Tag Archives: Rodallega

Last Minute Goal

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QPR 2-1 Fulham

by EWEN

Following three consecutive draws and noticeable improvement in performances, Harry Redknapp’s great escape looks to have finally got under-way after a comprehensive victory against fellow West London rivals, Fulham.

The major changes for QPR were Djibril Ciise returning to the starting line-up and Adel Taarabt moving to a more central position; playing just off the Frenchman. Alejandro Faurlin linked up with Stephan M’bia in the centre of midfield for the Rangers meaning demotion to the bench for Shaun Derry. Martin Jol opted to keep the same starting XI that beat Newcastle on Monday night, 2-1, with the exception of Alex Kacaniklic making way for Kieran Richardson.

Before criticising every player who wore black today, bar one or two, it would be unfair not to highlight the man of the match performance. Adel Taarabt took up a free role, similar to his position during QPR’s promotion season and stole the show with two great goals. It was clear from the first minute that he was up for it and boy was he trouble. There are few other players in the Premier League more dangerous, running at a defence with pace, than the Moroccan. You could argue that both goals were fortuitous but in both, Taarabt had either already done the hard work or still had the hard work to do. After seventeen games without a win, QPR needed someone to be a little bit selfish and that won them the game.

Schwarzer’s distribution was poor (as always) but on the whole he dominated his box well. The goals were not his fault: one a deflection and one couldn’t have been any further into the bottom right hand corner of his goal. A late save from Ciise prevented the scoreline from being more humiliating. Sascha Riether’s exit at half time due to injury, unfortunately, meant that the right wing would be defunct going forward. You can never criticise Stephen Kelly for lack of effort but he offers nothing when attacking.

Redknapp may well have found his go-to midfield in Alejandro Faurlin and Stephan M’bia. The perfect balance between brawn and brains. Faurlin, the creator, links midfield to attack, while M’bia acts as the powerhouse. The perfect midfield combination still eludes Fulham. Should it be Diarra and Baird, Diarra and Sidwell or Sidwell and Baird? All duos are different but all have one thing in common: lack of creativity. When Chris Baird filled in for Mahamadou Diarra against West Brom earlier this season, he was pinging forty yard passes, to feet, all over the pitch. “We’ve found our Danny Murphy replacement” were the shouts from the crowd. I think it’s safe to say he certainly is not. The difference between West Brom and recent performances is how much time he’s been allowed on the ball. Lots of it will mean he looks like Paul Scholes in his pomp but when being pressed, like QPR did to him today, his passing is as good as Schwarzer’s. Steve Sidwell spent most of his time either being embarrassed by Taarabt or cleaning up Baird’s mess.

Something struck me today about the way Sidwell plays if the game’s not going for him. If he’s on the losing side or having a poor individual performance, he’ll foul everyone who he can’t be bothered to run after. Another referee may have sent him off in that game and the difference between today’s Sidwell and Monday’s is frightening. Rodallega was poor, once again showing a first touch reminiscent to playing a 1-2 off a brick wall. With Kieran Richardson, you have a winger who doesn’t know how to take on his marker. Playing Kacaniklic would do wonders for his development and provide the team with a little bit of desire which wasn’t present at Loftus Road. Mladen Petric demonstrated, not for the first time, his knack for coming off the bench and making a difference. Perhaps the long awaited Erik Nevland  super-sub replacement? Two goals as a substitute so far this season with five altogether.

It was only going to be a matter of time before Harry got Sparky’s random assortment of players working together. Bit by bit, he’s figuring out what his strongest team is. Julio Cesar, Adel Taarabt, Stephan M’bia and Alejandro Faurlin provide a promising spine which can only improve with the inevitable influx of  new players in January. Fulham, simply, need Bryan Ruiz back. It’s a well known fact that Berbatov wants as much to do with the attack as possible, but his presence is needed as the number nine. As previously mentioned, there’s no creativity and no balance between the two deeper midfielders. In January, a player to fill the void left by Danny Murphy and Moussa Dembele is a must.

 

http://www.lastminutegoal.co.uk/qpr-2-1-fulham/

The View From South Texas — Reading v. Fulham

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by HatterDon

One Best Appreciated by the Neutrals

Of course, the problem is that I’m NOT a neutral, and so I’m a bit frustrated. Fulham traveled to winless Reading and got the point that most expected. At half-time, I’d have been thrilled with that one point, but the barrage of free kicks and corner kicks we faced when a goal up late in the match made me feel as if we were lucky to get what we did.

There was never any doubt throughout the 94 minutes that Fulham had the better XI on the pitch. There was also little doubt that we weren’t playing well enough to win for most of the afternoon. Neither were Reading, truth be told. The difference is that they were there for the taking and we didn’t finish the job. What the difference should have been is that we had the best player on the pitch for the entire match and, had we capitalized on that indisputable fact, we’d have put the match away by half-time.

The first half was very scrappy. The vast majority of Fulham’s attacks were up our left side. The problem with that is that this was where Richardson was playing. I rate this guy a lot, but Berbatov fed him in attacking situations a half-dozen times in the first 45 and I can’t remember a single decent cross coming from them. I found myself – as did others in the FulhamUSA.com chatroom – crying for Kacaniklic and Dejagah. Reading had a few chances to score in the first half and it was only a combination of poor marksmanship and poor luck that kept them off the scoreboard. When their goal came, it was brilliant and unstoppable. From a dead ball situation [recurring theme alert], Reading passed the ball around a few times until it fell to Leighterwood who deposited a screamer into the top right corner. We pressed pretty hard after that, but we never really looked like equalizing.

They say that goals change games. Well, so do substitutions, and our match changed in the 58th minute when Ruiz came on for the profligate Rodallega. I was happy to see Bryan, but had doubts about how he’d fit in. Berbatov can do many things, but I don’t think he’s at his best as the 1 in a 4-5-1. So imagine my surprise when he stayed up front with Ruiz as his partner. And boy did it pay dividends immediately. From this point until the 89th minute, Fulham were clearly the better side.

It was Bryan who equalized with a goal as stunning as Reading’s first – a screamer into the top right. Last season his only two goals were goal-of-the-season candidates. The same is true for his first this season. As soon as we equalized, two minutes after Ruiz arrived on the pitch, Fulham looked for nothing but three points. The second goal came 17 minutes later on yet another near post run by Baird. Unlike last week’s effort, this corner was converted with a header. Baird has obviously been watching old film of Carlos Bocanegra. Fulham were up 2-1, and playing brilliant football. Unfortunately, Baird took a knock in the goal celebration and had to be replaced by Sidwell.

Reading equalized in a pin-ball like goalmouth scramble ten minutes later, and 2-2 looked like the ultimate result until the brilliance that is Dimitar Berbatov stepped forward. Our number 9 was limping most of the match and looked very tired, but in the 88th minute he had time to tie his shoelaces and autograph the ball before beating McCarthy. Two minutes left. We’re up 3-2. What could go wrong?

Well, what happened is that we began giving away corners and free kicks on the outskirts of our penalty area. One of the free kicks – after a foul by the otherwise brilliant Sascha Riether – resulted in yet another pinball lottery AND the final equalizer in the 90th minute. While I’m certain that Fulham wanted to get the SEVENTH goal in the four minutes of injury time, we barely got out of our own half. One or two more goalmouth scrambles and 3-3 was the final result. It was a fair result in the end for two reasons: (1) Neither side played poorly enough to lose. (2) Neither side played well enough to win. A point on the road is a point on the road, I guess.

Full marks for the play of Riether, Riise, Hughes, Diarra, Duff, and – especially – Berbatov. Baird, Hangeland, and Schwarzer had uneven performances throughout, and the less said about Rodallega and Richardson the better. Our subs were brilliant. Ruiz brought the match to life, Dejagah looked a serious threat again, and Sidwell had a hand in Berbatov’s goal. I’m looking forward to seeing the Berbatov/Ruiz pairing in the future. Each is incredibly creative. Each has good pitch awareness. Each has an eye for a promising pass, and each can finish. Now if we can just get some service from the left wing.

Reading? It’s going to be a long season for them. Two of their three goals were on the lucky side, they have an unconvincing goalkeeper, and the strike pair we saw today seems an odd couple. A better team on the day would have dismantled them in the first 30 minutes.

HatterDon’s Man of the Match was bouncing back and forth between Riether, Berbatov, and Hughes, but the winner isthe Fulham Travelers. I have never heard you so loud for so long, and there is no doubt in my Texan mind that you had a hand in all three of our goals. Well done.

Next up? Oh, goodness. I’ll worry about that later. COYW.

The View from South Texas — Fulham FC v. Manchester City

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by HatterDon

Valiant but Not Up to It

Early in the match, announcer Paul Walsh said about Fulham’s parity with the  Man City of the past, “that’s before they struck oil … or rather, before oil struck them.” A clever remark, but an apt one. We were like the Bailey Savings and Loan [It’s a Wonderful Life reference] against the House of Rothschild. Exaggerating? Their SUBS were Dzeko, Balotelli, and Nasri for goodness sake.

And so we lost 1-2. I expected us to lose, but overall I was pleased at what I saw today. For the first half-hour or so of the match, we looked a good match-up for the billionaires. Rodallega and Ruiz looked especially sharp, and we were attacking strongly on both wings. The seriously outgunned central midfield was holding strong, and the defense was neat and tidy. Only Petrić seemed to be out of sorts and so, naturally, he scored.

Riise nutmegged Zabaleta and the defender lifted his arm to restrain our left back. It was on the edge of the penalty area, and most refs – if they bothered to call it a foul at all – would have given a free kick just outside the box. Referee Halsey [who once called two penalties in our favor against Tottenham in the FA Cup] pointed to the spot and Petrić put it away easily, although he was a bit lucky. Had Hart not moved at all he could have caught it in both hands. So it was 1-0 in the 9th minute.

Only 81 minutes left to hold the lead. For most of the rest of the first half, Fulham and Citeh both went strongly for the next goal. It was very entertaining, but fruitless. The Blues – who were NOT wearing blue – pressed hard on both wings in the last 15 minutes or so, and should have had a couple of goals when, with 43 minutes on the clock, they scored what has to be called a lucky goal. A speculative cross ricocheted off Silva and brought a memorable reaction parry from Schwarzer. Unfortunately, Aguero was lurking in the far corner and tapped it in. Where HAVE we seen that kind of opportunistic goal poaching before?

We finished the half looking to regain our lead, but in the second half, Citeh were all over us. Tevez was a severe irritant, and David Silva was brilliant. Yaya Toure, playing well forward, was okay but had he been fielded in the center of midfield, I don’t think that the Sidwell-Baird partnership would have been nearly so effective as they were. The 66th minute was when the match really turned for City. Tevez, however dangerous he may have been, was not the physical presence he might have been, and so he left in favor of Balotelli. I was heartened to see that our substitution was Kacaniklic who replaced the loneliest man on the pitch, Mladen Petrić.

As the pressure on Fulham’s defense increased, I was stunned to see that Chris Baird – in many ways the key man in containing City’s central attack – was substituted out for our Ancient Greek, Giorgos Karagounis. With less than 10 minutes left on the clock, this seemed a strange choice. Within seconds our newly signed central midfielder conceded a free kick in a dangerous area, and Balotelli became even more menacing. Fulham’s fate was sealed when Dzeko came on in the 86th minute. He scored the winner a minute later in a scramble that very closely resembled the last minute goal we conceded at Wigan.

So, we lost 1-2 … against the league champions. And, most ominous, the goals came in the last five minutes of each half. The stats make it look like a disaster for us – especially the 30-70 possession.

There were positives, though. Sidwell and Baird more than held their own, and Baird may have been our best player on the day. Our center mids were weak going forward, but broke up attack after attack when under pressure. Speaking of attacking, we mounted pressure on both wings and, for the most part, our defensive shape was fine. Even when under unbearable pressure, we reacted well. In attack we had a few very hopeful performances. Rodallega worked hard all game on both sides of the ball and was the focus of most of our counter attacks. Duff was amazing to watch once again, and Ruiz – especially in the first half hour – was creative as well as strong. Like Rodallega, on a different day [against a different keeper], Duff might have scored.

And, how might the day have finished had we had Berbatov up front?

Hatter Don’s Man of the Match award goes to Chris Baird [or Burt as the announcer called him] and Steve Sidwell.

Off to Southampton and another 3 on the road? Why not?

COYW

THE VIEW FROM SOUTH TEXAS — WIGAN ATHLETIC V. FULHAM FC

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by HatterDon

An Almost Comfortable Away Trip

Yes, I know. Fulham are not good on the road. Yes, Fulham suffer against mediocre teams. Yes, yes, yes. The truth is, of course, that Fulham have been very capable of taking points at the DW Stadium in England’s northwest. And, except for stoppage time, looked comfortably the better team on display today.

Roberto Martinez is one of my most favorite managers. With very little in the way of a budget, he doesn’t go the grizzled-veteran-route-one route. Instead, his teams play good football, quality football, that can frighten any side – witness the seven matches won of their last nine last season. And his side looked bright today at times. Luckily, for Fulham, their good passing never included the “last pass.”

There was plenty of pleasing football from both sides early on. Most of the action in both directions was down Fulham’s right wing for the first half hour or so. Duff and Riether engineered much of Fulham’s early pressure. And there was plenty of early pressure. Fulham were playing like a side that had dismantled a very good WBA last weekend – NOT like a side hoping for a 0-0. And Fulham looked like scoring almost from the off.

The thought struck me early on that if I was watching 22 strangers out there, it would have taken me all of 90 seconds to have realized that the number 9 in black was head and shoulders above them all. Wigan had their hands full with Uncle Bulgaria, and after several missed opportunities, a gentle chip from just side of the area from Berbatov found Rodallega’s forehead, and the Colombian netted for the first time in Fulham colors. After a few confused minutes during which it looked as if Fulham would add to their total, Wigan began playing the best football of the match for  the last 15 minutes. They put Fulham under sustained pressure on more than one occasion and, eventually hit the post.

The first half ended 0-1 and the points looked to be up for grabs. This was a bit disconcerting, though, since Berbatov could easily have had 3 assists AND a goal during the first 45. Would Fulham rue those missed chances?

If anyone NOT in South Texas thought that Fulham would come out playing negatively and protecting the one-goal lead, they’d be mightily disappointed. After soaking up considerable pressure by Wigan – most of it thwarted by their own profligacy – Fulham garnered their second goal. In a complete reversal of roles, the Whites [was there any white in that kit?] were attacking relentlessly, relegating Athletic to quick counterattacks.

As soon as Fulham brought on Ruiz to replace the disappointing Kacaniklic, things got interesting. The Costa Rican nearly scored from a free kick and, in the 68th minute, held off three defenders to lay the ball into the path of Damian Duff. 0-2 and game over, one would have thought. It certainly looked that way until just before injury time when Martinez brought on Ryo Miyaichi and Callum McManaman [why is that name so hauntingly familiar?]. Their energy and guile put Fulham back on the defensive for the last thirteen minutes plus.

After some brilliant work by a suddenly fully employed Mark Schwarzer, Wigan pulled back a goal they really deserved. Kone – for my money Wigan’s best player all match – ended a goalmouth scramble by sidefooting past Tha Big Aussie. 1-2 and that’s the way it stayed.

Who caught the eye today? Rodallega looked exceptional for most of the match although it’ll take me a long time to get over his sideways pass to absolutely nobody on the edge of Wigan’s penalty area. Riether did well and so did Baird. Hangeland was also a rock, although not quite as good as the international announcers believed. He credited clearances from Baird and Sidwell to the Norwegian Giant evidently believing that anyone in black who had short hair was our number 5.

Who disappointed? Special K did. Twice set up brilliantly by Berbatov, he never looked like even getting a decent shot off. We improve mightily when he was replaced by Ruiz. Hughes played his worst game this season, twice putting the defense under terrible pressure in the first half. Luckily, Wigan’s passing let them down on both occasions and it did no harm.

So, by my math that makes it 9 points from 5 played and a goal difference of +5. A quick check of the table tells me we’re in 4th, ahead of Man United thanks to the alphabet. Well, that’s not likely to last, but it’s a wonderful sight and – as long as Berbatov remains healthy – we’re going to scare the crap out of some very good defenses. Wigan? I think they may have enough talent in the squad to survive one more time. They certainly have enough talent in the person of their manager.

Hatter Don’s Man of the Match? This was close. Damian Duff gets it hotly pursued by Dimitar Berbatov and Mark Schwarzer.

Man City is at the Cottage next weekend, and on this form we need fear nobody. COYW

The View from South Texas — West Ham U v. Fulham FC

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by HatterDon

God, That was Ugly

By the time there were 30 minutes on the clock today, my major hope was that we would salvage some of the goal difference we won on opening day. We did … just. The post-Dembélé Era began on the Boleyn ground for a “lunchtime” [read 0645] match against our bogey team. I am confident that we will look better than we did today. I am also confident that West Ham will not.

Their first goal came with barely 50 seconds on the clock. Kevin Nolan made a fortuitous connection with a knock down by the excellent Ricardo Vaz Te and Schwarzer could do nothing but pick the ball out of his net. I say “fortuitous” because Nolan spent the rest of the match swinging and missing at much easier chances. Vaz Te’s combination of speed, skill, and aggression would trouble Fulham’s somewhat panic-stricken defense all day. He was, without a doubt, the best player on the pitch. He had a complete stormer.

Fulham? Not so much. Despite the fact that the back four + Schwarzer were the only unit untouched by injury or transfer, they spent much of the match looking as if they’d only just met in the dressing room. Riise was back from injury, so Fulham were – arguably – stronger in defense than they were at Old Trafford last weekend. However, despite the fact that West Ham is nowhere near Man United in skill or manpower, our defense proved totally ineffective in controlling the newly promoted Hammers.

Their second and third goals were both down to poor marking. Nobody was near Winston Reid when he headed in from a corner 29 minutes in, and Matthew Taylor had the entire postal code to himself when he slammed home the third a few minutes before the interval. In both cases, new boy Andy Carroll was drawing all the attention. Fully four players were marking him for the third. I can’t remember when I last saw Hangeland play so ineffectively. I hope not to see it again this season.

Much of Fulham’s defensive slackness can be attributed to weakness in the midfield. Only Diarra stood out in this area, and he was constantly on the verge of being overrun. West Ham were quick to close down any Fulham player in possession and the only way that Fulham could string together more than three passes was among the defenders and twenty yards deep in their own half. Richardson made his debut and looked okay going forward but was totally ineffective in shielding or covering for Riise. Duff was our entire offense for 45 minutes, but Riether was also left on his own all too often. Steve Sidwell? Well, I thought he was horrible, so I’m saying no more than that.

Petrić and Rodallega were our primary attackers. Petrić looked somewhat lost at sea and it was no surprise when he was sacrificed at half time. Rodallega turned in a good shift and played the entire 90 minutes. I fervently hope that I can make that statement many more times this season. But it was our substitute forward who really caught the eye. Dimitar Berbatov was a lovely combination of artful flicks, turns, and gliding moves. He was, really, the only player in white who remotely troubled West Ham. And their pressure affected him much less than any of our other players. He was the reason that we became a credible attacking force [70 minutes after the opening whistle], and he was the architect of what could easily have been a consolation goal from Rodallega.

All-in-all, the first match after the transfer period was pretty ugly to look at and a disaster of a result. If there’s mitigation it is that it’s ludicrous for the transfer period to end on the day before a match. Of course, there was no reason why we had to sign Richardson or Berbatov on Friday when we had the entire summer to make deals. But the problem wasn’t that we didn’t have time to get our new boys acclimated. The problem is that, since the Tottenham match last Spring, Fulham have lost four key players from our midfield – a midfield that was clearly our major strength and difference-maker last season. Add to that the unavailability of Bryan Ruiz today, and we’re just not good enough without them.

We’ll get better. The midfield will tighten up [Sidwell is not the answer here, by the way], Berbatov will pair nicely with Petrić, and the defense should settle down. We WILL get better, but it will take a while. In the meantime, it’s safe to say that from now until late November, this season is going to resemble the first few months of the last two seasons. Our fondest hope should be that the second half of this season will also resemble those of the last two.

Hatter Don’s Man of the Match goes to Dimitar Berbatov, with honorable mention to Mahamadou Diarra

Back at the Cottage against West Brom next, and it would be nice to bag three points. Count on Berbatov starting. Count on that being a very good thing for Fulham. COYW

The View From South Texas — Man United v. Fulham FC

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by HatterDon

Once again, sorry for the delay.

Moussa Dembélé Has a New Agent … and His Name is Tony Gale

Well, what an interesting match that was. Fulham showed parity with United in the first half hour, played like 11 frightened mice in the second half hour, and scared the bejesus out of the hosts in the third. A one-goal defeat was a deserved result, but this match was really about assessing how good we are this early in the season. After summarily dispatching a very poor Norwich side at home, we were at perhaps the worst away venue for anyone fighting for 9th or 10th place.

United were nervous. Their defense looked shaky at times, and it took a brilliant goal by van Persie to bag their equalizer. YES, we were ahead. A clever and well-executed free kick [and how long since I’ve used that phrase?] from Brian Ruiz caught that nervous defense all congregating at the far post. Ruiz slid the ball rapidly sideways and Damian Duff slotted it home. I believe there were barely two minutes on the clock at this time.

Oh, yes, van Persie’s equalizer. The replays show that there may only be three or four other players in the Premier League audacious enough to try the shot, and perhaps only van Persie is capable of converting it. And the fun was on. There were raids upfield by both sides that lasted until the 35th minute when the flashy Japanese midfielder Kagawa was there to put United up after Schwarzer should probably have held rather than punched an earlier shot. Fulham were disconcerted, and it only got worse 5 minutes later when United’s Ninja Turtle headed in their third from a nice cross from Young. Fulham  spent the rest of the half in lock-down mode, as if the most positive result from the day’s efforts would be a two-goal defeat.

The second half started much the same way. Fulham got a bit more possession, but it was almost exclusively in their own half. United were able to maintain a solid front in the unlikely case that the Whites would actually attack. When Sidwell came on in place of our most aggressive attacker – Kacaniklic – I thought the surrender was on. And yet … . And yet Moussa Dembélé’s brilliance, on display the entire time, suddenly turned serious. Only two minutes after Sidwell came on, Fulham turned the spigot on. Our second goal was a Vidic o.g., but it owed a lot to Dembélé, Ruiz, and Petrić – who, had the ball not trickled over the line, would have easily have booted it in.

This was in the 64th minute and for the rest of the match, United were on the defensive as Fulham went for a point. Dembélé created and actually took a shot or two, Briggs bombed up the wing, Ruiz delivered a magic touch or two, and Rodallega threatened. United brought on Rooney, Welbeck, and Giggs [nice subs, huh?] but to no avail. Fulham ended the match knocking on the door. As the travelers sang “Take Me Home Al Fayed” with gusto, the lads in the red tablecloth shirts just wanted the whistle to blow so they could take their own selves home.

3-2 United, but I turned off the television feeling like we had won. How did we look? Good marks for Hughes, Riether, Briggs, Kacaniklic, and Duff. Somewhat disappointing were Hangeland, Ruiz, Diarra, Petrić, and Schwarzer. TOP marks to Moussa Dembélé. After 90 minutes of constant praise by “color commentator,” Tony Gale, Our Brilliant Belgian looked every inch “one of the most creative players in the league. Easily a top four player.” As the final whistle blew, I turned to Hatter Mom and said, “Well, Dembélé’s transfer fee just went up £2m.” He was the leading man on the biggest stage in British football today.

So, how do we look after two matches and three points? Did the Norwich result flatter to deceive?  Well, possibly, but I certainly wasn’t predicting Champions League football after beating a woeful Norwich last Saturday. I think things look bright this season. Despite fairly mundane performances by Ruiz and Diarra, I think that we have plenty of creativity and steel coming from the center. Briggs’s creditable performance showed that we have some depth in defense. As a matter of fact, once we stopped inviting United to attack our back four, we looked fine. Counting Baird – nice to see him in a cameo, by the way – we have four good fullbacks, and four good centerbacks [once Senderos is back and Halliche is freed]. I like Special K up front, and Petrić looks very good. When Frei comes back, we’ll have even more speed.

My guess? This squad [with Dembélé] is good enough to get us comfortably in mid-table. If Moussa goes, we’ll need to pray for no serious injuries.

Obviously, Hatter Don’s [and Tony Gale’s]  MOtM is Moussa Dembélé. Good result, even if we got no points. Bring them all on, one at a time. COYW

The View From South Texas: Fulham FC v. Norwich City

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by HatterDon

I forgot that I had some volunterring to do shortly after the second half started, so this is as quick as I was able to get this report up. MAN, it’s nice to be doing match reports again.

Nice Day for a Stroll

Bathed in warm summer sunshine, Fulham fought off that “at the beach” feeling to demolish a very poor Norwich side 5-0. The goals went to Petrić, Duff, Petrić, Kacaniklic, and Sidwell (penalty). Schwarzer enjoyed his 141st Premier League clean sheet, and if he had an easier one, at his age he probably can’t remember it.

 

How poor were Norwich? Very poor. They were easily bossed around in midfield, toothless in attack, and their chief defensive tactic appeared to be maintaining a high line, and then turning and watching Fulham attackers hare towards goal. If England manager Roy Hodgson came to the Cottage to watch Ruddy and Holt, he certainly went away disappointed. Holt commanded some airspace, but did nothing with it, and Ruddy confirmed the absolute truth of England’s weakness in goal. If he can be capped and considered to be part of England’s future, then England is in serious trouble. I’m sure, by the way, that Hodgson didn’t come to watch Fulham, as there wasn’t an Englishman in sight all day until Sidwell came on – as the third substitute – with about seven minutes left. He didn’t have time to do much, but dispatched his penalty very well.

 

How good were Fulham? Perhaps the better question would be “how aggressive were Fulham.” Fulham took control of the game shortly after kickoff and maintained that control for 90+ minutes. Diarra, Dembélé, and Ruiz commanded the midfield so well that the back four and Tha Big Aussie had very little to do. I think Mark had to make two saves and, in his only action of the first half, fisted away a high cross. There were several players who caught my eye early and never allowed me to look away from them subsequently. Riise screamed down the left wing more in the first half today than he did in any month last season. His aggression and Special K’s trickiness caused Norwich no end of trouble in protecting their right flank. Ruiz still has good feet and a great pass on him, but he’s added something else this season: he is much quicker and is much more difficult to nudge off the ball. I think it’s fair to say that, based on what we saw today, Fulham will lean very heavily on Ruiz and Diarra – the latter playing as close to a perfect game as I’ve seen in many a moon.

 

And then there are the new guys. Petrić looks like the complete forward. He holds the ball well, distributes it well, defends very well in the box, nicks the ball smoothly and very much knows where the goal is. He more than earned his brace, and put more into the side than he took out of it. Riether surprised me early on with his pace. He attacks well up the right and his defensive positioning struck me as disciplined and knowledgeable. I think Kelly edges him defensively, but Riether is more of a complete player. Rodallega didn’t get much of a chance to do anything, coming on as he did in the 67th minute, but he didn’t look slow or indecisive, and that’s a good thing.

 

I was especially pleased to see Pajtim Kasami enter the fray. He didn’t perform as well as the man he replaced, but the man he replaced was Damien Duff, so that’s no shame. Let’s hope he doesn’t get buried again this season. He’s nowhere near the finished product, but he’s getting there. Closer to a finished product is Kacaniklic. He’s a legitimate left winger, a huge upgrade over the very good Kerim Frei, and he’s not afraid to take a crack. I didn’t see anything to criticize in his performance.

 

So, a good day for a walk in the park turned out to be a walk in the park. As usual, I haven’t read any reports or even looked at the other final scores, but I expect we’ll be top of the league at the end of the weekend. One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and today’s result against the side I figure to finish 20th doesn’t make us a behemoth, but we’ve often struggled or seemed to be happy with a 1-0 at home and a 0-0 on the road against teams like this. Today, we went for the throat from the off, and ripped at it time and again. In the last 7 or 8 seasons, I’ve seen Fulham play “the perfect game” twice in the Premier League – that is (1) making no serious mistakes and (2) everything we tried to do worked. This was true at the Cottage at home to QPR last season. It was true today.

 

There were entirely too many stellar performances on the pitch today to award a single player man of the match, so Hatter Don’s Man of the Match goes to the man who chose the squad and put the 14 players out on the pitch. Martin Jol; well done that man.

 

COYW