Not that I've seen it yet - if it is even up on the BBC site yet - but I am willing to bet he has us losing and mentions we are crap on the road. Just a wild stab in the dark.
Storytime... "I was at Morecambe to watch Newcastle in midweek and for 60 minutes it was a real struggle, but they stuck at it and in the end their quality shone through. There is a cloud hanging over them, though, with everyone asking will midfielder Yohan Cabaye stay or will he go? They are working on getting some players in as well and the club needs a lift somewhere. Newcastle haven't won at home since the start of April but they are due a win. They are a better team than their league position showed last year but did all their January signings make them better? I'm not so sure. Fulham won at Sunderland but they got taken apart by Arsenal last weekend. They've got Darren Bent in, who Alan Pardew wanted at Newcastle, and if he plays regularly he will score goals. They have to work out how they will play this season as in Bent, Dimitar Berbatov, Bryan Ruiz and Adel Taarabt they have plenty of quality attacking players and it's all about finding a balance. It may be that Martin Jol decides to play with an extra midfielder away from home, as their away form has not been good for years now. It won't be enough this weekend. Prediction: 2-1" He's actually noticed the balance issue - Maybe listened to Harry on MOTD last weekend. C O Y W
Sigh. Just when he was starting to talk some sense last week. Newcastle haven't won at home since April so are due a win? I haven't won the lottery ever, so surely I'm due too? What rationale does this man use? Away form not been good for years now despite us having a better away record than Swansea and WBA last year (Where are their criticisms regarding away form?) and add to the fact we have won our opening away game.
Precisely, Bandit. He's gone back to his roots and just said "Fulham will lose because they're **** away". The "Newcastle are due a home win because they haven't done so since April" is bollocks too - there wasn't any PL football for three months so it hasn't really been that long!
Agreed, it's like the plonker on TalkSport who, after the Arsenal game, said we had lost five home games on the trot. Got it in one GS. The man is a cliche of the 60s and a plagaring one at that.
Looks as if we might scrape a win... Hey, a recognition that we have won away. Martin Jol doesn't know his best team yet and, like a lot of clubs just after the transfer window, Fulham are still finding their way. But they are usually good at home and they have plenty of attacking players who can cause teams trouble. They got a good win at Sunderland on the opening day but have struggled to fire since then, so maybe it is a case of choosing who partners Dimitar Berbatov while making sure they still have some defensive balance in the side. West Brom have had a poor start, but they recognised that and have added forwards Stephane Sessegnon from Sunderland and Victor Anichebe from Everton, so Steve Clarke will hope that has addressed their problems going forward. I think Sessegnon is a really good player. I don't know what happened to him at Sunderland - maybe he is a player who needs to be loved. He can be the link between midfield and the striker, he makes things happen. He is a very talented lad and he will do well at Albion, I'm sure. Prediction: 2-0 C O Y W
After a break, the Bollock is back to being reasonable. And, it's certainly a relief to know that Berbatov is in the team.
The prediction for tomorrow is in... 2-0 to Chelski. Thanks God for that. Anything else and I would be worried. Come on you Whites.
From his blurb, the Bollock in fact is predicting Mourinho 2 Jol 0 The players are incidental - "Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has not had a good week, with defeats by Everton in the Premier League and then Basel in the Champions League. They had lots of chances against Everton but, against Basel, I just thought they were trying to be too cute. You wonder if one or two people are now starting to realise what a good job Rafa Benitez did at Stamford Bridge last season. Mourinho's first problem is trying to get all of his wonderful attacking midfield players into his system, because he really is spoilt for choice. His other issue is that none of them are much good to him when they have not got the ball. Although I still think they will be too strong for Fulham, it could be that he has to try to balance his team differently. Chelsea have an excellent record in this derby, though, and I cannot see that changing this weekend. If Fulham do win, then some Chelsea fans might be crying for Benitez to come back. Meanwhile, Fulham boss Martin Jol is coming in for some criticism, which I think is harsh. I just hope their new owner Shahid Khan was not sitting there listening to chants of 'Jol out' during their draw with West Brom - the Dutchman is a good manager."
This week's story comes with the expected preamble, but ends ok..... "Fulham were not very good for an hour or so on Tuesday against Everton in the Capital One Cup, but then they looked a completely different team - I suspect Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent will be the partnership that starts up front against the Bluebirds. Cardiff were beaten in injury time by Tottenham last week but they stayed in the game for so long because of their goalkeeper David Marshall and I think he will be in for another busy afternoon. The Cottagers have not won since they beat Sunderland on the opening day of the season but I don't think they have got anything to worry about. A win here will lift them up the table and out of the relegation zone - and that is what I expect to happen. Prediction: 2-1 C O Y W !!!!
Stoke get no mention, just Sparky, which Lawro still thinks is in our favour... "Fulham boss Martin Jol is feeling the heat but I think he is a really good manager who is just having a really bad time. Of course, because Fulham have got a new owner and Jol wasn't his pick, you start thinking that there is a bit of inevitability about him being sacked. Jol has got matchwinners in his squad, it is just he does not know his best team yet. I would like to see more of the Darren Bent and Dimitar Berbatov partnership up front because, if they click, Fulham will start creating and scoring goals. The crowd have been on Jol's back recently but on Saturday they might focus on Stoke boss Mark Hughes, who quit as Cottagers manager in 2011 because he said Fulham could not match his ambitions. They will want to put one over him. Lawro's prediction: 2-0" For Lawro, this is fair comment. Ignore Palin's prediction: 1-2 - Clearly an unknowledgeable Owl. C O Y W !!!!!
And here was me thinking that Sparky was his mate! When he says, "They will want to put one over him" I trust and hope he means the "Team".
But look what its doing to our results. He needs to get back to the good ol days where he thinks we will lose.
Hell! Lawro's backed us to win. But at least he wants MJ to stay. "Fulham fans are still chasing Martin Jol despite his side's late win over Stoke in their last game. That was a big result for Jol and I still think he is a good manager. Hopefully his job is safe too. I read an interview with Cottagers owner Shahid Khan recently and I liked what he said. He owns the Jackonsville Jaguars NFL franchise in the US too, so he knows how unpredictable sport can be. I think he knows Jol is a good manager too. Khan did not appoint Jol, which is always a problem, but I am hopeful he will just leave him in there. Palace have lost four games in a row now, and I think Fulham will make it five. Eagles boss Ian Holloway is a good manager but his problem is that all of his players need to play well in order to get any sort of positive result. It seems like every week at the moment one section of their team is letting them down. That could happen to them in the Championship and they could get away with it - they might not concede. In the Premier League, you get punished. " Lawro's prediction: 1-2 Unsurprisingly, Palace supporter Susanna Reid gives us no favours: Reid's prediction: "Palace are on a run of four defeats but at home I think this is the moment we bounce back. I think it is going to be a tightly fought game and it is going to be 3-2 to Palace." Her Strictly partner, Clifton predicts: 1-0. Furthermore, Susanna Reid on Ian Holloway: "Ian is a legend. Such a charismatic, brilliant. lovely person and he does those extraordinary dance moves too. He made an enormous number of new signings in the summer and that team has got to gel together because at the moment they are playing like a load of individuals. We are not winning but everyone has confidence in Holloway. I think he is going to get that team together and we are going to come back fighting. "To all those people who think Palace are going to go straight back down, as we have done every time before in the Premier League, I think this season is going to be different and it is going to be down to Ian Holloway." Anyhow 1-2 away win for Fulham - COYW!!!!!!!!!!
