Thank you Jol for bringing on Duff and pushing Ruiz into the chasm between BZ and the midfield. Today, up till that pont, we really did look like the Man Utd of the South - boring. Congratulations and thank you also to Demps - who can now get the penalty monkey off his back. Thank you as well to Stockdale who was our MOTM which says it all when you win 4-0. At the end of the day however it was job done and we can roll on to the next round knowing that on our day we can match anyone - so long as it's a home draw.
I think that's two firsts for Dempsey: First hat trick for Fulham and the first penalty (of three) that he's converted.
As i have said many times in the past the lynch pin in our team. And to quote Hanson,one of the top 5 attacking midfielders in the premiership. Another great performance by Stocky,
It was really good to see Damian Duff on - He made a real impact, was sure-footed, creating many chances and linked well with Kelly. The performance should convince MJ to bring him on more often - especially with Newcastle up next at The Cottage. The change also allowed Bryan Ruiz to switch sides. Very pleased for Clint Dempsey today. He also nearly got a great header in the first half. Danny showed good leadership in ensuring Clint took the penalty. Obviously 4-0 flattered us. The first half was not great, and a bit frustrating, which undermoned the whole performance. But the win was deserved. Finally, well done to Charlton on their cracking supporters today ! C O Y W
I'm guessing you were being tongue in cheek GS - they were pretty crass in and out of the ground. One thank you I forgot in my earlier post - to Bobby for sidelining Danny and giving the ball to Demps for the spot kick.
Stockdale was my MOTM, there were a few occasions when Charlton threatened to get back into the game when Fulham started giving sloppy balls away with poor passing and he pulled off some really go saves to keep them out. Fulham seemed to be in third gear first half, happily just passing the ball around with no end product. In the 2nd Zamora got more into the game, and when Duff came on his enthusiasm spreed to the team to up the urgency of getting the goals to end the game. Dempsey did his usual 'Ghosting' into the area to get his first two goals and it was great to see him take the ball home with the penalty. I thought he seemed a bit reluctant to take it, but I think Murphy persuaded him, and he ripped it into the net. Must admit sitting down near the Hammersmith in the Riverside, considering Charlton had the whole Putney End I didn't hear them too much in the first half, and even in the second only really heard the whole end singing about 3 or 4 times, but I guess that's down to the acoustics in the stadium.
I think our win yesterday was similar to Tottenham's, big score against lower league sides where score didn't represent play. Harsh on Charlton but that's where Premier League quality comes into play. If we can win 4-0 against the runaway leaders of League One without breaking much sweat, then it's good news.
Good team display from Fulham yesterday. Duff made a real difference, class. Glad though we do not play Charlton every week as my pub was packed with Charlton fans - all good natured and a credit to their club. Almost drank the pub dry !
Great second half. Very pleased for Dempsey and Stockdale played very well. Chuffed as a chaffinch for them!
Did anyone see the tweet from Danny Murphy's mrs claiming that Charlton fans swore at her and their son which forced them to move seats. Disgraceful.
I'm not defending them in the slightest if that's true. The background is that a lot of Charlton fans feel Murphy behaved badly - in his dealings with club staff, for example - during his time there, and they blame his 'celebrity wife' for exerting pressure on him to move on from Charlton. I must admit, I was surprised when I read it, as it presented a picture of Danny Murphy that was very different to the one I had built up in his time with us. As I say, none of that condones what the Charlton fans apparently did.
Bandit, yes and I was shocked by it. I was in the Hammy end and didn't see anything untoward - in fact I would have said the Charlton fans were in good voice and on good form but then I found out later that there had been some sort of fight in the Putney End and the totally unjustified abuse. No doubt only a very small minority were involved as the vast majority seemed like a good bunch.
One of the main reasons there is a lot of families at Fulham is because we don't as a rule have that sort of thing going on. Bang out of order. I hope the CAFC fans were evicted.
Had it not been for Dempsey to get his hat-trick I suspect that more abuse would have been aimed at Murphy as our designated penalty taker!!!