Luckily for you I watched the game Bidders. We were outstanding from the first minute to the last and thoroughly deserved the three points. I counted over 20 shots from us today, with shots on target also being in the double figures. Mignolet was probably their best player denying Dembele twice and Duff on several occasions. Best game from Dembele in quite a while and was incredibly unlucky not to score. Like the Liverpool game, it is really hard to find a criticism from an individual player or the team as a whole. Sunderland look threatening when they made changes in the last half hour but anything other than a Fulham win would have been an injustice.
Dembele was credited with the second goal... Cheers for that though Banders, fantastic to hear we were good value for our win.
The commentator said at half time that it was to be credited as a Turner OG as Dembele's shot was going wide. Hope it goes to Dembele though, he really did deserve a goal today.
The highlight was definitely Demps getting his 50th. And Dembele deserves the goal, whether or not it is credited to him; he was terrific throughout. But I have to disagree with your general assessment Bandit. Yes, their keeper did well. Yes we played attractive football, some of the time. However at other times we were quite sloppy and lazy. Indeed we could easily and indeed should have, conceded a second late on. Jol should have subbed the Pog earlier and Diarra instead of Murphy - Diarra had an excellent first half but faded in the second when he was given less space. To be honest I've only narking on with negatives because I think you posted too rosy a picture. In truth I'm totally delighted with the 3 points, the quality of our play (when we felt like it) and (as you rightly pointed out) the willingness to have shots. Even better we're above L'pool. Well done everyone at the Club. A last point about Demps and whether there would be any indication that this might be his Cottage swan song. Certainly nothing at the end when the team came back out, with their families and led by MAF. However before the match, he took time out of the warm up session to sign a shirt and a couple of autograph books. I've never seen him do anything like that before - usually he is completely focussed before a match. But then again, maybe he did it because he is just a nice guy.
Hahaha, never before have I been accused of painting 'too rosy a picture' My only criticism would be that we were too wasteful in front of goal. Sunderland played like a team that had nothing to play for to be honest and were there for the taking.
You are both right. We were good for the 3 points and at times it was free-flowing set-up and attack. However there were periods of stagnant play during which we pushed the ball around too casually so as to cause unnecessary concern. Brede made a few too many errors, butHughes did well. Good to see Chris Baird in the last 10 minutes, but he should have been on earlier. Campbell and Bendtner both missed sitters, but I was out of my seat when Dempsey, Pog, Duff, Frei all went close. Good to see 3 well struck goals.
Dempsey had his head down as he walked past my section, no real giveaway as to whether he is staying or going. If we can keep these players together and add to the defence and attack then next season could see us push past the record points total.
Evening all, I went to the game today, my first for some time, and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. I agree we did give the ball away a bit lazily at times but overall we dominated the midfield and were well worth the 3 points. Dempsey's goal looked a cracker, great technique. His ability to ghost into areas unseen is a credit to his hard work. He has come on so far since he forst joined, As to whether he stays or goes, we shall have to see. For his benefit I think he has found a system where he can do his thing, a move may stop that freedom. For me though, the key man to keep hold of is Dembele. He was immence today, he was the dominant force in midfield and the goal was totally deserved. He has learnt to use his body strength to tackle the physical side of the premiership and his skill and audacity is a wonder to watch. If we can hold onto him then it will be a major statement of our intent. Unfortunately I think he fits perfectly into the mould of Scholes at United. I should also say that Riise came under a lot of grief when he first arrived but what a player he is for us. His ability to run the line and provide an outlet on the wing helps the likes of Demps and Pogrenyak get the space they need. He defends really well and today put in a couple of crunching tackles. An unsung hero award may be coming his way. Lovely to see us playing good, attractive, attacking football. With the pace of Frei and Kaca coming through and hopefully getting the best out of Ruiz, there is a lot to look forward to as life as a Fulham fan. COYW
Morning all. I was at the game again today - my first trip to the Cottage in quite a while. I thought we rode our luck in the second half, and if Sunderland had got a late equaliser, it would have been no less than their second half deserved. That said, we should and could have led 3-1 (or even 4-1) at half time, so I think we certainly deserved the win. I agree with the above comments about Dempsey and Dembele, but thought Duff and Murphy also had excellent games. Murphy his a couple of passes that weren't shown on MOTD that made me gasp - one through ball to Duff which created a goal-chance out of nothing, and a ball into space for Riise which was as audacious as it was unseen by anyone else in the ground before he did it. The thing that really struck me was how composed we were, pinging the ball around and keeping possession (even Hughes, who has often seemed to me the player most likely to give up and just hoof it forward), but doing so purposefully, looking for a chance to work some space and opportunity for a team-mate. Jol has got us playing some really nice, skillful, attacking football. It might look very different next year if we lose one or more of Dempsey, Dembele and Murphy, but maybe some of the young uns will be ready to step up. Our seats were up at the Cottage end of the Haynes, so maybe that's slanted my view of the game - noticing more of the attack in the first half - but overall it was a fine display. As I've said before, the future is bright, the future is Jollish.
Must admit Captain I thought the opposite I thought we controlled the game throughout and would have been disappointed if we had let Sunderland back in. There were a couple of chances that were clear open goals for Sunderland in the 2nd half that they missed, but the amount of chances we had and created, only for their keeper to save, outnumbered their chances 4 to 1. And my bugbear keeps happening, why water the pitch just before kick-off and at half time. Players were slipping over, and both Dempsey and Pogrebnyak missed goal opportunities because they slipped on the turf. Dembele was trying to twist and turn and loosing his footing. Maybe they need different studs in their boots, but it's happened too many times.
