Match Day Thread Fulham vs United - OGS v SMP Special

So Fulham away next. This isn't going to be as easy as it may have been if we were playing them a couple of months ago. Fulham are playing well, growing more and more confident after performances against better sides like Livpl, Chelsea and Spurs so I expect them to feel like they can get something out of this game.

We need to win though and should have enough to do so. Let's not concede (our last 3 games we've kept a clean sheet). And if we go a goal up don't do a Spurs and sit on it either!

 

I know its only statistics............

No team have hit the target more than Manchester United (105).

• After winning consecutive league games against Man Utd in 2009, Fulham are winless in their last 11 against the Red Devils (D2 L9), shipping 29 goals in that run.
• Man Utd have won their last four away Premier League games against Fulham, by an aggregate score of 12-1. The Red Devils had won just four of their first 10 visits to the Cottagers in the competition (D4 L2).
• Manchester United are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against promoted sides (W6 D2), scoring 25 goals in those games since a 0-2 loss to Cardiff in May 2019.
• Of all sides to have played more than two Premier League games on Wednesdays, Manchester United have the highest win rate (62% - 70/113).
• Since their 2-1 win against Leicester in November, Fulham have scored three goals in seven Premier League matches (D5 L2), failing to score on four occasions in that run.
• Fulham have failed to score in each of their last three home league games. They last went four without a goal at home in August 1969, while they last did so in the top-flight back in December 1961.

 

Team news - Rashford gets a rest, Greenwood starts alongside Cavani and Martial - I think Ole means to win this one.....

 

Interesting lineup with (on the face of it) just one holding mid.

Good to seen Greenwood get a start and Rashford a rest, also nice to see a real striker in the middle. Has the potential for lots of goals.

 

We've got to stop these fckin slow starts. I thought we'd got past this.

 

I think we're going to need a third here.

 

Yeh I was thinking the exact same. We dominate the game but still look vulnerable whenever they come forward.

 

If Cavani had scored that header earlier, would've eased the nerves a bit.

 

Maybe being a bit bold here but rather than shoring up the midfield how about bringing on Rashford for Martial instead.

 

Bit too much ****ing about there at the end for me.

Very risky, unnecessary.

 

Fcking hell, sqeaky bum to the ending or what!!

Thank fck, difficult game and happy to get the win.

If Fulham keep that up they aint getting relegated.

 

Beating a dogged Fulham team. Hats off to the team. More fighting than flair but the pressure was on. . Still a long way to go but we need to keep winning to be among the true title contenders.

 

We clearly weren't good enough, our tactics were ****e, the the team selection was completely wrong and those eight goals we didn't score were Ole's fault. FFS - how is not being top of the ****ing PL not good enough ....., why this constant nit picking and criticism, I really don't get it. Get behind your team, win lose or draw.

 

Relax mate, nobody's complaining

See the OP, it was likely to be a difficult game.

 

We're the second highest goalscorers in the Top 10, but conceded the most also.

I think that's probably heavily weighted towards the first 3 months of the season.

I'd like to say we're improving but we still look nervy when we don't have 2 defensive mf playing.

 

We never do things the easy way. Even if we are there and thereabouts in the run in, it will be very nervy. There is a massive difference between last season and this. We would have drawn or lost that match last season. Our away form is keeping us in contention so far. In fact we don’t seem to play well until we concede the first goal and while this is not ideal it is a great quality to have, knowing that we can come back to win. Let’s hope we keep improving our home form too.

 

I'm liking the Bailly and Maguire partnership but I'm not sure if we don't need a better CB there to lead that defence. Bailly and Maguire are both solid in themselves but neither are leaders.

My reason is simple. Even if we look forward to next season, whilst we continue to look nervy then teams will have a go at us. But when you go on a run of 15/20 games conceding hardly any, it gets noticed and teams coming to play us already feel they're unlikely to score. I'm not convinced we'll achieve that with the 3 cbs we have atm.

Like I said, individually they're all decent but they lack a real leader to build that fortress mentality where you can go on a long run without conceding. A Rio playing next to any one of them and they'd be so much better.

 

So far this season it looks like OGS is rotating Bailly and Lindelof. Depending on fitness and/or the previous game one of them will be chosen. And because he’s done it often the defence has hardly been affected. That Maguire is a constant has helped. I honestly don’t think we should bring another top CB for this season. Perhaps a young one for the future. Maguire is the world’s most expensive defender and I don’t think he’ll be sidelined. Yet.

 

Not sure anyone was saying it wasn't good enough.

What is a concern though is we spent the last ten minutes with our backs to the wall, during which Fulham missed two absolute sitters.

Translate this into the same situation later in the season against City when we're in the thick end of a title race and we lose that game.

The team needs to have confidence in themselves and any game plan, and instead carry on playing football at the other end.

A third goal was definitely required. I think we could always do with a two goal cushion!

 

of course we all want as big a cushion as possible. This kind of tension is not good for the heart or the blood pressure.

Interestingly even Solskjaer is mentioning the first goal being conceded as being almost a positive! It just woke the team up and focussed the whole team on having to attack and to score and not worry about conceding. And once the equaliser is scored the momentum pushes the team on to a win. On reflection as mad as this may seem it wouldn’t have been bad for us if the RS had scored in that first 30 minutes. That would have unleashed our attack against a not so solid defence and we could have had our away win in our usual way