Poor Result

[ChesterTheTabby]

Should have won and Brighton somehow continue on to an 18 game unbeaten run...I hate to say that no matter how much I love this team and I think that this team has all the potential in the world, if they can't score their chances (especially PKs) then we are no better than 10th -7th this year. A huge improvement none the less but you hate to see such a powerful squad dwarfed by poor refereeing, poor penalty kicks, and lack of clinical finishing.

[Fulham 442]

How many penalties have we missed this season out of those awarded?  I think we have been given 5 and scored just 1?

[Woolly Mammoth]

Should have won and Brighton somehow continue on to an 18 game unbeaten run...I hate to say that no matter how much I love this team and I think that this team has all the potential in the world, if they can't score their chances (especially PKs) then we are no better than 10th -7th this year. A huge improvement none the less but you hate to see such a powerful squad dwarfed by poor refereeing, poor penalty kicks, and lack of clinical finishing.

Absolutely, very dissapointing. 

[Fulham Tup North]

We paid the Penalty for our Penalty!!!

[Lighthouse]

The story of the season, when it is written. Will indeed show that we didn't finish teams off when we were on top. But the umpteen penalty misses just makes this season feel worse. A defining two minutes of our season? We shall see. But suddenly we have a crises of a player refusing to play and a team refusing to win when they are on top. Big January or we may well decide that this season isn't worth the big investment and we will have the excuses of a January being hard to do business in.

But a powerful squad it isn't. Lacks strength in many positions. Especially up front.

[westcliff white]

Penalty killed us and the chop and changing up front means we cant play the way we want. Need to resolve the Striker thing asap

[MikeW]

I've seen Brighton a few times on tv and having listened this pm I take solace in the fact that if they go up not one of that squad is Prem standard.

As for us, agree with others: you must score penno's and you must apply pressure.  Sounds like Ream was suspect again today whereas Dunk is the sort of thug we need.

[grandad]

Only 3 shots on target including the pen is not good enough & generally this has been the same story all season. The loss of Kalas has hit us hard as our other options are just not good enough. Our service to Smith was poor. He needed crosses he could run on to & not having to head from a standing position with Dunk leaning all over him.
Although I envy Brighton´s position I detest the way they cheat & I don´t want to see us play this way. So many of their players gave the impression that they were backed in to when in fact they launched themselves over our players. They must be taught to do this in training & the poor quality of officials constantly get conned by it.

[ScalleysDad]

i agree with you Grandad on a detestable style of play but unfortunately playing the ref, looking for those advantages and taking the interpretations of the rule book right to the edge is part of a 'complete team' these days. Most of the teams above us have employed such tactics against us at some point and either won the game or took a point.  Game management ?

[grandad]

In 63 years of supporting I have never seen a Fulham team resort to these underhand tactics & I never want to no matter what the cost in points or table position. None of our promotion teams had to cheat their way.

[Gloss White]

quote author=grandad link=topic=57247.msg824449#msg824449 date=1483379353]
In 63 years of supporting I have never seen a Fulham team resort to these underhand tactics & I never want to no matter what the cost in points or table position. None of our promotion teams had to cheat their way.
[/quote

Well said!!!

[hopper]

Must say I missed this so called cheating, and didn't really notice anything. Unlike many other times at the cottage, noticeably Wednesday this season.

The sad thing about the penalties - it is missed 5 in 6 by the way - is that given our record already this season, I fully expected us not to score again, and shall do for the remainder of the year. It is obviously not good enough, but we all know that the more or it goes on the more it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Our profligacy is clearly a pattern, only a good striker is going to address this.

Having Ream at CB is not good enough, and he nearly cost us several times. I wouldn't be upset if he got sold on, and a new CB needs to come in - its clear that SJ does not rate Madl. Thought Sig had his best performance for us today, and was more the player I hoped we'd signed. Lucky not to be sent off for that 2 footed challenge though in the first half.

Was impressed by Brighton in the second half. They had leaders all over the field and really knew how to turn in the screw. They are the first team in a while that has made us blindly panic. They did what winners do, which is use willpower and belief to pull them through games they are struggling. We are of course the opposite in the sense that we boss most games but don't have the belief to see games through and go on a significant winning run.

[@jolslover]

Don't think Ream had a particularly bad game. Are two worst players were Humphrys and Smith. Definitely. Smith winning nothing in the air and just genuinely contributing nothing all game, yet somehow got a bigger ovation than Piazon, who got us our goal. Humphrys also had no effect when he came on. 2 new strikers needed. Harsh but honest assessment.

[hopper]

Don't think Ream had a particularly bad game. Are two worst players were Humphrys and Smith. Definitely. Smith winning nothing in the air and just genuinely contributing nothing all game, yet somehow got a bigger ovation than Piazon, who got us our goal. Humphrys also had no effect when he came on. 2 new strikers needed. Harsh but honest assessment.

I think that's because we were up when Smith went off, and were down when Piazon went off. Smith was awful, as is normal. Think you're being harsh on Humphrys, one miscontrol from a promising ball - but that apart - what is there to be critical of?

Can't agree with you on Ream. Made a horrendous mistake in first hall where miscontrolled a pass and let one of their players through, Sig saved the situation. Got pushed off the ball, for what should have been a free kick which nearly gave them a goal too. Every single opposition will create havoc against Ream - conceding 4 goals against Wolves is further proof of this.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Another defeat at home is not promotion material. Be it against a team currently top of our Division. Well we know where we stand and where we are. If the club are as ambitious as the manager and most supporters are. Then the club has 29 days to do some much needed surgery, and bring in the targets they should have identified and lined up ready to recruit as early in the month as possible, otherwise we will all be mumbling what could and should have been come May. 

[Luka]

Don't think Ream had a particularly bad game. Are two worst players were Humphrys and Smith. Definitely. Smith winning nothing in the air and just genuinely contributing nothing all game, yet somehow got a bigger ovation than Piazon, who got us our goal. Humphrys also had no effect when he came on. 2 new strikers needed. Harsh but honest assessment.

Agreed, anyone who thinks that Smith can hack it in this team will have seen today how limited in ability he really is. Humphries had zero impact but was no worse than Smith so has limited ability at this level. Piazon is lively with ability but is a lightweight. Our approach play is first class but we have no end product. Two out and out strikers are needed if we want to progress.

[Neil D]

The lack of an alternative to Martin is a problem. I have been a supporter of Smith and wanted him to have a chance.  Well, he had it today and he was poor - 4/10 poor.  I know he was up against two big centre backs but I don't recall him winning any significant balls in the air.  That could be discounted to some extent if he had a degree of mobility but he is very ponderous on the ground.  That said, Humphrys managed nothing either.  We need a CF who is decent in the air, holds up the play well and has a modicum of pace.  SJ got this man with Martin - it wasn't his fault that Martin turned out to be thoroughly unprofessional and easily tapped up.

[@jolslover]

Don't think Ream had a particularly bad game. Are two worst players were Humphrys and Smith. Definitely. Smith winning nothing in the air and just genuinely contributing nothing all game, yet somehow got a bigger ovation than Piazon, who got us our goal. Humphrys also had no effect when he came on. 2 new strikers needed. Harsh but honest assessment.

agree with all this

ream had one of his better games i thought, didn't see him getting outmuscled as much as usual and his ball control and passing are just so important with the way we try to pass it around the back 5 these days

as for smith and humphys, i think you could have pulled any random fan from the crowd and stuck them in that position and no one would have noticed

Agree with both good assessment

[bobbo]

I'm sticking this comment in here rather than make a separate post of it.

I sit near the back almost on the hallway line in the riverside and just one of their long high balls was heading for sigardsson , he looked to see if anyone else was willing to deal with and on realising he was going to have to deal with it himself , he looked like he'd seen a ghost.
" he ain't good enough "

[Deeping_white]

Don't think Ream had a particularly bad game. Are two worst players were Humphrys and Smith. Definitely. Smith winning nothing in the air and just genuinely contributing nothing all game, yet somehow got a bigger ovation than Piazon, who got us our goal. Humphrys also had no effect when he came on. 2 new strikers needed. Harsh but honest assessment.

agree with all this

ream had one of his better games i thought, didn't see him getting outmuscled as much as usual and his ball control and passing are just so important with the way we try to pass it around the back 5 these days

as for smith and humphys, i think you could have pulled any random fan from the crowd and stuck them in that position and no one would have noticed

Agree with both good assessment

Nobody else seems to be mentioning it, but I think the second goal was Humphrey's fault. Lost the ball too easily to dunk and didn't track him back to try and win the ball so it was 3v2 on our cb's. By the time the ball was in the net he was on the halfway line watching dunk score