Why doesn't coleman

[Ender]

Has anyone else noticed during the past few weeks that Steed has been dispossesing his own team in the midfield? Then, in the waning moments of the match, Cookie replaces him with TR as a withdrawn forward, or attacking midfielder. Inevitably, this has led to goals in the first five minutes of play following the substitution. Granted, Fulham needed the goals as they were down a goal, but why not start the game this way? It may be a far more attacking style than they have played, but it seems to work. Many people have suggested that Fulham are not the class that they were last year as they lost Saha. While I am sure this has an impact, I will maintain from the handful of matches I have seen that they have trouble possesing the ball in the midfield like they did last year. What sort of lineup would you like to see Cookie use? I am going to think it over and post in a bit.

[therealronaldo7]

Has anyone else noticed during the past few weeks that Steed has been dispossesing his own team in the midfield? Then, in the waning moments of the match, Cookie replaces him with TR as a withdrawn forward, or attacking midfielder. Inevitably, this has led to goals in the first five minutes of play following the substitution. Granted, Fulham needed the goals as they were down a goal, but why not start the game this way? It may be a far more attacking style than they have played, but it seems to work. Many people have suggested that Fulham are not the class that they were last year as they lost Saha. While I am sure this has an impact, I will maintain from the handful of matches I have seen that they have trouble possesing the ball in the midfield like they did last year. What sort of lineup would you like to see Cookie use? I am going to think it over and post in a bit.
Steed Malbranque has definitely not been in top form the last month or two. Compared to last year, Steed is a mere figment of his old self. Why this is, I do not know. What I will say is that the problems in the midfield are not necessarily all Steed's fault. If you look at the OPTA statistics for the season, you will find Fulham the worse rated passing team in the Premiership. They only complete 68% of their passes. That is terrible. While everyone seems to be a big fan of Diop, I am still skeptical of his abilities in the midfield. His shooting is top notch, but his tackling and passing are things that need to be worked on.
To be fair, injuries have really hurt this team. When Chris Coleman bought Claus Jensen in the offseason it was expected that he would add a new dimension to the midfield. He has been injured for more games than he has played.
As for the question of the lineup and formation, the 4-4-2 is the formation that Fulham needs to play. They do not seem to have a striker that can play the lone role in the 4-5-1 the way Saha did. If and when people are healthy, I would like to see Jensen, Diop, Malbranque and Boa Morte in the midfield. Up front I would like to see Collins John get more time as he is still very young and has a lot of potential. Andy Cole, Brian McBride and even Tomasz Radzinksi would all do well too.
In terms of what you are saying about Radzinksi, he is a quality player in the last two matches has looked good. However, if everyone is healthy, I do not think he is one of the starting XI. Now, the chances of Fulham ever being completely healthy are very slim. There always seem to be people in the training room.
In all honesty, I think your criticism of Malbranque is jumping the gun a bit. Indeed he has not played well as of late, but I think he will find his form in the second half of the season. Hopefully it will still be with Fulham. Steed is a part of the long term solution for Fulham, not a part of the problem.
Fulham definitely needs to improve in a lot of areas. Nobody has knocked my socks off consistently this season in any position.
I am confident however that Coleman and Fulham will right the ship and have a good second haldf. Our January fixture list includes Palace, West Brom, Soutnhampton and Birmingham City. January will be a defining month for Fulham. I just hope the squad is healthy for that critical stretch. Players need to be pushed by other players in practice. With so many injured of late complacency has crept into the team it seems.
I have faith in Cookie and Fulham!