I was at the game. It was a hard fought draw which was great to watch.....everyone put in a shift and all in all a very very encouraging team performance. One in the eye for those who have been saying we would never see Taylor in a Charlton shirt again......fingers crossed on him staying, at least until the end of the season anyway. Doughty is without doubt one for the future and could have (and indeed should have), been our match winner, however on the night his distribution left much to be desired. Fulham’s Hector is some player by the way. Can’t help but think that if Gallagher was playing we may well have sneaked a goal or two. One real down side was our corner taking....oh boy oh boy, The Dog and Duck Sunday reserve side could do better!
Life’s little preoccupations meant I really wasn’t in the mood last night and, on reflection, should have watched it on telly. But it was my turn to drive so off to the Valley I (not so) jolly well went. To cap it all we had four tourists in the row behind who talked loudly non football related shite relentlessly all night which didn’t help my already intolerant mood. All of which is to say that I was in the sort of mood where the bad things were going to stick in my mind more than the good. Needless to say I didn’t enjoy it much.
You thought that sort of stuff was bad last night? Wait until the bring a friend for free day and football for a fiver day! Then you'll have real reason to complain!
Some of those set pieces last night were laughable - did we manage to deliver a single dangerous one in? The corner in the 2nd half by Ozzy was one of the worst i've seen. My nan could take a better corner
Right. Posting have read all of this and having contributed over on Friends of Fulham. It strikes me that Cottagers fans are a fairly miserable bunch and seem to regard us as a "team like Charlton", which is a bit annoying, so I've put in a couple of gentle reminders that against the top three, we're undefeated!
First - what an excellent point. We are still coming back from injury across the board, and I think that was evident, so I'm pleased that we were able to contain the likes of Cavaleiro and Reid without oodles of trouble. They had the ball and looked neat quite a lot, but we somewhat parked the bus when out of possession, and gave them zero avenues - playing to our strengths on the counter.
Second - what an excellent clean sheet! Phillips will be very happy with that, and I think Pearce played really well considering I've started to suspect he's not quite the tour de force he was in League One. Lockyer was solid, while Purrington had quality mixed in with that terrible concession of possession - Matthews was generally good.
Key to a clean sheet was Cullen. How we've missed him! Our shape is so, SO much better with him in the side, and he's probably our most important player in terms of Bowyer's philosophy. Yes he wasn't quite 100%, but it's a joy seeing him back and completing the 90.
I think Bowyer outclassed Parker. He's a gem of a manager and we are lucky to have him on this longer deal. As classy as Cairney, Arter, and Bryan are, we did really well to show them away from goal on their favoured left pegs. This led to frustration (as is rightly pointed out above) and attacks rarely coming to fruition. I never felt as if we were going to seriously concede. Parker didn't adapt shape to target our weak spots, nor philosophy. Reid and Cavaleiro were sort of aimless up top.
As for the rest of it - Williams and Taylor changed our attacking shape immeasurably for the better when they came on. Oztumer fluffed lines a couple of times but put in a great shift - same with Hemed, who's getting fitter bit by bit, but maybe has had so long off that he's not quite going to recapture what he was like as a threat for Brighton. Doughty is class; Pratley is a warrior; Morgan needs work but can't fault his effort whatsoever.
Great attacking substitutions.
Happy with this - if we can maintain fitness and match fitness with our current crop, we'll be okay, but I'd love to see a tad more strength in depth.
Some of those set pieces last night were laughable - did we manage to deliver a single dangerous one in? The corner in the 2nd half by Ozzy was one of the worst i've seen. My nan could take a better corner
I long for the days of Paul Mortimer corners and Yann Kermorgant free kicks...
I know statistically the chances of scoring from a corner aren't good in any normal circumstances but at least try and make them look dangerous.
Life’s little preoccupations meant I really wasn’t in the mood last night and, on reflection, should have watched it on telly. But it was my turn to drive so off to the Valley I (not so) jolly well went. To cap it all we had four tourists in the row behind who talked loudly non football related shite relentlessly all night which didn’t help my already intolerant mood. All of which is to say that I was in the sort of mood where the bad things were going to stick in my mind more than the good. Needless to say I didn’t enjoy it much.
You thought that sort of stuff was bad last night? Wait until the bring a friend for free day and football for a fiver day! Then you'll have real reason to complain!
Alfie Doughty can't 'alf shift, reminds me of a young Lenny Glover. Amused to see the the gap doubling every few strides as Harry Arter chased him down the right. Even more amusing when Arter gave it up, probably through embarrassment.
Not sure why Phillips takes free kicks outside his penalty area, it's not as though there is a net gain if 25 percent go straight into touch.
Some of those set pieces last night were laughable - did we manage to deliver a single dangerous one in? The corner in the 2nd half by Ozzy was one of the worst i've seen. My nan could take a better corner
Was a tribute to the Roland era by paying homage to Ceballos' corner @ Derby
poor game but we got a point .. good to see Cullen back, Hemed starting and the defence looking more solid than of late .. we were fortunate that Mitrovic and Knockaert weren't fit .. hopefully the squad has settled down with the manager's future assured and that this is the start of a revival for the rest of the season
Some of those set pieces last night were laughable - did we manage to deliver a single dangerous one in? The corner in the 2nd half by Ozzy was one of the worst i've seen. My nan could take a better corner
Was a tribute to the Roland era by paying homage to Ceballos' corner @ Derby
Some of those set pieces last night were laughable - did we manage to deliver a single dangerous one in? The corner in the 2nd half by Ozzy was one of the worst i've seen. My nan could take a better corner
Was a tribute to the Roland era by paying homage to Ceballos' corner @ Derby
Ceballos' corner is still the worst I've seen.
Yeah went out of play after an even shorter distance compared to yesterday - To be fair I get what Oztumer was trying to do, low drive ball with Taylor (?) running to the front post to squeeze it between that and the 'keeper
Of course requires accuracy which was missing yesterday - Can be forgive both Erhun and Josh as they're rusty, not sure the excuse can be used going forward
Great to see so many positive comments on here. Just one thing to add - the importance of confidence. As the game approached I was fearing a bit of a tonking but when I saw the line up, and the much stronger bench, I suddenly felt much more optimistic that we might get at least a point. If that can happen to a fan, just imagine what it's like for the players. For the last several weeks they've been on a hiding to nothing, too many youngsters (as good as they are individually), half the first eleven in the treatment room. The players coming back will have given every other player a massive confidence boost last night and it really showed.
Great to see so many positive comments on here. Just one thing to add - the importance of confidence. As the game approached I was fearing a bit of a tonking but when I saw the line up, and the much stronger bench, I suddenly felt much more optimistic that we might get at least a point. If that can happen to a fan, just imagine what it's like for the players. For the last several weeks they've been on a hiding to nothing, too many youngsters (as good as they are individually), half the first eleven in the treatment room. The players coming back will have given every other player a massive confidence boost last night and it really showed.
I actually thought we could nick it at the end. Once Taylor and Williams were on and we started to close their players down they looked a lot less confident and more prone to mistakes.
Great to see so many positive comments on here. Just one thing to add - the importance of confidence. As the game approached I was fearing a bit of a tonking but when I saw the line up, and the much stronger bench, I suddenly felt much more optimistic that we might get at least a point. If that can happen to a fan, just imagine what it's like for the players. For the last several weeks they've been on a hiding to nothing, too many youngsters (as good as they are individually), half the first eleven in the treatment room. The players coming back will have given every other player a massive confidence boost last night and it really showed.
I actually thought we could nick it at the end. Once Taylor and Williams were on and we started to close their players down they looked a lot less confident and more prone to mistakes.
Agreed... Had that been a few weeks ago Id have been nervously looking at the clock to see how long we had to hold on - Last night I was nervously checking to see how much time was left to grab a winner
Alfie Doughty can't 'alf shift, reminds me of a young Lenny Glover. Amused to see the the gap doubling every few strides as Harry Arter chased him down the right. Even more amusing when Arter gave it up, probably through embarrassment.
Not sure why Phillips takes free kicks outside his penalty area, it's not as though there is a net gain if 25 percent go straight into touch.
Alfie Doughty can't 'alf shift, reminds me of a young Lenny Glover. Amused to see the the gap doubling every few strides as Harry Arter chased him down the right. Even more amusing when Arter gave it up, probably through embarrassment.
Not sure why Phillips takes free kicks outside his penalty area, it's not as though there is a net gain if 25 percent go straight into touch.
Based upon that performance and if we add a bit more quality into the squad before Friday week, I see no reason why we can’t finish the season strongly and move up the table.
Our disappointing form of the last sixteen matches may have gradually changed into something much better during last night’s game. For the first twenty minutes I thought we looked poor, and we were chasing shows all over the pitch. What possession we had petered out, and a Fulham goal seemed like an inevitability.
But very gradually we improved, as Fulham became frustrated by their failure to capitalise on their dominance. Bowyer’s attacking substitutions set the tone for the rest of the match, and let’s hope, the rest of the season, both on the pitch, and hopefully here on CL.
Cullen, Taylor, Williams. May they play together often.
I just don't see it in Hemed. He has no speed and I don't see any urgency in his play. Josh Davison looks stronger with his back to goal than Hemed. I appreciate he is up top on his own and not getting much help but he is a typical Duchatelet era signing. This is what we can get with the money we've got, i.e. not much.
Hemed has proved with other teams he can do it. Think he was thrown in when he was un-fit and as such, he struggled & eventually got injured.
Full rehab and eventual match fitness and he will look like a different player. He already is tbf.
Alfie Doughty can't 'alf shift, reminds me of a young Lenny Glover. Amused to see the the gap doubling every few strides as Harry Arter chased him down the right. Even more amusing when Arter gave it up, probably through embarrassment.
Not sure why Phillips takes free kicks outside his penalty area, it's not as though there is a net gain if 25 percent go straight into touch.
Time wasting dear boy
I watched Italy v Sweden in a world cup qualifier a couple of years ago. The Italians had about 80% possession and the Swedes just wanted to cling to their first leg advantage. Every Swedish goal kick was put out for a throw as it wastes more time. The funniest part was a theatrical save by the Swedish keeper -after the ball had gone out and bounced back in..
Expected a tonking so treated last night's game like a victory. Thought our atmosphere was first class and fulham's poor, but as I'm in H block Covered End I'm in the middle of it which distorts your perspective. Kept a Hammers mate company at the London Stadium last Saturday. Both sets of fans really quiet, and nothing like the noise you get at any Championship game I've been to this season. They try hard but singing sections too spread out amongst the tourists. But I doubt they would sing their side off after a 0-0 like we did.
Attendance down as a rearranged fixture plus not on a Saturday and some watch on the red button.Next two home matches need too get down the Valley.
I thought the attendance not bad considering. The Covered end was on fine form and no Adams family made it better.
Your sister is your mother Your father is your brother You're moaning about Brexit over an organic coffee in that lovely new Peruvian cafe in Putney, with one another The Fulham family
Expected a tonking so treated last night's game like a victory. Thought our atmosphere was first class and fulham's poor, but as I'm in H block Covered End I'm in the middle of it which distorts your perspective. Kept a Hammers mate company at the London Stadium last Saturday. Both sets of fans really quiet, and nothing like the noise you get at any Championship game I've been to this season. They try hard but singing sections too spread out amongst the tourists. But I doubt they would sing their side off after a 0-0 like we did.
In the first half I thought the Fulham fans actually outsung the CE, but with a pretty dismal repertoire of songs
Subs: Amos, Solly, Sarr, Morgan, Williams, Green, Taylor (would Oshilaja be in there somewhere? Probably)
Yep in my formation I have forced Aneke to play up top with Hemed. I think Hemed needs someone alongside him and this would enable Lyle to change the game more coming on for Hemed or Aneke later.
I have also switched out Williams for Oztumer as I think having the ability to complete change our style of midget helped us hugely, Fulham like many others don't know how to handle an energetic Williams as they tire.
I still don't really rate Oztumer, but he is another that is only just returning from injury so like Hemed and Aneke he also gets some time.
Comments
It was a hard fought draw which was great to watch.....everyone put in a shift and all in all a very very encouraging team performance.
One in the eye for those who have been saying we would never see Taylor in a Charlton shirt again......fingers crossed on him staying, at least until the end of the season anyway.
Doughty is without doubt one for the future and could have (and indeed should have), been our match winner, however on the night his distribution left much to be desired.
Fulham’s Hector is some player by the way.
Can’t help but think that if Gallagher was playing we may well have sneaked a goal or two.
One real down side was our corner taking....oh boy oh boy, The Dog and Duck Sunday reserve side could do better!
First - what an excellent point. We are still coming back from injury across the board, and I think that was evident, so I'm pleased that we were able to contain the likes of Cavaleiro and Reid without oodles of trouble. They had the ball and looked neat quite a lot, but we somewhat parked the bus when out of possession, and gave them zero avenues - playing to our strengths on the counter.
Second - what an excellent clean sheet! Phillips will be very happy with that, and I think Pearce played really well considering I've started to suspect he's not quite the tour de force he was in League One. Lockyer was solid, while Purrington had quality mixed in with that terrible concession of possession - Matthews was generally good.
Key to a clean sheet was Cullen. How we've missed him! Our shape is so, SO much better with him in the side, and he's probably our most important player in terms of Bowyer's philosophy. Yes he wasn't quite 100%, but it's a joy seeing him back and completing the 90.
I think Bowyer outclassed Parker. He's a gem of a manager and we are lucky to have him on this longer deal. As classy as Cairney, Arter, and Bryan are, we did really well to show them away from goal on their favoured left pegs. This led to frustration (as is rightly pointed out above) and attacks rarely coming to fruition. I never felt as if we were going to seriously concede. Parker didn't adapt shape to target our weak spots, nor philosophy. Reid and Cavaleiro were sort of aimless up top.
As for the rest of it - Williams and Taylor changed our attacking shape immeasurably for the better when they came on. Oztumer fluffed lines a couple of times but put in a great shift - same with Hemed, who's getting fitter bit by bit, but maybe has had so long off that he's not quite going to recapture what he was like as a threat for Brighton. Doughty is class; Pratley is a warrior; Morgan needs work but can't fault his effort whatsoever.
Great attacking substitutions.
Happy with this - if we can maintain fitness and match fitness with our current crop, we'll be okay, but I'd love to see a tad more strength in depth.
COYR!
I long for the days of Paul Mortimer corners and Yann Kermorgant free kicks...
I know statistically the chances of scoring from a corner aren't good in any normal circumstances but at least try and make them look dangerous.
Alfie Doughty can't 'alf shift, reminds me of a young Lenny Glover. Amused to see the the gap doubling every few strides as Harry Arter chased him down the right. Even more amusing when Arter gave it up, probably through embarrassment.
Not sure why Phillips takes free kicks outside his penalty area, it's not as though there is a net gain if 25 percent go straight into touch.
Michael Hector has had a bizarre career. At Reading he had 11 loan spells, then went he went to Chelsea he then had 4 further loan spells
So far he's played for 17 clubs at the age of 27!
Of course requires accuracy which was missing yesterday - Can be forgive both Erhun and Josh as they're rusty, not sure the excuse can be used going forward
Cullen, Taylor, Williams. May they play together often.
Not sure that final paragraph to the match report makes sense. Spot the not so deliberate mistake!!
Your father is your brother
You're moaning about Brexit over an organic coffee in that lovely new Peruvian cafe in Putney, with one another
The Fulham family
They were quiet in the second half though
Subs: Amos, Solly, Sarr, Morgan, Oztumer, Green, Aneke?
As much as I like the idea of this leaves us with no one that can really change our game up. Had to assume your bench a bit here.
I think a better side realistically would be:
Matthews | Lockyer | Pearce | Purrington
Pratley
Cullen | Doughty
Oztumer
Aneke | Hemed
Subs: Amos, Solly, Sarr, Morgan, Williams, Green, Taylor (would Oshilaja be in there somewhere? Probably)
Yep in my formation I have forced Aneke to play up top with Hemed.
I think Hemed needs someone alongside him and this would enable Lyle to change the game more coming on for Hemed or Aneke later.
I have also switched out Williams for Oztumer as I think having the ability to complete change our style of midget helped us hugely, Fulham like many others don't know how to handle an energetic Williams as they tire.
I still don't really rate Oztumer, but he is another that is only just returning from injury so like Hemed and Aneke he also gets some time.