Craven Cottagers

Ode to Bobby Z

2012-02-01T08:18:00.000Z

It's farewell then and good luck, Bobby Z
You made us eat our words, including me.

With a hand to the ear, you made sure we heard ya
Especially that one fan with a hamburger.

In Europe we marvelled at what you did.
Had you been fit we may have beat Madrid.

Although you still acted a bit of an arse,
We somehow made money selling you to the Rs.

At ambitious QPR I'm sure you'll work hard
But take a look at the case of Jimmy Bullard.

England caps and acclaim from those who know
Until a transfer for money brought him down low

If it doesn't work and you end up feeling sad
Reflect that little Fulham may be the best you've ever had.

In the meantime the whites need to replace your assists
Or next year we could both be playing in the Championship

Mind games

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000Z

Fabulous little interview at the always thought provoking Craven Cottage Newsround with football pyschologist Dan Abrahams.

A snippet:

It seems to me that football is a game of momentum. How can players change a game’s momentum?

I need a whole book to answer this one. From a football psychology perspective you must plan to deal with momentum before playing. Specifically preparing the strategies you are going to use to deal with momentum both for and against. Examples of cognitive strategies I’ve used with players include deliberately keeping focus in the present moment, positive and confident self-talk no matter what, and verbal cues related to sticking to role and responsibilities. Behavioural strategies include visual cues, deliberately playing with fun and freedom, maintaining positive body language and being more vocal.

Great question given that momentum seems a difficult thing to stop, other than feigning injury and creating a break in play - artificially curtailing momentum. It's a shame that it's such a technical answer - would love to see some real examples of this.

Money, money, money

2012-01-16T13:34:00.000Z

Just seen this in the Guardian.

One of those players was the then 19-year-old Rubén Rochina, who was signed for €450,000 (£372,000) from Barcelona. His agent, Manuel Salamanca Ferrer, received a £1.65m fee

I guess the astronomical wages of players make football's administrators believe that these kind of payments are justifiable? I just find it all depressing.

CLINT'S TRICK

2012-01-09T17:46:00.000Z

A combination of a six month old daughter, a 200 mile relocation, my biggest work deadline of the year and the complete ineptitude of BT means I haven't seen much football nor been online much in recent months. I get the feeling I'm certainly going to struggle to keep up with Fulham from the top tip of Derbyshire.
But there are odd games that I can catch. I saw the last 20 minutes or so of the victory against Arsenal for example - ie the best bit. What I don't understand is bad loser Arsene Wenger's point about it being obvious that Fulham were targeting Djourou - if it was that obvious, maybe he should have done something about it by subbing him?
The red card did highlight one of the lovely things about Craven Cottage - the 'tunnel' positioned in the corner of the pitch. If an opposition player is sent off in front of the Hammersmith End then there is an awfully long, and lonely, walk back to the Cottage and the changing rooms within. You don't even get the chance to walk back along by the dug out for some moral support, as you would in other stadia with tunnels at the corner, such as Old Trafford and Villa Park. The layout of the Cottage also provides the funny instances of managers holding up the start of the second half as they attempt to get to the dug outs by cutting across the pitches - I believe this also happened in this match!
Meanwhile Fulham have won another London derby - with my man Clint dispatching Charlton with a hat-trick:

Also in London, it seems Mark 'strange man' Hughes has decided to stop looking like an arse defending Carlos Tevez from the pundit's chair and will replace Neil Warnock at QPR. Here's hoping the Rs have the requisite ambition for Mr High and Mighty, but Sparky should know that it is a decision that will move him away from his dream job of managing Chelsea - Loftus Road is twice as far away from Stamford Bridge as Craven Cottage.

Manchester United: the new Fulham

2011-12-07T18:42:00.002Z

A result needed in Basle to qualify from the group? Sound familiar?
Let's hope it's as entertaining a match.

EDIT: Seems not, given Fulham managed a win. United were dire and devoid of ideas up front and deservedly lost.

Found this quite funny

2011-12-05T15:36:00.002Z

Gary Speed - RIP

2011-11-27T13:17:00.000Z

Just been blown away by the news that Gary Speed has died, aged just 42. Speed was one of those few players that seemed to hold the respect of fans from all around the country and had rightly experienced success on the pitch. It appears he was just making similar progress from the dugout too with Wales.
His unexpected death is a massive loss to football and I can only imagine how his family and friends are feeling now. Tragic.

Woy's wise words

2011-10-27T11:20:00.000+01:00

He's still Fulham's greatest ever manager and continues to endear from The Hawthorns. here is what he had to say this week:

"The really worrying thing is seeing young children making obscene gestures when they don't know what they are doing. When I was growing up, watching Crystal Palace, you supported your club and cheered them on, but I'm not sure in those days that people even booed. The opposition were not there to be hated...Human nature should not astonish us, but what engenders that degree of hatred? I don't know whether we do enough to educate people to be more tolerant of the opposition, or whether society has changed to such a degree that it is impossible. Teachers are there to be hated, police officers are there to be hated. We don't seem to have many public figures any more who command respect. The people we look up to, it seems, are sporting idols, and even then we hate them if they are not ours."

He does stand apart from most other British managers, doesn't he?

More (ITV) 4

2011-10-22T22:27:00.000+01:00

Managed to catch the second half of the Wisla Krakow game on Thursday. Unfortunately. I was incredibly concerned at the flatness of play up front before I became aware that Fulham had been reduced to ten men with that well-known scoundrel Moussa Dembele playing the hard man.
Even when Wisla cracked in a quality shot from 20 yards that nestled in Schwarzer's net, there appeared to be no change in tactics from Fulham.in order to claw their way back into the game. Several times Andy Johnson would be in the opposition box along with five defenders, with Fulham passing the ball around the edge before a hopeful and usually hopeless cross. Duff in particular looked lost, seemingly playing more central but not knowing where to go when he did have the ball.
Without Dempsey and Zamora and £10m Costa Rican Ruiz cup tied, there were no other goalscoring options when Orlando Sa went off with a hamstring. Those unkind might argue there were few options with the Portuguese on the pitch.
QPR match aside, these are still worrying times for Fulham, given that they reside just above the relegation zone having played just one of the top six teams, and are not showing any semblance of consistency on the pitch. Fingers crossed for the Everton match tomorrow - although they usually have the good grace to hand over three points when at the Cottage (last two seasons aside). That could put Fulham above Arsenal - and who wouldn't have taken that at the start of the season?

The perfect football flat

2011-09-24T09:17:00.000+01:00

Primarily in a QPR area (Loftus Road can be heard on particularly noisy days), this two bedroom flat is only 1.1 miles from South Africa Road, only 1.6 miles (and a lovely Thames walk) from Craven Cottage, or 2.4 miles from Stamford Bridge (or a short hop on the 391 bus).
It is also only 2.7 miles to Brentford's Griffin Park and, as an added bonus, 4.5 miles to Wembley, which can be viewed from the top of the building. A perfect football fan flat then!
[estate agent]
It will also protect you against cancer, make you irresistible to the opposite sex and comes with a thriving money tree.
[/estate agent]

European nights - FUL 1 -1 TWN

2011-09-18T09:19:00.001+01:00

So I finally managed to catch up with a Fulham game, albeit on lovely Channel 5, and was partially impressed at what I saw. Young Matthew Briggs had a stormer from left back, Grygera was solid enough at left beck (although on another day with a different European ref he could have been in serious trouble after an 'enthusiastic' tackle in the first half), Kasami was full of energy on the right (if little guile), Dembele was more effective than usual, as was AJ.
It was AJ that provided Fulham with the lead after two bits of bad defending - the first saw him cut out a square pass, while the miscontrol of the challenging defender allowed him to clip a wonderful finish past Twente's goalkeeper. Fulham were actually quite comfortable for a lot of the first half without having too many attempts on target, but have a worrying capacity to crumble under a bit of pressure this season. So it proved after Twente's headed equaliser (which went in off the back of the unfortunate Schwarzer). It's not as if Fulham hadn't been warned - only a minute earlier de Jong had come close with a similar chance. Baird at centre half really does improve distribution from the back with his long raking passes, but has a tendency to get caught underneath crosses, which is what happened at the equaliser.
Second half Fulham again started brightly, although only Dempsey really looked like a goal threat. AJ should have scored again with the simplest chance of the match, but hit it straight at Twente's keeper. Strange though that when Zamora replaced Johnson, Fulham's attacking impetus practically stopped. I think the Twente back four are more used to playing against the sort of challenges that Zamora offers rather than AJ's selfless running and things just stopped happening. Duff was practically invisible when he came on for Kasami - I've never seen him so anonymous.
The impetus then switched to Twente for the last fifteen minutes after some needless and sloppy play at the back for Fulham and in the end both teams were happy with a point knowing they've just played the hardest team in their Europa Group.
A novelty for me then watching on TV - and I'm slightly worried about co-pundit Graham Taylor. In the first half he talked about Fulham's unbeaten European home record with the co-commentator and then in the second half brought it up again as if it was a totally new discussion. Very strange. I will agree with them one one thing though - Twente's Douglas was a very impressive player.

Value?

2011-09-15T09:51:00.000+01:00

Jol appears to be keeping his powder dry for Man City by resting some of the key players tonight. We'll probably have Baird or Grygera alongside Hangeland with Kelly at RB. AJ up front with new boy Sa? Or even Clint?
Anyway, it appears that Twente are taking it more seriously than Fulham, which gives them real value at 11/4 with Ladbrokes to win the tie.
Still, it's a nice return to Channel 5 for this evening's festivities.

New recruits

2011-09-13T08:32:00.000+01:00

As is patently obvious, I've not been able to keep tabs on this blog this season - mainly down to becoming a father for the first time - so we've taken a change of tack and recruited a few more writers to help spread the load.
The good news is that McLean and MMcC are both Fulham fans and therefore more qualified to comment on the Cottagers than I.

Preview 2011/12

2011-08-13T08:20:00.000+01:00

I've been trying to write this season preview for some time now, but it's been hard to know where to start. This Fulham side still feels much the same one that Roy Hodgson started off with three glorious seasons ago. There have been some additions, but only Hughes' Dembele and Jol's Riise are free of Roy's guidance. Even Senderos and Sidwell were lined up before Hughes arrived.
Last season Sparky tried to impose himself on the side, but they only pulled themselves out of trouble when allowed to play the way Hodgson pioneered at the club. It is still unclear what approach Jol will take.
It's hard to gauge what tactical innovations from the early rounds of the Europa League will stick, but one of them seems to be playing Aaron Hughes at right back so the team can adapt to three at the back when in possession. This is worrying given the strength of the Hughes/Hangeland pairing, but retaining Hughes' presence in the back line might preserve some of the advantages. If it doesn't work then Baird, Kelly or possibly Salcido (who is right footed after all) could get a run out.
And that's as exciting as it will be: who will play right back? While it's nice to be back in Europe, it is a much shallower squad now than two seasons ago. The departures of Paintsil, Kamara, Zolly Gera, Greening, Stockdale (thankfully just on loan), Elm, hell even Eddie Johnson, along with some of the Europa alumini such as Konchesky and even Seol, suggest there is not the depth to emulate 2009/10. In fact, with just three strikers in the squad, all of whom missed chunks of last season through injury, there is a need for reinforcements up top. The two new midfielders Gecov and Kasami sound interesting, but are somewhat of an unknown quantity.
What this squad has achieved at Fulham will rightly have it hailed as the club's best ever. However a few injuries this year and the team might find itself dragged into a relegation battle, especially if it advances into the Europa groups and beyond.
Fortunately there's still time to get a few more bodies in and maybe some of the youth team like Dala Valle can step up.

Footballers' signatures - the new ENIGMA code?

2011-07-26T13:07:00.001+01:00

As I work around the gambling industry I am more than acquainted with the man who does the PR for Fulham's betting & gaming partner Bodog (check them out at http://www.bodog.co.uk/), who very kindly sent me a signed Fulham shirt, seemingly from the record breaking 2009/10 season. The only thing is I can't make out a single signature. Not one. Here is a list of the squad from that season. Number 4 might be Erik Nevland because of the 10 next to it.

Anyone any ideas?

Supporting Norway

2011-07-25T09:58:00.000+01:00

There's a thread on Friends of Fulham encouraging people to pick up Norway flags to fly at the home game against Split next week as a way of showing solidarity with the club's three Norweigan players; Brede Hangeland and the Riises. After the absolutely horrendous events in Oslo and Utoeya island last weekend, it's a good way for the support to show the players that the victims in their homeland have our sympathy.
Flags can be picked up for less than £3 here.

Crime Thriller - Child Number Three

2011-07-20T10:42:00.000+01:00

A quick plug for my friend Phil Martin, who is looking to get his book published. The first third of the novel can be read here. Unfortunately you need to register to gain access, but it doesn't cost anything. - Here's the synopsis:

Snatched, rescued and brought up in a loving environment, Amy Walker embarks on a journey of self-discovery taking her deep into a disturbing Chechen underworld

Having graduated from medical school, Amy Walker turns her attention to another lifelong ambition; finding out where she came from. Adopted by a loving couple, Amy believes she was orphaned in a coach crash in Tuscany. Her initial research tells her one thing; she was never on that coach.

Having exposed lie after lie, Amy confronts an evasive adoption agency and then her mother with fatal consequences. The discovery of a gun hidden in her father’s desk, a mysterious list of names and a passport stamp confirming his location at the time of the crash, all convince Amy she should stop at nothing to find out her truth.

After journeying to the shanty towns and palaces of Morocco, more untruths lead her back to a dark Chechen underworld, where Amy discovers she was the third on a sinister list of stolen children spanning two decades. Her quest alerts the abductors to Amy's existence but this is about so much more than just her. They're still in operation and Amy must stop them before they strike again.

Child Number Three must be silenced. Little girl lost must never be found.

Japan - world champions

2011-07-17T22:50:00.002+01:00

Just watched a thoroughly absorbing Womens World Cup Final, where Japan squeezed past the USA courtesy of a penalty shoot out. I've been very impressed at the quality of football in this tournament, especially after my lukewarm reaction to the Womens Champions League Final hosted at Craven Cottage last season. It seems the international standard is far higher than at club level, when for the men's game it is now the other way around.
The quality during this tournament is at a higher level, I would say, than the old first division before the advent of the Premier League helped up technical standards. There are still some obvious deficiencies in the women's game; goalkeepers are far too susceptible to a lob/ looping shot and there seems to be a tendency for panicked defending even at the highest level. There is also a lack of diving, hysterionics and just plain cheating that makes its male counterpart so unedifying to watch. Given USA's opener was a lovely two footed piece of skill and the last goal was a flying backheel volley which seems to have been invisible to cameras, it would be foolish to suggest that women's football is technically far behind. At the highest level it is pretty impressive.
Still even Martin Keown's impression of Mickey the Spiv from Only Fools and Horses hasnt detracted from the fun of seeing Japan pick up the trophy, which resembles a missing piece from the old Mouse Trap board game.

The Pharaoh's team verses the Faroes team

2011-06-30T19:29:00.000+01:00

Tonight I shall be watching the exciting Fulham v Runavik Europa League qualifier courtesy of Bet365, who are streaming the game live, despite the fact that at a fiver it would cost as much to attend the game. The reason? I became a father for the first time last week and our new domestic terrorist still has us in the palm of our hand. She's also the reason why I haven't renewed my season ticket for this year, but I still intend to keep an eye out for the whites!. 3-0 tonight.

A politician's view

2011-06-15T15:03:00.000+01:00

There's a couple of scenes in the Yes, Minister special 'Party Games' where Jim Hacker offers to support two separate candidates for the job of PM 'under the radar' - 5.55 in. I couldn't help be reminded of it this afternoon when I got an email back from my local MP Andy Slaughter - replying to my request of him to sign up to the Early Day Motion supporting Supporters Direct in its current funding issue. The link between the two is probably a bit harsh on the Hammersmith MP, but I thought I'd replicate the letter here to provide a politicians view on the kerfuffle:

Thank you for your email asking me to sign EDM 1909 regarding the funding arrangements for Supporters Direct. Unfortunately due to my position on the Labour Front Bench and strict Parliamentary protocol I am unable to sign EDMs save under narrow circumstances. However, as a season ticket holder at Fulham I don't need reminding how important football is to millions of people in this country and worldwide - so I certainly will make sure this issue is kept on the agenda.

I am broadly in favour of schemes that allow fans to have a say in how their clubs are run, and there is no reason at all why a consortium shouldn't be allowed to own and administer a club. This will require a considerable regulatory effort, but I see no reason that it can't be made to work if there is enough enthusiasm.

One thing I do feel strongly about is that a football club should represent its area and the people who live with and support their club. Treating a club like a business commodity that anyone can buy or sell betrays what the game is about - you need love as well as money to run a football club. There are examples of rich individuals taking over clubs and making it work, but they all have in common the fact that the club was a passion for them as well as a business opportunity.

I have found the following blogs on the BBC Sport website very interesting, both concern fan ownership of football clubs, and one is specific to supporters direct. You can find Dan Roan's blog here; 'Does the Supporters Direct Cash Crisis Matter?' and Matt Slater's here; 'Football's trusts must keep faith'.

If you have any further questions regarding this issue please feel free to write to me again.

Yours Sincerely,

Andy Slaughter

Labour MP for Hammersmith

Supporters Direct needs direct support

2011-06-14T11:19:00.000+01:00

The Premier League, through its Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF), is withdrawing its £1.2m payment to Supporters Direct, the body that advises fans on how to set up supporter trusts among other things, and has saved around 50 clubs from extinction since its inception in 2000.
The FSIF's reasoning for withdrawing the guilt payment (because let's face it the organisation wouldn't be dishing out the cash if it didn't think it needed to get the government off its back) is because the Supporters Direct managing director at the time got a bit giddy at AFC Wimbledon's promotion and tweeted a couple of insults at those behind the creation of the monstrosity that is MK Dons. The tweets, missed at the time but highlighted by the Daily Mail in the same way that the paper saw off Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, were quickly removed and the MD eventually resigned after the FSIF deemed an apology was not enough. However the SD funding is still being held back, threatening the existence of the organisation.
It is not a huge leap to suggest that the aims of Supporters Direct are mainly contrary to those of the money making product of the Premier League and that it has been looking for any excuse to remove the lifeline to an organisation that might prevent the PL from fleecing its customers (or football fans to me and you) if it continues to build momentum.
So it's time to show support fro Supporters Direct. There is an active Facebook group here where they are trying to get some political support to put pressure on the PL. Other articles are here, here and about halfway down here. It's important for fans to get behind this because otherwise the Premier League, for whom £1.2m is a drop in the ocean, and the Daily Mail win. And no-one wants that.

End of Season Awards

2011-06-08T10:16:00.002+01:00

I thought I'd better get this done and dusted before the start of next season in approximately eight minutes time. A new manager in the rather big shape of Martin Jol is welcome and a reflection of the team's stature at the moment, regardless of what Billy Big Boots Hughes thinks. But let's reflect on Sparky's one and only season in charge.

Most Valuable Person Award: Quite simply it is Clint Dempsey. He stepped up when Fulham needed someone to score goals and rightly won the player of the season vote.Without him, Fulham would have been down. Instead they are top half and looking at Europe.
Honourable mention: Brede Hangeland

Frank Spencer Award: Zoltan Gera for a spectacularly misfiring end of season cameo that almost cost Fulham re-entry into Europe? Carlos Salcido's hapless impression of a defender? Eddie Johnon's even worse impression of a professional footballer? Nope - I'm afraid it's got to be Johnny Paintsil for his collection of own goals this season.
Honourable mention: Zoltan Gera

Surprise Package Award: I guess it has to go to Steve Sidwell. I didn't even know which position he played in before arriving at the Cottage and his willingness to drive forward even ahead of the strikers which had added more dynamism to the team.
Honourable mention: Jonathan Greening's late season cameos

I Was There! Award: It should have been the 4-0 demolition of Spurs in the Cup, but having watched two dispiriting and undeserved defeats by Tottenham already that season, I'd bailed out. It'll have to be the goal fest of Fulham 6 -2 Peterboro, where I saw my first Craven Cottage hat-trick.
Honourable mention: Fulham 3 - 0 Bolton

Goal of the Season: I'm restricting this to ones I've seen.Dempsey has come up with a couple of crackers, including the instinctive volley from Baird's cross against Bolton and the wonderful piece of skill he produced to set up Kamara in the league game against Spurs. But the best goal was the one scored by Zamora against Bolton which involved beautiful interplay down the right wing from Davies and Gudjohnsen and lovely control and a crashing finish from Bobby into the roof of the net. I don't care if it was ruled out for handball. I'm counting it.
Honourable mention: Paul Scholes' last career goal

Sign Him Up Award: By omitting players obviously out of Fulham's reach (such as Samir Nasri) the player that impressed me most this season was Everton's right winger Seamus Coleman. Nippy and tricky and can score the odd goal (one of which earned me £75 in the game at Goodison).
Honourable mention: Aston Villa's Barry Bannan

Ouch! Award: Far too many of these this season, but it would have to be the maiming of Dembele by Stoke City's Andy Wilkinson in added time of the Carling Cup match. Completely unnecessary. Zamora's leg break after tangling with Karl Henry was more of an unfortunate outcome from rough play rather than dirty.
Honourable mention: Karl Henry

Statistical anomaly of the year: I think Fulham haven't conceded from any penalties this season (although Stockdale did save a Nani penalty right at the top of the season). This would have been the perfect place for the 'no red cards' stat, if it wasn't for Gera's eagerness to leave his mark on the Arsenal game.
Honourable mention: Record number of draws for Fulham this season - 16

Prediction of the year: "Without the strain of Europe, if Hughes can continue where Roy left off then the upper echelons of the table are not unreachable. Turmoil at Villa could see an opportunity for other teams to press on. 8th or 9th." Just here.

Hughes: A silly boy?

2011-06-02T23:30:00.000+01:00

Well Sparky's up and left and apparently with nowhere to go. I'm not quite sure what that says about the situation at Fulham, but it's not as if Hughes stamped his mark on this team in the limited time he was at Craven Cottage. Much like the current Chelsea team was forged by Mourinho, everything good that comes from the current Fulham team still has the Hodgson stamp on it. Dembele has been a good signing, but arguably the team plays better when he's not on the pitch, and Sidwell has been a positive influence, but Hughes originally stopped his transfer at the start of the season before returning to Villa in January.
The Fulham fans never really warned to Hughes as they thought he was using the team as a stop-gap and that now appears to have been true. To be honest I was slightly worried from the start with Al Fayed's bizarre press conference appearing quite demeaning to Hughes, who has a lot of pride.
But similarly there hasn't been any major managerial trees overturned in his time at the Cottage. He's never really done anything to make you think: that was a good idea - that's where the match turned. Strange. Having said that, he still managed to get the club into 8th in this funny old season.
So who's next up? Some wags are suggesting Ancelotti, but I thought he was a dead cert for the Roma job? Perhaps Claudio Ranieri fancies a return to London? As much as I dislike the man, Rafa Benitez is free and has a strong European pedigree. Steve McClaren and Martin O'Neill have also been linked - all solid managers who in the past might not have looked twice at this idyllic part of West London. Fulham attracted Hughes on the back of being Europa League finalists and need to appoint a manager of similar standing to retain that kudos - they don't need to be gambling on the relatively unproven Paul Lambert or perhaps even Danny Murphy just yet.

If I Was...

2011-06-01T15:07:00.003+01:00

Football365 has been running some thought pieces on what certain mangers should do with their squads (Roy Hodgson's for example is here) so I thought I'd do the same from Mark Hughes' perspective, assuming he is still in charge of Fulham for the new season. While the 'ditch' or 'keep' judgments seem quite strong, it's a good starting point for discussion. There would have been a lot more ditches without a European campaign.

Mark Schwarzer
Been a solid number one after a brief flirtation with Arsenal and been Fulham's saviour in more than one game this season - with the Liverpool game an aberration. But at 38, he hasn't got many years left on the clock. Might be worth cashing in if anyone comes in with a bid of £5m.
Verdict: Keep

David Stockdale
I've been incredibly impressed with this boy when he's had to come in this season. His distribution is far better than Schwarzer's and he's been called up to the England squad for a reason. Definitely Fulham's number 1 of the future - maybe giving him the European matches will stop him getting itchy feet.
Verdict: Keep

Stephen Kelly
Out of favour with Hughes and never really a fan favourite either. Has done a job in Europe before now, but Hughes is likely to overhaul the full back slots.
Verdict: Ditch

Carlos Salcido
Hughes' late signing from Mexico was initially promising, but has since regressed to the point where fans are wanting Konchesky back.
Verdict: Ditch

John Paintsil
Firm fan favourite has displeased Hughes by scoring three OGs this season which is a shame as he brings some dynamism to the right back slot. Out of contract.
Verdict: I would keep, Hughes won't.

Brede Hangeland
Towering centre half seems to really like Fulham and hasn't had his head turned despite being constantly linked to Arsenal. Can get a bit ropey without Hughes next to him, but generally solid. Becoming a more regular goal threat too.
Verdict: Keep

Aaron Hughes
A couple of dodgy games have started to sneak in, but still part of Fulham's best ever centre half pairing.
Verdict: Keep

Chris Baird
Another virtuouso season from Bairdinho. The best full back at the club who plays just as well in midfield and at CB. Future Fulham captain.
Verdict: Keep

Philippe Senderos
Only played a handful of games. Useful to have around, but not sure if worthy of a first team place.
Verdict: Keep

Rafik Halliche
Looked a bit dodgy in the couple if games he had, but alright for a back up centre half.
Verdict: Keep

Steve Sidwell
Promising stint since January. Brought some competition into the middle of the park and a handful of goals.
Verdict: Keep

Danny Murphy
Danny's legs have looked tired at points during this season, which hasn't been helped with Hughes constantly hauling him off. But still has class in the middle for another season and much of the best stuff still comes through him.
Verdict: Keep

Damien Duff
Odd season for Duffer, which saw him labour in the early part of the season before really turning it on for a few months. Tends to be more important defensively than attacking when he plays though.
Verdict: Keep

Dickson Etuhu
Fighting for a place now Sidwell has arrived. A good physical option to have.
Verdict: Keep

Jonathan Greening
Has impressed the couple of times he has played. Probably deserves more game time, and will probably get it with Europe. Won't recoup the £5m paid for him, so time to get the most out of him.
Verdict: Keep

Kagisho Dikgacoi
After an impressive World Cup, many were expecting the South African to push on, but it's not really happened. With hindsight writing was on the wall when he got sent off at West Ham on his debut.
Verdict: Ditch

Bjorn Helge Riise
Spent most of the campaign on loan at Sheffield United. Never really done it in the Premier League, albeit with limited appearances. Only worth keeping for Europe, if at all.
Verdict: Ditch

Simon Davies
Another odd season has seen Davies on the periphery of the squad and then suddenly become undroppable. A hard man to categorise, but good to have for an end of season run-in.
Verdict: Keep

Zoltan Gera
Another fan favourite that Hughes doesn't fancy and who is out of contract. If there was no European adventure I'd let him leave as his league form was inconsistent. But as a proven European force, definitely worth keeping.
Verdict: Keep

Clint Dempsey
Possibly Fulham's best player and definitely the one who reminds Hughes of himself.
Verdict: Keep

Andy Johnson
Tough one. Johnson's just not been fit enough during his time at Fulham or in the goals enough. But there is promise there. If a good enough bid comes in (£4m?) it's time to let him go and free up budget/space.
Verdict: Ditch

Bobby Zamora
So integral to Fulham as an attacking force. Need to keep him or completely reinvent the way the team plays.
Verdict: Keep

Moussa Dembele
Impressive signing for Hughes, but despite his awesome close control isn't as dangerous as he should be. Played semi-out of position up front because of Zamora's injury. Time to see what he can do out on the wing.
Verdict: Keep

Diomansy Kamara
Out of contract and out of chances. Scored some important goals for Fulham but generally has performed within himself.
Verdict: Ditch

Eddie Johnson
His only use at Fulham has been as a punchline. Very, very poor.
Verdict: Ditch

The other half - FUL 2 - 2 ARS

2011-05-27T13:13:00.000+01:00

Andy has asked me to guest-write the blog for the last game of the season. I have no idea why, because he knows just as well as me that literally minutes after a match has finished I can’t recall any details of what I’ve just watched. I’m exactly the same with films. I can enjoy them immensely, but the finer plot points – and even some of the key moments – escape my memory just as soon as it’s over.

And so it’s true of football – five days on from Fulham v Arsenal, I couldn’t actually describe to you any of the action, not even the goals. In fact I can remember more of Samir Nasri’s goals in the original fixture back at the Emirates which I was also at in December.

Talking of Samir Nasri – I do remember thinking what a fashion faux pas his orange boots with red socks were. I know you’ll be thinking that’s such a ‘girl’ thing to say – but I’m really not that sort of girl usually – it’s just what stuck in my mind.

Part of the reason I don’t remember many of the key moments – i.e. the goals - is that, at eight months pregnant, I couldn’t be doing with jumping up and down from my seat every two minutes to see what was going on. Even when I do stand up I can’t see very much as I’m somewhat of a shortarse.

I just about recall Bobby Zamora’s headed goal – mostly because I’m a Brighton fan, and as one of our former players I still like to see him doing well – especially after the tricky season he’s had with his broken leg.

And one of my favourite things to happen at the Cottage capped off what’s likely to be the last time I’m there for a league match… the ball got walloped over the Riverside Stand – and I just love the animation on the normally staid scoreboard depicting the ‘ball’ floating along the river. Small things….

I guess the one thing riding on this match for Fulham fans was whether or not they’d clinch the Europa League qualifying round spot through the fair play league. Which is why everyone was left reeling and asking: “Just what was Zoltan Gera thinking?” when he went in with his two-footed tackle on Thomas Vermaelen. Fulham’s FIRST red card of the season (until that point the only Premier League side not to have been given one).

I think most people thought Fulham had just gifted the spot to Blackpool – but in fact, it was yesterday announced that Fulham WILL be going on a European tour next season, after clinching the place ahead of the Tangerines by just 0.01 points.

That means less than a month off for the players, who’ll be back for training ahead of that first qualifying match on June 30^th!

Fair play to the lads

2011-05-18T09:51:00.000+01:00

After my recent fit of pique at the Liverpool performance where I felt so let down by the team, I have just been left with this gnawing irritation with myself for letting it get under my skin. It must be something to do with my Manchester upbringing that gives me this gut dislike for the Pool - it's not healthy, I really must shake it.
Anyway, to my great surprise, England have qualified for the extra fair play European spot. I would have thought the spate of red cards in Europe for Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham would really have put paid to that route into Europe.
And, gratifyingly, well-behaved Fulham are in a good position to take that spot. This is assuming that Tottenham beat lowly Birmingham at White Hart Lane on Sunday. 3 points for the Spurs would guarantee them fifth place in the Premier League and a 'proper' Europa League spot. If they are pipped to fifth by Liverpool, who are playing away at Aston Villa, then Spurs are more likely to snaffle the Fair Play entry. So what's Tottenham's motivation to beat Brum then, given they are more or less guaranteed European football regardless? How about an extra month's holiday? Fair Play entrants are placed in the First Qualifying round of the Europa Cup, which starts on June 30, fifth placed finishers drop in at the play-off stage on 18 August, by which time the Premier League season has started anyway.
Looking over the recent matches for Fulham, it woudl seem the club is also eyeing that extra holiday given that the club has attracted 10 yellow cards in the past two matches when previously they only attracted 40 yellows in 35 games. To shoot up from an average of 1.14 cards per game to 5 cards per game has left many very suspicious that the team is trying to avoid fair play qualification, which would leave the door open for Blackpool to qualify instead, so much so that Mark Hughes has been forced to come out and say that he wants it. The Fair Play Table is not just judged on cards though, there are all kinds of intangibles marked such as respect to the referee and 'positive play', so it'll be pretty tricky to predict which team will prosper.
Surprisingly Fulham could once again achieve 7th place in the league (by beating Arsenal and hoping Chelsea turn Everton over at Goodison Park - a 15/2 double), equalling their highest ever perch and the position they last qualified for Europe in sparking last season's epic trip to Hamburg. However with the final in Bucharest 1,600 miles away, a road trip this time is not an option, so if Fulham do get the fair play spot it might be worthwhile for fans to place a sneaky each way bet on Fulham to win the competition to cover any potential trip to Romania.

Pathetic - FUL 0 - 3 LIV*

2011-05-15T17:29:00.001+01:00

Once again, my interpretation of the score is different to the officially recorded one. That's because I went home after 15 minutes. Yep. 15 minutes. I'd entered the game full of hope and optimism in a great mood after seeing some Liverpool-supporting pals of mine in The Crabtree beforehand, only to be brought crashing down to earth in seven minutes which have been by far the worst I have ever seen at the Cottage. As I walked up into the stand I noticed that Zamora was on the bench - a funny decision given the torrid time Bobby had given the Liverpool back line next season. And so it proved.
Liverpool's Manchester United-esque start to the game, followed by their Barcelona-style short passing/high pressing caused havoc among a previous sturdy backline, who never started and allowed Liverpool to swamp them with ease.
I was particularly upset given I'd been talking up Fulham's chances and was expecting to see a vibrant match against two teams in form. After the second goal was easily dispatched with all the defenders culpable (but Salcido especially so) I decided that I wanted a drink. Only the Fulham jobsworths wouldn't serve me until half time. Fuming about this as much as the football, I watched the game on the monitors near the Jacko statue and watched as Kuyt took a weak shot that hit the side netting. Only it didn't. Somehow it squirmed past Schwarzer for the third after barely 15 minutes. I weighed up my options. No alcohol for 30 minutes and a rampant Liverpool scoring goals they barely deserved because of the worst Fulham performance I have seen in four seasons. So I went home.
Made it home in time for Dembele's goal to be told Fulham are playing pretty well, but it's too late to start playing when you're three-nil down at home. All Liverpool had to do was turn on the gas again to motor past the whites and achieve a 2-5 scoreline that was scarcely believable before the match.
Anyway I realised that if I prepared to leave a match after 15 minutes then I really had no right being a season ticket at Fulham, and so I have relinquished my seat for next season. An impending little one and a potential move back up north were also factors, but my actions on Monday sealed the deal. I've decided I'm not even going for the season finale against Arsenal.
The one thing I did get right in my preview was the prediction that Suarez was the type of player that causes problems for the Fulham back line. The guy was unplayable.

Calling the odds - Fulham V Liverpool

2011-05-09T12:53:00.000+01:00

I'm rather confused at the betting markets for tonight's match. Liverpool are the red-hot favourites to win, with Fulham as long as 12/5 with Victor Chandler, but that's not really reflective of how Liverpool tend to fare at Craven Cottage. Last year Liverpool were demolished, thanks to two red cards, in what was a pretty poor season for them, but the season before they only snatched a win in injury time courtesy of Yossi Benayoun (although they did hit the bar four times in that match). Even further back Dempsey's first Fulham goal was a vital winner against Liverpool (albeit a second string ahead of the CL final).
Basically, Fulham tend to make Liverpool earn any points they get from the Cottage, not that the betting market reflects that. The recent form of the two teams doesn't suggest such a one-side encounter either. Fulham's home form has been imperious since the turn of the year. They've won eight out of ten matches, drawn another (against Chelsea when they missed a last minute penalty) and only lost the aberration of the Bolton FA Cup match, Scoring 25 in the process and conceding just 5. Meanwhile since the turn of the year Liverpool's away form reads: P: 11 W: 3 D: 2 L: 6 F: 11 A: 13. So in my opinion Fulham are outstanding value at 12/5 to win tonight.

Correct Score: Being bullish I would say 3-1 to Fulham, which is generally available at 25/1. Liverpool HT/ Fulham FT, given only Chelsea and Arsenal have better second half form than Fulham in the league, also has some value at 40/1 with Sportingbet.

First goalscorer: There's been six penalties in the last six games Liverpool have been involved in, three for and three against. So a penalty scorer would be a sensible bet, especially as Fulham have yet to concede a goal from the penalty spot this season. Kuyt, who takes Liverpool's penalties, and has been in good form anyway, is available at a generous 8/1 from William Hill. Danny Murphy - Fulham's regular penalty taker is 20s, also at William Hill. Recently Dempsey has been trying to muscle in on the penalty taking, but Murphy will no doubt flex his captaincy muscles against his former club. Suarez is the type of player that gives the Fulham back line problems though and you can get on him at 7s, again with Hills. For a longer shot - Simon Davies has also started scoring and tends to go on runs of netting; he's generally available at 25/1.

Sod's law: You can also get 5/1 on a player to be sent off with Paddy Power. Given Fulham are going for the Fair Play award and have yet to have had a player sent off this season, it's almost a given.

Correction - FUL 4-0 BOL*

2011-04-27T23:36:00.001+01:00

Well the Premier League might not agree with my reportage of the final score, but screw 'em. Bobby Zamora's goal came on the end of some beautiful pass & move play down Fulham's right hand side via Gudjohnsen and Davies before Bobby chested it down past two defenders and buried it into the top of Jaaskelainen's net. Comfortably the best goal scored at Craven Cottage this season. A work of art.
Except... the referee seemed to think Bobby used his arm and ruled out the goal and booked him. This was akin to defacing the Mona Lisa. Anthony Taylor should be ashamed of himself. Check it out here at 8m30s.
As for the match itself, it started pretty end to end but before long Fulham were dominating and Dempsey crashed home a ricocheting ball in a busy penalty area with an acrobatic volley for a deserved 15 minute lead. Fulham could, and perhaps should, have extended this lead before half time.
Fortunately the fans didn't have too long to wait after the break before another one came - and again Dempsey got on the end of a deflected cross in a busy penalty area to punish Bolton. Even so early into the second half the goal had been coming, with Dembele bouncing a shot off the crossbar.
Most of the rest of the match seemed to be watching Zat Knight desperately getting Bolton's defence out of dangerous positions with late lunges and blocks. He couldn't stem the flow though and Hangeland nodded in another from a Murphy free kick. Both Salcido and Dembele had games similar to those that showed such attacking promise earlier in the season. Gudjohnsen was productively busy until he was substituted for slightly less good Johnson. Davies wound back the clock and put in an impressive display on the right. Positives all round really, expect for Bolton who looked pretty jaded after their victory against Arsenal on Sunday, but even then still had a half dozen half chances. Well worth the entrance fee although the vandalism to the beautiful game was carried out by the referee rather than Bolton's more robust approach to football.

The best semi I ever had

2011-04-15T20:09:00.000+01:00

I thought I would talk about the best match I ever attended on FA Cup semi-final weekend as it was an FA Cup semi-final; the very last time one of them went to a reply before the FA scrapped them for the penultimate stage. This game had everything and it was simultaneously the best and worst game to go to as a fan.
Ladies & Gentleman, I am talking about Arsenal 1 -2 Manchester United (aet)
I obtained a ticket because a friend called Paul Beswick knew people who went to the first tie, but couldn't make the midweek replay down in Birmingham. Bes offered me the ticket because I managed to get him a ticket earlier in the season to a match against Derby County, which was only notable as it was Steve McLaren's first game as assistant manager. Bes drove us down to Villa Park and we found somewhere nearish to park and prepared for the most amazing night. It had already been a ridiculous season for results. Two last minute goals against Liverpool in the Third round to turn the game around. An 8 - 1 victory at Nottingham Forest (which I also attended in the home end). And a week later we would have the 3-2 against Juventus and the season would be capped off by the lucky victory against Bayren Munich. But this we THE game of a momentous season.
The emotions were put through the wringer and then some during this match.

Beckham scored! Yay!
Bergkamp equalises. Boooo!
Bergkamp shoots, Schmeichel parries straight to Anelka, who scores. Nooooo!
It's ruled out. He's offside. Bloody hell.
Keane gets sent off. Oh no...
Phil Neville gives away a penalty in stoppage time. Argggggh.
Schmeichel saves Bergkamp's penalty. Christ!
Extra Time and Schmeichel goes down injured after all the subs have been made. Ohhh...
He soldiers on. Phew...
Giggs is doing nothing, despite coming on as sub. Grrrr!
Giggs slaloms through the Arsenal defence and slams it above Seaman into the goal. Oh my god...

At this point I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. Moments earlier I, and the rest of the crowd, were jumping ON our seats in uncontrollable celebration. I've had a handful of other games reduce me to tears at times, but never the shakes.
I've seen other games that have almost come close to the effect that this game had, both last season actually - United's first last minute victory against City in the 4-3 game, and the batshit mentalness that was Fulham 4 - 1 Juventus. Even the away win at Basle felt pretty special. But if I ever go to another game like the one I attended at Villa Park, I will be a very, very lucky boy indeed. I wonder what this weekend's FA Cup semi-finals will have in store for us.

Calling the odds - Man Utd v Fulham

2011-04-09T10:36:00.000+01:00

With it being Grand National day, I thought I'd mark the occasion with a look at the betting opportunities available for today's match at Old Trafford. In recent seasons this has been a walkover for the home team - the last couple of games have been 3-0 there - although United's participation in the Champions League quarter finals will open the door a little as Fergie will no doubt rest half his team ahead of Tuesday's return leg against Chelsea.
Which begs the question - who will play? Probably Kuszczak in goal, with a back line of Fabio, Smalling Vidic and Evra. Fortunately for United, Evans is suspended as Zamora has made mincemeat of him before. Depending on their fitness, O'Shea and/or Brown may get a run out in the full back position.
Midfield is a tricky kettle of fish. I think Nani and Obertan will start on the wings, with Scholes and Anderson/Gibson, depending on the Brazillian's fitness. Berbatov and Hernandez are likely to be upfront with Rooney suspended, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Owen promoted to the starting 11 to give the Mexican a rest.
The only question Fulham has is who will play instead of Duff? Under Hodgson it would have been Gera, but Hughes doesn't seem to fancy the Hungarian, so it will possibly be Davies which might see Dempsey shifting to the right wing. However another option would be moving Dembele out to the right and playing Johnson up front with Zamora.
So what does this mean? Well even with a shaken up lineup such as this, Man United should be too strong for Fulham, who haven't scored a goal at Old Trafford for five years. The three away matches I have seen Fulham play this season - Arsenal, Spurs, Everton - they have been very ordinary and such a different side to the one that plays at Craven Cottage. United are building up a head of steam and should find today fairly comfortable, as long as they are not too distracted by the upcoming match on Tuesday.
Correct Score: A tense 1-0 is widely available at 6/1. Fulham have only been beaten by more than one goal away from home once all season (yet twice at home), so they are not a team to roll over. However some places are offering 10/1 for a 3-0 victory which has some value.
First goalscorer: If Nani is playing on his favoured right wing, he will be in direct opposition to Salcido who's defending is not his strong point. If Dempsey is playing left wing then he will leave his full back exposed and Nani will have a field day. If, as I expect, Davies is played left wing then at least he will provide some protection for his full back, but I'm not sure it will still be enough. Nani is 6/1 at Bet365 and generally 5/1 elsewhere. If Valencia starts on the right wing, then he is available at 8/1 and has been playing exceptionally well since returning from injury. An outside shot would be Paul Scholes at 14/1 with Paddy Power as he has opened the scoring against Fulham a couple of times and did so in the return fixture at Craven Cottage at the start of the season.
As for Fulham, Man United have been having issues defending set pieces so Brede Hangeland (50/1 on Betfair) or more likely Clint Dempsey (35/2 Betfair again) are the likely scorers should Fulham take the lead.
Grand National: I might have a dabble on Oscar Time, but just find somewhere offering the first five places rather than the standard four and then even the long shots become viable money spinners.

Al Fayed's Folly - FUL 3 - 0 BPL

2011-04-03T22:03:00.000+01:00

I wasn't going to write about the statue. I really wasn't. But it ended up being the most interesting thing of the day. From the pre-match covering mentioning little else, to the official unveiling where Chairman Mo told dissenting supporters to go to hell or Chelsea, to the actual statue being, well, a bit crap, there was far more excitement than what was happening on the pitch.
For a man whose face has so much plastic surgery, the statue has somehow managed to catch his likeness just wrong. It's like the sculptor has fallen into Jacko's very own Uncanny Valley. It's that bad, tacky, cheap that the only thing to do is laugh at it and laugh alongside the other fans. One fan was dressed as the Bo Selecta Michael Jackson and I'm betting it was at him the Hammy End was singing: "Come for the children, you've only come for the children!"
The match itself was massively underwhelming. Fulham played nice enough football to go 2-0 up, but then kind of gave up trying a bit to let Blackpool back into it. Zamora's first was kind of strange - a misplaced pass by Beattie gave Bobby the ball in the Z and he was allowed a clear run at goal, with apparently none of Blackpool's defenders able to catch up, and he smashed it in the goal. No wonder Blackpool are finding themselves in trouble now.
Fulham's man of the match was probably Chris Baird. He made some important headers to clear crosses as well as stooping to head a goalbound header wide (only just mind) after Schwarzer had a rush of blood to the head. Dembele had lots of the ball and went through his repertoire of tracks and turns without ever really looking dangerous, again, but basically the whole attacking unit worked with Bobby Z in the side.
Blackpool fans were pretty quiet up until the last five minutes, when they were brilliant. It's strange that it took them so long to get warmed up. When they did make noise, it was to berate the referee, who had a bit of a strange game at times and probably did favour the home side; not with any key decisions though. The odd free kick here, the odd non-yellow card there - those sort of things that can wind you up cumulatively.
Two minutes after Holloway (who I mistook for Al Fayed on the sidelines more than once) made a triple substitution (when those happen managers are either in total control or totally buggered) Etuhu scored his second against Blackpool this season. Dempsey did really well to connect to a free kick, but his header hit the post, and his cross from the rebound was totally unmissable for Etuhu from three yards out. He did his best though, but put the shot into the roof of the net. In the end it was a routine three points that put Fulham into the top half of the table, although with a tough set of games coming up, they could also prove to be a vital three points come the end of the season.

Potential banana skin

2011-03-29T17:58:00.000+01:00

It seems that the Met and Arsenal have now identified the banana throwing culprit - a German tourist! Hands up who guessed that one? Nope. Massively random.
And he appears to have been instantly exonerated from being a racist, which gave him the benefit of the doubt that many weren't giving to the Scotland fans.

But really, who throws a banana? Bizarre.

Bananaman - BRA 2 - 0 SCO

2011-03-28T12:23:00.000+01:00

Yesterday's friendly between Brazil and Scotland has been somewhat overshadowed by Neymar's accusation of racism from the crowd. Now there was no doubt that a banana was thrown on the pitch. However it came from a stand consisting of 75% Brazil fans who were celebrating the side's second goal. Whoever was running the Sunday Times Sport twitter feed said: 'I saw the offending fruit thrown (was standing 30 yards away) by a Brazilian fan celebrating Neymar pen'. And besides - what would a Scot being doing with a piece of fresh fruit anyway?
Banana aside, there was absolutely no other indication of any racist behaviour from the fans. Neymar has said he was getting booed throughout the game, especially during the penalty, but that wasn't in protest against his colour - it was against his theatrics. If any player had corkscrewed to the floor like that after the merest of taps, they would have also been booed.
The racism row has left a sour taste in the mouth of what was a good natured match with supporters of both teams mingling without problems. In fact getting off the tube at Arsenal threw us into a cup final atmosphere, with singing from both sides, samba drums, fancy dress and lots of laughing. It was great.
Just before the national anthems, Brazilian legend Ronaldo was introduced to the fans and got a great reception. Considering the guy is only a month older than me and has played professional football for the last 20 years or so - he looked bloody terrible. No wonder he's retired.
Listen!
On the top tier a Brazillian band had managed to gain access and played throughout the game - it was so loud that it mainly drowned out the crowd, which was a bit of a shame, but combined with the sunshine did lend a bit of a carnival atmosphere. I didn't want to use the term, but it sums it all up perfectly.
The game, in comparison, was rather flat. Brazil's play was reminiscent of Barcelona's in that they put pressure on the player with the ball until they make a mistake, which given they were playing a jittery Scotland happened quite often. In fact this gave the Scottish players the chance to show their full array of last ditch tackles and Brazil pressed and pressed. When the opening goal did come, it was courtesy of an exquisite finish by Neymar, the boy with a haircut so ridiculous that even Beckham wouldn't try it. It was sort of a cross between a mohawk and a mullet. Scotland had come close with a header from a set-piece that went narrowly wide, but that was all.
Second half was much like the first, apart from a five minute period around about the hour mark when Scotland were actually pressing and won a few corners and got a couple of shots on target without troubling Cesar in goal. But 5 minutes was all it lasted and Brazil got their second and should have probably got their third and fourth, Chelsea's Ramirez being particularly wasteful.
Even after the match, the Tartan Army was still managing to have a laugh. In the pub we were in there was a bit of traffic on the side road alongside, so fans were laughing, joking and singing with the drivers as they waited to get out of the junction. It was all good, until the headlines this morning.

Inevitable - EVE 2 - 1 FUL

2011-03-26T08:37:00.000Z

On one of the roads alongside the reassuringly old school Goodison Park is a terraced house painted in a lurid red with two massive Liverpool FC flags hanging from the upper floors specifically designed as a massive fuck you to the nearby club. You have to wonder about the mentality of the fan that owns the house - they clearly get some kind of perverse pleasure from their quite confrontational actions when surely if their feelings for their club run that strong they could just move. It's far more in your face than the Chelsea supporting owners of the Eight Bells at Putney Bridge who are glad to welcome all the away fans at Craven Cottage. Anyway the house typifies the problem that Everton has in the city - the more numerous Liverpool fans looking down their noses at a less successful club, which also happens to be every club in the country.

I was fortunate enough to be a guest of the football pools for this match and so watched the game from some of the country's more idiosyncratic executive boxes. Retro fitted into an old style stadium, these boxes are much lower down than what you'd normally see. Our box was actually directly behind the Fulham 'dug out' which offered an unusual alternative spectacle to the game - a welcome diversion in a tepid first half. You could hear the curses of both managers very clearly and it seems that the job of Hughes' number two is to continually talk to the fourth official. Watching Hughes and Moyes was quite fascinating actually - their body language was almost identical. At times it felt like they were mirroring one another for some variety stage show. Moyes also loved up to his growly image by barking at a ball boy to get the ball, even though it was still on the pitch and they'd probably been trained not to enter the field of play.
The number of Fulham fans who made their way up to Goodison Park was quite low - which is not really surprisingly considering the late evening scheduling of the game meant that the last train down to London had gone while the match was still in progress. Still they were in relatively good voice - you were more likely to hear Fulham songs than Everton ones for the first half hour of the match - the 33,000 home fans were pretty quiet until Coleman opened the scoring.

I'll be honest, I wasn't too upset at this development. When I saw Salcido was starting and knowing how good Everton's right winger was, I had a fiver on the your Irishman to score first. In fairness to Salcido, it wasn't really his fault and for his standards he hada good game. Also knowing how much stronger Fulham are in the second half, there was a likelihood that they would peg the toffeemen back. Unfortunately Saha scored soon after the restart, Ethuhu unfortunate to give a way a free kick that the former Fulham man arrowed past the wall and into the bottom corner.
Fulham were getting the ball, but not doing anything with it. Zamora was flung on and immediately provided a focus and an assist, Dempsey abruptly sweeping a lay off past Tim Howard from outside the area which caught everyone in the stadium by surprise. Fulham kept pressing, with Everton on the break, but didn't really fashion a clear cut chance. The second half was actually quite entertaining with Hughes going for it by putting on Kakuta, who was surprisingly wayward with his passing, and the porcine Gudjohnsen who seemed to be playing in midfield. In the end Everton were good enough for their extremely predictable win - that's 18 in a row for them against Fulham at Goodison Park.

Off the Wall? Or just Bad?

2011-03-17T09:15:00.001Z

My very first album was Bad. My very first CD was Dangerous (bought the same time as the Blues Brothers Soundtrack). So I like MJ as much as the next guy - as long as the next guy isn't Chairman Mo.
I cannot see why a statue of MJ would be appropriate at any football ground. And that corner between the Hammy End and the Riverside gets busy enough as it is without a hulking great statue. I suppose we should just be pleased that Mo didn't try and put it next to the family stand.
But Fulham fans will have to lump it - regardless of how eccentric the decision is. The recent financial results demonstrate just how dependent the club is on the little businessman and if having a statue of one of his mates (who had dubious personal tastes of his own) is the price they have to pay for it, then so be it.
I can't help thinking that if Al Fayed had offered the statue to the O2, they would have snapped his hand off though. It's a far more appropriate location, given that he was due to put on a series of shows there.

EDIT: It seems it's Bad

Off roving for Rovers' visit

2011-03-05T10:50:00.000Z

Not going to make it for the visit of Blackburn Rovers due to several reason - in fact I think only Nic is making it today - but there is real danger of Fulham taking Blackburn a bit too lightly given recent games, much like they did with Bolton in the cup.
Blackburn are not as good as Bolton, but are adept at the physical game which Fulham tend to struggle to overcome (again cf FA Cup match v Bolton and the away game at Ewood Park). Blackburn have Roque Santa Cruz up front, who always seems to score against Fulham regardless of how well he is playing, and Jason Roberts who plays exactly the sort of game that the defence struggles with (cf Carlton Cole) and has scored against Fulham at the Cottage before.
But with a bit more protection from the referee than the last home game:
Listen!
And they should be fine and starting to reach mid-table boringness, if such a thing is possible this year. Birmingham's victory in the league cup means a European Spot will probably be 6th place and up, but there is always the fair play route.

For posterity

2011-02-25T16:50:00.000Z

To prove it actually happened.

Shirt Lifters - FUL 0 - 1 BOL

2011-02-22T23:20:00.002Z

Arriving early to pick up tickets (didn't really need to be there an hour like advised, did we Fulham?), I was surprised to see the cocksure swagger of ~~Sam the Eagle from the Muppets~~ Fabio Capello walking along Stevenage Road. Who the England manager had come to see was the source of much debate during the game, until we realised it was probably a Bolton player, or even the Wanderers' new centre-half pairing of Wheater and Cahill. He'd have probably left quite intrigued at the abilities of the pair.
In comparison, the Fulham back line disappointed, and a couple of ineffective clearances gave Klasnic the opportunity to volley home efficiently from the penalty spot. He then showed his lack of class by taunting the Hammersmith End despite no previous provocation, echoing Agbonlahor's pathetic actions last season. The Croat probably escaped derision throughout the remainder of the match from the Fulham fans, as they soon discovered a greater enemy. Stuart Atwell.
Atwell's decision making has always been a bit wobbly, but one thing he is applauded for doing is letting the game flow through playing advantage. However in this game he seemed to forget that he still needed to admonish the fouler. In one attack from Fulham, Dembele clearly had his shirt pulled (well we could see it in the Hammy End at he was attacking Putney) and we know the ref saw it as he made the 'play on' signal, which was fair enough as he retained the ball. Nothing was said to the pullee once the move (quickly) broke down though.
Soon after I think it was Danny Murphy had his shirt blatantly pulled back. Once again Fulham retained possession and Atwell played on, but we all knew that the yellow card would be coming out once play stopped. But it didn't. The ref didn't even bother to talk to the Bolton player. Again. Then Dembele was running with the ball along the edge of the Bolton box - yet another massive shirt pull made him lose possession. No foul. NO FOUL? We were down the other end of the pitch and this was so obvious even Arsene Wenger would have held his hands up and said fair cop. But Atwell's weak, weak refereeing let Bolton get away with it. It happened twice more in the second half, each time equally as blatant, but the Bolton players knew they could get away with it. Only at the very end - the 94th minute - when Fulham were breaking for the final time only to be cynically pulled by Holden did the ref see fit to blow for a foul and issue a yellow card, but by then it was too little too late. He had become a foul play enabler and the crowd made sure he knew it.
Tommo, an Arsenal fan who watches a lot of live football, described it as the worst referring performance he had ever seen. I thought it was the worst since last season's Europa League game against Juventus, but at least that was in Fulham's favour, so quickly glossed over. It was not just the shirt pulling, but the inconsistency. Sidwell gets pulled up very early in the game for what was a clean sliding tackle, yet almost identical challenges from Bolton players went unpunished. At least in the second half the decisions he got wrong were about 50:50 for both sides. He was that poor I even think he fell for every one of Dempsey's ridiculous collapsing dives which have become more prevalent in his play under Hughes, despite Fulham's free kick 'prowess'.
I must admit, after what I had seen of Bolton's transformed game under Coyle, I was somewhat taken aback by the regressed version that showed up at the Cottage this weekend; full of snide fouls and sub-Stoke tactics. But I guess you need an 'away' game and it was very effective here after they took the lead. Impressively dogged defending, bite your ankles midfield work and effective counter attacking. It goes to show that in the second half when Fulham were ostensibly searching out an equaliser that Schwarzer was by far the busier goalkeeper.
As well as Bolton stuck to their gameplan, Fulham seemed a bit more ragged than usual. I think they may have underestimated Bolton if I'm honest. The fans certainly did. No matter how many own goals Johnny P scores, he must be less of a liability than Carlos 'ball watcher' Salcido, whose one positive (attacking play) seems to have completely deserted him. Sidwell also had a mixed game, probably confused over what he was allowed to do after that early foul. AJ was far less effervescent than recently and the way Bolton got about Murphy clearly effected his game and possibly his mentality, given the way he uncharacteristically went for glory with a very weak shot right at the end of the game when team mates were far better placed.
The only major positive was the return of Bobby Zamora, who with his first three touches conceded a foul, misplaced a pass which led to a very dangerous Bolton break and was caught offside. At least he was getting involved, I suppose. He soon settled in and became a nuisance to the Bolton backline though. I wonder how Hughsie is going to deploy him in the future.
Listen!
It all sounds very negative, but strangely it only need a slight bit of luck and Fulham would still be in the FA Cup. Whenever the ball was deflected or blocked in the Bolton area it seemed to fall nicely for one of the defenders rather than the attacking side, and the Bolton midfielders always seemed to be first to the second ball. But you make your own luck to some extent and the Trotters were the worthy victors. Fortunately the prospect of an away tie at Birmingham tempered the disappointment of Fulham fans somewhat. But only a little.

Penalty call - FUL 0 - 0 CHE

2011-02-20T13:15:00.000Z

I didn't make it to the Valentine's Day game, although it is ironic that my preview of the game consisted of a photo of a missed penalty, so here is Jarrod's text message review:

Game was pretty ordinary. Our defence was poor, their attack worse. Clint's miss was devestating...

Crowd good; sung lots. "What a waste of money" and " John Terry - your mum's a thief".

One chant I had heard about that made me chuckle was: "Are you Torres in disgiuse?" Some of the Fulham chants have been getting better of late.

This still makes me laugh

2011-02-10T15:01:00.000Z

I happened to attend the England v USA friendly at Wembley a couple of days after the Champions League Final in Moscow. In this game Terry did score, with a header. Afterwards he was quoted in the press as saying he was a 'big man for the big games'.
No John. A big game was the Champions League Final, not an end of season friendly against America. And a big man would have scored the winning penalty rather than messing about making sure their captain's armband was on straight before falling over and shanking their kick onto the post.
I can't make it to the game on Valentine's Day but I would love it if you made an arse out of yourself again.

Duff curse - FUL 1-0 NCU

2011-02-03T21:24:00.000Z

Newcastle United's players looked gigantic compared to Fulham's. Properly huge. And protected the ball with their bodies better (and more often) than any team I'd seen, causing the Fulham midfield to make lots of niggly little fouls which they're not really renowned for. They swarmed around the Fulham players when in possession, robbing them of time in which to ply their craft, which meant the ineffective 'long ball to Johnson' tactic reared its head far too often in the first half.
Newcastle played very much like a team who last season were in the Championship - that's not a criticism though. They were earthy and the right side of line, unlike some other teams currently 'gracing' the Premier League. It made for a crap spectacle though.
It was probably the poor entertainment in the first half which meant the 'Blues Brothers' entertainment at half time was so warmly received. Not by me though. If you're trying to promote the singing and dancing tribute act to the Blues Brothers, you should a) sing and b) have a dance choreographed. And if you can't do a, then at least record yourselves singing and mime to that rather than a 30 year old recording of the original band from the widely seen film. Outrageous.
Fortunately the second half stepped up a gear, with Danny Murphy somehow finding the energy reserves to fashion a little space in the middle of the pitch, ably assisted by a workman-like Sidwell and the eventual exhaustion of the Newcastle players.
Fulham had started to get on top, but had not made the breakthrough, leaving Sparky with one of those awkward decisions of whether to stick and hope for a goal or twist and potentially accede dominance. Thankfully for him the goal arrived before he had to decide.
It's no exageration to suggest Duff should have already scored twice before finally putting one past Harper from a long Murphy pass. In fact the Newcastle goalie was probably man-of-the-match with some eye catching saves, one from Dempsey was particularly impressive. It appeared particularly cathartic for Duff, who'd been getting quite a bit of stick from the rather impressive turnout of the Toon Army. The goal settled most nerves, simultaneously taking the wind out of the Toon's sails, and both the fans and Hughes relaxed.
Listen!
While the fans baited their north eastern counterparts, Sparky chucked on Gael Kakuta for a surprisingly effective debut. He was fast, direct and incisive and maybe should have finished the game with a goal and an assist, but his performance in the hole (I think - it was hard to tell who actually was leading the line when Johnson came off) was very promising for the remainder of the season. He offered a definite glimpse on why it was worth the 'neighbours' breaking all manner of rules to get him.

Through the window

2011-02-01T13:29:00.002Z

In:

Steve Sidwell - I must admit, while I was very familiar with the name, I had no idea how he played. Or even where he played. At first I thought he was a striker in the same mould as Kevin Doyle (possibly I'd got them mixed up) so was surprised to find Sparky had signed a midfielder - especially as the team has them in abundance. However he as been decent enough across a couple of games. The question is whether he is back-up or a replacement to Dickson Etuhu?

Gael Kakuta - The reason behind Chelsea's amusing transfer embargo has yet to set the world alight at Stamford Bridge - hence his loan deal to Craven Cottage. Now billed as a winger, Kakuta arrives at Fulham on the promise of some first team action, but unless he hits the ground running it is hard to see how he will get any more game time here than at Stamford Bridge where he has featured in a dozen games this season. Irritatingly he is also cup-tied for the FA Cup. Another Giles Barnes? Probably not as I think Hughes will play him - I just don't know when while everyone's fit.

Eidur Gudjohnsen - Gratifyingly not cup-tied, the Icelandic striker has picked up trophies at several clubs, although has rarely been a first team regular for his sides over the last five years, which ought to sounds some alarm bells ringing. I last saw Gudjohnsen play live in the Nou Camp where he plundered a late winner against Real Betis and have always been impressed with him. A good showing up front while Bobby Z gets up to speed and he could earn a new contract at the Cottage this summer.

Out:
Eddie Johnson - Off to my favoured Preston North End on loan. PNE need a miracle in order to stay up this season and, let's face it, it will be a miracle if EJ can turn it on for them. I don;t expect to see him in a Fulham shirt again. Thanks Eddie, but it just didn't happen for you.

David Elm - Never given an opportunity under Hughes, despite the striker crisis. Despite his obvious limitations he could have been an adequate Zamora stand-in - moreso than EJ. Not under Hughes though and so he had to go.

Frederik Stoor - Another player whom I sense the fans would have liked to have seen given a bit more of an opportunity, but yet another mysterious low-key Hodgson signing who never quite made the grade. Might as well be off the wage list.

Rob Milsom - Was at his Fulham debut at Old Trafford, but that was the last seen of him. Clearly not fancied, which is a shame given his 12 years at the club, but he might find his level in Scotland. Strangely I may see him play for Aberdeen in a couple of weeks.

Keanu Marsh-Brown - Not yet played for Fulham, but has joined MK Dons for a month, which is a shame as I have a natural revulsion for the club.

Any other business:
I'm no fan of Liverpool but I think they've done okay business. A want away striker replaced by two eager young things desperate to prove something. To be honest I didn't think there was a need to instantly replace Torres with Suarez coming in, but spunking £35m on an 22-year-old English centre forward isn't as big a risk as it sounds given resale values.
£50m on a Torres without such resale value and fitting him into the current Chelsea set up seems a bit more of a risk, albeit one Roman can afford, but they are looking to secure Champs league qualification for next season as much as win the trophy this year.
However Newcastle are 8pts from the drop. Will that be enough to save them?

Total FA Cup for Spurs

2011-01-30T17:33:00.001Z

As it stands it is half time and Fulham are 4-0 up against 10-man Spurs. Incredible. Why am I not there? Well after going to both league games against Tottenham and being thoroughly irked by the manner of their two wins (as well as last season's 0-0 draw), I decided I did not intend attending.
Bugger.
It seems all the luck that evaded them for the two previous league meetings has been returned with interest. Aided by Harry Redknapp pulling a Fergie and messing around with both personnel and formation, Spurs started sluggishly and Fulham pressurised them into mistakes. And how.
Two penalties later, which from watching in real time I didn't think were pens, and kudos has to go to the ref for spotting them. However the Dawson red card was a bit harsh. Did he prevent a goalscoring opportunity? He certainly impeded it using foul play. What the hell is the rule these days?
Anyway, Fulham kept their momentum with a quick third from a corner and then Dembele scored out of nothing to put the tie to bed before the half time whistle. It's strange to analyse a game like this. Basically Spurs cocked up so badly at the start, Fulham have capitalised and are now out of sight. Hopefully.

Wish I'd have gone now.

Last on MOTD - FUL 2 - 0 STO

2011-01-24T15:07:00.000Z

Took a friend to his first ever Premier League match this weekend and with two goals, one penalty, a red card and the ball crashing against a post and a crossbar and plenty of humourous chants - it seemed a pretty good introduction. As it was for new signing Steven Sidwell - who was given 25 minutes against a dispirited 10-man team already two down.
Stoke were a very disappointing side. Other than Jones making a bit of a nuisance of himself in the first 15 minutes (and a set piece header from Shawcross that skipped merrily wide) Stoke had nothing. They were creatively bankrupt and even having Tuncay up front failed to rectify the matter. In fact when the Turk came off for the newly loaned Carew (so newly loaned that he didn't make the programme) it was more of a act of kindness. The two forwards will likely start in each other's places for the next game, not that Carew did anything outstanding.
Once Aaron Hughes had regained his composure against Stoke's big men, they rarely threatened unless set up by wayward defensive headers, and it was Fulham's small men that did most of the damage - Duff and Johnson were very impressive with their movement, ably assisted by the showing of Dempsey and Dembele drifting around the pitch. Murphy once again pulled the strings, but Duff was the standout player, giving a torrid time to Stoke's makeshift left back.

Listen!
The second half was made far easier by an early goal (and a red card). Dempsey, despite my continual criticisms of his first touch, wondrously pulled a pass out of the air to slip between the Stoke centre halves to go through on goal when Shawcross showed his appreciation of Rugby by completely hauling him down inside the penalty area. Pulis ridiculously suggested that Dempsey was already on the way down (not that he hasn't got previous) but it was as simple a decision as it was possible to make - even Stuart Atwell got it right.
Stoke's defenders were the most 'grabby' I've seen of a team in many, many months, but at least those sort of fouls aren't dangerous.
Once Demps had converted, that was about it. Stoke become a slight parody of themselves by throwing on a few more giants and taking off the small quick wingers and just launched the ball in the air. Expect Treebeard to sign for the Potters any day now. However they do need something extra if this is an example of a typical game for them. At 33/1 I see enough value in a small tinkle on them to get relegated so poorly did they play. Or maybe it was Fulham playing so well that made them appear so ordinary? With a handful of tricky matches ahead of them, Fulham will definitely be hoping that's the case.

Meet the 'fans' - Ish

2011-01-20T08:36:00.002Z

At the start of the season I set Ish a challenge of actually attending 10 games this season from his season ticket. So far he's managed (I think) five out of 12 (including this weekend's Stoke City match). However he reckons he'll make the final seven league matches at the Cottage (including the Valentines Day Massacre against Chelsea) so we'll see. Hopefully there will be some extra FA Cup games after the Spurs match.

Name: Ishan
Season tickets held: 2007/8, 2008/9, 2009/10, 2010/11
Hometown: St Albans
Football team supported: None
Why did you get a Fulham Season Ticket: Wanted to see Premiership football, meet up with friends, Andy suggested doing it.
Favourite Game: Fulham v Juventus
Favourite Goal: Konchesky v West Ham Screamer (I saw it on TV with Jarrod). Just been looking at the top 10 Fulham goals on YouTube as a memory jogger. They're all really good, but I can't remember any of them.
Favourite Player: Pantsil (Genuine in his relationship and appreciation of the fans). Should be respected more for captaining a side to the world cup quarter finals in 2010.
Least favourite player: Dickson Etuhu. I have finally seen the light and now realise that Dickson effectively plays himself out of the game , EVERY GAME, and makes Fulham a 10 man team. Passing the ball to the team mate right next to him all the time doesn't cut it for me anymore)
What do Fulham now mean to you (if anything?): Class A swearing in my right ear, really bad jokes in my left.

Meet the fans - Adam

2011-01-14T17:46:00.000Z

With a trip to Wigan for a very, very important game (which will end up 0-0) ahead of us, I thought I'd continue introducing the people who have been season ticket holders with us these past four years.

Name: Adam

Hometown: Sydney, Australia

Season tickets held: 2006/2007, 2007/8

Football team supported: Fulham FC
Why did you get a Fulham Season Ticket: Living locally to Fulham since 2000 and loving football generally (not an easy task for an Aussie), went to see them play a few times and caught the bug.
Favourite Game: Vs Tottenham back in 2007 (i think) when Kamara did the overhead bicycle kick to draw the match and the Hammy End broke into a spontaneous round of "3-1 and you fucked it up, 3-1"
Favourite Goal: Danny Murphy against Portsmouth to keep us in the league. I'd moved to Asia by the time but remember watching the match in Singapore thinking that this is possibly the last time I’d see my beloved Fulham on TV (they show every Fulham match live here by the way) for a long time! Thankfully things turned out well!
Favourite Player: Moritz Volz!
Least favourite player: Shefki Kuki
What do Fulham now mean to you (if anything?): Nothing... EVERYTHING (Nod to "Kingdom of Heaven")....

You're shit, ahhhhhhhhh - FUL 6 - 2 PBR

2011-01-10T18:26:00.002Z

There was a lot of fun in the stands this weekend. Mainly because of the comfortable scoreline relaxing everyone, partly because a lot of people (ourselves included) had switched seats for this FA Cup game and partly because of some very strange goings on pitchside.
It could have been all so different though had David Stockdale not shown his ninja prowess early on, tipping a couple of shots over the bar from close range; Johnny Painstil's erratic decision making coming to the fore again. However the goals came before the end of the first half, allowing the Fulham fans to just enjoy themselves. One thing that should be mentioned about Stockdale is his astounding distribution. He can pick out a pass like Beckham. This boy is going to go far.
Peterborough were tidy enough, but it was clear how they have conceded so often this season, with Kamara and Duff running riot behind their back line. How the Irishman didn't score over the course of the match is worthy of a Parliamentary inquiry. Of Kamara's three, only the second goal really required his skill with a lovely arcing run behind the defenders being met by Murphy's sumptuous through ball and sealed with an overly-casual finish.
One of the strangest things about this game, apart from the avalanche of goals, was the 30 minute cameo from the new left winger, who Hughes has cleverly decided to disguise as Jonathan Greening sans-beard. He was all over the place, set up two goals and scored himself after dogged work on the left. He was so impressive that he almost snaffled my man of the match nomination, but I guess that's because we weren't expecting much. The last time I remember him playing left wing for Fulham, he scored the winner against Portsmouth. Maybe he should be kept out there.
In the stands, the fans were having as much fun as Greening. The poor Posh 'keeper got the whole 'you're shit, ahhhhhh' every time he even looked at the ball and one ahhhhhhhhhh went on for a good minute after he'd punted the ball down the field.
Listen!
There was also a bit of fun had at the back of the Hammy End with one of the stewards, who was a dead ringer for Johnny P and serenaded with: 'Are you Painstil in disguise' and 'there's only two Johnny Paintsils'. Fulham's erstwhile manager Woy Hodgson also got a song on the occasion of his sacking from Liverpool. I though the Fulham fans might have been sympathetic but there was no chance of that. To the tune of Baby Give It Up it went:
Na na na na na na na na
Hodgson's got no job
Got no job
Hodgson's got no job.
Harsh but funny. Posh's 6,000+ fans did the team proud as well, although they only really got into their swing when 4-0 down; at which point you must say 'bugger it, let's try and enjoy ourselves'. And they were rewarded by two goals, the first of which was probably the best of the match. Despite the leaky defence, Hughes has now got to continue this momentum away at Wigan and Liverpool, not to mention the next two home matches against Stoke City and Spurs.

Deja Vu again - FUL 3 - 0 WBA

2011-01-07T16:49:00.002Z

I do like night games And the round of Premier League matches this midweek were so interesting that I think it should be done more often. Fulham fans were spoilt on Thursday nights last season, especially considering the results the team achieved, so let's have some more.
Most people are getting giddy about this game and how it's a corner turned, but it was just a bit more of the same for me, the only difference being that WBA couldn't defend for toffee. It kind of felt like the false dawn experienced after the comfortable dismantling of Wigan in October which was followed up with 8 games without a win. Still Fulham were due their slice of luck the way things have been going this season - hopefully it won't have all come in the same match.
The first half was almost ruined for me by the incessant prattling of someone behind me comparing everything to the computer games Fifa 11 and Football Manager. It really was tiresome. Fortunately it seemed to be for his mates as well, as he barely mentioned either game in the second half after they took the mickey out of him. I don't know where they were supposed to be sitting, but they were marauding around the stand like scavengers looking for free seats that they could sit near some people they know. Hey, at least they turn up, unlike Ish these days. I do wonder why he renewed his season ticket again. I think he's missed the last six.
The goals Fulham scored from corners were ridiculously easy, so much so it begs the question why Simon Davies is so keen to take short ones all the time. But in this game they were helped by the diminutive size of the makeshift West Brom back line and Scott Carson seemingly suffering from post traumatic stress disorder after his attempt at a save in the first half from Davies' hopeful shot just speared the ball into the top corner, much to the astonishment of the Hammy End.
Johnny P had one of his more random games, while the rest of the squad continued some decent form without looking too dangerous. The subs Eddie Johnson and Riise were woeful in the short time they had though. The former didn't even get a touch and the later looked concussed. It was a shame - he was occasionally effective last season.
As to where Steve Sidwell fits into this team I don't know. It's the strikeforce that needs strengthening as a priority, not the midfield.

Cutting Edge - TOT 1 - 0 FUL

2011-01-02T08:37:00.002Z

It was another decent performance from Fulham against a Spurs side that spent most of the match in third gear, but a lack of cutting edge does not mean you are unlucky - it means you can't score. Spurs have incisiveness all over the pitch and it showed. When the team finally decided to wake up, which was about 30 minutes in, Spurs pressured until they got their goal (in essence an opportunistic deflection from a harsh free-kick) but the writing was on the wall.
Spurs' two wingers, Bale and Lennon, were very dangerous when they were given the right service, but fortunately for Fulham that didn't happen too often. Unfortunately it happened enough, with Bale's instinctive flicked header putting the ball in the opposite side of the goal to a leaden footed Schwarzer.
It was harsh on the team wearing the Middlesbrough kit, who had been quite comfortable and at times quasi-dangerous in the first half. But for all Fulham's possession and tidy passing, there was no real goal threat.
Part of the problem was that Fulham, appeared to be second to every loose ball - considering the attacking unit currently appears to be set up to capitalise on random headers and flicks from long punts forward this was a bit of a surprise. Maybe it was the youthful nature of the Spurs' players compared to the ageing Fulham team that allowed them to react more quickly to loose balls, or maybe it was a heightened level of anticipation that the better players have, but t seemed that whenever the Fulham players made a loose touch they lost the ball, but when Spurs slightly miscontrolled they were able to retain possession.
This all sounds a bit down - Fulham did play well. We actually saw what Hughes was talking about when he said Etuhu could make a difference up front - this was Dickson's most positive game for a long time and if he had belief in his left foot he might have scored (or at least have a shot) from the best passing move of the first half. Given the quality of their immediate opposition, both Paintsil and Baird did okay at full back. I even heard a muted rendition of 'We've got Bairdinho' from the away fans). Murphy pulled strings in the middle; Duff and Johnson made some good runs. However there were very few shots on goal.
I saw a report somewhere that suggested that Fulham were playing on the counter attack, which was total cobblers in my opinion. Fulham just aren't quick enough to play on the counter attack, both in body and mind. The loss of Johnson's searing pace doesn't help, but the forwards never seem to be in a big rush to press forward, giving time for enough defenders to get back. And once they had more weight in numbers, the Spurs centre halves dealt with almost everything thrown at them, even if there were some desperate blocks to equally desperate long range shots towards the end.
This was my first trip to White Hart Lane and I quite liked the stadium - it has some character. However the home crowd were really, really quiet. The Fulham fans weren't much better, in fairness, but they were better. I was a bit disappointed if I'm honest - I've been very impressed with Spurs' away support both at the Cottage and at Wembley, but this seemed to be a different demographic completely. Maybe it was because it was New Year's Day, maybe it was because 'the Lane' has had more prestigious visitors this season in the Champions League than little old Fulham, but the crowd was as flat as the game.
While Fulham might be in the relegation zone at the moment things are tight enough down there not to be overly worried, but it's a big game at home on Tuesday night. Both the team and the manager need a win that will take them out of the drop zone, but to do that Fulham need some goals. It's been a month since a Fulham striker has scored and this is something that Hughes desperately needs to address if he is to maintain his reputation as a good manager.

Meet the 'fans' - Andy

2010-12-30T17:09:00.000Z

A weedy capitulation to one of the country's worst teams live on TV only to then wrest three points from the Britannia Stadium a few days later is one of the more puzzling aspects of this Fulham side. But they still sit in the relegation zone so this next week will be very, very important.
'
Anyway here's another exciting profile:

Name: Andy
Season tickets held: 2007/8, 2008/9, 2009/10, 2010/11
Hometown: Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester
Football team supported: Manchester United (with affiliations to Preston North End and Oldham Athletic)
Why did you get a Fulham Season Ticket? I wanted to create a regular social occurrence with some of my friends. We all liked football and the £299 season ticket was too good value to turn down.
Favourite Game: Last season's home game against Juventus has absolutely mental, but for sheer emotion the Hamburg semi-final home leg was something else. From my mad dash back from Madrid, to the 'stand up if you still believe' chant, to the Simon Davies goal, to the 2-1 victory and grown men crying in the stands, to the victory and my first pint in a pub for nine months which lasted approximately 9 seconds.
Favourite Goal: Again trying to avoid the Juve game - Diomansy Kamara's last minute overhead kick that made it 3-3 against Tottenham Hotspur in September 2007. I think that's when I got the bug.
Favourite Player: As much as I love Johnny Paintsil, I think Clint Dempsey has to take this accolade. He has a lot of attributes that I like in a player.
Least favourite player: Sol Ki-Hyeon - what an absolute waste of space
What do Fulham now mean to you? I honestly don't know. I'm an enthusiastic spectator but does the mania go beyond that? They won't replace United as my first love, despite how lukewarm I am about the current administration there, but will they elbow Preston from the number 2 slot? They should but there is a finite capacity for football supportage than many believe I have already transcended by having more than one team.

Meet the fans - Nicky

2010-12-21T13:02:00.000Z

As we didn't make it to Sunderland and none of us will be around for the West Ham game either, I thought I'd do the odd profile piece on the people who have had a season ticket with us. These could be representative of the influx of season ticket holders over the last couple of years - people like us who have adopted Fulham as a 'second team' while living in London.

Name: Nicky
Season tickets held: 2008/9, 2009/10, 2010/11
Hometown: Twickenham
Football team supported: Manchester United
Why did you get a Fulham Season Ticket? Cheap, nearby and the side were likable
Favourite Game: Fulham 4 - 1 Juventus last season
Favourite Goal: Clint Dempsey's goal v Juventus
Favourite Player: Bobby Zamora (I always love the underdog)
Least favourite player: Dickson Etuhu
What do Fulham now mean to you? I like to see them do well and enjoy going to watch them.

The Nearly Men - ARS 2 - 1 FUL

2010-12-04T23:37:00.000Z

Fulham gave a good account of themselves at The Emirates, but don't seem to be able to get that bit of luck to take them to the next level. Nasri gave Arsenal all the points with a couple of instances of dancing in the box, but it could so nearly have gone the other way. Not that you would have thought that from the first 20 minutes. Fulham were filth with no discernable game plan and Arsenal were just gliding past the mainly static white shirts. Even when Nasri scored, the writing had been on the wall for some time, and most of the Fulham fans were anticipating another drubbing.
However, for some reason, it just didn't happen. The first proper bit of football that Fulham played in the first half culminated in Kamara's well taken equaliser from Dempsey's deft flick and then, suddenly, Arsenal were rocking and uneasy. There were still no obvious tactics, but Fulham started making more chances and were probably unhappy that the half-time whistle came when it did.
Half time came, allowing us to be sold stuff through the big screens. Surprisingly Arsene Wenger read out the 'lucky number' winner on what i assume to be a pre-record VT - which raises some questions as to when the draw was actually made. Fulham fans weren't that noisy today, but crikey the Emirates is a quiet place at times. What you get from north London is the perfect distillation of modern football, with all its good and bad points.
Arsenal had played some good stuff in the game, but you could sense a soft underbelly of uncertainty within the team, and when the second half started Fulham tried to press the advantage. The game actually became quite good - one of those strange end to end game without many shots on goal.
The major tactical revolution for Fulham was playing a right winger on the right wing. Davies was tasked with sticking on the byline and suddenly Fulham had an 'out' ball and any crosses could be aimed at the trio of Kamara, Gera and Dempsey. Unfortunately Arsenal's centre halves managed to cope with that aerial threat, but other teams are likely to struggle a bit more. Davies was actually a bit of a revelation on the right and was possibly Fulham's best player in the second half.
Even Etuhu upped his game and started making some crunching tackles that have disappeared from his game recently. Suddenly Fulham were up for it, but were undone by a great bit of skill when Nasri ran into the box unhindered and scored a goal straight off Strictly Come Dancing. It was a bit of rough justice really though. Andy Johnson was busy without being dangerous, and Dempsey hit the deck in injury time in the penalty area which was definitely worth another look (not that MOTD has bothered showing it), but in the end the team had given themselves too much to do.
While the way the team played was very promising (most of the Fulham fans clapped the team off the pitch) shouldn't we be expecting more that 'promising' with almost half the season gone? A win against Sunderland next week would be very, very welcome.

Return of the King - FUL 1-1 BHM

2010-12-03T23:39:00.000Z

It's a strange old game when the highlight is the return of a right back. Carlos Salcido, clearly not fit, was hauled off after a very, very poor 20 minutes in which he was pretty culpable for the away team's breakaway goal after unnecessarily lunging in at Hleb near the halfway line. His replacement? None other than Johnny P who had hitherto been frozen out of Hughes' plans after a shoddy start to the season.
In truth it was a surprise to see Paintsil get the nod ahead of Kelly, but I've seen reports that Johnny was ready to go on the pitch and Stephen wasn't so Hughes shoved our favourite Ghanaian into action. It was a rousing ovation for Paintsil, with his every touch cheered. The Birmingham fans must have thought we were going mad. Surprisingly he took the right back berth with Baird moving to left back - considering JP has played LB at international level. Still Paintsil actually had a really solid game, which was good to see. Baird didn't play bad either at left back, although in an attacking sense he constantly had to cut back onto his right, which unfortunately slowed the team's momentum. The one time Baird did try and whip one over with his left, it was fairly dangerous.
This was a better outing for Fulham than in recent times, although Dickson Etuhu was mainly anonymous for the match, playing around half as many passes as most of the other players. And while they looked in control for most of the game, Ben Foster just wasn't tested at all. Any shots on target ended going straight at him and it was just Dempsey's desire to reach the ball that plundered the equaliser (once Davies and Baird decide to actually cross the ball into the box rather than fanny around with it).
In all the game had a more relaxed atmosphere about it - almost a tacit acceptance amongst the fans that after a couple of years of unprecedented success Fulham are shit again and the fans should try and enjoy themselves despite what is going off on the pitch. We even found ourselves cheering Eddie Johnson when he came on - he even managed a shot on target that Foster was semi-lucky to turn away with his feet. If he'd had scored the winner than all bets were off for the remainder of the season. It would have almost been enough to convince FIFA that magical football moments happen in England.

Glasgow Celtic 1 - 1 Dundee United

2010-11-24T16:54:00.000Z

Twas my Father's 60th birthday last week and as a present we took him back to his roots - the East End of Glasgow to watch the Hoops in Paradise. In layman's terms this means watching Celtic at Parkhead. The sojourn north meant that I had to miss Fulham's game against Man City, but that doesn't appear to be such a shame any more.
Football in Scotland seems to be at a crossroads at the moment. Whereas before the two big Glasgow teams could compete financially with a medium tier English Premier League club, with the Edinburgh clubs bubbling under, that has all changed. Celtic's major signing this summer was a £2.4m striker from Scunthorpe United - and indeed he is one of the better players in the squad - while Rangers have been penniless and looking for a buyer for some months, although the Champions have bucked the Scottish trend by actually competing in Europe this season.
Unfortunately this lack of glamour is being reflected on the pitch. The game I watched last weekend was reminiscent of a mid-tier Championship match. Celtic had only themselves to blame for not scooping up all three points thanks to a combination of slack finishing and incredible goalkeeping. That's not to say they completely dominated Dundee United, they were just the better team with the better chances. When the Tangerines equalised in the 94th minute from a cross from a soft free-kick, the only silver lining is that I had given my dad a betting slip with the correct score on it - a 9/1 shot.
Celtic Park is a big stadium, which has yet to lose all its character through modernisation. However it would be quiet, very quiet, without the club's self-styled ultra groups - the only banner I could see was the Green Brigade, but there are others - who fill the ground with atmosphere from the little south west corner. Conducted by two drummers, the pocket of fans (probably no more than 800 in a stadium of 60,000) sang, danced, jumped and swayed in a style reminiscent of the Basle fans last December for near enough the whole 90 minutes. The game was far better for their input. However the swaying was stopped after about 20 minutes by killjoy stewards, so the fans had to make do with just jumping instead.
Meanwhile we were sat in quasi-corporate seats and behind us sat a couple of rows of older Celtic fans, but being Scottish they were incredibly belligerent and often amusing with it. It was like being sat in front of two rows populated by Scottish relatives of Waldorf and Statler. They bemoaned the lack of singing from in front of them, despite the fact that not one of them could be bothered to sing themselves. There were lots of tongue in cheek references to the help Rangers got from the referee in the earlier match against Kilmarnock, where they won 3-2 thanks to two penalties and a red card (all justified - this time).
The standard of refereeing in this game was no worse than any English game though and I certainly didn't hear any fans cursing the ref any more than what would be deemed usual at any other match. It's an odd situation that the match between these two teams last month has now sparked a referee strike this weekend and it's something that the Celtic hierarchy has got to take some responsibility for by claiming conspiracy. This has given the brain dead minority of fans the opportunity to harass football officials at home and work - leading to enough safety concerns from the Scottish Referee's Union to go on strike.
But, in the same way as Melda Dreep being hit by a dropped ice cream cone eventually led to the loss of 900 million lives in the Apocalypse War (keep up non-Judge Dredd fans), the whole thing could have been averted if Dougie McDonald had simply told Neil Lennon that he reversed the decision to give Celtic a penalty because he had changed his mind. Instead, no doubt looking to avoid a Northern Irish tirade, he told a little fib that put the onus on the linesman. Instead the linesman resigned, understandably disgusted at being scapegoated, and the Mexican stand off between Celtic and the SFA on the issue is threatening to undermine the whole game in Scotland.

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive.

Bad tidings - FUL 1 - 4 MCY

2010-11-23T15:34:00.000Z

I was fortunate enough to miss the spanking by Man City as I was taking my father to a Celtic game for his birthday, but both Nicky and Jarrod were in attendance. Unluckily for them.

A chance to impress his former employees and the football viewing nation with his new-look Fulham team was squandered by Mark Hughes - who seems to be suffering from a lack of ideas as to how to play this current squad.

Jarrod commented: "It was dreadful! Absolutely… Reminded me of the Fulham from the relegation battle. City had so much time and space in the middle and you could have driven a truck through our defence…

Having said that, 4-1 is probably quite flattering for Fulham… A more attacking, adventurous outfit would have put 6/7 in the net! We held our own after half time, but that is probably more to do with City taking the foot off the gas…"

When pressed on whether there was any good points, he replied: "They were the good points! How about we only let in 4 goals? No one got injured? Don’t think that we had a winner anywhere on the pitch… We spent half the afternoon playing long balls into Johnson (who surprisingly didn’t when them). We had a bright 10 minutes at the start of the second half where we camped in City’s box but were unable to score. They then went to the other end, won a corner and scored a goal. But anything in the half is pretty much irrelevant."

Nicky was equally gloomy: "It was a bad game, one of the worst I have witnessed in a while. Ref looked to have bottled [a decision] on elbows and the like also! Looked to be a obvious elbow about 5 minutes from the end in the city box think it was Gera that was on the ball. The ref wouldn't even acknowledge it. Haven't watched any replays though so might not have been as clear as it looked."

She added: "Saturday is now a massive game!"

Snapping at your heels - FUL 1-1 AVL

2010-11-09T17:15:00.002Z

A very sloppy, one-paced Fulham escaped with perhaps a point more than they deserved at weekend, although the fact that they scored another late late goal - the fourth of the season - is a sign of a growing determination.
A rip roaring, end to end first 15 minutes descended into sloppy passages of play from both sides, with the odd half chance rewarding any coherent moves. Then Villa stepped up the game a little on 40 minutes and a moment after Schwarzer saved well from Delfonso cutting in from the left - Albrighton did the same from a sumptuous long pass that caught Salcido completely out of position and the young winger put Villa ahead.
Then after the break, with a tidy lead in their back pockets, the Villa midfield went into overdrive, snapping the heels of Fulham players whenever they were in possession and only allowing Hughes to pass it out or Schwarzer to boot the ball upfield in the vague direction of Zoltan Gera's head.
The youthful and impressive Villa midfield didn't look like tiring and most of the long balls were just bouncing off Richard Dunne's bonce, so Hughes tried something different by bringing AJ on. Unfortunately the long balls continued. In fairness, Johnson did fashion a couple of chances but fluffed the best one by failing to bring the ball under control when trying to go around Friedel.
During this non-dangerous pressure period, Villa were playing on the attack and had Agbonlahor been playing he would have been filling his boots in the disagreeable way he did during this fixture last season. But Ashley Young proved slightly less deadly and kept Fulham in it.
I barely celebrated the equaliser when it came. It was just so ridiculous a thing to happen. It certainly didn't look like it was going to happen when Duff shoved Young over near his own corner two minutes into injury time. Duff's experience won a free kick down the other end of the pitch, in what felt like the sixth minute of four minutes added on. Murphy floated it over, it kind of hit Hangeland and seemed to rest in the net with no-one really reacting. The goal was all the more odd considering that some parts of the Hammy End were getting ready to boo the team off.

This is exactly the kind of game that Bobby Zamora would have thrived in, but Dempsey's close control is not as adept, his strengths lie elsewhere, and Fulham missed an 'out' ball during the whole game given Villa's tenaciousness. It was also a game where the tidy, patient passing play that we'd come to expect over the last couple of seasons more or less went out of the window.
An old Villa supporting friend had come along from Newquay to this game and was sat in the Putney End. The conclusion to the match was magnified threefold for the poor bugger given that his other half had bought him the tickets for his birthday and I had given him a betting slip for the correct score of Fulham 0-1 Aston Villa. He found something to enjoy in the day though - it was only the second time he'd been able to see his team play. I remember once when we were living together in Preston he was trying to get someone to go and watch Villa at Ewood Park with him, but couldn't get a partner in crime. He was mightily glad he missed that match as Blackburn routed them 5-0.

What would you do for your team?

2010-11-04T07:26:00.000Z

This little film about being a Fulham fan was just linked on the Offal. It's probably well known among Fulham fans, but it's the first time I've seen it. It really is quite funny and endearing and considering it was made in 2003 the proclamation that the team were going to be Kings of Europe was almost prescient.

Directior Greg Cuttwell's notes:

Fingers X'd, shot on DV Cam, is a surreal comedy about two football fans, Dan and Craig, the like of which are seen and heard every weekend at football grounds all over England, Europe and indeed Worldwide. Devoted to their beloved club - Fulham F.C. - for both of them life is football and football is life. Every thought, every deed relates to their team and with Fulham on the up, life has never been so good.

As a performance piece, having a thorough rehearsal period, to enable the actors to be comfortable and familiar with the material before going in front of the camera, was vital in making this film. Four days of rehearsal were followed by a five day shoot. The shoot consisted in the main of long takes which enabled the performances to flourish in many contrasting locations, with good pieces being looked for within each take to then put together like a jigsaw in the edit.

A lot of fun was had by the small amount of people involved in making Fingers X'd, both in production and post production, the aim being to produce a light hearted, irreverent, character study, in spoken word and song, of two men typical of millions whom any audience will either recognise, know personally, or may even be themselves.

Halloweegan nightmare - FUL 2-0 WIG

2010-10-31T09:31:00.000Z

Strange game this weekend. Wigan were incredibly flat for a team unbeaten in 7 matches and Fulham were efficient enough to scoop an essential victory. It was enough to please the natives though, with the Hammy End trying out a few songs dedicated to Mark Hughes. They did seem a bit forced, but maybe in time better ones will develop.
Fulham's first actually came while Wigan were having their best spell of the game - not that they were actually doing anything with it than a couple of speculative long range shots. The visitors were very quick on the break in the first half, although Salcido's tight marking of Nzogbia was effective enough to curtail many of the Wigan forays.
The little Mexican then popped up on the wing to put in a delicous cross that Dempsey knocked in impressively with his head, topping off a great Fulham move. The second, when it came, was more deserving and was the culmination of a good five minutes of strong pressure on the Wigan goal. Again Dempsey's acrobatic volley powered past the very shaky Al Habsi in goal and Fulham enjoyed a two goal cushion in the league for the first time this season. The second half was not much to write home about, so I won't.
Dembele is an interesting player - lots of nice tight control and seems to distract defenders and allow team mates to find more space. I'm just not sure where his direct goal threat comes from. Andy Johnson when he came on as sub was an impressive handful in 10 minutes. It'll just take team mates a while to adjust to the sort of passes that he likes and he will be a potent goal threat. His pace should be especially useful away from home.
Ish - who this season I have challenged to attend ten home matches - forgot the match was on, so didn't show. Which was useful as there were even more mongs on our row than normal, including three people who clearly didn't know where their seats were supposed to be and just sat anywhere - pretty tricky in a sold out stadium. I'm still astounded that the game sold out. Even with the £5 ticket offer to season ticket holders, there were only about 300 Wigan fans attending, so the club should be congratulated for its efforts to maximise capacity. There were even ticket touts with the usual refrain of buy or sell tickets on the walk to the ground. For Fulham v Wigan. Crazy.

Karma works very quickly these days

2010-10-30T21:10:00.001+01:00

They say things even themselves out over the course of a season, but seeing the Spurs players surround the linesman and referee at Old Trafford over a goal that involved the latter overruling the former took me back just a fortnight to similar scenes at the Cottage.
It seems Spurs have already had to pay for their slice of luck, although at least the controversial goal wasn't a winner.
All that remains for Karma to balance itself out now is for Fulham to score a dubious goal at Old Trafford and the circle (triangle) will be complete.

Three is the magic number

2010-10-29T08:21:00.000+01:00

It is vitally important that Fulham get something out of tomorrow's game against Wigan or they could finish the weekend in the relegation zone with scant opportunity for picking up points in November. It's almost four years to the day since Wigan's only Premier League victory at Craven Cottage and if this feat is repeated then Fulham are in real danger of entering December in single figures for points - Even Sanchez managed 12 points by the first week of November.

The upcoming fixtures are:

Villa (H)
Chelsea (A)
Newcastle (A)
Man City (H)
Birmingham (H)

All tricky games where it is not unfeasible to see Fulham only coming away with a point out of a possible 15. That's why this game is so important to the club, the player's form and, more importantly, Mark Hughes.
Wigan are unbeaten away from home so far this season, although oddly have so far only played away three times as a result of Blackpool switching their early fixture around because Bloomfield Road wasn't ready. Wigan's three matches include a completely unexpected 1-0 win at White Hart Lane, a 2-2 draw at Newcastle where they let a 2 goal lead slip and a goalless draw at Birmingham. All mightily impressive results, especially considering the team started this season playing like my tips to be relegated (along with West Ham).

If anything this Roberto Martinez's team appears to have that extra sheen of class on previous Wigan sides, but this year the competition at the bottom of the table looks set to be closer than that at the top. Rodallega, Nzogbia and Gomez have all been among the goals this season and could easily be match winners against an injury depleted Fulham, who are without a win in seven games.

While Hughes has bemoaned recent 'offside' decisions against the team, the goals conceded against West Brom were indicative of a slightly shoddier defensive unit than in previous years - not helped by the whole first team midfield being injured. But there will always be excuses in football - it is time for Sparky to grasp the nettle and show some character. In doing so he might also win some of Fulham faithful onside, as many are still unsure what Hughes brings to the party - although it is fair to say they have been hugely impressed by his two signings of Dembele and Salcido.

Fulham are currently joint top of the Premier league injury chart (according to Physioroom) but the return of one long term absentee might turn the season around - Andy Johnson. In truth, Fulham fans aren't really expecting much from the little tyro given how long he has been out injured and it is fair to say that he hasn't really set Craven Cottage alight since his big money move, but he is just what Hughes needs at the moment for the structure of the team - an out and out striker. His presence would allow Dembele to slot in behind with support from the flanks in the shape of two from Dempsey/Gera/Davies and Kamara to do his impact substitute shtick. Hopefully Greening can play as he did against Spurs rather than on his old patch at West Brom and life will look a lot rosier again.

How did this happen?

2010-10-25T08:24:00.000+01:00

Fulham 1 -2 Tottenham Hotpsur

2010-10-22T23:33:00.001+01:00

This game started out with something not seen too often at Craven Cottage - the away team deciding to switch halves after winning the toss. Whether the tactic is meant to make the home team uneasy I'm not sure, but the sight of Fulham attacking the Hammersmith End in the first half certainly quietened the fans at the beginning of the game.
I say it quietened the fans, but they seems to have been less atmosphere at the Cottage so far this season, despite a surprising run of sell out crowds (even the upcoming Wigan game is now a full house). Maybe the seats have been taken up by more tourists like me (only not as loud) who have had their interest piqued by last year's Europa League exploits? Perhaps the crowd is still trying to work out the new look Fulham, something which has been particularly hard given Hughes' late appointment followed up by the rash of injuries experienced recently.
It was some of these injuries that saw another new pairing upfront - Kamara and the returning Dembele - who seemed to link up well. When they got the ball that is. The first ten minutes of this game was totally dominated by Spurs. In fact Fulham only started to get a grip of the game after a sliced clearance by Gomes and after that they eventually worked the upper hand in the first half.
Jonathan Greening, another player who was in to cover injuries, was having one of his best games for Fulham, breaking up play in the centre of the field and then pushing the whites forward. On the left wing Dempsey was having one of his odd games where he'd constantly miscontrol any passes that came his way, yet probably saw more of the ball than any other Fulham player in the first half. While many of the fans would like to see Gera given a start, I think Hughes sees a lot of himself in the American and likes the fire that he provides the team.
When Fulham did score, it was all thanks to Dempsey. He cut inside and controlled a high ball and ran across the goal area, taking three defenders with him. As we joked over where the hell he was going he somehow screwed a ball back across the goalmouth which left Kamara more or less with an open goal, and he easily dispatched the ball past Gomes.
As the Hammy End taunted the away fans, I was just remarking how fortunate it was that Fulham had at least made their dominance pay when I looked up to see Van Der Vaart clip the ball over Schwarzer and against the bar. Unfortunately it fell for Pavlychenko who had an even easier task than Kamara to equalise within a minute. Damn.
The second half was a much more even affair, with Tom Huddlestone doing a great job of screening his patched up back line from any Fulham attacks. This was probably down to Harry Redknapp's substitution at half time that introduced Lennon and pushed Modric further inside. Lennon had the effect of pushing the quietly impressive Salcido back into his own half to counter the effect of the winger's pace. Lennon's a strange player. He's got a lot of great attributes but doesn't appear to have much of a footballing brain. When he gets a pass it's a little reminiscent of when a dog gets a ball on the park pitch and runs around with it. Occasionally it becomes a dangerous run, but more usually peters out into nothing.
Considering Bale's previous appearances at the Cottage, he was surprisingly subdued during this game. I had originally put it down to exertions from international week, but he has since scored a hat-trick against the European champions, so maybe he was just well shackled by his old Southampton team-mate Chris Baird. In fact Bale was so frustrated at one point that he threw himself to the ground in a pointless and very disappointing dive. He fared better against Stephen Kelly when Baird was moved to centre midfield and Kelly kept showing him inside for some reason.
The winner, when it came, was contentious and covered in another post. But the biggest disappointment was Fulham didn't respond to it in the same way the Tottenham had responded to going behind. Had Huddlestone's goal been a 'normal' one, perhaps they would have found it easier to regain momentum. But the messiness of both the goal and the officiating could well have robbed them of any momentum and they didn't look like clawing the game back this time. It was a game when both teams had their chances (in fact both Kamara and Baird put free headers from corners disappointingly over the bar) and both keepers made some solid saves, but at the end of the day Spurs got that extra little slice of luck which gave them all three points. They played well and had an even better bench. They should do well this season again and Fulham shouldn't be too downhearted at the first league loss of the season given the circumstances.

The officiating of Mike Dean

2010-10-17T15:04:00.002+01:00

A compelling game that was completely overshadowed by a bizarre and effectively match deciding moment as referee Mike Dean's decision to allow Tom Huddlestone's winner to stand was simply a very, very bad piece of officiating from which Spurs emerged with two points more than deserved.
I'm finding it hard to focus on the game without raging over this goal, so I may as well get it out of the way first and review the game later. Huddlestone strikes a great shot. It comes through a crowd of bodies in the box, perhaps taking a minor nick from one of the players before nestling in the bottom corner. However its trajectory takes it past William Gallas, standing in an offside position on the edge of the six yard box, who lunges to try and get a touch but fails. The linesman flags Gallas offside as he is clearly interfering with play, despite his non-touch, as Mark Schwarzer can't fully commit to an attempt to stop the ball in case a touch from Gallas changes the shot's trajectory. The referee disallows the goal. Big Tom has a word with Mr Dean. He duly trots off to his linesman and has a word. Disgracefully, bizarrely and uncomprehendingly, he now gives the goal. In common internet parlance - WTF!?
From a little bit of internet research this morning, which of course doesn't appear to contain an explanation from Mike Dean, the most informative insight is from the goalscorer himself here. In the first half Huddlestone attempted to head away a Fulham through ball - he got his head to it but just changed the trajectory forward. He said it just brushed his head but I seem to remember a much stronger connection. Anyway the ball went on to reach Kamara, who had been offside when the ball was played and the linesman flagged accordingly. However Dean overruled his official, presumably deciding that Huddlestone's touch was strong enough to deem that the ball had actually been played by a Tottenham man, meaning Kamara could not be offside. It was such an odd decision that most players, having seen the flag go up, effectively stopped and no danger came from the situation, which actually could have been quite promising.
From what I can ascertain, Dean has used a similar warped logic for the winner, but is on far shakier ground. The argument, from what I can see, is that Huddlestone's shot took a deflection off Chris Baird and, as Dean now deems Baird to have played the ball, Gallas cannot be ruled offside. But Baird didn't play the ball. At best, it hit him. In fact, looking at two replays, it's not even certain that he does deflect the ball. Certainly the shot doesn't seem to deviate from its course in any way.
No other referee that I have seen interprets the offside rule in this way, with any slight touch by a defending team instantly dismissing the potential of an offside call. It's a ridiculous stance to take and would be totally unenforceable if applied in such away across the board. I would suggest that Mike Dean needs to go back to the FA's referee school for re-education as his approach to offside further complicates a ridiculously opaque rule and how it is enforced.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

2010-10-15T15:40:00.000+01:00

Fulham 0 - 0 Everton

2010-10-02T00:58:00.001+01:00

This was not a memorable game. A match with few fit strikers, created few golden chances on goal and only in the dying minutes was a goalkeeper forced to make anything resembling a good save. Fortunately Schwarzer was more than up to the task.
Howard Webb was officiating today and he didn't have a terrible game. In fact since the match seemed to just be a contest in 'how can I convince the ref I've been fouled so we can have a dangerous set-piece' he did pretty well. Of course he still got a lot of things wrong, but when refs are asked to make so many decisions these days from cheating, sly and, well basically, modern players, they will get a number wrong. In the old days the refs only seemingly had to make on average six decisions per match, because the players were trying to play the other team rather than the officials.
At one point though the ref felt it was utterly important that Mark Hughes did not venture outside the manager's 'technical area'. I don't know why that was. The areas at Fulham are remarkably small and I get the feeling that Hughes is a pacer, so I wonder if he'll try and get them extended a bit.
Why the hell are they called technical areas anyway? It's not as if anything technical happens in them. Why not just call them the manager's area? Which bright spark earned kudos for badging them technical? Why not just call them what they really are - invisible cages.
I think there were a couple of eye-openers for Hughesie in this match. I doubt he expected to have one of his decisions quite so roundly booed as he did when he took the energetic Gera off for Eddie Johnson. But it was a strange decision, as was taking off Simon Davies a little later for Dio Kamara. Both Dempsey and Duff were having far less fruitful than the subees, although Demspey looked far more effective when he moved out to a more natural position on the wing.
The only good thing that Duff did during the game was his defensive duties and even they had been subject to an early verbal blast from Danny Murphy after an Everton attack. Personally I thought Murph had one of his poorer games, although Everton's packed midfield and Dickson Etuhu's seeming lack of a clear position did not help him at all. I've heard Everton fans complaining about Fellaini being up front this season had cost them shape, but here he was a very, very effective defensive midfielder and appeared to have more of the ball than anyone. Everton's Seamus Coleman was another impressive performer, especially in the first half.
In fact Everton's pressing game meant that a lot of time Aaron Hughes was Fulham's passing fulcrum, which limited their attacking intent. I'm not sure if I have ever seen Hughes with so much possession in a game before.
It was hard to get much of an impression from this match as to how the season is going to pan out for Fulham. Well apart from the fact that the impressive Salcido is tiny. I thought Nicky Shorey was small left back, but the Mexican put the nut into diminutive. And that Eddie Johnson is still an enigma.
Highlights here

Playing with the big boys

2010-09-23T23:51:00.000+01:00

It's been a bruising few weeks for the Fulham team. A cynical Wolves playing a more physical game than expected followed up by matches against the typically robust tactics of Blackburn and Stoke has seen the sum total of two crocked strikers and a roughhoused goalkeeper. I reckon Schwarzer will be fine - any keeper would have struggled with the last two games, especially with no protection from the referee at Ewood Park.
All it needed to round up this set of fixtures would have been a match against Bolton Wanderers, although Owen Coyle appears to have rounded off some of the rough edges that he inherited from Gary Megson.
Still, Everton can also offer a physical challenge when needed, especially old Marouane Fellaini, so Fulham need to toughen themselves up for this weekend's match, which may not actually see any recognised strikers on the pitch.. It depends if either managers are going to put their faith in previously underperforming reserve forwards - Eddie Johnson and Jermaine Beckford.
The way Fulham have been playing, it would suggest that Tim Cahill is bang on to score first with his head - a 7/1 shot and favourite given the only players sporting shorter odds are AJ and Dembele.
Another full house against a team with a relatively poor record at the Cottage suggests a good atmosphere this weekend and I reckon an Everton HT/ Fulham FT is a decent bet, especially as it can be found for as long as 40/1.

You can prove anything with statistics

2010-09-17T09:11:00.000+01:00

With 74 fouls conceded, 14 (should that be 15?) yellow cards and one red card, they are statistically the dirtiest team in the Premier League by some margin.

From here.

Dirty Wolves

2010-09-16T17:41:00.001+01:00

I wasn't at the Wolves game, Jarrod said he's going to write it up sometime (don't hold your breath). But there have been lots of repercussions from the game. Bobby Zamora's broken leg is obviously key for Fulham over the next five months and could well change how the team plays in his absence. Hodgson would have thrown Elm into the mix, but it seems that Hughes would rather Eddie Johnson and (when fit again) Andy Johnson and Dio Kamara. Not to mention Dembele as well.
Watching the highlights of the game (which you can see here) it seems that Wolves did nothing to rid themselves of the 'dirty' tag that the media placed on them after they did a number on Joey Barton, but I think it should be more 'Cynical Wolves'. They were full of the snide this tug backs and 'black arts' that Scotland faced in Lithuania (and Juventus tried at the Cottage in March but were pulled up by a stronger referee).
It will be interesting to see how Hughes approaches the tricky League Cup tie away at Stoke City now. Stoke played a strong side against Shrewsbury in the last round, but a weakened team last year when they eventually lost 4-0 at Portsmouth. Whether Tony Pulis has had a change of heart about the competition will play a big part in whether Fulham will progress to the fourth round.

Fair weather fan

2010-09-10T10:03:00.000+01:00

Well that's my excuse for not seeing the demolition of Port Vale. The rain was incredible that night and brought to mind one of my first ever games as a Fulham season ticket holder - a very damp night against Bolton Wanderers when the elements helped Tony Warner produce a monumental clanger allowing the opposition to score.
Still the 6-0 scoreline was very encouraging as was another fightback from a losing position up at Blackpool. The real reason I've not contributed recently is a) the international week and b) we've been redesigning the magazine that I work on and it has been a huge time and resource vacuum.
There's been more ins than outs before the transfer window finished and the biggest deal was Paul Konchesky decamping to Liverpool for £3m and a couple of youth prospects. I was never a massive fan of Konchesky but he was solid and reliable and had his best season in a Fulham shirt the season just gone. Before that one too few many key goals had been conceded from his side as his concentration wavered, but I think that might have also been down to the fact that during his time at the Cottage there was never any real competition for the left back slot. He should do alright at Liverpool, but his transfer shows how problematic things are at Anfield.
To replace Konch, Hughes has signed up Mexican full back Carlos Salcido. At 30 years old, he is hardly a spring chicken but for £2m Fulham have now got an international standard defender (77 caps) who appears quite loyal given that he has only had two clubs in ten years. Apparently he is also quite dangerous going forward, so that might give the team added bite.
Another international defender who has joined the ranks is the Algerian Rafik Halliche who also comes with a good pedigree. How he will fit into the side containing two centre halves who work brilliantly together will remain to be seen, but there will be proper competition for the two positions - especially when Senderos returns. I wonder if Baird is now classified as a midfielder?
As for the two kids that arrived as part of the Konchesky deal, Alex Kacaniklic and Lauri Dalla Valle, the later has got a very good reputation - in fact Liverpool fans have been really annoyed that they've let him go. But the last wonder kid signed from Liverpool - Christopher Buchtmann - left to join FC Koln after just five months at the club. Hopefully the two new additions will be around slightly longer.
I'm looking forward to the Wolves game tomorrow. Shame I won't be there - I have a wedding to attend in Eastbourne.

Fulham 2 -2 Manchester United

2010-08-22T21:58:00.002+01:00

An undeserved point for Fulham today. Undeserved because they were worth all three. My usual Man United supporting, Fulham season ticket holding dichotomy was resolved by me decamping to P2's neutral end, which was 80% Man United. Still I wasn't as confused as the Irish guy sat behind me who didn't seem to be supporting either team, but instead giving continual support to Damien Duff and John O'Shea. It was a bit odd considering most of the time these two were in direct opposition.
United started well. Very well in fact and completely dominated right unto Paul Scholes scoring one of those long range efforts from a corner situation. Encouragingly this spurred Fulham on and they slowly started to take control of the game. This probably ensued when Danny Murphy started getting a little bit closer to Scholes and started cutting off the creative supply. In fact once Scholes was watched a bit more closely, there was little true creativity from United and their two forwards were starved of supply, mainly because of the rather ordinary games the two wingers Valencia and Park were having.
Hughes' Fulham were very reminiscient of Hodgson's. Tidy and organised; they were a team through and through. Etuhu, who appears to be pushing further up the field these days, really should have scored after Van der Sar only palmed one of his shots straight back at him. However the Dutch keeper manager to tip the second shot over the bar, despite being sat on his backside at the time. So dominant were Fulham that it was a surprise when United came out with the same team in the second half. Inevitably Fulham continued thier first half pressure and got a deserved equaliser when Davies swept in a great move down the right.
Hughes provided us with our first look at Dembele. The Belgian showed willing and went on a couple of runs which suggested he could be a handful for opposition teams in the future. However it was a Man United substitute - Nani - which switched momentum and it was one of his many corners that came off the shin of Hangeland and into the back of the net for a barely deserved second.
Minutes later and Duff was penalised for handball - he miscontrolled a cross from the United right and the ball popped up onto his hand. It was a harsh penalty, but one of those that would be given 7 out of 10 times. Surprisingly Nani stepped forward to take the spot kick but it was even more of a surprise to see David Stockdale dive to his right and push the ball wide of the post. It was Stockdale's second great save of the match - his reactions to push a Berbatov volley over the bar in the first half were exemplary and will do no harm to Hughes' complicated goalkeeping options.
The save turned out to be pivotal. Fulham forced another corner and this time Hangeland rose high above everyone and powered a header past Van der Sar. In three seasons I only remember two other last minute goals from Fulham - hopefully it's a sign of things to come. With the game being so early in the season, the need for points isn't as pronounced, so I was able to enjoy the game - although I don't think I 'celebrated' any of the four goals. It was a cracking, rip roaring match though and bodes well for the future under Hughes. Not many teams will have the gumption to come back from behind twice against United this season. At least I hope not.

Highlights - here.

Hughes: a clever boy?

2010-08-18T18:22:00.000+01:00

I've put off doing a season preview for a while now as it's hard to discern what state Fulham are going to be in for most of the season. Mark Hughes has been in charge for one competitive game and the 0-0 draw at Bolton seemed very much business as usual. Hodgson players in a Hodgson style getting a Hodgson goalless away draw. Sparky just hasn't had the time yet so big changes could be ahead - making predictions extremely difficult to make.
Received wisdom suggests that Hughes will continue Hodgson's style of play, but be a bit more adventurous going forward. That all sounds good to me, but could see the team's defensive capabilities flounder.
Similar to last year, there hasn't been a whole lot of transfer activity ahead of the closing of the window, Man City aside, and I anticipate another mad rush from most teams over the next fortnight as both managers and players panic over the new 25-man squad rule.
Fulham are likely to be involved too if Hughes' comments today are anything to go by with the unveiling of Moussa Dembele (pictured). But where? Every season I seem to say Fulham need more competition at left back and it is again a weak position with only Konchesky filling the position naturally. And he is still linked with an unlikely move to Liverpool. Stephen Kelly filled in at LB against Bolton, but he's hardly a long term prospect. Even Chris Baird can't play there.
Goalkeeper is another key spot with Schwarzer seemingly wanting away. I'm a big advocate of giving youth a chance in goal so I reckon Stockdale should be given a chance, but if Shay Given was interested in coming to the Cottage then he should be snapped up. Strange that two signings strongly linked to Fulham - David James and Craig Bellamy - both find themselves in the Championship this season. Hopefully the whites will not be following them.
Dembele seems to have strengthened the attacking line, but assuming Johnson E isn't going to get a look in and Johnson A remains injured, another striker will be very useful. Hughes pulled out the stops to get Roque Santa Cruz to join him at Man City which ironically probably makes him too expensive for Fulham unless Sheik Mansour agrees to cover most of his wages. Santa Cruz needs to re-establish himself anyway after a couple of underwhelming and injury wracked seasons.

Most Anticipated Player: Well it will have to be the new arrival Dembele, as I find it hard to get excited about Senderos and he is injured anyway for six months. From what I have seen on YouTube he appears to be a more physical Kamara, but has been likened to both Theo Walcott and (preposterously) Zidane. A winger who might be converted to striker? Worked for Thierry Henry I suppose, if not for David Bellion.

Least Favourite Player: After last season's heroics, this section will have to remain empty again I think. I realise some people dislike Greening, but I don't really think he has been given a chance other than as Murphy's deputy.

Season Prediction: Without the strain of Europe, if Hughes can continue where Roy left off then the upper echelons of the table are not unreachable. Turmoil at Villa could see an opportunity for other teams to press on. 8th or 9th. Only Ashley Cole has won the FA Cup more than Mark Hughes as a player so he has a special affinity to the cups. In fact as a manager he has reached several semi-finals. Maybe another one this year is possible.

The land of what might have been

2010-08-15T00:22:00.001+01:00

I was in Monaco this week visiting friends and there was a harsh reminder of how things might have panned out differently. Monaco is the venue for the European Super Cup - where the winners of the Champions League and Europa League (European Cup and UEFA Cup in old money) play off for a mainly redundant third cup. Why it is held in Monaco eludes me. My friend lives in the area of Fontvielle, where the Stade Louis II is also based. Not that you'd notice. Well not that I noticed the ground. I saw a couple of signs indicating that it was present somewhere in the area, but it was pretty elusive for an 18,000 capacity stadium. Perhaps the city would give more credence to its football ground if it was named after Princess Grace, like everything else in the place is.

So it's Sparky then

2010-07-28T23:23:00.000+01:00

After a couple of false starts on recruiting a new manager (for which the club should be applauded for aiming high), The Guardian is reporting that Mark Hughes has agreed to take the reins. I've always been a fan of Hughes as a player although his Blackburn side was criticised for being somewhat agricultural. However he got Rovers, who are of a similar size to Fulham to three semi-finals and a sixth place in the Premier League. That kind of record should see him welcomed at the Cottage.
At City he was undone by expectation, although people seem to forget that City were in fourth spot when he got sacked. The nouveau riche club finished in fifth.
Possibly the worst thing about Hughes' appointment (aside from the fact he is actually a Chelsea fan) is the fact he is highly likely to bring Roque Santa Cruz and perhaps even Craig Bellamy with him. I have never really seen what people see in the Paraguayan, but he has already scored at the Cottage. As for Bellamy, for a long time I hated the whinging, aggressive, no-necked swine. However I actually built up some strange respect for him at City - he was their best player at the start of last season. But grudging respect is a far, far distance from being able to support him.
Still just over two weeks before the season starts, Hughes has a few key decisions to make about personnel, but already has a healthy base from which to start. It also suggests that the club's expectations should be towards the top half of the league rather than the bottom as feared when Hodgson upped sticks to Liverpool.

Bye Woy. Thanks for everything!

2010-06-30T00:04:00.001+01:00

It appears that Woy has finally left the building - the allure of the big club on hard times was just too much. I can fully understand his decision and he has worked wonders with Fulham in order to be even linked with that kind of job. But why Liverpool? I'm going to struggle to wish him well while he's there. Growing up in East Manchester in the 80s when Liverpool were winning everything meant that I knew more Liverpool fans than Man City fans.
Still I hope he does well, but not great. Consistent Europa League qualification will do Woy. The Champions League is old news.
As for replacements? Well this news certainly brings a narrative to the up coming season which wasn't necessarily there before. No-one really knew what Fulham would do next with Woy at the helm. Now there is a clear ambition - survival! Personally I think Alan Curbishley would be a safe pair of hands, but after a season in which Fulham reached a European final, would the fans be happy with that? It's going to be an interesting few months.

Over-reaction?

2010-06-14T08:27:00.003+01:00

Well it seems that it might not be too stupid a headline after all as it apparently references a famous American Football game between Harvard and Yale, which ended up as a 29-29 draw. But as Harvard (for whom a young Tommy Lee Jones was playing) scored an incredible 16 points in the last 42 seconds, it felt like a victory prompting the headline: 'Harvard Beats Yale 29-29'. The film dramatising this game was named after the headline.

However, let's not give the NYP too much credit as it is the US version of The Sun (only more right-wing of course) and it also references Bunker Hill as a 'tie' even though it was a British victory, albeit a Pyrrhic one. And this was against the English anyway.
And maybe it's not too tongue in cheek given the match report begins: "In true revolutionary style, the underdog Americans came from behind and blasted the powerful Brits to a nail-biting 1-1 draw yesterday in one of the all-time great World Cup soccer battles."
Still, both teams were pretty poor in a terribly boring match given the only talking points were Rob Green's horrific mistake and ITV cocking up again.

World Cup 2010

2010-06-11T12:35:00.000+01:00

Been getting into World Cup mode with the help of the Panini Sticker album. I remember collecting them in '86, so it has been a particular blast from the past. Of course more teams means more stickers to buy (50p and now only 5 in a pack) and I've already been warned away from all the playgrounds in the area so finding someone to swap swaps with has been difficult. Praise be for the internet then and the like minded childish adults also desperate to play swapsies. I've even exchanged stickers with someone in Germany!
Fulham is represented through South Africa's Kagisho Dikgacoi, Ghana's John Paintsil, USA's (smiley) Clint Dempsey, Australia's Mark Schwarzer and now Switzerland's Philipe Senderos. For some reason Dickson Etuhu didn't make the cut for Nigeria's sticker contingent, although he hasn't played that much for them so maybe it's fair enough. Former Fulham players include USA's Carlos Bocanegra, Algeria's Hameur Bouazza (back in the Premier League with Blackpool next season) and South Korea's Seol Ki-Hyeon.

Checking out this tournament's Zakuni leopard mascot, I've been looking at the mascots through the ages and discovered that the European Championships have them too. Recognise this fella? ---->
Neither do I, but apparently it's 'Goliath' from Euro '96. I had full on football fever then with the tournament being on home soil, but do not remember seeing this lion thing. They didn't even call it Goaliath. He's not a patch on World Cup Willie, the first ever World Cup Mascot in 1966, who strangely was bedecked in the Union Flag rather than the St George's Cross.
My big bet prediction is Argentina v Holland in the final, which I have taken up at 33/1 (it's that long for a reason). Let's hope for a good tournament.

End of Season Awards

2010-06-07T14:38:00.003+01:00

Blimey, it's been some season. I don't really know how to sum it up, but I'll try and do it in pithy categories.

Most Valuable Person Award: Bobby Zamora had his best season since leaving Brighton, Schwarzer was outstanding, Zolly came into his own in Europe (and bagging the player of the year award), Hughes was a rock at the back. Eight players could have justifiably won player of the year (I voted Hughes) but none of this would be possible without Roy Hodgson. It's his team, his tactics and his magic that have brought Fulham the success they've enjoyed in recent years. He is the catalyst that makes this team work and it is reflected in the jobs he has been linked with: England, Juventus, Inter, Liverpool, and Milan. Who knows what will happen to Fulham without him, should he choose to go?
Honourable mention: Bob Z

Frank Spencer Award: Hmmmmm. Other than the officials during the two matches against Roma, I can't think of anyone fully deserving of this. Perhaps Kagisho Dikgacoi for the stupid red card on his debut at West Ham.
Honourable mention: Chris Baird's OG against Birmingham

Surprise Package Award: Chris Baird was in the running for an astoundingly effective season, as was Johnny Paintsil pre-Chelsea, but it has got to be Bobby Z who added to his team play from the season before with a bucketful of goals. Some crackers too.
Honourable mention: Fulham FC in Europe

I Was There! Award: Best game this season? Well it'll have to be one of the European games where expectations were defied time and time again. I am particualrly mesmerised by the away game at Shaktar Donetsk, but as I wasn't there I can't count that. It would have to be the home game against Juventus. It was bat-shit mental after all - in the stands and on the pitch.
Honourable mention: Hamburg at the Cottage

Goal of the Season: My gut reaction would be Dempsey's against Juve. It was both beautiful and timely and an incredible finish to the match. But Zamora's goal against Shaktar was, out of the blue, vital and an unbelievable strike. Yet every time I watch Davies against Hamburg, the goal gets better and better and better. However for the sheer visceral reaction it gave to me, I'll have to go for Davies against Atletico Madrid in the final. It's not the best by any stretch of the imagination, but it really got me going.
Honourable mention: Zamora v Shaktar

Sign Him Up award: Forlan aside, Gareth Bale was astonishing in the FA Cup QF game at the Cottage. Everything good from Spurs came from his position on the left wing. And they still needed to take them to a replay.
Honourable mention: Diego Forlan

Ouch! award: It has to be the 'tackle' by Amkar Perm's Belorukov on Andy Johnson that caused the striker's dislocated collar bone and was the start of AJ's injury plagued season. How he got away with just a yellow card I have no idea.
Dishonourable mention: Jerome Boateng's flying lunge at Gera v Hamburg

Statistical anomaly of the year: Fulham's home form in the Premier League is almost identical to last season's. Same number of wins, draws and losses, but with one fewer goal scored and one fewer conceded.
Honourable mention: The fact that Atletico won just 5 of 17 games in Europe this season

Prediction of the year: "As for the cups... I anticipate a cup final. Hamburg would be the best chance of actually winning one, but a trip to Wembley wouldn't go astray." Just here.

Athletico Madrid 2 - 1 Fulham (aet) epilogue

2010-06-06T10:44:00.000+01:00

I wasn't going to continue dissecting the final but as Fulham, with all the timing for which they have become renowned, have this weekend launched paraphernalia for the Europa League Final, it seems it is still fair game.
We didn't stay for the trophy presentation. The late goal had taken the wind out of our sails and the knowledge of a lengthy overnight trip back to blightly saw us exit the stadium pretty sharpish after the final whistle. Had we realised the Fulham players were to be presented with runners up medals, we might have stayed, but we weren't really thinking straight.
Fortunately the rain had stopped after extra time. Being two rows from the back, when it was raining during the game, somehow we were getting wet, despite being fully covered by the roof, but it had ceased after 120 minutes as we trudged our way towards the shuttle buses to take us back to Othmarschen train station.
We were almost immediately on a bus and deposited back at the station before we really got a handle on what was going on. We wanted to find a bar that was open, but there were none around the station. So we made an executive decision to get a bunch of beer for the car and start off back. We'd had such a nightmare getting to Hamburg, we wanted to make sure we'd get back for our 1pm Eurotunnel crossing at Calais.
This was a shame. It meant we never saw anything really of Hamburg and missed out of the pre-game atmosphere at the Reeperbahn - but we were doing things on a budget and to a tight schedule so some things had to be sacrificed. Had the game finished in 90 minutes, perhaps we could have seen a little more. If, buts and maybes.
The driving back was actually quite fun with everyone debating the game and getting drunk. But one by one they fell asleep, leaving me to negotiate the roadwork heavy (but thankfully traffic light) A1. Almost as soon as we hit Holland I pulled over into a closed petrol station, parked up and prepared to get a power nap in myself. I was a bit concerned when this car parked next to us and three big bruiser types spilled out. I nonchalantly locked the doors, but they went around the back of the still deserted petrol station then got back in the car and buggered off. Had I been less sleepy, I would have moved the car somewhere else, but I needed a kip. Everyone else was still asleep anyway.
40 minutes later and I was refreshed enough to set off. It took a little concentration and an iron will to ignore what the SatNav was saying around Eindhoven to keep us on track and one more sneaky power nap among the big articulated trucks in a lay-by was enough to see us to Calais, with an hour or two to kill. So we actually came off the motorway, parked up in the town centre and went to a European Cafe. This was the way we should have done it! A slow drive through Europe setting off on Tuesday morning, staying somewhere in Holland on Tuesday night and have a lesiurely drive to Hamburg in the morning.
We caught the crossing (I was mainly asleep by this point) and got back to Hammersmith 4pm Thursday. An exhausting trip all in all - it just felt like two days of driving with a football match in the middle. Next time, we'll do it differently.

ISH

Worth it - Yes!! Definitely. A first for most people (as in European cup final), and should feel lucky we managed to get tickets, when many did not. Would I change anything - I would like to but probably could not. The lesson learned - have no sympathy for Eurostar, airlines, or hotels, as they will stiff you if they can, and they did. Prices increasing so badly that you're better getting a flight to the far east rather than Hamburg says it all. Would have loved to spent more time in hamburg, but would have been bankrupt!!!Fulham's chances in the near future? Probably slim. Best chance they will have for a trophy. May have won it if Gera has scored in the second half when the Spanish side looked tired. Problem is in the future, people will take them more seriously, Roy may move on, Al Fayed may move. A period of uncertainty still remains above the Cottage.

EDDIE (Irish Fulham fan)

A lot of people have asked me am I glad I went. I don't regret it for a minute. Loved the experience. The atmosphere at the game was brilliant. The people I travelled with weren't too bad either. I loved that we had breakfast in Calais and not in another petrol station. Would do it again, no problem.

NICKY

Looking back im really glad I went. I really did enjoy it and bizarrely for me I feel quite proud of them for achieving so much. All in all a great experience.

Athletico Madrid 2 - 1 Fulham (aet) part 2

2010-05-26T10:21:00.001+01:00

The game - a strong line-up. Possibly the strongest although there is the debate at right back over Baird and Paintsil. I've a feeling Johnny might have got the nod if he hadn't picked up a knock, but Baird has had a great season and deserved a chance in the final. It didn't look as though he was going to take it particularly well, but got better as the game went on.
Strangely, Hangeland aside, the most jittery player appeared to be Danny Murphy - the only player on the pitch to have already won this trophy. It was from one of his quite frequent wayward passes that the first chance of the game came and Diego Forlan placed a shot against the foot of the far post.
It was a warning of things to come, but for some reason Fulham couldn't raise their game to match the flow of the Spaniards. But when Atletico took the lead, their goal enjoyed a huge slice of fortune - which tends to decide close games. Aguero mis-kicked a volley across the area, which fell so kindly for Forlan that he couldn't refuse the opportunity to pass it into Schwarzer's goal. From our viewpoint, which was more or less in line with the goal, Forlan looked a mile offside. Only today have I seen a reply and it's far, far closer than we thought, but could still easily have been given offside.
This perceived injustice at the time made me furious and I was barking my support down at the pitch, along with 13,000 other Fulham fans - I've seen fewer for games at the Cottage, so to have this number in Hamburg was a little weird, yet brilliant. The Madrid fans, more used to reaching finals, were a bit more organised with their massive banners and bouncy chanting, but the SW6 lot were in great voice too.
Suddenly an equaliser appeared out of nowhere. A not very mobile Bobby Zamora turned his marker with ease, took a touch too many and poked it towards Duff, who managed to squeeze it across to Zoltan Gera. The Hungarian dinked a little cross back towards Zamora, but a defender's head saw it look slightly over the forward. Fortunately Simon Davies had tucked in behind and executed a crisp volley which snuck in at the near post. I went mad as to me this was a justified equaliser after what I considered at the time to be Forlan's 'non-goal' and I roared my appreciation.
Looking back, that moment is probably the pinnacle of Fulham's history. A goal in a final - a European one, no less. This has never happened before for the whites and could be a long, long time before it ever happens again. A moment to savour retroactively.
The rest of the half continued in the same shape as what had gone before, Atletico with a decent attacking intent, but the Fulham defenders restricting them to long shots, the odd dangerous cross from Simao aside.
Fulham, so often a second half team this season, once again followed the script and came out far stronger and more adventurous for the second 45. Murphy stopped trying to force the issue and relaxed his game, which was encapsulated by a fantastic through ball to Gera. Unfortunately Zolly, who has been so deadly in Europe this year, was way too heavy with his first touch and the ball just ran through to the Atletico goalie, who reacted badly to Gera's legitimate attempts to reach the ball first.
Then Bobby Z had to be taken off, his injury problems all too apparent on this big stage and he was once again replaced by Clint Dempsey - a switch that has recently seen the frontline become more fluid. Not in this match though as Zamora's ability to hold the ball was massively missed by Fulham and any attacking forays by the whites ended up with Gera and Dempsey isolated. This is partly down to Hodgson's tactics in not letting the full-backs press up for fear of being hit on the counter attack, but when you've got a holding midfielder who has been told to be conservative in his passing, and I'm sure Dickson Etuhu was following orders with his wide range of sideways and backwards passes, there needs to be a bit more movement in the opposition half.
Still the defensive side of things was going swimmingly, with only wayward longshots heading anywhere near Schwarzer and I must admit to being quitely hopeful when Madrid took off what I considered to be their dangermen in Reyes and Simao. But the game fizzled out, although in injury time it looked very much like Hangeland had brought down Aguero in the penalty area. However the referee was better placed than I was and told the Argentine to get up. On replays it doesn't look like a foul, but you have seen them given.
So in my mind at the time Fulham had been given a bonus 30 minutes, although I was wary of the fact that Liverpool had been put to the sword in extra time by Forlan at Anfield.
Unfortunately this was to happen again, but before that Athletico had a goal chalked off at the end of the first period of extra time. At least that's what we all thought. I've just watched the replay again and again and only on the fourth time of viewing did I realise that Aguero actually put the ball into the side netting rather than the goal. That's weird. I'd concoted an explanation that the guy who put the cross in originally had tapped the ball into the goal from his team mates shot and was thus in an offiside position. But the crosser was miles off the pitch when the shot came in.
Still the second period starts and we look like we are dribbling into penalties when an Atheltico cross comes over and Forlan, once again darting in front of defenders, got a touch - you can't really call it a shot. But the ball then came off the underside of Hangeland's outstretched leg and squirmed past Schwarzer. Another slice of luck to the Spanish, and we knew then it was over. Greening replaced the immobile Murphy, who had presumably been left on for penalties, but with only four minutes remaining the gig was up and we all knew it. Which is why, with a couple of minutes left to play, the Fulham fans spontaneously burst into a round of applause for the team and all it has done for them this season. At the end of the match Atheltico were the better team and worthy winners of the game, but the Fulham fans were proud at what had gone before and wanted to let the players know that by clapping. It was an oddly touching and appropriate finale to a bonkers season, of which Fulham may never see the like again.

Athletico Madrid 2 - 1 Fulham (aet) part 1

2010-05-20T13:23:00.000+01:00

They came, they scored, they faltered. Fulham can now revel in glorious defeat after a monumental season, but what might have been if it weren't for the movement of one of Europe's best goal poachers. It's hard to distance the game from the epic journey it took us to watch the game.
2.40am Wednesday morning I set off in our hired Renault Scenic picked up another five near West Brompton station and the final straggler Col at his house in Bromley before heading for our 6.20am Eurotunnel crossing. What I thought might be an excited, giddy journey was instead punctured by complaints of tiredeness and illness as the West Brompton lot went out the night before and only managed an hour or so's sleep.
We were at Folkestone early enough (I'm not sure whether to expect a speeding ticket) to catch an earlier crossing and made it into Calais by 8am local time.Within seconds we were on the motorway and 20 minutes later out of France and in Belgium. We were not the only Fulham fans ploughing this furrow. There were many other cars sporting flags or at the very least British licence plates so we were in good company.
We only had two drivers amongst our number - one had to drop out after his boss wouldn't let him have the time off, while another didn't have both bits of paper in order top be registered on the insurance remotely. So that left two of us to do the brunt of the driving - neither of us had driven in Europe before. We needn't had worried - 98 per cent of our driving was done on the motorway/autobahn where driving on the other side of the road wasn't really an issue.

When I wasn't driving - I was instead sleeping - and it was during this period where we fell foul of the new road layout around Eindhoven which is not recognised by the SatNav which probably added another hour or so to our already tight journey. When we got back on track we decided to forgo the German A1 autobahn (famous for Fulham's previous embankment warm-up) and head up the A7 near Hannover, which would take us straight to the station designated for Fulham fans. However the traffic in Germany was appalling. In fact the last 7 miles took us over an hour. Our original ETA of 4pm became 6.30 and obviously left us short of time. We would have to miss out on the fan preparations in the Reeperbahn and more or less go straight to the stadium on the shuttlebuses. Fortunately, and contrary to expectations, there was a food and drink 'German village' erected outside the stadium and it was here where we finally got into the occasion with incidents such as the Fulham fans serenading one of the food stall workers with 'there's only one Rodney Marsh'.
As we made our way up to the impressive stadium (all football grounds should be built on hills) we went through the rigorous security checks, with one over zealous guard convinced our satnav was a makeshift bomb to climb up the stairs. And then climb up the stairs. And then climb up the stairs. It turned out our 105 quid tickets were one row from the back and we really required oxygen tanks and a sherpa to find our seats. The view was good though and we got a perfect look at the opening celebration which for some reason featured creepy women with lightening farts being transported around the ground on buggies. The music system was oppressive though and UEFA should consider that instead of adding to the atmosphere it might actually prevent the fans from creating an atmosphere of their own.

The night before a big game

2010-05-11T22:21:00.002+01:00

I'm off to Hamburg at 3am so I'll make this quick. The parallels with Fulham and the Boro team that reached the UEFA Cup final in 2005 are numerous. Unfashionable club, bankrolled by one rich enthusiastic fan, defies the odds to get to the final in only their second ever foray into European competition. Both had managers mooted to take the England job.
Both teams mounted unlikely comebacks in the knock out stages (although Middlesbrough tended to leave it until the last minute), both played Roma and Basle and met a Spanish side in the final. Christ - they both had the same goalkeeper! But hopefully that's where the parallels end. Boro got spanked in the final 4-0 by Sevilla and in four short years were relegated when the owner was forced to turn off the money tap. It could very easily happen to Fulham.
This is why it's important to make this final count. And count hard. Athletico's season isn't over. They have another league game and the Copa Del Ray final next Wednesday. Let them concentrate on those ties. Fulham have got to be as focused and disciplined as their manager and not have some of the bizarre play that we saw in Turin that allowed Juventus to come away with three goals.
And hopefully Schwarzer's wobbles have all gone. After a great season it would be a tragedy if he 'dropped the ball' for the last three games, especially will a World Cup to play in. My head says that it will be 0-0 but you get the inkling that Fulham might sneak it 2-1. It's a brave new world - hopefully the players will be able to embrace it. They've done themselves proud getting this far. Just one more push and they can become legends.

Hamburg

2010-05-10T17:35:00.000+01:00

We're going to Hamburg! Which is a bit scary. I did question whether I had any right to attend the final but as a season ticket holder for four years (will I will be) and having already been to watch Fulham overseas in Switzerland then I think I'm justified in having one of the 12,000+ tickets made available.
Also my trip has been funded by Mr Paddy Power after a successful punt on Fulham and Athletico getting to the final as mentioned here and also a bet on Chelsea betting Wigan by more than five goals this weekend. It's hard to like Chelsea but the way they have pummelled teams this season is worthy of the title.
Here are some OFFICIAL UEFA statistics:

Atlético have reached the final of a major UEFA club competition on four previous occasions, enjoying just one triumph. That came in the 1961/62 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup when they drew 1-1 with ACF Fiorentina in Glasgow before beating the Italian side 3-0 in a replay at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart on 5 September 1962. Thus, Atlético won their only major European trophy on German soil.
They also reached the 1962/63 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, but – in their only previous final meeting with an English side – lost 5-1 to Tottenham Hotspur FC at De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam.
Overall, their record in six major UEFA showpiece matches reads W1 D2 L3 (not including the European/South American Cup), scoring six goals and conceding 14 in those games.
Current Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has been involved in one major European final before, with his FC Internazionale Milano side losing the 1996/97 UEFA Cup showpiece 4-1 on penalties at San Siro after trading 1-0 home wins with FC Schalke 04.
Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer played for Middlesbrough FC in the final of the 2005/06 UEFA Cup, which his side lost 4-0 to Atlético's Liga rivals Sevilla FC.
• Danny Murphy is the only Fulham player to have won a UEFA Cup final, having been on the victorious side with Liverpool FC in the 2000/01 edition. The Reds beat Spanish side Deportivo Alavés 5-4 thanks to an extra-time golden goal at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund. Thus, his only previous UEFA club competition final against a Spanish side in Germany ended in victory.
The final will be Atlético's 75th UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League outing and Fulham's 25th. Atlético have disputed 211 UEFA club competition games to Fulham's 32.
Fulham are now unbeaten in their last five European games since a 3-1 loss at Juventus in their round of 16 first leg. The London side will be competing on German soil for the third successive round after meeting VfL Wolfsburg and HSV in the quarter and semi-finals respectively; away from home, they beat the 2008/09 Bundesliga champions 1-0 before drawing 0-0 with Hamburg.
The final will be Fulham's 19th game since they started their UEFA Europa League campaign in the third qualifying round. Their record in 18 European fixtures this season reads W11 D4 L3, scoring 30 goals and conceding 16. It will be Atlético's 17th European fixture since their campaign began in the UEFA Champions League play-off round. Their 16 games thus far have given them the tally W4 D8 L4, scoring 17 goals and conceding 22.
• Atlético have lost all three of their UEFA club competition penalty shoot-outs to date; 7-6 at home to Derby County FC in the 1974/75 UEFA Cup, 3-1 at Fiorentina in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup and 3-1 at home against Villarreal in a 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup final.
The referee is Italy's Nicola Rizzoli, who bossed Manchester United's game against Bayern Munich from which the German side advanced on away goals after United's right back was dismissed for two soft yellow cards. Well, a soft second yellow at any rate. He has refereed Atheltico before - an Intertoto cup defeat by Romanian side Gloria 1922 Bistriţa in 2007.

Fulham 0 - 1 Stoke City

2010-05-06T23:10:00.000+01:00

The last home game of a momentous season ended up something of a damp squib because a) it was a Wednesday night, b) it was the third home game in a week, c) there is a small matter of next week's Europa League final and d) it was against Stoke City.
I must admit that I quite admired the Potters for the way they have comfortably remained in the Premier League and pulling off some shocking results along the way. However this is because I've never watched them actually play. They're in danger of being categorised with Bolton and Blackburn as another side that uses the physical approach to bridge any perceived skill gap.
I've never seen so many off the ball incidents go unpunished by a referee - who got booed off at the end of the game. The ref seemed to let all Stoke's niggles pass as legal, yet every time one of their players hit the deck it seemed to be a foul. Bizarre.
There wasn't a whole lot else going on pitchside. There were a couple of shots each before Fuller's deflected cross (off Tuncay's hand irritatingly) caught the defence cold-footed and allowed Matty Etherington to put the ball beyond Schwarzer, who had a bit of a shakey game. Get it out of your system here, Mark. Good thinking!
The Stoke fans were amusing - at one point doing a conga in and out the bowels of the Putney End. It looked more fun than watching another cold match at the Cottage.
After the match a rather the players conducted a rather half-hearted lap of honour around the ground in front of a set of lukewarm fans. Everyone knows that Hamburg will host the true end to this season rather than a low-key league match. Fingers crossed for a better outcome.

Fulham 3 - 2 West Ham United

2010-05-05T14:48:00.000+01:00

Now this was satisfying, although with the Hammers' Premier League survival ensured, not as satisfying as it could have been. I have a long-standing apathy for West Ham United - mainly because they keep beating my teams - so to see them beaten, and beaten relatively easily, was succour for the soul.
West Ham's self-aggrandizing owners had complained to the Premier League about the 'weakened' team put out at Hull City last month, saying that a ladies team would have beaten Fulham's starting XI. However the fact that 8 of the players from that game started this time around and managed to get past West Ham's strongest side speaks volumes on both the weakness of the complaints and the Hammers' team.
Resting after Thursday's extravaganza, Fulham put out its second string and it was still comfortable enough against West Ham. The first half had nothing in it - a couple of saves from both keepers and a Dempsey shot that bounced off the top of bar, so it was surprising when a one-two between Davies and Demspey opened up the Hammers defence with a minute to go and the American's quick shot beat Green at his near post. The way the ball bounced out of the goal fooled me into thinking the shot had gone wide at first, but no. A 1-0 lead plundered from nowhere and West Ham barely had time to kick off before the half time whistle was blown.
Craven Cottage was wet and cold on this day - such a contrast from the semi-final a few days before but not that the West Ham fans seemed to notice. Giddy from staying up (more because of the dearth of quality below them than anything their team did), the Hammers were noisy and boisterous and easily outsang a Fulham crowd emotionally spent from their European exploits.
Second half began and once again Fulham improved. When the second goal came, it was from an unlikely source. The ball bounced out from a corner and Chris Baird smacked it back into the mixer. At first I thought it had gone straight in, but everyone kind of stood around and Baird himself wasn't celebrating, so I assumed there had been a whistle and the goal disallowed. But no - the ball had deflected off the hapless Carlton Cole past his keeper, which is why Baird didn't really celebrate and Fulham suddenly had a cushion.
Not for long though. A long free kick into the box was met by the powerful English striker, who glanced the ball past Schwarzer into the goal. Cole had now scored two in five minutes after doing nothing all game. It's been a while since I've seen someone score for both teams though.
Then West Ham did what they've been doing all season - they shot themselves in the foot. Behrami fell over which let Konchesky have the ball. Jonathan Spector cut out the cross, but then tried to take on Erik Nevland (who had been transplanted onto the left wing to make room for Okaka). Nevland won the ball and swept the ball across the box for the Italian loanee to tap into the goal. All the players went to congratulate Nevland, while Okaka went off celebrating on his own.
West Ham plundered another goal in injury time but it didn't matter by then. (why do Fulham concede so many late goals but score so few? Maybe it's because they do most of the work before the end of the 90 minutes).
A five goal non-thriller then, but who cares when there's a cup final in Europe still to come. I wonder if Roy will don his boots for the game at Arsenal? Got keep them first-teamers fresh!

Fulham 2 - 1 Hamburg

2010-05-02T23:26:00.003+01:00

I landed from Madrid at Heathrow at 6pm, nipped home and headed to the ground in the humid, summery conditions which were not a million miles away from those I'd just left in Spain. The night before I'd watched Inter pull off a performance that looked remarkably reminiscent to Fulham's European style in the Bernabau to progress to the Champions League final (much to the relief of all the Real Madrid fans) which struck me as a good omen.
Fans aplenty were making their way to the Cottage amid the blossom trees with a happy-go-lucky feel. With Fulham hosting a European semi-final the outcome of the match wasn't hope - it was contentment. Nobody expected to get this far and if this was to be the last hurrah then so be it.
As we were walking in, Zamora's name was announced on the tannoy in the starting line-up - a fillip for both the team and the fans. He almost pulled off a German one-two as well with yet another early goal against Teutonic opposition but Hamburg's keeper made a great reflex save from his second minute shot, which had been fashioned in a typically Zamorean way.
Also making a surprise appearance was John Paintsil. Most Fulham fans had thought he had been removed from the UEFA squad when he got injured in December, but here he was, playing in his usual, slightly haphazard way. He was clearly a bit rusty though - fortunately Duff in front of him put in another sterling defensive shift.

My Madrid conference happened to have a certain Peter Shilton as the keynote speaker and one of the things that he talked about was the defensive wall in front of a free kick (specifically the World Cup 1990 semi-final). He said he covered one side of the goal while the wall did the rest, unless the player somehow got the ball over it and down quickly enough. Against West Germany, they passed the ball so that the shot was taken from another point - rendering the wall useless. Shilton reacted to that by moving forward and narrowing the angle, improving the amount of the goal that he could protect. Unfortunately this meant that when the ball looped off Paul Parker, Shilts was too far off his line because he had found it necessary to come forward. Anyway all this was going through my head when Petric stepped up to take a free kick which was needlessly given away when Murphy and Duff contrived to lose the ball. We were sat directly behind the goal, so we could see the angles. The wall was protecting the right hand side of the goal, while Schwarzer marshalled the left. The only way the ball was going in was that if somehow Petric managed to get it over the wall and down fast enough under the bar. Well I saw the ball clearly find the top corner, but I still don't quite know how he did it. Watching it back on TV, I can't bellieve how far out he was either. Schwarzer was done by a quite fabulous free-kick. It would have been no disgrace to be knocked out by that goal, which seemed highly likely given that it meant Fulham now needed to score twice.

Three Germans sat in one of the front rows of the Hammy End must have forgotten where they were as they jumped up to celebrate the goal. It wasn't long before they were shepherded out by the stewards. They should be thankful for small mercies.
Hamburg didn't deserve the goal - no-one had particularly dominated the game - but they found that bit of brilliance that they lacked at home and were happy to take it. Before that Aaron Hughes had been imperious in the Fulham defence and snuffed out most danger. I didn't even notice Ruud van Nistelrooy on the pitch. In fairness the Germans continued to play football rather than sit on the lead. Had it been an Italian or Spanish side I would have expected there would have been far more theatrics and time-wasting - even after 22 minutes.
Half time came and went without anything exciting happening and Fulham were huffing and puffing in the second half to get back into the game. Then another one of those great collective moments happened. "Stand up if you still believe!" started echoing around the ground with fans in all the stands getting to their feet in order to show their support to the players on the pitch. It was only slightly cheapened 10 minutes later with a half-hearted repeat. Fortunately the team had already received the message.

Once again Zamora had to limp off and was replaced by the far more fluid Clint Dempsey and Fulham turned things up a notch. This was reflected in the sudden desperation of Hamburg's defending. Man City-bound Jerome Boateng took off about 10 yards away from Zoltan Gera feet first and took the man and the ball with an outrageous lunge. That would be a straight red in most games, definitely in the Premier League, but he escaped with a yellow. Hamburg also escaped as the cute Konchesky freekick to Duff saw the Irishman roll the ball agonisingly wide in a packed penalty area. Fortunately it was the shape of things to come.
With Dempsey introducing more movement upfront, gaps were starting to form in the Hamburg back line and Murphy clipped a ball into Simon Davies who had made one of his frequent runs into some space in the centre. Three touches later and Fulham were level. It was a wonderful goal, but each touch was more a reaction to the previous one rather than a skillful method of drawing the defender the wrong side. The first bit of control sat up nicely for Davies to try and hook it over the head of the marking defender. This drew the goalkeeper out and allowed Davies to half volley the ball with his left foot in off the post. There was nothing else he could have feasibly done with the ball in that moment and the crowd went wild. Davies can be viewed as the weak link in Fulham's offensive set, but he is tidy and can follow instructions - which makes him a perfect Hodgson player. This goal showed exactly why he is in the starting XI and gave the whites renewed hope.

But there was still work to be done. Fortunately it didn't take long. Hodgson replaced Johnny P with Erik Nevland and Davies switched to right back. One run up the wing beyond Duff brought Fulham a corner which ended up loose in the Hamburg box. Nevland nearly got to it, but Gera was strongest and most assertive and he took the ball and some how shot whilst spinning past the Hamburg keeper and defenders into the back of the net. Delirium in the stands and on the pitch. Hodgson's two substitutions had helped stretch Hamburg and the goals came.
There were still about 15 minutes left though and an equaliser would see Hamburg progress on away goals. It sounded like the guy sat behind me would rather Fulham still had it to do rather than protect a lead for that long. He was moaning with worry. He needn't have bothered. There were a few scrambles in the box, but Fulham were closer to scoring another when Dempsey was played through and the keeper took him out. It didn't matter in the end though Fulham were, incredibly, through to the final of the Europa League. The game itself was pretty dire with both goalies only making one save each, but that didn't matter. Grown men were crying around me and the huge outpouring of emotion almost got me. Fulham had made a final and they deserved it. It might not ever get better than this. Roll on May 12.

FUL - HAM

2010-04-27T22:58:00.000+01:00

I'm off to Madrid in the morning for work. I'm due to land back at Heathrow just before 6pm on Thursday. Hopefully that will give me plenty of time to get to the Cottage, especially as I'll have no luggage, so fingers crossed.
My girlfriend is always on about the words that could be made by the abbreviations of the team names in the top left hand corner of televised matches. Obviously for this EUROPEAN SEMI-FINAL there is a rather appropriate word that will be created. If this had been on Sky though it would not have worked as they have taken to using only two letters (probably to 'differentiate themselves from the other channels') and a game between FU - HA doesn't have quite the same poetry.
Surprisingly Hamburg have sacked their manager Bruno Labbadia this week, which is probably bad news for the whites as it seems pretty clear that the players hated him. Without Labbadia, the players might play with much more freedom at Craven Cottage. But Woy's amazed us in getting this far and despite being underdogs yet again, Fulham could easily progress to the final. All you need is a little bit of luck to go your way.
Anyway here are some stats from the UEFA website:

There were no goals last week when the sides met in Germany, with Fulham defending heroically. Tellingly, Hamburg had five shots on goal while their guests had none, and were also well on top in terms of corners (7-1) and offsides (3-1).
Hamburg have now played 13 games against English sides in European club competition, with the record W4 D3 L6: (W0 D1 L4 in England).
Hamburg have yet to win in five trips to England, avoiding defeat only once, with a 0-0 draw against Southampton FC at The Dell in a 1984/85 UEFA Cup first round opener.
Prior to last week's stalemate in Hamburg, Fulham had only once drawn the first leg of a European tie away from home, holding Bologna FC 2-2 in one of the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals, before winning the return fixture 3-1 in London.
Hamburg have drawn 0-0 at home in the opening leg of three previous European ties, going on to win the most recent two of them (one on away goals). They were undone in the 1983 UEFA Super Cup, however, losing 2-0 at Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen FC.
Fulham remain unbeaten in 15 European home games (11 wins, four draws) since making their continental debut in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup. They have conceded more than one goal just once when holding European matches, drawing 2-2 with HNK Hajduk Split in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup first round, and have won their last four home fixtures in the UEFA Europa League.
Fulham have never been involved in a European penalty shoot-out. Hamburg lost their only European penalty shoot-out 4-3 on home turf against Dutch opponents Sparta Rotterdam following a 2-2 aggregate draw in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup first round.
Fulham have three players who will miss the final if they receive a yellow card: Paul Konchesky, Bobby Zamora and Zoltan Gera. Hamburg have six.
Turkish referee Cüneyt Çakır has officiated in four matches (including internationals) involving English teams with the English side triumphing on each occasion. He has only officiated in one match involving a team from Germany, which the German side lost. I've just noticed he is also two months younger than me, the bastard.

Good luck everyone.

Extract of the day - child entertainment

2010-04-23T16:35:00.001+01:00

From a surprisingly old school piece in the Guardian by Harry Pearson:

It was not always like this. At one time children were enlisted to provide half-time entertainment. The penalty prize was a staple of most match days, still is in some places. It's a simple and elegant competition, one that affords the crowd an opportunity rarely granted to adults in our sensitive age – a chance to loudly and roundly taunt a group of little kids. Traditionally there's a class element to the abuse – the children from schools in working class districts are cheered and applauded, those from establishments in the affluent suburbs tormented as the offspring of wife-swappers and woodwork teachers.

Fleet Town 3 - 1 Tottenham Legends

2010-04-21T20:50:00.002+01:00

First up - a public service announcement. We have renewed our vows and will be watching Fulham at Craven Cottage throughout the 2010/11 season as well - our fourth year in H7. We have retained our seats after brief flirtations with Johnny Haynes A Block (it's a family area) and P1 (no atmosphere), plus the seat next to Jarrod came free allowing Nicky to move down from Row EE and join us for the season. I hope she knows what she's let herself in for.
It seemed right doing this the night before a EUROPEAN SEMI-FINAL. Sorry it's in caps because its barely hard to believe. The first year we secured season tickets at the Cottage, Fulham stayed up by the skin of their teeth where every goal counted. Now they are in the last four of European competition within three years. Remarkable.
I'm toying with the possibility of going to the final if Fulham make it - away at Basle/Basel was good fun - but money isn't exactly freely available at the moment. I'm considering sticking some money on a Fulham/Madrid final at 11/2 in order to fund a trip should Fulham make it. I wouldn't want to go if Liverpool were the competition - you just know their fans will be all over the Fulham section and leave a sour taste in the mouth. Anyway - there's a long way before any of those kind of shenanigans can be properly taken into account.
Anyway - the headline match! This was held last Sunday and we were attending because a friend of Kat's is involved with Fleet Town. A strange trip down to the ground included passing a sign that read 'Heathrow Airport Closed' - which felt a bit ominous and that we were on part of a dystopian film set.
Anyway we arrived at Calthorpe Park for the fundraiser to be greeted by a pretty impressive sloping pitch, a small grandstand and two small 'stands' with corrugated iron roofs behind each goal. But the sun was out and the people of Fleet were out in force, supporting their local team and hoping for a glimpse at some football royalty.

The link with Spurs comes from Fleet Town's fairly successful manager - Andy Sinton, who seems to have played for most of Fulham's local rivals. The 'superstars' that turned out would have only impressed people with long memories with avid Spurs addictions but the big name Les Ferdinand played the whole 90 minutes with a smile on his face. Espen Baardsen played in goal for the visitors and made some astounding saves - he looked like he could still do a job in the Premier League if I'm honest. David Howells also played (pretty well actually) but you did wonder about the well being of some of the players from the 60s and 70s who turned out on such a hot day. Fortunately they all got through it. Pat Jennings even made an appearance in the stands. The number of small children running around getting autographs from players they had never heard of was rather amusing, but all the participants were happy to oblige. Good on them.
The most tense part of the event though was the post-match raffle which had several good prizes for such a small event, leading me to buy a bunch of tickets because the odds of winning appeared high. Unfortunately lady luck was not smiling that day, but the logic was sound - 3 of the 10 prizes were won by the same couple. I blame Sir Les - he was the one picking out the winners.

Fulham 0 - 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

2010-04-19T21:13:00.000+01:00

A number of firsts at this weekend's game. 1) I'd never seen Wolves play before. 2) I sacrificed the start of the game so I could watch all the Manchester derby (thank heavens). 3) Ish was well up for the game. 4) There were no planes flying over Craven Cottage!
When games are particularly boring, spectators can usually amuse themselves by playing the which airline game as planes slowly drift across Putney airspace towards Heathrow. Not this weekend though, which is a shame as there wasn't much happening on the pitch. Fortunately there was the tonic of bright sunshine instead.
Wolves had just three players that I was aware of Doyle, Hahnemann and Craddock, although I didn't recognise the defender at first because of his head bandage. However despite this lack of superstars (or perhaps because of it) Wolves were a surprisingly tidy team, but without much of a cutting edge. Pretty similar to Fulham at the moment, really.
Ahead of this Thursday's trek to Hamburg, it was a surprise to see such a strong Fulham side, with just Smalling replacing Hangeland in the starting XI. The young lad had a more promising game than he has in recent appearances, but the steady hand of Aaron Hughes once again stood out. The Irish defender has had an outstanding, unsung season and is a big reason for the team's success. Just remember the games where Smalling and Hangeland were the central pairing.
Fulham had two outstanding chances during the game. One where Duff was put through, but chose the wrong option and tried to unsuccessfully come inside the last defender, much to the crowd's disgust, which I thought was a bit harsh. The other chance was a glorious Zamora strike from nothing, 25 yards from goal, which bounced off the post.
And that was it. Neither team looked particularly dangerous, Fulham with one eye on Europe and Wolves with one eye on a valuable point for securing Premier League status. It was a shame that we didn't see some of the Fulham bench warmers - It would have been good to see Johnny P and Okaka - but Woy knows best.
At the end of the game Ish and I went exploring and clambered over to the Johnny Haynes Stand to check out the sightlines of where we might potentially be moving to next season. A year in the truly historic stand feels right for plastic tourists such as us, but it will be a hard wrench to leave the Hammy End. We'll be seeing what comes available.

Fulham 2 - 1 Wigan Athletic

2010-04-12T08:51:00.000+01:00

Apparently there were nearly 23,000 at this game, which I find unlikely. P5-P7 was around half full and on my row in H7/H8 there were six of us, leaving 24 seats spare. The people who own season tickets around us are particularly flakey though. Maybe 22,730 was the amount of tickets sold, which should be a completely different figure to attendance. I'm not sure which one is more important though. Clearly football clubs feel its tickets sold as I believe Arsenal also follow that route.
Wigan fans have never been the greatest travellers, like Fulham their rapid ascendancy through the divisions somewhat curtailed organic growth of the supporter base, and also like Fulham they play second fiddle in the area to a bigger team - Wigan Warriors rugby league.
Unusually, Fulham attacked the Hammy End in the first - something which has not been done for a long time. Presumably Wigan won the toss and decided to switch, a decision that led many boos to cascade down from the stands. I don't ever remember a coin toss being booed before. However it did mean that all the subsequent action was way down at the Putney End and difficult to see clearly from our seats.
Fulham started off with Elm replacing Zamora upfront (wisely rested with a trip to Germany on the horizon) and I thought the big swede was busy enough in the first half and unlucky to be taken off at half time - I didn't realise that he went to hospital soon afterwards. Hopefully he'll be 100% again soon.
This was one of those rare games where Schwarzer wasn't totally on the ball, and it showed with Wigan's goal. As soon as I read that Jason Scotland hadn't scored a league goal all season, I had the feeling that would end at Craven Cottage. Fulham have been ever so generous in stopping other teams' and players' negative trends this season and this event typified events. Scotland caught a volley on the edge of the area, falling over as he did so, and Schwarzer contrived to let it squeeze in at the near post. Only moments earlier he had come out for a looping ball which ended up hitting his thigh. The ball fell for Scharner who lofted it goalwards over the keeper. Fortunately Hangeland had retreated to the goal line to head clear. Before the game I had pointed out Scharner as one of Wigan's better players, but the Austrian had a 'mare at the Cottage and was at fault for the equaliser just after half time. He was robbed of the ball by the again impressive Zoltan Gera on the byline, who crossed for substitute Okaka to kind of flick it up with the back of his foot over goalkeeper and defender at the near post. It was an instant impact from the on loan Italian, who did very little for the rest of the match.
10 minutes later, Hangeland powered through a wall of defenders to head home a Duff corner, although it bounced off the far post and into the net in slow motion. It didn't feel like a goal, but it counted.
And that was about it. This was as dull a game as you could possible expect to see, considering there were three goals. Neither keeper had much to do other than the goals. The most excited part of the match was the constant booing of the referee Mark Clattenberg who refused to give Gera a penalty and was thus booed off at half time. Still the win was very welcome given that March saw Fulham win just one of seven games (albeit that was the 4-1 v Juventus) and the three points put to bed any outside worries about the team getting involved in the relegation scrap. It's all about Europe now.

Fulham 2 -1 Wolfsburg

2010-04-02T12:48:00.000+01:00

Somehow a 2-1 win against the German champions felt like a loss last night, thanks to Madlung(e)'s late away goal from a corner. Fulham switched off a little and a short corner routine gave them that useful away goal to take back to Germany. It was possibly no more than they deserved - the number of good positions the forwards wasted on an off night for Hangeland was high.
The unexpected appearance of Simon Davies at right back from the start of the game provided fans with an attacking mindset, but in truth Fulham's fourth (or fifth) choice right back didn't venture forward as much as perhaps Paintsil would - mindful of his new defensive duties no doubt. But he was tidy in the position and didn't really do much wrong.
It seemed Dixon Etuhu was having a 'mare though. Frequently ball watching, his passes were often astray and it looks like he lost his man for Wolfburg's pretty ordinary goal. Alongside him Murphy had an expressive second half after a mixed first 45 minutes, with plenty of incisive passing. Murphy's turnaround heralded a more fluid team performance in the second half and Zamora took a wonderful goal, which looks even better on TV. He used Duff's run as a decoy and calmly stroked the ball into the opposite corner of the goal from quite far out. You shouldn't be scoring those kind of goals from 30 yards. We were too busy celebrating to notice Zamora cupping his ear. I wonder why that has returned?
The Wolfsburg keeper didn't have a great deal to do in the game, but didn't make any outstanding saves. In fact the next thing he did was pick the ball out of the goal again after wonderful wing play from Konchesky and Gera (perhaps Dempsey) gave the ball to Bobby on the edge of the six yard box. Back to goal, he laid it on a platter for Duff to crack it low into the net. 2-0. Perfect score. Now only if they can keep that for next week.... no.
Around about 80 minutes Bobby received the ball on the halfway line and kind of stopped instead of powering forward. This changed mindset suddenly transferred to all the players and things became a bit panicked at the back - embodied by Hangelnad's ignoring of Schwarzer's call which nearly (and perhaps should have) gifted Wolfsburg a goal. Which they eventually got anyway. Still - Fulham beat Shaktar (still the most impressive team in the tournament) 2-1 at home and that was enough. Hopefully history will repeat itself in this tie too. All the other quarter finals are as equally well balanced as well.
Col and I were sat higher up than normal and in H5 and the view of the game there (massive pillar aside) is pretty good. There were at least three shots by Fulham in the second half that we could picture flying into the goal had it not been for a few defensive blocks and Bobby Z's arse. But that's why those season tickets are £500. The difference in these seats is also shown in the amount of time it tales to get out of the ground. Normally from our seats in H7 we can easily slip out and be walking along the Thames within a minute. Not so here. In fact walking back from the ground with so many people around us gave the experience a completely different feel - almost communal.

Tottenham, Juventus and Manchester City

2010-03-24T15:47:00.002Z

Three games, three very different outcomes. Let's take it chronologically.

Fulham 0 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur
Widely derided as a boring match in some circles, this FA Cup 6th round tie was in fact somewhat mesmerising to watch from the stands. It was like two boxers constantly testing each other without throwing a knockout punch. What stood out was how quiet the in-form Pavlechenko was kept by Fulham back line and how ineffective Spurs' long balls to Crouch were during this game. The stand out man of the match was Gareth Bale who was constantly rampaging down the left wing and causing all kinds of problems for Duff and Baird. His pushing forward somewhat cancelled out the attacking threat from both winger and full back on the right to impressive effect. Despite no real dangers for goalkeepers, Fulham nearly snatched it at the end when a Spurs player, possibly Corluka, shinned the ball out of play, but it could just of easily snuck in the goal via the inside of the post. A close shave for Spurs, who will be looking to press their home superiority tonight in the replay.
One thing I did learn from this game is that when someone manages to put the ball over the Riverside Stand, the scoreboard flickers with an animation of a ball hitting the river, which was quite amusing.

Fulham 4 - 1 Juventus
An early kick off means that there were a lot of late bodies coming in when Juventus scored. Col and I had only just sat down when the ball fell kindly for Trezeguet to stroke into the corner, although he only had so much room because he had tripped Hughes up earlier in the move after a failed attempt at a bicycle kick. The goal cancelled out Etuhu's away goal and meant the slightly possible 2-0 victory needed to take Fulham through had stretched to a need to score three just to stay in it.
I must say that the instant response from Fulham fans was one to be totally commended. They just said 'fuck it' and doubled the volume of their support for the home side, which continued throughout the 90 minutes, bolstered by the timing of Fulham's goals. Ish then appeared and although he'd only missed two minutes, he had been unaware of the Juve goal.
Despite the early setback, the whites were having some success against the gold livered Juve team and it wasn't long before Bobby Z expertly pulled down a cross from Konchesky and, with Cannavaro on the floor, took time to power it past the reserve reserve keeper. At this point if the game had finished 1-1, I think most Fulham fans would have been satisfied at holding the old lady to a respectable draw. Certainly none of them could have expected what happened next.
The 'agricultural' Italian way of defending had been glimpsed in the first leg with the Juve defenders each having two fists full of opposition shirt at every free kick and corner and it was this approach to defending which proved the team's downfall. Gera had struggled to shake off Cannavaro's WWE moves and when Bobby played a pass through for him, he went down pretty softly to emphasise that he was being held. From the Hammy End it looked like a straight red for a professional foul, but on TV it doesn't look so cut and dried. However the ref got out the red and Juve were down to ten. It was like the bad luck in the two games against Roma had finally been repaid. Chimenti's save from Bobby's resultant free kick looked like the save of the season from the Hammy End, but we couldn't see the little Italian keeper stood in the perfect position behind the defensive wall so when this arm shot up to stop the ball going into the top corner we were somewhat surprised.
It didn't matter. A lovely flowing move between Konchesky, Zamora and Davies saw Gera sidefoot the ball into the top of the net from a few yards out and pandemonium broke out in the Hammy End. Fans were running up and down the aisles and jumping up in glee. Fulham were beating Juventus! Who thought that would have happened.
It kept getting better. I didn't see the incident which the ref gave the penalty, but it was at the end of another nice flowing Fulham move (in fact the night was full of them). Gera confidently picked up the ball (despite the hovering Bobby Z) and dispatched it into the net, complete with somersault celebration, to bring the game level on aggregate. There was still 40 minutes left. Fulham kept going for it, but Juve were more or less a spent force.
Midway through the second half there was a bit of a lull and Hodgson made the masterstroke of bringing Dempsey on for the pretty solid Kelly. We all assumed that this meant that Baird would revert to right back, but the Irish man was having such a stellar game in the middle of the park that Hodgson instead switched Davies to right back with Gera moved to the left. As no Juventus players were attacking down the left, it essentially meant that Fulham had two right wingers who ripped up that side of the pitch. It was the runs from these guys that gave Dempsey a little room on the edge of the box to float one in. Initially I though what a terrible waste of a cross, then I started to appreciate the parabola the ball was on. Before we knew it the ball had dropped in and the whole surreal event went even crazier!
Then, for the first time, things got tense. A Juve goal would effectively put Fulham out, so things got a bit cautious and there were a few iffy moments down the other end of the pitch. But then the added time was announced at Juve had another player sent off and the rest of the game was quite comfortable after that.
I've been to some crazy matches in my life. Forest 1 - 8 Man United, the very last FA Cup semi final replay between United and Arsenal which had a sending off, last minute penalty save and 'that' Giggs goal and even this season's first Manchester derby, but this game was up there. Breathtaking and well deserved. I've never had quite so many texts from friends about Fulham as during that match. It certainly gripped the nation - just a shame that it was on ESPN rather than free to air.

Fulham 1 - 2 Manchester City
This was the fourth consecutive time I've seen this fixture and I've yet to see Fulham win. They only seem to beat City on their own turf, to spectacular effect. Anyway, this was one of the flattest games I've been to for a while. All the nervous energy from the Juve game had been exhausted and it felt like the fans and the players were going through the motions.

That said Fulham nearly took the lead before City scored on the break with a shot that deflected off a defender, hit the post, rolled over a prone Schwarzer before landing perfectly at the feet of Roque Santa Cruz to pass into the goal for a second consecutive early concession at home. Woy may need to get them pumped up earlier in future as they keep providing mountains to climb. The defence, sporting Chris Smalling for a change, frequently gave Tevez too much room to run at and the Argentine caused numerous problems, and scored again after another counter attack, with a finish that has been accurately described elsewhere as a five-a-side goal. Kompany had successfully marshalled Zamora all game so it was unsurprising when he was subbed off, with the Spurs replay only a few days away and demonstrated Woy's massive change in priorities this month.
Another soft penalty was despatched by the underwhelming Danny Murphy (who in fairness had Barry shadowing him all over the pitch) and suddenly Fulham were back in it and had a chance to snatch a probably undeserved point. Okaka's energy almost saw him power home from a wide angle, but instead he shanked it wide and a better shout for a second penalty was turned down flat, but City had the better chances to score a third in fairness. Etuhu has finally played himself into some form and was the best Fulham player by a mile on the day, effectively countering all of teflon Patrick Viera's manoeuvres, but it was another shakey game at right back for Chris Baird. Perhaps it is time to give Kelly another bite and being first cover of Paintsil. Baird's fair better utilised in midfield these days.

DON'T PANIC!

2010-03-18T16:49:00.000Z

Only two goals are necessary. It might still be level at half time, but fear not. Fulham have been a second half team this year. Keep the faith and it might just happen.
I'm off to the ground now!

Fulham 2 - 1 Birmingham City

2010-03-06T13:04:00.002Z

The last time these two met at the Cottage was under a very different circumstance. Fulham's Great Escape season was Birmingham's great drop, but the Blues have bounced back from the Championship and are now occupying Fulham's 'surprise package' role of last season.
They have been putting noses out of joint around the country and were strongly favoured to get something from the banks of the Thames, especially after Chris Baird's bizarre own goal. You could say he was slightly unsighted as the ball dropped past Hughes, but he really wasn't under any pressure. Certainly not enough to knock it emphatically past Schwarzer at any rate. At least he didn't let it affect the rest of his game - Baird had another stormer at right back.
At least if you're going to concede you may as well do it early, and Fulham had 87 minutes left to get into the game. The fact that they did in the second half is typical of the team this season. I was impressed by the Hammy End in this game. Hughes loses a boot and suddenly the Aaron Hughes chant (which I'd not heard before) becomes Aaron Shoes. Still bootless, he then clears a Birmingham attack for a corner, prompting a blast of 'one shoe - he only needs one shoe...' Great fun and exactly the sort of thing that the Hammy End has lacked in previous seasons.
Second half and the screw turns and some smart passing saw Duff run across the edge of the area and unleash a guided missile past Joe Hart's far post. Unexpected, but a wonderful goal to add to the Duffer's tally. Once again I had a correct 'first goalscorer' bet. Fortunately own goals do not count.
As time was running out, I mentioned how Fulham aren't really a team that scores late winners; the only late goal I remember off the top of my head was Dio's equaliser against Spurs. Anyway, once again Bobby Z shut me up with a free kick eerily reminiscent of his winner against Burnley. Up the football league they go.
The day before this game I was given free tickets to watch Arsenal v Sunderland. I've not been that bored during a match for some time. Give me the Cottage any day.
Today marks a remarkable month for Fulham after an unbeaten February. Spurs, Juventus, Man United, Juventus, Man City topped off with (hopefully) an away win at Hull City. Jarrod has chosen a bad time to return to Australia, even if it is his brother's wedding.
I'm not in London FA Cup Semi Final week, but I'm there today hoping they can stick it to the Spurs.

Attendance: Andy & Kat

Fulham 2 -1 Shaktar Donetsk

2010-02-19T15:51:00.000Z

What a buzzing evening that was! We took advantage of the cup game by switching our seats to the middle of the Hammy End, much closer to the chanting and a greater view of the action and boy did it pay off for this match. Plenty of shouting and the best 'you're shit aaaaaaaah' at the opposition keeper for an age.
I was surprised at the strength of the team Hodgson put out, especially with high flying Birmingham coming on Sunday, but as soon as I realised Gera would be playing as a support striker I made my way to the ridiculously ramshackle Ladbrokes booth, which for once didn't have a cast of thousands queuing in front of it, and stuck a fiver on him to score the first goal at 8/1. I didn't expect it to happen that quickly though! Gera has played exceptionally well in that position, especially in Europe, and tonight was no different. But having seen a replay, the goalie should have done far better.
However this just riled Shaktar, who have a horrible sub-Hull City kit. The next 43 minutes was all the visitors. They must have had 70 per cent possession at least. The strange formation meant that when the ball broke to Murphy or Etuhu, there were five Shaktar players around them and this basically nullified their threat. Etuhu in particular was very poor, giving the ball away needlessly when he did win it or going constantly backwards when found with a pass. Meanwhile the Ukrainians, with a Brazilian 'front five' calmly pinged the ball to each other. The good thing for Fulham was that this was mainly occurring in front of the solid back four, with Duff and Davies doing sterling work helping out the full backs when needed. The one time that Shaktar did get behind the defensive line, partly due to Hughes' poor decision to step up to try and catch Adriano offside, Shaktar scored a deserved equaliser. During the game, Adriano's angled run made it look like Kelly was at fault, but he was mainly blameless for the goal and all match was reasonably solid. Far better than his recent appearances anyway.
Somehow Fulham got to half time without conceding again. But the second half began in the most peculiar fashion. Shaktar again dominated possession for the first ten minutes of the half, but didn't do anything with it. They just passed it among their defenders around their own penalty area. It was like watching old matches featuring Liverpool from the 1980s before the backpass rule was introduced. They were content with their away goal and didn't want the scoreline to change much, so wasted a bit of time. Either that or they were trying to somewhat childishly trying to draw Fulham forward in order to create room behind them. They should know better than to try that against a team drilled by Roy Hodgson. They were fleet on the break though and a few times after Fulham had enjoyed half chances they shot up the other end and won corners. It's hard to want the team to push on when there's that kind of sucker punch lurking behind.
I did think that Gera should have dropped deeper to help out the struggling midfield a bit or that Davies and Duff should switch wings to try some crosses instead of having to continually cut inside, which Shaktar were well prepared against.
It began to resemble a more even football match after that though and Fulham even enjoyed some possession without doing much with it. Then BANG. Zamora ran onto the ball with a little bit of space on the edge of the area and absolutely twatted it. I thought he'd easily cleared the bar, but instead it had bounced down from it into the back of the net. Absolutely incredible. And not at all deserved. But who cares? He should have got another with a far post header, but contrived to push it wide. Maybe next week, Bobby?
Will 2-1 be enough? Probably not. Shaktar seem to have a habit of winning 2-0 at home in Europe and they are a considerably talented side. But many wrote off Fulham's chances (ie me) when they needed an away win in Basel. Roy's team is capable of anything.

Attendance: Me, Jarrod, Loz & Nicky

Fulham 3 - 0 Burnley

2010-02-17T19:43:00.000Z

This was one of those strange old games which didn't really feel like a competition. Burnley were adventurous and dangerous enough going forward, but their defence away from home is pitiful. Fulham scored three without it feeling like they were actually trying; the forward line was like a hot knife through butter.
Burnley's keeper Brian 'the beast' Jensen made a handful of excellent saves, but was pretty culpable for the second and third goals. And once again Fulham enjoyed a few strokes of luck with the first two goals emerging from offside positions, not that these offside positions provided much of an advantage but the letter of the law states both Elm and Zamora were beyond the last man when they set up the strikes. But the goals would have come sooner or later anyway.
It was a welcome starting 11 return for Dickson Etuhu, but everytime I noticed him in the first half it was for doing something wrong. Fortunately he was far more influential in the second half. His presence seemed to give Murphy more confidence to go forward and he was involved in Burnley's penalty area three or four times, including for the opening goal. A good sign. Jonathan Greening even got a belt of a new song about him dying for our sins. Shame he's shaved the beard off now so it doesn't really make sense.
I don't think I've mentioned Schwarzer much recently but that's only because he has set such a high standard and is maintaining it. He's probably player of the season at the moment, edging in front of Bobby Z, Duff and Hughes.
The Burnley fans, like the Pompey fans, were noisy despite what was happening on the pitch. Well actually they only became really noisy after the third went it. A case of if we're here we may as well enjoy ourselves. They played nice football again, so it would be a shame if they don't stay ahead of some of the division's more cynical teams in the relegation battle.
Looking ahead to Shaktar tomorrow night February has so far seen Fulham yet to concede a goal and seven different players contributing to the eight goals scored this month. These are positive portents ahead of what may end up being a very tricky or a surprisingly smooth tie. It depends on how match fit Shaktar are and how much interest Roy Hodgson has in progressing.

Attendance: Just Andy with five empty seats either side

Eight year anniversary

2010-02-09T14:21:00.001Z

A bit of spring cleaning this weekend unearthed the ticket stub from my very first game at Craven Cottage: Fulham v Blackburn eight years ago today. It's interesting to see the old stadium diagram on the back of the ticket. Away fans in the A&B sections of the then Stevenage Road Stand (now Johnny Haynes Stand of course) with the Putney End no longer broken up with a 'neutrals' area.

Of course the old look Craven Cottage used to have a standing area - terracing at the front of Stevenage Road Stand - which is what attracted me to the match in the first place. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to stand and watch as my ticket was bought for me by a work contact (play Namco games, kids) but I was still given a complementary Fulham poncho in case I got wet. I've still got it somewhere, as well as I had no reason to unpack it on the day.
The game itself is an odd one for me. I knew Fulham won, but was a bit fuzzy on the score. I thought it was 2-1 to Fulham, but it turns out the game ended 2-0 to the whites. What I did have a clear memory of was the Blackburn red card. Excpet I thought it was Brett Emerton getting sent off, not Craig Short. And I thought it was much earlier in the game than the 90th minute. I can't remember a thing about the goals scored. reading the match report archived on Fulhamweb, it sounds like a cracking match but none of it rings a bell. All I remember with clarity is a Blackburn player getting a red.
Mind you, the number of times I've had to refer to this very blog to remind myself what happened in a game, what the score was and if I was even at the Cottage for a match, is a little disconcerting. I've started using the site as a virtual football memory.

Fulham 1 - 0 Portsmouth

2010-02-07T21:58:00.004Z

A much welcomed and needed three points against a team which needed them even more but could not find the killer instinct to take what they deserved. Pompey were on top for an hour and their fans (no doubt in gallows humour mode) were even better, but could not make the most of it, which is probably why they are down at the bottom. It appears to be very easy to lose games playing nice football, which is why Roy Hodgson should be commended over the way he has brought relative success to SW6.
This game saw two very welcome debuts - one from a tireless forward who seemed to dribble through defenders rather than around them, the other from a calming influence on the back line - an actual left back. Nicky Shorey's first appearance in a Fulham shirt was remarkably accomplished, both in defence and going forward, and allowed Hughes to return to the centre where he can direct Hangeland. They did look a much more coherent unit in this match than the Villa game, except at right back where Stephen Kelly looks woefully short on confidence, especially when pushing foward. He seems a shadow of the player from two months ago in Basle.
Jonathan Greening, back on the left wing, didn't really offer much attacking impetus, in fact after half an hour he was letting Shorey get on with tearing up field, before becoming an unlikely match winner by placing a deflected Duff cross in the back of the net. Zamora may have been offside (and definitely affecting play) but for once Fulham got the rub of the green and Avram Grant got another grievance to put in his vastly overflowing grievance bag. A lot of people seem to have some sympathy for Pompey and their current plight, but I can't decide where I stand on the situation. The fans seemed happy enough when they were spending beyond their means to win the FA Cup, but there for the grace of Mo go Fulham fans. They know the team is spending beyond their means because it is backed by Al Fayed, but should he sell up - what would happen then?
Goalless at half time, we all reflected on how lucky Fulham were to escape when over the tannoy Diddy David Hamilton read out someone's proposal of marriage. Thankfully the Cottage didn't let anyone down by belting out a quick, traditional burst of 'You don;t know what you're doing' and everything was good with the world.
After an hour of the game (and after Kelly had been subbed) the wind began to change in Fulham's favour and they actually looked like they wanted to win it and could. Before this point, the players were out-muscled and out-fought by a desperate Pompey team. Fulham really do need a clogger and maybe Etuhu can stamp his authority on games again now he is back from the African Nations Cup.
A quick mention of the referee - Anthony Taylor made his Premier League debut in this game and my, what a performance. It was like some promo from Ashes to Ashes as some of the tackles he let go were distinctly of a 1980s flavour. It's likely that's just how games go where he's from - Wythenshaw in Manchester. I used to work in a bookies in Wythenshaw and that was rough as hell, so it's likely he's used to seeing much, much worse. I hope he clamps down a little in the next game he officiates though for the sake of his own career and the careers of some of the footballers on the receiving end of some of the 'legitimate' tackles he's prepared to let go.

Attendance: Me, Jarrod +1

Window shopping

2010-02-01T22:43:00.001Z

OUTS

Diomansy Kamara: What a strange in and out player he was for Fulham. His reputation grew as he was injured/sat on the bench this season, but I think he was more a lucky talisman than a consistently brilliant player. Dio gave me my favourite moment watching Fulham, the last-minute, overhead kick equaliser which managed to lob Paul Robinson from the edge of the box in a scintillating 3-3 draw. It was very much Kamara's introduction that gave Fulham the impetus to avoid the drop during the Great Escape, but all his best work has been away from home so I never really connected with him. I hope he does well in Scotland.

Seol Ki-Hyeon: Another enigma, but one with fair less drive than the man from Senegal. Seol had flattered to deceive as a winger and was even less convincing as an auxiliary forward. He will not be missed, which is why the club could get away with simply terminating his contract.

Chris Smalling: It appears that Smalling's strange signing by Manchester United could be the biggest deal in the January transfer window. I don't think anyone would have expected that. Rumours of £8m up front with another £4m of top-ups mean that most fans completely understand why Fulham have sold up. For United it's an unusual type of deal for them, especially given the fact that Smalling hasn't played many Premier League matches. But he has impressed in Europe, I just didn't think he'd impressed THAT much.
But Smalling's not going until summer so he's still here, like Banquo's ghost only less effective especially when teamed with Hangeland. Fergie must have been squirming in his seat at the Cottage on Saturday after the less than stellar defensive performance on show.

Tony Kallio: I've seen this guy play a handful of games since his arrival, but can't actually remember anything about him. If he can't force his way into a team which has no other fit left backs, you've got to wonder what he's done to annoy Hodgson.

INS

Nicky Shorey: An old, respected name but I'd not realised that he hadn't been playing at Villa and was plying his trade in the Championship for Forest. Desperately needed in the short-term and should provide some competition in the left back position when Konchesky gets fit, something I think is long overdue.

Stefano Okaka: Signed off from Roma in some style with a late, backheeled winner but didn't particularly stand out when playing Fulham in the Europa League, despite scoring the winner in Rome. A shame he is cup tied for Europe though, especially with Kamara moving on.

Christopher Buchtmann: Jokes about his surname aside, all the evidence suggests that this 17-year-old kid is a steal from Liverpool's reserves. £100,000 for a player described as one of UEFA's 'Top 10 Stars of the Future' in May 2009? Fantastic! Knowing Roy he won't even get a game during his 18 month contract. Whatever happened to Giles Barnes?