Thought we might have nicked a goal last night with 4 good chances but we got a point at Chelsea, kept a clean sheet and all with key players missing. Did anyone think we were the better team? Also I thought Hughes was immense last night and everyone put a shift in. Spurs next....
Hughes and Sidwell were the best for me. Frei did what he does best. Diarra not 100% match fit, Kara was out of position as he is not a spring chicken to chase and Riise some mistakes in the first half. Overall though no complaints. The team played well and deserved to win according to many reports. Personally I think it is time to start thinking of retiring Duff and giving Dejagah, Frei and Kaca more time...
I didn't think we were the better team Craving, but we certainly deserved a point and could have got all three. This was a really solid performance and I'd go along with you about Aaron Hughes - he was playing slightly out of position (kind of behind Senderos) - who really organised the back four and showed terrific commitment. Senderos himself, apart from a couple of edgy moments, also played well and if I had a criticism, his distribution was not brilliant, although in fairnesss that was often because of a lack of movement ahead of him. Which brings me to Diarra, who was probably asked to hold the mid-centre, but his movement off the ball was zilch and at times he didn't seem to want the ball. He just didn't look match fit. And inevitably it brings me also to Hugo. If Jol needs any more evidence that it's a waste of space playing him on the left, it was there for all to see last night. We had a brief glimpse of what he could do when he went to centre forward, after Baird replaced Diarra and before he was subbed himself. As usual that's my negatives out of the way first (although I thought Duff was a tad quiet as well). I've got difficulty picking MOTM because alongside Aaron, the 'ginger iniesta' had a blinder and Berba was the class act on the field. My vote goes to Sidwell though because of his endeavour, attitude and general inspiration to the team. In the first half we seemed overly cauutious and there was a feeling that Jol had come for a draw. The second half saw more forward movement and much better passing which allowed more control of the game. The main problem though was that we weren't playing with a true front man (Berba was playing deep) and there was no width. That change with the substitutions and the team immediately had a much better shape. I've mentioned Hugo going into the centre but with Baird taking charge in the middle and Frei coming on (he was a revelation) we all of a sudden had attacking options. Apart from Riise's bumble from Riether's great cross, it was in that last 15 minutes that we had our best chances to take all 3pts. I don't know how Petric missed another Riether cross in front of goal or why Frei's jinking run before going over in the box was not a penalty - unfortunately MOTD managed to edit out both incidents so I will have to wait for more detailed highlights to find out. Anyway lots of positives, not least the confidence the defence can take from the game. A last reflection though - Why don't we pass the ball forward more? Kara (who had a really good game) was the only one of the central midfielders who had that vision.
C58 good summary. Sidwell despite all the criticism played very well. The ball went through Petric's legs... Could have been a great goal had he made contact. Frei was pushed slightly but not illegal according to commentators on the live stream. Didn't see much of the detail as it was too slow. Two players were out of position last night. Hugo and Kara. Kara should have played along Sidwell and Diarra. Sidwell/Diarra doing the dirty job and Kara finding the openings. Hugo should have been behind Berba on the role Kara had.
I thought Sidwell was good at breaking up the play and, as usual, showed good energy. I'm maybe too harsh on him sometimes- it's quite rare for a ball winning DM to have decent passing ability and some vision and we're maybe not at the level to attract the type of player I want in that position. I've noticed that he and Berbatov, in particular, seem to be on completely different wavelengths and their interchanges usually end up with the ball getting lost. Can't fault the guy for effort but I do think Berbatov's arrival has highlighted the gulf in quality through-out our team.
Indeed but that what the case with Dempele. His skills are excellent. Had we managed to keep him I do believe that the two of them would be on great things. Hopefully Ruiz will continue his improvement. I think everybody was on a different wave length with Berba at certain points. He complained to Kara, Riise, Diarra and others...
These video highlights posted by the Club show a bit more than we saw on MOTD. The Petric 'miss' in front of goal still isn't included so I guess I'll never really know what happened. However, the Frei 'penalty incident' is here and (as at I thought during the game) there is a very big shout for a legitimate claim. See what you think: http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/november/29/chelsea-highlights
Draw a fair result, no complaints. I thought it would be tight and so it turned out. Shocking we didn't have more of a go and created very little. Bring on the 2nd leg!!
Yeah only saw the highlights but it sounds as though a draw was a fair result. Riise really needs to put one his chances away soon, he is a class act but needs his shotting boots on. It sounds as though Jol got the tactics bang on again, i cannot wait for january as I am certain he will be looking to bring in some creative players that we are looking for. The return of Frei is really exciting, can Jol manage to get Kaca and Frei in the same team, please make it so MJ, please.
Frei coming on made us more exciting up front. Sidwell, Hughes and Senderos who I thought might struggle against Chelsea were some of our best players on the pitch. Not sure what Hugo brings to the team, but Jol seems to prefer him. Just thought if we'd pushed them a bit harder and gave Berbatov more help we might have nicked it. Let's give Frei some time before we 'Lord him up'. Still young, need to see if he can do a defensive role when needed. But he's looking good along with Kaca. Talking about our Central defense wonder what would have happened if we'd kept Smalling.
