I was just as disappointed as everyone on Saturday after the result at West Ham. Bidders, i hope you're not getting too much stick at work today? It has been quite a week for Fulham. We could have got a point at Old Trafford, got out played at Hillsborough (made worse by the fact my brother is an Owls supporter and Ruiz went off with an injury before the game), got done over by Levy and we lose Dembele (Dempsey was always going somewhere anyway) and during the summer we've had a good old clear out of players, some fringe and some regulars with quality. We've also made a couple of solid signings plus of course Berbatov. We clearly have an issue in the centre of the park and there has been a debate on why we didn't get anyone in sooner knowing that we won't have Murphy and a couple of others to rely on. However, I think laying blame on this one at the foot of the coach is a little unfair. We had no indication prior to Spurs activating the clause for Dembele that he would be leaving and then just before the season starts Clint goes on strike. Knowing about the clause is one thing but you can't bring in someone just in case it's activated. All in all, I'm not feeling as dispondent as some and take some solace in looking forward to seeing what MJ does with the players at his disposal. In adversity comes opportunity and I think we'll see improvements. Chin up everyone. COYW
Have just seen the Opta stats on the West Ham match. Clearly we defended like complete idiots in the first half but we did compete. Please be advised of the following; http://www.fulhamfc.com/match-centre/2012_2013/league/away/west-ham-united
Agreed Craving, it's a long season and we've plenty of time to straighten things out. Having everyone back from injury and a proper week at Motspur without Internationals should give us a better perception on where we are. I've not gotten in to work yet, but I'm dreading it. The Wet Sham fan will be alright, a couple of friendly jibes at the beginning of the day but that'll be it. The Spuds fan is the worst one, the torrent of bullshit he gave me after signing Dembele ("small, selling club" this and "relegation" that) was a little more than I could handle.
Saturday was a bad game for us, but many good teams are struggling. ManU looked like cr@p for the first 80 minutes of its game against South Hampton. Tottenham looked poor. Liverpool were dreadful. It appears that the teams that stayed roughly the same since last year (Chelsea, Man City, Swansea) have retained continuity and played well, while teams with a large turnover of players (like us) have suffered. It's a long season and it will take time to sort things out. If you think about it, we've really only had one bad game. We played well against both Norwich and ManU, so I'm still encouraged.
Just point the Spurs fan to the league table, Bidley. That and asking him which team's manager he'd rather have.
West Ham and Sheffield Wednesday were away games, so the results are nothing new. Team confidence is my concern. I really believe Jol didn't expect Dembele to go and he's as gutted as the rest of us. At yesterday's U21 match he certainly wasn't the avuncular guy we have come to know and love (mind that might have been brought on by Trotta's inept performance). For once I think the International break is a blessing, providing a little bit of space for Jol to reflect and get his (new) vision back on track.
This. Plan A was blown away on the last day of the transfer window. I still believe that Ruiz and Davies can cover the gap of Dembele may be not so fancy but they will. Jol needs to look into Plan B and C. Too early in the season to panic... Keep calm and carry on. Our performance against WBA will be critical in terms of players psychology.
I don't expect a great deal. WBA are doing very well indeed, and we won't have had a chance to regroup - the players don't return until the Thursday.
I'm not expecting much in the West Brom game, they are playing well and had a relatively quiet transfer window I think. Would be happy with a point.
Craving, I have to agree, and am not prepared to go down the doom/gloom route. MJ is a good manager, and we are NOT going to be where his predecessor had us at Xmas. There are a number of clubs with bigger problems than ourselves, from Liverpool downwards ( or is that upwards?) C O Y W
I'm starting to think of Spurs as Fulham-North. I watched the Spurs game with interest after Dembele came on. You could immediately see the trust the other Spurs put in him ... they were visibly lifted when he came in to the game, and his goal was expertly taken. It will be interesting to see how long Dempsey takes to settle in - I suspect he'll take advantage of the break, stay in London and work to get himself fully integrated.
Good thing about his goal was that he Mia-placed a pass immediately before, then had the compusure to put next one away
Good post Craving. I think that after the first game of the season we were all thinking this is going to be amazing. Unfortunately all the work done over summer was badly dented by Dembele going. We are Fulham though and this not the first time we have been in a similar position. We will dig in as a squad though and the strong characters will come through to lead us forward. I would like to see Duffers becoming the leader of the pack. I would be intrigued to see him in the middle, the boy can pass and shows good composure on the ball. He also has the ability and engine to get forward. That would also free up Dejagah to play on the right. COYW
Not a bad call, Froggy! I'd like to see Duff tried out in the Dembele role, he's got the ability IMO.
Beat me to it Bidley. Best post since Danny Murphy left, froggy - one of those when you say, "why didn't I think of that ?"
Very good post Craving and I'm not despondent at all - I mean we've dropped 6 points out of a possible 114 - so I think we've got a few to play with. Jol will sort out the midfield piece and i quite agree that he can't be blamed for Dembele going - he did try to get some cover but they just all fell through and I am sure if there is a cat in the Jol household it got a kick on Friday night. We'll be fine and I don't care if we finish 17th to be honest. What I would really, really like is a run in the cup - okay, it can't happen in the League cup now, but let's hope for something good in the FA cup.
I would be surprised if we are still above Spurs come Christmas, roscafre - I think Villas Boas is a better manager than many give him credit for. But are you still saying that you don't rate Jol? Really? Last autumn there was a lot of Jol-out grumbling on this board, but I suspect you're in the minority if you're still saying he's not the man to take us forward (I'm happy for others to tell me that I'm wrong, by the way - I'm not trying to speak for the board on this). So, are you really saying that you don't rate Jol, or have I misunderstood you?
Loving the idea of Duffers in the middle - exactly what Fergie has done with Giggs in his dotage. He (Duff) doesn't give away possession cheaply, makes some good interceptions and wins the ball back well down in the wide areas. It's also the kind of thing I can see Jol experimenting with - it would also give him the option of playing Frei down the right which I think a lot of us would like to see more often.
