[Archived] Fulham Preview

[modes98]

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

The key is to free up some funds for a proven goal scorer to come in. You do that and it takes the pressure off Di Santo and Kalinic to score every game.

We played ok today, nothing to write home about. We just looked a lot more organised and wanted to win the game.

Kalinic had nothing to feed off all game, that pass right at the end which anywhere in front of him would have given him a goal but no it was played behind him.

Defence looked stronger and even the midfield, but still think we need to ship some out and get some better players in.

[alexanders]

that pass right at the end which anywhere in front of him would have given him a goal but no it was played behind him.

What a way to try and bring it with him though. This guy has skills.

[Eddie]

Decent performances. Benni played really well, tracked back, was creative...he needs to keep being played. Kalinic and Benni up front looked quite decent. The midfield still wasn't great, but we simply need a better central midfielder in there to run the game. Holiett did when he came on and I think I Olsson was also a positive. Robinson made some good saves, but the back four were lucky to get out of that without Fulham scoring.

Vital three points and hopefully we'll keep playing 4-4-2 and actually try to win games.

[DE.]

Sounds like we got lucky today, but it's about time we had some luck. Considering our current form it was never going to be a confident performance, but it sounds like we rode our luck and for once actually took our chances. Work still needs to be done, but this was a must win game and we won it, so I'm content with that.

Huge result for Sam as well - if we'd lost today he would have been staring into the abyss. Things look a little brighter now, and if we can build on this win in our next 6 games we should be okay.

[Steve Moss]

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.

In seriousness he's playing his proper role, a substitute. Now he needs to work on the skills associated with that limited involvement.

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.

I still think Sam is going to be proven right about Salgado. I think he'll do his job and then some.

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

100% agreed. Though I would prefer Di Santo in place of McCarthy. Maybe I'm being unreasonable, but I think the two youngsters need a run of games together.

You never give up, do You ?

He's positively Terminator-esque.

[RibbleValleyRover]

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.

Overall agree with your brief assessment of Robbo, though he did flap once and on another day it could have cost us.

Defence pretty much agree with what you've said.

Midfield agreed except i think you were harsh on Reidy, i actually thought he had a much better game than N'Zonzi who hasn't looked that great for a few games imo. Still think Reidy has a future here if he can keep fit. Agree that Olsson could be a long term option for our left wing position.

I think your harsh on Niko, i thought his overall work-rate and link up play was superb but he had very little service today. There was the one chance that Hoilett played through but it was a badly weighted pass and Kalinic had no chance, thats all i really remember in terms of Kalinic getting a goalscoring chance.

Benni contributed to both goals, had that shot in the first half plus linked up well with Hoilett but i wouldn't say he was outstanding today. Often gave up possession and a fair few moves broke down with a misplaced pass or fancy flick.

On your formation against Villa it looks ok, not sure about Salgado being there. Almost certain if Dunny is fit he will play there.

[Miker]

Well, I'm off to bed... I can't wait til our next loss to see how many new threads about sacking Sam arise. I should mention that the crowd today seemed a lot better than against Villa, it makes a big difference.

[Plastic Head]

Well, I'm off to bed... I can't wait til our next loss to see how many new threads about sacking Sam arise. I should mention that the crowd today seemed a lot better than against Villa, it makes a big difference.

The only way the Fulham fans were going to outsing us was if they started a chant during a minutes silence.

[1864roverite]

Before we get carried away on a wave of emotion, lets think about how crucial that 3 points is for Rovers.

Fulhams football was far prettier than ours and at times Rovers were cahsign shadows, we just got very fortunate with two defenders scoring goals at crucial times in the game. Just how lucky we were to be 1-0 courtesy of a horrible corner and Samba reacting first to slam the ball home ? Even more so in the second half when Nelsen - a good yard offside for me - scored number 2 !

Lady luck returned to Ewood with a vengence today.

Plenty of positives today but more importantly - the 4-4-2 set up worked. The employment of Reid worked. The introduction of Olsson down the left worked. In fact there are only a few negatives fromt odays game to be concerned about.

Plusses - Olsson worked more than MGP has all season down the left. Strong in the tackle and he runs and runs.

McCarthy must start up front along with Kalinic. He creates when on form although he still does the lazy things good.

Reid - plenty of putting himself about is what we need in the middle.

Kalinic - another good 90 minutes, with a supply line he will score lots of goals.

Hoilett - good cameo - he can beat his man his final ball just needs a little tinkering.

Only negative for me was Sam not heeding my warning pitchside. PLEASE KEEP ANDREWS OFF THE PITCH.

His introduction 20 mins from the end brought some chaos into the middle. If anyone watched him he should have been taking Murphy out of the game. he didnt, he passed backwards and didnt do anything positive.

he mustn start or be int he swaud on wednesday.

great 3 points, 5 more wins required. Same again versus Wigon and were on the way.

[Gogger]

Great result. Finaly some luck.

Didnt hear it on the tv, but did Andrews get bued when he came on? If so its a shame.. Why knock hes confidence even lower?

[joey_big_nose]

Benni contributed to both goals, had that shot in the first half plus linked up well with Hoilett but i wouldn't say he was outstanding today. Often gave up possession and a fair few moves broke down with a misplaced pass or fancy flick.

On your formation against Villa it looks ok, not sure about Salgado being there. Almost certain if Dunny is fit he will play there.

Really? I thought Benni had everything today. Physical(winning the high balls against Hangland!), superb touch, creative, intelligent, great setpiece delivery, worked exceptionally hard. One of his best performaces for us. Shows what has been wasted for the last two years by his attitude and not having the right partner. The vast majority of his flicks worked (not usually the case!) and the keep ball at the end was a joy.

To be honest he looks like a guy, even though he is overweight, who could play for a couple more years.

ReDunn:- If Dunn plays in a 442 I think we will get eaten up. NZonzi/Reid/Grella are all too static to make up for Dunn's own lack of movement. t's probably going to be either McCarthy or Dunn alongside Niko and you would probably have to go on the evidence of that for Benni.

[Darth Paul]

Much improved today - Olsson and Kalinic I thought put a great shift in and when Benni McCarthy is in the kind of mood he was in today with his flicks and tricks then he alone is worth the admission fee.

One sour note - how low does your IQ have to be to boo one of your own players coming on to the pitch as happened to Keith Andrews today. It is bad enough when the morons in the crowd boo players off, but what kind of impact is booing them ON likely to have? Idiots - Ewood Park need more people in it, but we don't need clowns of that mentality. Go and watch Burnley.

[Plastic Head]

A more than welcome win.

Fulham had the better of the chances but seemed to aacept defeat without putting up much of a fight. Once Keith came on I was fearful, but Fulham played the last 10 minutes the same as the first 10.

Thankfully most of their shots on target were straight at Robinson.

Again we never looked like scoring from open play. Thanfully Benni came up with 2 good set pieces (well 1 and a fluke).

Not really that much better than the last few home games but the table looks a lot healthier, for now.

Chimbonda played well I thought.

Benni was the best footballer on the pitch by a mile.

[Amo]

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.

And what does this have to do with anything I said?

We were hardly playing 4-4-2 when Benni was playing so deep. Everyone thinks we had two strikers spear-heading the attack, when McCarthy played the Dunn role today. But because McCarthy is a natural striker, you assume it's still 4-4-2.

[Plastic Head]

Great result. Finaly some luck.

Didnt hear it on the tv, but did Andrews get bued when he came on? If so its a shame.. Why knock hes confidence even lower?

Allardyce was booed for bringing him on.

Confidence is'nt his issue, it's a complete lack of tactical ability and skill.

[brian_gallagher85]

Well said Paul. I'm getting sick of this booing of Andrews because he's either - an Ince signing/came from 2 divisions down/Irish?

He was no worse than Nzonzi today and in truth hasn't been all season in terms of passing and tackling.

I'm sure it won't bother him a bit though as at the end of the day he is finally playing in the Premier League and probably earning as much a week as the fans combined earn in a week

[hollowsr]

Is it just me who doesn't see why we need another striker, I honestly feel that we need a CM much more than we need a striker.

Take today for example the times when Fulham were on top they were winning the ball in the middle of midfield. Nzonzi is looking tired at the minute and all others are injury causes (Grella, Reid, Dunn) or useless (Andrews).

I thought today was the best all round performance I've seen for a good few months and that was because the majority of the game was played on the floor by us, yes there were some punts up field and we did score by two set pieces but we looked much more threatening for more of the game than we have done in ages.

Hopefully Sam will set the stall out similar in the future.

Also some bold predictions Kalinic to be the new Jansen (Hopefully without the motorbikes) and Hoillet to be the new Duff.

[John]

Is it just me who doesn't see why we need another striker, I honestly feel that we need a CM much more than we need a striker.

Agree, unless we sell Benni, then we would need another striker.

Good central midfielder would cost money though, however, to improve on what we currently have got in midfield, would not take much.

[hollowsr]

A more than welcome win.

Fulham had the better of the chances but seemed to aacept defeat without putting up much of a fight. Once Keith came on I was fearful, but Fulham played the last 10 minutes the same as the first 10.

Thankfully most of their shots on target were straight at Robinson.

Again we never looked like scoring from open play. Thanfully Benni came up with 2 good set pieces (well 1 and a fluke).

Not really that much better than the last few home games but the table looks a lot healthier, for now.

Chimbonda played well I thought.

Benni was the best footballer on the pitch by a mile.

Please tell me you're joking! Chimbonda was horrific at times today

[brian_gallagher85]

When/if he starts scoring, Kalinic will be a better player than Jansen ever was. As for the Hoilett/Duff comparison, not for me, his final pass is woeful at times.

[Steve Moss]

Is it just me who doesn't see why we need another striker, I honestly feel that we need a CM much more than we need a striker.

Agreed. We have enough strikers.Infact we need to offload a couple. What we need is a midfield that can create some chances.

[joey_big_nose]

He was no worse than Nzonzi today and in truth hasn't been all season in terms of passing and tackling.

Don't be daft. NZonzi is very guilty of standing off and not closing well, but he doesn't give the ball away. The problem with Keef is he gives it away quite regularly. In the 10 mins he was on for 3 times I think?

It's not sustainable, and even Sam has come round now - prefering Reid and Emerton through the middle in the last few games. His days at Ewood are numbered I think.

However the booing is inexcusable.

[RIML]

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

Well thank you, oh did I enjoy him scoring. He deserved MOTM in my honest opinion, although I thought Samba was just as good, the clumsy challenge in the first half was probably the difference in him not getting the award.

Ryan Nelsen I want your babies

[MarkBRFC71]

Just got back, a much improved performance - BFS has just saved his job.

Credit to him for picking our best two strikers, and actually playing them both up front rather than Benni in the Dunn role. Would he have done this if he wasn't under so much pressure? Guess we'll see but whatever the reason there is absolutely no doubt that if we play positively, we play much better.

Positives:

The formation - 4-4-bloody 2 at last! And football, on the floor far more than usual. Both welcome, and both contributed greatly to the result.

Kalinic - ran his heart out, harried and pressured the Fulham defence for 90 mins. Held the ball up very well, used it intelligently and I can't remember him misplacing a pass. Should be one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Benni - our best player? How on earth Allardyce can consider selling him is incredible. Was at the heart of our best moments, and whipped in some excellent free-kicks.

Olsson - bye bye MGP, we just found someone vastly superior on the left wing than you. Just to blow my own trumpet - didn't I say play him there months ago?

Reid - considering he's not started a match for two years, and excellent performance. Added some steel and energy in the middle that is sadly lacking when Andrews plays. Another who should now start more regularly.

Hmmmm, just realised that the best 4 Rovers players were the ones who just got in the side?

Negatives:

Fulham were a little unlucky, and created plenty themselves. We still got sliced open a few too many times than was comfortable, but some good last ditch defending ans a couple of decent saves kept them out.

Chimbonda - looked like he wasn't concentrating half the time. Has been a bit off the pace for a few games now. I would put Salgado there who would probably add a bit of steel down the right side and is better going forward.

Let's hope we build on this now, and Allardyce sees the light and that positive football is the way forward. Message to Sam - sometimes "The Punters" might just be right .... don't let your arrogance get in the way of admitting you got it wrong, and making the necessary changes.

[Stuart]

Only 21,287 fans at Ewood today

Yes but about 187 of them were Fulham fans.

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

Way to celebrate a victory, Philip

Well said Paul. I'm getting sick of this booing of Andrews because he's either - an Ince signing/came from 2 divisions down/Irish?

He was no worse than Nzonzi today and in truth hasn't been all season in terms of passing and tackling.

I'm sure it won't bother him a bit though as at the end of the day he is finally playing in the Premier League and probably earning as much a week as the fans combined earn in a week

I didn't boo him when he came on but I was worried. It tooks us a few minutes to get our shape and confidence back and we looked to be rocking. I agree with other posters that booing a player on or off the pitch is poor form but this lad should be nowhere near our squad.

Can I also point out, that there is no way that Andrews is being booed because he is Irish and you are way wide of the mark with that suggestion, Brian.

Aside from that, very pleased with 3 points today. We played a lot more football today than of late and I never felt under much of a threat - even when Fulham hit the bar. We looked more solid in defense but still need some better midfielders as we give the ball away far too much. A better team than Fulham might have made more of lapses. Niko looked good today too. Desperately wanted him to get his goal. Topman won't agree but Benni was definitely further forward than Dunn normally is - that is until Andrews came on (with about 20 minutes to go) and we seemed to go more 4-5-1 with Benni on the left.

We'll no doubt have 4 days of negativity prior to Wednesday so for now let's enjoy the victory today and look to the positives...

# Tonight's gonna be a good night# ...