Wigan are currently leading Arsenal in the FA Cup Semi-Final. I know people only concentrate on what we can affect but this could be good news for us. Norwich's most likely game to get points from is Arsenal on the final day of the season. If Arsenal are in the FA Cup final they may be tempted to field a weakened side against Norwich if they are not still in a fight for fourth.
Obviously, yesterday’s 3 points keep us in the game, with some interesting run-ins: - Sunderland playing Cardiff, WBA, Swansea - Chelsea play Sunderland, Cardiff, Norwich, Swansea (remember how unneighbourly they were to us at Palace). - The outlook for Sunderland and Cardiff looks poor. But in the end, it’s all about a) who allows Norwich any points: Liverpool (H); Man Utd (A); Chelsea (A); Arsenal (H); b) how many points Fulham need/get from 4 games - We need 3 more points than Norwich get; c) just stay ahead of Cardiff. So Fulham are on-track and maybe back to evens from odds-on for relegation. Craving: Glass Half-Full as ever. COYW!
Not saying we shouldn't be aiming for 5 at the least, though. I'd be much more comfortable if we could overall two of Norwich & West Brom/Swansea, as it would take Cardiff out of the equation. Cardiff's run in does not look too bad at all.
Doesn't and I was hoping Soton would do their job! But we need to look only into our run and forget the rest!
I still think we'll need a couple more wins, maybe even needing a draw as well due to our goal difference. We've given ourselves a great chance, but we're not there yet. Cardiff's win against Southampton (who saw that coming?) makes our job much harder than it would have been.
Agreed Captain, we're not there yet. We've gained a hell of a lot of belief, confidence and desire and that'll stand us in good stead. COYW
My worry is our goal difference now, I can see that absolutely walloping us in the gonads on the last day.
think 2 wins and a draw will be enough. I expect us to lose at Spurs (imagine what a win would do) and i am praying we dont slip up against Hull and take a point.
Looking at that scenario you expect to beat Stoke at the Britannia then? Pulace will also be tough, though both them and Stoke should be worry free by then.
No, I think that scenario would be wins over Hull & Palace at home, with a draw at the Britannia. Hence a slip up at Hull would be bad, since we'd need to win at the Britannia. To be honest, us winning at Stoke is a tough ask. We will obviously be targetting a win there (for several reasons, some non-Hughes related), but it's not a given at all.
I do not think we can make any predictions. Everything is up as Cardiff proved against Soton... Magath and the players will be taking each game at a time. Tottenham will be fighting on Saturday for a top 4 finish or have already given up? Hull will be indifferent or not due to FA cup final in their minds? Given that is on the 17th May, there is long to go. Will Sparkey fire up Stoke for a win against us? They are safe now... Pulis hates us, what will the players do? Depends on Crystal Palace's position. Expect them to be safe The confidence we can win is back within the team but the stress is there too now. It was evident I think on Saturday that's why I believe players like Diarra, Sidwell, Parker and Kara will be critical to our survival hopes. The experience that Magath wants is concentrated in those players.
I think we could nick a point at Spurs, Hull at home is one I'm worried about. They are a good team with quality in key positions. It will be a tough game.
I don't think we're expecting to win any particular game, but Spurs stands out as the hardest remaining game, and all of the others are ones we have to be aiming to get something from. We've finally found some momentum, so who knows? I'm not taking Stoke - or anyone else - for granted, and I'm not writing us off against Spurs, but the most likely survival scenario sees us winning two out of three against Stoke, Hull and Palace, so that's what we've got to aim for.
Agreed. Spurs have a lot to play for in their game against us. They'll want to stay close enough to spoil Arsenal's chance at a top 4, plus they'll want to stay ahead of ManU on principle. None of the games look easy, but since Hull and Crystal Palace are basically safe, we can hope their players will be thinking about vacation rather than the game when we finally play them. Bottom line, though, if we don't get 6 points from the remaining games, I can't see us leapfrogging Norwich and staying ahead of Cardiff. I don't want to be left hoping our rivals screw up; I want our boys to go out there and seize these games by the throat like we did against Villa.
The Bulldog Spirit Strong character is required in the fight against relegation. Fulham certainly have a strong character in David Stockdale, their goalkeeper who faces Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday determined to give everything to stay up in the Premier League. "We will stay up because we're Fulham, because we're bulldogs and we'll keep fighting," explained Stockdale, sitting upstairs in the characterful old pavilion at Craven Cottage. "I'm from the barracks. If you need someone to get going in a war, I'd step up. I'd pick Steve Sidwell to come with me straight away as a mate. I'd pick Scott Parker and Brede Hangeland. I call them 'the bulldogs'. 'Send the bulldogs in'. Hugo Rodallega has come in and shown he can do it." "It's like 2008 (survival) again with Danny Murphy, another bulldog. We have this ability to fight on. Pundits counted us out on 20 points. We're on 30 points now. Three wins in five games is good form. For a club that was meant to be going down we didn't roll up and die." "The people we bring here are people who want to fight for the club and are also good people. You'll never have Fulham in the papers because we've got outrage in the ranks. People pull together. If there's something wrong we deal with it in-house. A few of the lads had a talk recently. 'Do you understand where you are?' I said. 'You're at Fulham Football Club. We can't just let this crumble into nothing and fade away'." "Fulham are the club who gave me the chance. If I move on one day, there's always a place for Fulham in my heart. This club is special. It starts with this building we're sitting in. No other club has a cottage. There's a picture of the old cottage somewhere." Stockdale surveyed the walls. "There it is, there you go. 'Original Cottage'." Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...ght-to-the-end-to-stay-in-Premier-League.html
Great stuff C58. Here's a video from what I assume is the same interview. [video=youtube;mtCtLTkYBkg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtCtLTkYBkg[/video]
