I take it this is the general tenor of comments here. I understand the criticism of certain individual plays by EJ, particularly in the first half, but really, other than Simon Davies, EJ is the only guy who did anything. McBride was an invisible man, Dempsey whiffed on a good chance and didn't really create anything. The FSC announcer criticized EJ for not getting to the ball and doing more in the first half, but throughout the whole game, he was the only guy getting into those positions. Add in a nice dribble shot in the second half and the off-ball run that led to Fullham's goal, and you have a solid performance. Things to improve for sure and he needs to put the ball in the net soon, but nothing to be suicidal about.
I think the announcer was dead wrong -- Staltieri didn't go down easily on contact, Gamst-Pederson put his left leg behind Staltieri and then pushed the defender back so that he tripped over it. It wasn't a light push-off, but an illegal trip. And had the shoe been on the other foot, there's no doubt it would've been a penalty.
Good post, Martin. I made a very negative comment at halftime, which was correct, I might add. But, your points are also correct. One implication of what you have written does go to the heart of whether EJ will succeed or not. Nobody has questioned whether or not he gets into good positions. He does. One of my major criticisms has been that he could do so much more often if he worked harder. That said, perhaps he got chewed out during the half, as he seemed to be less reluctant to push things in the second half. The second implication concerns Fulham's ability to play as a team. Right now, they are pretty energetic and are defending well, but the ball control going into the attacking half is pretty darn poor. Way, way too many unforced giveaways and a lack of creativity by midfielders. That has meant the forwards seldom get the ball in a decent position. That's the excuse for McBride and Dempsey. We'll see if EJ continues to find the ball in a positive way. If he can adapt to the PL game, it will be great for the USMNT.
Absolutely correct. And the commentator's remark about the high foot in EJ's face being OK, "because the defender couldn't get the ball any other way," was just laughable.
Unfortunately, in the first half, EJ's constant turnovers more than undid any positive running he might have done. But in the second half, I thought he was a real bright spot. There is no doubt that EJ is on a learning curve. I do think that if he is given another 3-4 games, that EJ will bang in some goals. Not sure he'll get the chance, but that second half showed a glimmer of how Fulham could be successful using EJ and his pace on the counter attack.
If they don't start using two forwards with Bullard, Davies, Dempsey/Seoul (only because Dempsey has looked awful lately), and the scandanavian guy in MF, then they won't score goals and they deserve to go down. I understand the 5 man midfield if you are playing a team that might seriously dominate you in possession and you need the help (like the top 3) ...especially on the road. But we have crossed the line to where three points are needed every opportunity possible. You have to start two forwards. Oh yeah, Danny Murphy was pretty foul yesterday again. Several turnovers deep in his own end. He works his rear end off and does do a lot of dirty work, but he just puts his defenders in some serious jeopardy 1-2 times per game. He can't stay on the field IMHO.
I wouldn't be so sure. There was a lot of contact allowed yesterday. It's just the nature of the league. CRonaldo and Sir Alex are whining about that as well. Phil Thompson said the same thing on mattiegp's clip (OK, I said the very same thing a week ago myself). Personally, I'd play Bouazza a little more and see if he is out of his funk. He was pretty good with Watford last season. I'd play Davies on the right. PS. Off longer highlights, Eddie looked all right, even if his "step on the ball" trick was a little comical.
You and some others, bring up a good point in when comparing him to teammates. Sure, he was involved in the game. But here is the problem: you can say that Dempsey and McBride had bad games, whereas EJ's problems are fundamental. I think Fulham fans saw exactly the Eddie that we've seen ever since the end of his scoring streak with the USMNT. His on the ball play can be pretty bad. He never wins a 1v1 fight for the ball, cannot hold off a defender, and for all his speed he lacks the ability to get inside of his man, turn him, or force him into a bad position. The only pressure he puts on the defense is with his off the ball running. . . . and then he runs to the corner and holds it up. Having said that, he always has about 3-4 sequences per game that are the difference between him getting sent directly to League One and keeping his spot in the starting line-up. And if that near post shot goes in, he makes team of the week. Or you could sum it all up in one word . . . . . enigma. I've always said this, EJ is too meticulous. This allows the defenders to dictate the play instead of the other way around. If he's going to have any success in the EPL, he's going to need to be more of a bastard.
I finally saw highlights on MOTD. From those EJ looked pretty good. I was especially happy about a lot of the runs he was making, either splitting the 2 CBs or cutting in from a diagonal. Certainly more than Fulham have had all year. Also, he was clearly - even in the premiership - brought down.
I think Riley just missed it, and there's no way the far side linesman was going to see the trip through a crowd. I highly doubt it was clearly seen and determined to not be a foul. But guaranteed, if a defender puts his leg behind a forward and then stiff-arms the forward to the ground it doesn't get called, assuming the forward falls like Staltieri.
I will add that this is just like a typical move in judo -- takes very little effort to get a person onto his back when the leverage is correct.
It was pretty much the exact 4-5-1 they've used since January, except with EJ up top. Murphy, Andreason, Bullard in the middle... Davies and someone (Dempsey this time) wide. There have only been two interchangeable slots in the 4-5-1 since January... and forward has been changed the most. Dempsey has been up top, same with Nevland... neither is really much of a target forward, all were isolated. The team doesn't get enough service into the box for McBride to be effective isolated up top... and he obviously doesn't have the speed to make slicing runs. Only reason it looked better was because of Johnson's athleticism and severely underrated performance. The real counter attacks didn't come until McBride and Healy came into the match, and the team was really pressing forward... then you saw the team turn quick with the ball and try to push on at Blackburn. Welcome!
from the players now available, I would use the following formations: -------------niemie/keller (no difference----------- Stal--------Big Norwegian------Hughes-----------Konchesky------- -------------------------Andreasson-------------------------- Davies--------Dempsey-------------Bullard-----------Kamara--- ------------------------McBride----------------------------- This formation is to keep the game scoreless. Hogs has reasonably and rightfully concluded that Fullhard needed to create a defensive team. Kamara has tons of speed and in my opinion plays pretty good defense. He cannot finish, so why not see if he can cross. At the 60 or so minute, I would change to a more attacking line up. EJ for mcbride Move Kamara up top bring in Bouzza on the left I dont think it is a good idea to ever take davies, dempsey or bullard off the pitch. their combination is better than as individuals and each is capable of scoring. Bouzza is no better than a dog. he is horrible, but put his, EJ's and Kamara's speed on the pitch and it will force teams to play back instead of attacking late, as is the usual custom. it also allows davies, bullars and dempsey to use passing ability and perhaps get a score during the run of play.
Drop dempsey, add EJ, and you'd have your best team I think. At least based on how the players have been playing recently.
nah, i think all players slump a bit. They have really asked too much of Dempsey this year by converting him into a striker then having him play alone up top most of the year, now want to pull him back and say, now kid, lets see you shine in your natural position. He's just been shuffled around too often. I do feel however, that Fulham were at their most explosive earlier in the year with two strikers. People forget that this team took leads deep into the second half of a lot of games, they just couldnt hold them. If they can find away to apply that pressure late in games rather than early, I think they might just pull out some wins.
I'd give Bouazza a shot on the left, since he is a natural winger. Stalteri---Hangeland----Hughes----Konchesky -------------------Andreasen--------------- Davies------------Bullard-------------Bouazza ----------McBride----------Johnson----------- Depending on legs, I'd bring in Healy, Nevland, Dempsey or Kamara off the bench. But if McBride struggles to get into the game, I'd consider giving Johnson someone with a decent pace to run with. Nevland seems to be a hard working fella. Maybe he can drop down into a more withdrawn role, if Hodgson wants to clog up the middle.
Everyone here and in the world, other than two managers, would have dropped Murphy months ago. Clearly a case of blindness caused by reputation, rather than level of current play.....
SFS's squad is about right for me. I had assumed Bouazza was injured. Has he been healthy this whole time? If so, Hodgson leaving him out of this anemic side (in terms of creating chances) is criminal.
Bouzza gets beat early and often, skies crosses, bumbles routes and passes, by the 60th minute his only true asset, his speed is all used up. 2 forward system leaves a pretty slow back 4 in need of help, and McBride decides to help out, except the long runs have him winded by the 60th minute when his fresh legs might get on some of Davies crosses. So you are back to square one. Might get a goal early, then watch it disappear down the stretch. Best to start a bit slower, let EJ find his legs (it seems to take 45min), and by the 60th minute start hitting the other team with some fierce counter attacks with your speed players. Condense the game down to those last 30min and you have a change of pulling out some victories.