Fulham v Leicester - Pre-match thread (August 24th)

[StriderHiryu]

29 minutes ago, OntarioFox said:

That Fulham game was the final nail in the coffin - after a bit of promise and improved performances, Smith took us there and decided to play peak Rodgersball against a team well-known for pace, pressing and overloads at the time. We got absolutely destroyed.

I'm hoping it will be very different this time - second half on Monday was definitely the blueprint. These are no mugs though, and will be looking to respond after performing well but coming out with nothing against a jammy Man Utd. side. We'll have to stay switched on and ride our luck a bit, then aim to play through their lines like we increasingly did against Spurs. I'd take another draw but this is winnable with the right application.

Great insights! I might have to hire you for my channel

[Les-TA-Jon]

1 hour ago, hejammy said:

 "I was close to being convinced we were adding two attacking players, but it didn’t play out as we hoped.”

 

“I think we’re close, but we’ve been closer than we feel today"

 

These two lines make me very nervous - basically saying, until the fat lady sings, there's every possibility Rudders can F it up

I mean, that's self evident? There's nothing new there. 

 

We need signings. Until they're confirmed, they're not confirmed. We have until the window closes. Simple as that. 

[don_danbury]

just took a look at forest's away results under him in the prem. 1 away win in the whole season, and that was against relegated southampton. i hope it's better here

[ClaphamFox]

4 minutes ago, don_danbury said:

just took a look at forest's away results under him in the prem. 1 away win in the whole season, and that was against relegated southampton. i hope it's better here

Cooper's failure to get Forest to perform away from home in the PL is the biggest black mark on his managerial record. He never found a solution for it and it ultimately cost him his job. Apparently he spent his time after leaving Forest scrutinising every aspect of his managerial record in a bid to improve it. You'd have to assume that learning how to set teams up away from home was a key part of that.

[supernuk]

I think we win this 👀

[Jakemoore]

Where are the bulk of fans aiming to drink pre-game Saturday?

[ChrisFilter]

I reckon I’ll have a cup of tea in the living room. 

[Allenho11]

I don’t think Cooper will change the team, but my team would be:

 

Mads

Justin

Faes

Vesty

Krist

Winks

Ricardo

Goodnight

Mav

Fats

Vardo

[Nick]

Picking up six draws ordinarily would be an okay result for a relegation threatened team in the opening six games but with a circa 6 point reduction looming we need a few wins early doors to ease the pain of being rock bottom by a margin when it comes.

 

 

[FoxesTalker]

First league away game since Preston of course. It's obviously going to be difficult to replicate the away end that night, but hopefully it can be looked upon as the new standard. Let's get close to that again.

[Paninistickers]

1 hour ago, Nick said:

Picking up six draws ordinarily would be an okay result for a relegation threatened team in the opening six games but with a circa 6 point reduction looming we need a few wins early doors to ease the pain of being rock bottom by a margin when it comes.

 

 

Nah, nice and steady.....you only have to be out of the relegation spaces in the last day. 

 

We're aiming for about 46/47points this season, a steady 6 from 6 will give us a platform for that total

[CrazyKopCorner]

13 hours ago, supernuk said:

I think we win this 👀

I'll have what you're taking 

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Is Castagne a bench warmer for them now? Would be a shame if Fatawu doesn't get the chance to embarrass him.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

Just now, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Is Castagne a bench warmer for them now? Would be a shame if Fatawu doesn't get the chance to embarrass him.

Wrong side?

[Blanchflower78]

Same side from us I'd imagine with Skipp on bench and possibly Ayew if done in time

[AKCJ]

9 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Is Castagne a bench warmer for them now? Would be a shame if Fatawu doesn't get the chance to embarrass him.

They have three fullbacks with Tete on the right, Robinson on the left and Castagne as the utility man for both sides.

[StriderHiryu]

Match Preview Time!

 

 

After getting a point and having an impressive performance against Spurs, will Cooper keep the same lineup, or change it slightly?

 

 

I could see the manager drop Bobby Reid, who was probably our worst performer, to bring in Skipp next to Winks instead. This would allow Ndidi to push up higher where he could help press the opposition. Given Fulham love to play out from the back, having him up high has benefits, and in a game that could be a battle of who transitions better, it could be a difference maker.

 

 

A feature of Fulham's play is the use of triangles and rotations. Different players can attack down the wing, trying to draw players our of position so someone can get a run in behind for a cut back.

 

 

^ Here we can see Antonee Robinson combining with his team mates before driving down the line after attracting several players towards him who pressed him.

 

 

Assuming he keeps his place, Viktor Kristiansen vs Adama Traore will be a key battle in the game. Traore used to give Chilwell a torrid time when he played for Wolves, so we know full well what he can do. Given Kristiansen pushes up in our system, on the transition, Fulham will attack the space in behind him and he has the power and pace to give anyone a problem. Wout Faes may be crucial to move across and help out if needed.

 

 

^ Up against Noussair Mazraoui who had signed from Bayern Munich, Traore powered his way past him on multiple occasions and almost setup a goal several times.

 

 

^ Emile Smith-Rowe joined Fulham in the summer and has already looked good for him. He's acting as a real box-crasher, supporting the attack by arriving late. This is something Winks and whoever partners him will have to keep an eye on. However, he may also present an opportunity for us to explot. Fulham also like to use him to build the play, so if we can rob the ball from him, we can start our own attacks.

 

I'm going for a 2-2, but really I have no idea how this will go! I'd expect a pretty even game, and the way we played in the second hlaf against Spurs was really positive. I think the game will come down to who is better on transition, I think it's likely the goals will come from losing the ball when attacking rather than creating something organically, but both teams have quality to mean that might not be the case. Fulham losing Palinha is a big miss, and though they signed Sander Berge, he's nowhere near the same level of quality.

 

A win here would really make us optimistic for the season, despite the points deduction, as Fulham comfortably stayed up last season.

[les-tah]

On memory Justin was pretty good against Adama last time they faced off so if we keep same team hope VK has it in him.

[filbertway]

I do wonder why journalists waste their few questions asking managers about potential transfers. You may as well ask questions where you will likely get some insight.

 

Enjoying the way Cooper speaks, seems like he puts a big emphasis on strong mentality and not giving up in games, which is something that fans can really identify with.

 

[lcfcell]

Stating the obvious I know but if we could grab a win here it would be massive. We need to get into a good run of form as soon as possible. Momentum will be so key this season. 

[LeePhilpottsBaldSpot]

Is Skipp available to play?

 

Maybe even if eligible he'll be a sub while he builds up fitness, but as he knows Winks already I'd be tempted to start him straight away.

 

Hermansen

Pereira Faes Veste Justin

Winks Skipp

Fatawu Buononatte Mavididi

Vardy

 

Not confident for this one, but hoping for a good performance!

[adejo92]

Thought Fulham looked decent against Man Utd in their last game but nothing 'amazing'

 

It's hard to tell this early in the season but these are the kind of teams that you atleast need to get something from if you want a decent chance at survival.

[coolhandfox]

5 hours ago, Nick said:

Picking up six draws ordinarily would be an okay result for a relegation threatened team in the opening six games but with a circa 6 point reduction looming we need a few wins early doors to ease the pain of being rock bottom by a margin when it comes.

 

 

Before last season, in 28 seasons when the Premier League had 20 clubs, the team finishing 18th—the highest to go down—had averaged 35.2 points.

 

So, on average, 36 points have been enough to stay up.

 

If we get a 6-point deduction, we need to get around 42 points.

 

I always like to approach it in 10-game chunks. If we could get 11 points from each of the first three 10-game chunks, we would need 9 from the last 8 games. 

 

 

 

 

[Dan]

Think they're a decent side to catch early given they've just lost their 'glue' in Palhinha. Do think Silva's teams often play above the sum of their parts though. I quite like him. He achieves this while playing pretty entertaining stuff.

 

Cooper's got to have improved his away form substantially since Forest. 13 points away in 28 games is absolutely woeful.

 

I think narrow loss. 2-1 or something. Would take a point but these are one of the more beatable teams you would imagine.

 

Never feel like we do very well against Fulham.

[foxfanazer]

52 minutes ago, adejo92 said:

Thought Fulham looked decent against Man Utd in their last game but nothing 'amazing'

 

It's hard to tell this early in the season but these are the kind of teams that you atleast need to get something from if you want a decent chance at survival.

Second half us from the Spurs game gives them a test. First half us gets beaten