enmac's Content - Page 3

This is from a Fulham fan. Only posting it because much of it makes sense: " I’ve missed our two most recent games (it has been a very busy month so far), but thankfully I didn’t miss our victory today, a great win against a poor Leicester side. You do feel a bit for the hosts, but it’s this sort of fixture that has thrown us in the past - with so many teams competing for the European spaces it’s really terrific to actually win a match and keep pace with the other challengers! Leicester’s poor form is no secret, but the game was almost a procession before Smith-Rowe’s goal. You can never rule out the emotional element of football, and in front of disgruntled support with six straight league defeats on the mind the team looked rather miserable. Fulham were hardly scintillating in this period, moving the ball neatly but lacking serious bite, yet they had control of the game, their possession suffocating Leicester’s willingness to raise their game and sapping energy out of the opposition. Robinson and Iwobi caused problems along the left, requiring Ayew to track back to help Justin maintain Leicester’s right. The move left the hosts in a rather insipid back five, something that piled Leicester players into their final third - at times dumped around their own box - and seldom leaving to mount attacks. We were almost invited to shoot at times - Iwobi sailed along the left and had an effort hit the bar, Smith-Rowe dinked a shot at the end of a nice passing move wide, Bassey and Robinson surged out of defence to strike effort marginally off-target and a litany of crosses had to be scuffled away from goal by scrabbling defenders, sheepish and even dormant in the face of Fulham moves. It was a poor start for Leicester, who had fallen asleep after some early chances for Ayew, and the half-time interval did nothing. It feels more fitting to describe the first phase of the game as transcending the half-time break and spanning up until our opening goal, scored shortly after the restart. Another spell of possession let Robinson, deep in Leicester territory, play the ball to Jimenez, nipping into a deeper left position. His cross curled wide to Wilson, who kept the ball in after its bounce. In doing so he arched the ball centrally to Lukic, whose burst into the box took him beyond Vestergaard, letting him head the ball to his left for Smith-Rowe to bundle into the net. A terrible start to the half - Kristiansen was asleep to Wilson’s position on the right, Vestergaard far too slow to react to Lukic and Faes was a headless sheep in the face of Smith-Rowe’s finish. However, the goal seemed to shake Leicester out of their comatose state. Several players, perhaps revitalised by the changing face of the game, kicked into attacking gear, putting Leicester into dangerous positions and asking questions of a cruising Fulham team. Soumare used his stamina to drive the team out of midfield, winning more battles for his team in the heart of the pitch. El Khannoussi started getting on the ball more too, providing nice link-ups to his attackers. Critically, Mavididi used his pace and trickery to ignite the left, targeting Castagne with his mazy runs and getting Leicester into the box, even forcing Leno into a couple of saves with his efforts. With Vardy finally contesting Andersen and Bassey, and Leicester seeing more of the ball, the game began to look a contest. That is until Ruud van Nistelrooy decided to tweak his team. I was aware there was some discontent with management at the King Power but it was a staggering sight to see his changes, El Khannouss and Winks off for McAteer and Skipp roundly booed, before “you don’t know what you’re doing” serenaded the ground. They were questionable changes - both players, El Khannouss in particular, had switched gears and were involved in several decent Leicester moves. It proved disastrous - throwing on fresh, but unready, players into a hostile, frustrated atmosphere took the pressure off Fulham. We recalibrated our readings of the game, shook Leicester’s momentum off and within a few minutes doubled our lead - Lukic, enjoying a fine game, surged forward, laying the ball off for Smith-Rowe, who fed the ball leftwards to Wilson. The Welshman took a nice cross before Justin could rush back to stop him, looping the ball to the completely open Traore to plant beyond Stolarczyk. It was another hideous concession - Kristiansen again left a country-sized hole for the right-winger to score in - and it cemented Fulham’s position as leaders of the match. We enjoyed ourselves for the rest of the game - I think the second goal sucked the life out of the match for Leicester, who couldn’t find the motivation to spark serious attacks like the first goal did for them, and it was actually our side making the dangerous moves at the end of the game, seeking a third to cap off a brilliant day out. Reply Report ZeeZeeTopFulham ZeeZeeTopFulham 4 hours ago 3 2-0 will be more than enough though, and there are a lot of positive to take from it. The return of Sander Berge has done wonders for our midfield - a titanium shield for our defence, a warrior around the pitch and a player that critically allows Lukic the freedom to playmake effectively. They have to be the most effective pairing in the position - they have the height, strength and legs to keep us secure defensively, and understand each other enough to be flexible when Lukic joins the attack. It was vital today - Lukic’s temperament and vision on the ball was stellar, keeping us ticking in the slower first half, combining nicely for several brilliant moments in the second. But for Muniz’ awkward body position towards the end, he’d have had a stupendous assist from a cross as well. We saw brilliant team goals today too - Smith-Rowe and Traore finished wonderful moves which architected through brilliant spells of passing and movement. I know Leicester aren’t the best team in the division but they are still professional defenders, and their resistance in the first half might have stumped previous Fulham sides. Our tactics, therefore, deserve some credit - be it Robinson taking on Justin, Jimenez and Smith-Rowe dancing themselves around the pitch or Wilson nipping away from defenders into the box we had the players and the patience to take Leicester apart. Traore had a top display today as well, taking Fulham forward with his blistering speed and actually managing to put some of his quality into his ballwork too, with a nice goal to reward his efforts. The range of passing was really effective today as well - Andersen’s return to fitness is vital, as his long-range distribution helps us bypass the midfield, lessening the impact of Soumare’s energetic pressing, and moving the focus of play much quicker. A word for Bernd Leno, too - there were some very important saves in the tighter moments of the game, and his contributions as our keeper can’t ever be ignored. We’ve had some brilliant shot-stoppers at the club - Edwin van der Sar, Mark Schwarzer, even Alphonse Areola for a season - and Leno is continuing the tradition nicely. His early close-range stop against Ayew’s shpt prevented the game taking a different complexion, as did his efforts in Leicester’s resurgence via Mavididi. It meant our backline’s blushes were spared, keeping them motivated for the rest of the game - and what a defence it has become, with Andersen and Bassey bossing the centre and Robinson’s speed cutting out more than a pass or two. Even Castagne looked alright today! However, for as excellent as we were today, there has to be some serious scrutiny on Leicester. It’s a strange set of circumstances for them - they were always likely to get relegated, they lost their manager before the season even started and they’re in a far healthier position in the relegation battle than Southampton, sinking into the abyss at the foot of the table. Yet the vitriol and contempt for their current predicament is tangible. The debacle at the substitution was quite a mess, and really did help swing the game our way - Skipp didn’t do much more than run around and I don’t remember McAteer even touching the ball - but there seem to be deeper problems at the club right now. Defensively, the team is abysmal - it feels harsh to continually single out individuals but Kristiansen is a dreadful left-back, seemingly lost to the responsibilities the position requires and central to critical failures at the core of the team. Faes and Vestergaard is a very bizarre centre-back pairing - perhaps if you could merge the pair into one individual the team would be in better stead, but currently they contribute their worst assets into the defence. Faes is skittish and panic-stricken, which gives you a coin-toss between a decent tackle and a comical error at every moment. Vestergaard has the mobility of a statue and I really don’t think he should be starting matches in a relegation battle, regardless of how much experience he has. Justin is the best defender there but had a gargantuan task stopping Robinson and Iwobi, later Wilson, from besieging his flank. Even with Ayew dropping back, it was a surefire route to goal for Fulham. Reply Report ZeeZeeTopFulham ZeeZeeTopFulham 4 hours ago 2 Such fallibility at the back makes the job harder for everyone else - if you need Ayew to move from RM to RWB, Winks and Soumare to drop into the box to “solidify” and the other attackers putting more energy into their pressing than their own offensives the team naturally falls into a submissive, negative state of mind. The passivity befalling Leicester in the first half wasted almost an hour of time in front of their own fans - they were languid, too afraid to make mistakes at the back, and let themselves be opened up by Fulham, who only had to wait for the inevitably critical mistake. Of course, van Nistelrooy’s coaching does seem to raise questions too. Vardy, legend that he is for Leicester, sticks out quite badly, resorting to bundling into defenders to try and make an impact at one point in this match. He isn’t swift or slick enough to lead this attack, and his magic moments don’t happen frequently enough to justify playing 90 minutes, particularly when a top athlete like Patson Daka sits on the bench. Ayew was effective in moments in the first half, seemingly the only player positioned well enough to cause Fulham troubles at the back, but he had precious little to work with. El Khannouss and Mavididi took an age to spring into action - you wonder what benefit the team has in leaving Buonanotte, a very promising player at Brighton, off the field for so long, especially when he is denied the chance to actually play with the team in full flow. Soumare and Winks is a strange pairing in midfield, too - Winks is a bit pedestrian and needs a team with a positive attacking ethos around him to be effective, perhaps explaining the rather insipid opening spell he played. Then, when he was actually doing alright, van Nistelrooy swapped him from Skipp, a defensive midfielder and almost the opposite of what they needed in the moment! Soumare was the better of the two and had a lot of fight, but needs a partner to match his physicality and work-rates, and probably also some competent centre-backs. It’s a mess for Leicester, who are entrenched in misery and desperately need some good news to lift the club. Can van Nistelrooy win the fans over and cultivate some enthusiasm before it’s too late? He may need to be brave and get his best attackers on the pitch - it may prove a little late in the campaign to salvage a clearly broken defence. Such bravery should extend to this department, actually - as soon as the injuries clear, take some of the obvious underperformers out of the firing line and let fresh legs man the fort. For Fulham though, things look rosy - in good time too, because we’ll need some form to take into two tough matches against the Uniteds of Manchester and Newcastle. Let’s enjoy this victory whilst it’s fresh in the mind!"