I can't see them winning this one, Man Utd will be keen to try and keep pace with Chelsea who only after two games are already in a pretty formidable postion. I think Dempsey may start this one, he's bound to be given a full run out sooner rather than later to have his chance to impress Hughes. I don't think Eddie Johnson will make the roster.
Javier Hernandez is starting for Manchester United. Man U: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Vidic, Evans, Evra; Valencia, Fletcher, Scholes, Park; Berbatov, Hernandez Substitutes: Kuszczak, Rafael, Smalling, Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Owen. No news on the Fulham lineup yet however.
Dempsey is starting according to the Man U forum on Bigsoccer, which got their information I believe from ManU TV. Fulham: Stockdale; Paintsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Konchesky; Davies, Etuhu, Murphy, Duff; Dempsey, Zamora Subs: Zuberbuhler, Kelly, Gera, Riise, Greening, Baird, Dembele
This might be the first Fulham match where Dempsey starts alongside a target man instead of being the target man. But Dempsey has been there for several years now so I might be forgetting 1 or 2 matches.
I really hate to say this, but Gera, two years running has played his best 2 games against ManU. I would like to see him come off the bench. Dempsey is playing #2 striker which at this point should go to Davies.
i got a good feeling about this one, and you guys know what happened when i had a good feeling about this fixture last year at Craven Cottage
Eddies only chance to show his worth is going to be mid-week vs Port Vale... it is clear that Hughes like Hodgson does not see him as an answer for the late sub role... Hope Clint bangs em in today....have a feeling that the Whites are in for a stuffing though... 1-3 Manure even without Rooney...
I think if Dempsey were competing with Gera for a spot on the wing he'd be favoured, but Gera IMO has proven the better player than Dempsey in the postion just behind Zamora. Davies, though a pretty decdent goalscorer, is not a striker at all and certainly much less of one than Dempsey. Plus one of his main utlities to the team is his abilty to whip balls in from the wings. You'd never put Dempsey on the wing and Davies upfront.
I think Johnson is out of the equation entirely, he make the bench in a league game this year, but the chances of him getting league minutes are pretty slim.
Dunno about this. Man U rarely plays great at Fulham in recent years. Javier's been living in a bubble, IMO, and sooner or later the strength of the league will be made clear to him and he will have to adjust. Taking nothing away from Javier- who I love watching, and am rooting for- I just don't think a transition to the Prem is this easy. I think Man U will have difficulty scoring today, barring Stockdale playing a howler
I called for Gera to be moved from RM to #2 striker five or six matches before Hodgs did it and to great effect. Davies has tremendous control of the ball, is clever, and a very good passer what he is not anymore is strong enough to win 50/50 balls at midfield or muscle players into the center of the pitch so they cant get in the cross. That is a Dempsey specialty. All the evidence you need of Davies being a goal scorer is that match against Hamburg. Unfortunately, Sparky, much like a lot of people is not able to see that players and situations change and you need to change with them.
I also don't think Scholes can keep up these Man-of-the-Match performances. He will revert to the mean, and I think that starts today. Fulham 2 Man U 1
Davies is an out and out winger; and EJ is about sixth choice then at this point-- behind zamora, clint, gera, dembele, and Elm. And that's not counting Kamara and Andy Johnson.
Sure, I get it. Just like Gera was a winger until Hodgs decided to move him to #2. Here is another one that worked, Baird as dmid instead of CB or RB. Another thing I would do, eventually is change fulham to a 4-3-3. They have a lot of very good football players who are veterans and pretty much interchangeable across the front. There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio...
Perhaps if Dempsey can do well and get a protracted stay in this postion he can excel there. I think after all this time at Fulham he is still suffering from not having a settled postion. When it comes to goal scoring he has a natural strikers instinct, but when it comes to the other things like holding the ball up, laying it back, etc he doesn't have a strikers instinct. Anyway game has started so we'll see. Bear in mind 6-0 is the mode average score (I think) in the Premiership this season...
But you also have to remember Gera had played upfront before he came to Fulham, it was hardly a radical move by Hodgson. Davies upfront would be totally leftfield.
The difference is Davies has played nearly 10 years in the Premier League as a winger. Gera had played 1 previous season in the PL and he actually was an attacking midfielder for West Brom.
Duff on the left and Davies on teh right, again, another obvious show that Sparky has no imagination as a manager. I never appreciated the fact that Hodgs in his own way was pretty unconventional.