The View From South Texas -- Blackburn v. FFC

[HatterDon]

The view from South Texas is a little blurry. 120 mile drive back from an outdoor gig played in 142% humidity, followed by a band "business meeting" at noon meant that I had to watch the DVRd match "live" through heavily lidded eyes.

For that reason, there'll be only a few comments:

1. Welcome aboard, Mr. Salcido. He was very quiet in the first half, but with his curling effort from the edge of the penalty area and his cross for Dempsey's goal, it's obvious we have a guy with two very good feet on our left wing. His defensive prowess was also excellent. He's the main reason that I watched the match, having heard the last 45 via Gentleman Jim. I had to see for myself what he looked like. My verdict, GOOD!

2. Considering there were 48 [or was it 84] posts last weekend going on an on about what a thug Henry is, it's amazing to me that we're not totally up in arms about Vince Grella. Grella did his damndest to disable Dimbele. He stamped his foot, he slashed down his shin, and then went after his achilles on two occasions. Not even a yellow was dispensed. But Grella only comes second in the Most Diabolical Performance by an Aussie in yesterday's match.

3. Speaking of Mark Schwarzer, please sir, may we have our Stockdale back? Black Mark was clearly fouled on the goal -- am I the only one who thinks that this was the sole reason that El Hadj Diouf got Rovers's "Man of the Match?" Having said that, he looked like a man who's confidence has been sorely damaged. Having said THAT, certainly being part of our victory over Wolves shouldn't have damaged his confidence.

4. I was wondering what I'd see on here about Dempsey's performance. I pretty much sampled every thread and the comments ranged from "looks angry," "looks tired," to "looks old." By contrast, the color announcer on the broadcast used phrases like "brilliant in the air," "lots of class," and "vastly underrated." And no, the guy wasn't an American.

5. Once again, perhaps it's just me, but I thought that Cap'n' Danny appears to be back to his creative, tough, intelligent self. He must have revived a good dozen forward moves that looked to break down because of bad touches.

6. Gotta love Dembele for his guts and resilience. Might need a break against Stoke, but the guy has tons of heart to go with his pace and skill. He's going to make several defenses craph themselves before this season is at an end.

7. In the bad old days, we had a manager who wanted Fulham to play 80 minute games so he could be in charge of a top 10 side. Now, in Mark Hughes, we have a guy who is master of the 2nd half. I'd love to see our goal difference in the 2nd 45 as compared to, say, Man United's or Arsenal's. I really like this guy.

8. Kelly had a very nice match on the right side. Let's hope that JP has benefitted from his rest and can regain his mojo against Stoke.

Sorry there's not more.


We are Fulham

[finnster01]

Good report as always Mr Hatter.

How Vince Grella escaped a yellow card (never mind a red) is beyond me. :035:

[ImperialWhite]

2. Considering there were 48 [or was it 84] posts last weekend going on an on about what a thug Henry is, it's amazing to me that we're not totally up in arms about Vince Grella. Grella did his damndest to disable Dimbele. He stamped his foot, he slashed down his shin, and then went after his achilles on two occasions. Not even a yellow was dispensed. But Grella only comes second in the Most Diabolical Performance by an Aussie in yesterday's match. 

4. I was wondering what I'd see on here about Dempsey's performance. I pretty much sampled every thread and the comments ranged from "looks angry," "looks tired," to "looks old." By contrast, the color announcer on the broadcast used phrases like "brilliant in the air," "lots of class," and "vastly underrated." And no, the guy wasn't an American. 

6. Gotta love Dembele for his guts and resilience. Might need a break against Stoke, but the guy has tons of heart to go with his pace and skill. He's going to make several defenses craph themselves before this season is at an end.

Excellent, as usual HD.

2. I agree, Grella was far more cynical than Henry was - the Wolves fouls were bourne of frustration, Grella's fouls were just a plain and cynical concession that they could only stop Dembele by roughing him up.

4. Not all of us - I argued in one thread that Dempsey is the perfect player for these tough away matches (think Clint at Stoke away last season, actually). He has the energy/drive/whatever to attempt to score in whatever the circumstances, as well the power and accuracy required to make the more audacious shots sometimes required of away matches. Hope he starts for the league cup tie Tuesday.

6. Dembele definitely needs a break against Stoke. Can you imagine what would happen to our league if he was injured? No, keep him safe and sound for Everton Sunday (where in theory we could reach 4th in the table for a win!). As an aside, how do you do accents in messages? I'd quite like to spell his name properly, but can't really be arsed to copy his name from Wikipedia every time.