and we are punished. They said on the football league show that we are going to have to get aggressive if we are to succeed in the championship and to a certain degree I have to agree. As someone who has openly cussed Magath I stand a little humbled. As Kunye mentioned another 3 games and a better picture will be painted of where we are. Yesterday's team looked solid and balanced. I hope Magath shows some loyalty to their performance and keeps them as a unit. COYW
Much improved. Balanced and tidy. Hoogaland and Burn played really well. Hoogaland for me has found his natural position in this squad, as c58 said. Pleased with a point as I thought we'd get beaten but with an improved performance with th side that cost zillions. Onwards and upwards,
Interesting to see Dan Burn, for the second game on the trot, get the Captain’s armband when Scotty Parker went off. Makes it even more curious why Felix hasn’t played Dan earlier in the season. Just on Parker and the Captaincy, I was surprised he didn‘t take a more pro-active role when Chris David insisted on taking and wasting free kicks in the first half when Ross McCormack obviously wanted them. Also in the second half there was some confusion over who should take a corner on the left. McCormack, who had been taking them (not sure why) indicated to David that he should. David out on the right and maybe a tad knackered, in turn gestured to Stafylidis who trotted over to take the kick. Again no Parker intervention although there was by now much shuffling of feet trying to work out who should go up and who should stay back. These were just two examples of, I hesitate to say lack of interest, but certainly lack of leadershp by him yesterday.
I watched the replay on the BBC. That was an encouraging display. I think we were unlucky not to get all 3 points. I expect this is a result we can build on.
Emerson hyndman. Had a great game too. He'll be very good quite a player, So impressed with him. Chris David too. McCormack was all over the pkace, ran his socks off and was constantly getting battered by Cardiff. Shame there's a break. COYW
Then again, depending on how many are away with their respective national squads, it could provide a bit more time for working on things and polishing up the finer details of Felix's master plan. This is far better than the break coming on the back of a result and performance like Derby.
Hers a good summary from viva el fulham. Makes a lot of sense. http://www.vivaelfulham.co.uk/articles/talking-tactics-fulham-1-cardiff-1-7-497.html
