[Archived] Fulham Preview

[SamTheShrew]

4-4-2 next game

niko and benni

hoillet and olsson down the left

[BPF]

4-4-2 next game

niko and benni

hoillet and olsson down the left

Has to be!

Well, as it stands I'm on course for $500 in prize money.

Very scrappy, not much of an improvement. I don't know if people are seeing my points about the lack of cohesion within the team, but I definitely am. Every time the players try to do something with the ball, they don't read each other well enough and it breaks down. Some very basic mistakes putting us in danger as well. This is a team that can only improve by getting a couple of wins and getting back some of that confidence they have been lacking.

How much did you win Miker?

[bonerdude]

happy with the result but still not happy with sams tactics. We was lucky fulham did not turn up today especially in the first half.......but hey a wins a win and three points more than the dingles eh.

[B.R.F.C]

Lessons to be learnt from today:

1. Play 4-4-2 or something with 2 up front as it works!

2. Reido was superb today and worked very hard...a contender for the starting 11 on Wednesday (must play ahead of Andrews!)

3. We have to play Benni...its common sense

Much improved today and a confidence booster for Wednesday

[Mr. E]

Much needed win.

Fulham will very frustrated to have lost, but then again they were lucky to beat us too.

We didn't play great, but it was still a big improvement from previous efforts. Works wonders when you actually put people on the pitch that can run.

Olsson played some very good stuff, looks nothing like the player that got destroyed by Chelsea earlier in the season. Reid looks to be getting some strength back too.

Kalinic was always running and caused a lot of problems to the Fulham defense, but didn't really get a clear chance to shoot today.

The man who won us the match, however, was Benni McCarthy. Both with the set pieces and that shot that brought the game to life. He was the difference.

[Amo]

Lessons to be learnt from today:

1. Play 4-4-2 or something with 2 up front as it works!

McCarthy played no further up the field than Dunn in mid-week, and we scored through set-pieces (one fortunate). Apart from that, I don't remember us carving many chances for the front-men.

[yoda]

happy with the result but still not happy with sams tactics. We was lucky fulham did not turn up today especially in the first half.......but hey a wins a win and three points more than the dingles eh.

4 points more according to the BBC!

[Dan]

Much much improved! Well done Sam for changing, hopefully you'll learn from this and keep us playing in this style. It wasn't perfect, but showed a lot of good signs. I was watching on my iPhone, so the quality wasn't great and was hard to make out which player was which at times, but didn't I see Hoilett and Benni linking up well in the later stages with some great passing?

Cut out the errors, work on the defending/closing down and continue like this on Wednesday and who knows? Feeling much better about our chances of survival after this, let's hope it wasn't a one off!!

[Bobby G]

Id say we were a tad bit lucky as during key moments, the "luck" favored us. Its about time. But there is a lot of work to be done performance wise and tactics wise. We gave the ball away too much and until Hoilett came on we tried too many long balls.

[deftangel]

Great to get a win. We competed much better this game and defended properly for the most part. That's a big improvement on recent weeks. However, we've failed to create anything of note from open play and this needs to be addressed.

Hoillet did very well in this regard when he came on.

[B.R.F.C]

McCarthy played no further up the field than Dunn in mid-week, and we scored through set-pieces (one fortunate). Apart from that, I don't remember us carving many chances for the front-men.

Bit of nit picking really because he gave Niko support which is something we didn't do midweek.

One fortunate yes but who earned the corner? Benni and his dig from 20 odd yards.

[Miker]

Has to be!

How much did you win Miker?

Nothing I broke even... I should've had more faith in the team winning by more than 1 goal!

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Great to get the 3pts. I think that lifted us to 12th in the league.

As much as I'd rather us have a better midfielder than Andrews coming off the bench, I still find it disgusting when the fans boo him. He's done nothing wrong towards the club and he's just working his socks off to play for the club. Fair play to him for giving his all every game. It's just a shame he isn't a great player but sometimes I wish more of our players had his attitude.

[otto man]

Pride,Passion and Commitment with an addition of passing football and we look like a different team. A huge sigh of relief, as we actually looked as though we wanted this win Off for a few beers to celebrate!

[philipl]

How expensive is that win going to be in the long run?

[joey_big_nose]

4-4-2 next game

niko and benni

hoillet and olsson down the left

Robinson - Outstanding performance

Givet - Okay. Was he injured?

Chimbonda- Good, with a couple of his strange moments of clowning around

Samba- Okay. Six weeks ago he was imperious, now he seems nervy again. Got a goal. Looked hacked off.

Nelsen - Distribution diabolically bad. Everything else outstanding.

Emerton - Did not do much good or bad.

Olsson - Excellent. I would say he looks like a legitmate long term option for the left wing. Has pace and can cross. Wasted and a big vulnerable at left back.

NZonzi- Poor for the first half. Better in second. When he chooses to pass the ball he does it very well, but most of the time he doesn't? Strange. Too static and slow to close down.

Reid- A yard off the pace. Don't see the value in him playing. We need to do better, but I suppose their is a small cahnce we will get the old Reid back.

Kalinic - Deeply average. Fantastic work ethic but did not cause any damage until he won a free kick at the end of the game. A real shame after a superb performance on Tuesday.

McCarthy - Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. Seemed to really thrive on having all the young people around him, particularly Hoilett at the end. Makes you wish we could hold onto him.

Subs.

Hoilett - Frustrating. Good with the ball running at players. Clever, quick and direct. However on the other hand his final ball is literally appalling. Misplaced four through balls in his short cameo. If he could improve that he would be laughing. Big ask though.

Andrews - Standard. Took up good positions to try and get the ball moving and retain possession in front of back four. However passing was wayward and he got few tackles in.

Salgado - Bustling and committed. I think, in the (perpetual) absence of Grella he would make a better partner for NZonzi. As others have said - a little like Savage.

On that basis I would have to say the best team for Villa is probably:-

-------------Kalinic-----McCathy

Olsson----NZonzi----Salgado----Emerton

Givet------Nelsen-----Samba---Chimbonda

-------------------Robinson

Not sure how we fit Dunn in the team.

[Miker]

Much much improved! Well done Sam for changing, hopefully you'll learn from this and keep us playing in this style. It wasn't perfect, but showed a lot of good signs. I was watching on my iPhone, so the quality wasn't great and was hard to make out which player was which at times, but didn't I see Hoilett and Benni linking up well in the later stages with some great passing?

Cut out the errors, work on the defending/closing down and continue like this on Wednesday and who knows? Feeling much better about our chances of survival after this, let's hope it wasn't a one off!!

Come on... the tactics were exactly the same. We scored from set pieces and quite a few of our chances (or rather forays into the opposition's box) actually came from Robinson's punts up field. We scored 2 goals from set pieces. It was in no way a change of tactics/formation. The difference was the players looked more determined for the win and when we had McCarthy, Hoilett and Olsson on the field (some players with skill) we started tearing it up on the left flank. If Sam needs to learn anything then it's that we should keep faith in players like Olsson, Hoilett, Kalinic and McCarthy to create chances and win us games, rather than Diouf, Andrews, Roberts etc.

[brian_gallagher85]

I have to confess that RIML was right and I was rong. By a mile.

Please don't let her hear you saying that.

Only 21,287 fans at Ewood today

Decent turn out really when you consider that Fulham normally all travel up in a mini-bus.

Fingers crossed that Coyle's lot don't get anything against the Gunners in the next few days

[brfc4ever]

McCarthy played no further up the field than Dunn in mid-week, and we scored through set-pieces (one fortunate). Apart from that, I don't remember us carving many chances for the front-men.

You never give up, do You ?

[Bobby G]

How expensive is that win going to be in the long run?

I see what you're saying.

Ill be honest, for me, the performance wasnt that good and people are getting carried away just like some do when we lose. But on the back of a 2-0 win against a top 10 side, can the board take any action? Unless the dressing room is lost, I cant see it. Also, that should mean they should release some money hopefully, and if they do then they HAVE to back the manager until the end of the season.

Key board meeting, but I cant see any way backwards now. Good or bad, we are in it till the end now.

[otto man]

McCarthy played no further up the field than Dunn in mid-week, and we scored through set-pieces (one fortunate). Apart from that, I don't remember us carving many chances for the front-men.

Hey who do you think we are? Chelsea? Be happy with the win and a much improved performance says I

[Steve Moss]

How expensive is that win going to be in the long run?

I understand what you are saying and half agree with it. But let me bask in the warmth for just a little while longer.

On a more serious note, the Rovers have to do well at Aston Villa or the board will (or should) count the win today as a fluke. And 24 points would be a good place to hand the reins to a new manager, if necessary. Which I hope it isn't. Sam's Rovers play looks like a Frankenstein monster sometime, but it will get us over the finish line. If the board decides to sack him, they should wait for the moment of least disruption, which is the final whistle of the 2009-2010 season.

Or better, for health reasons they can promote him upstairs this summer also. Make him chief of scouts or something. He seems good at spotting talent and if we're going to pay him we should get some benefit out of it.

[alexanders]

I think the players seemed very relieved and everyone having a good tone with Sam. I am no so sure that the dressing room is lost.

[otto man]

How expensive is that win going to be in the long run?

Well providing we are able to replicate that performance and result again and again.....Not at all!

[Drunx2002]

One word.....phew!