Friends of Fulham

I was pleasantly surprised by both the lineup and the performance in the first half. With the exception of Oscar Bobb, I thought everyone played well and helped both defend and create chances. If you looked at the stats for the first half, you would not be wrong to think that Liverpool dominated, but truth be told, Fulham had them on the back foot several times and looked very lively.

I was nervous in the second half when so many changes were made at once, but it seemed to work out well. Overall, that was an excellent game to watch. So, tell us who your FoF MOTM was?

I can say I've never been happier at just splittng the spoils and what an impressive performance considering the circumstances.

I'm very proud of AA and all the boys.

There were adjustments and there was a plan, they worked and we got our first point of the season.

FWIW one of the more exciting 0-0s I've seen in a long time.

Played very well today. Signs that perhaps not everything is doom and gloom!

Someone will come on and outline all the things they did wrong 🤣🤣

Between Charles and F'ngruber who was F'n brilliant today.

I went for Charles......

Really pleasing performance there, loads of positives.

Bassey is a beast. King is going to be a star. Charles and Affengruber look like clever signings.

The whole team worked really hard. Jedi's crossing is still rusty but he gets into great areas.

Keep the faith, Fulham fans. Can't help but feel we will be giving another team a spanking soon enough.

I look forward to the 500 twitter articles this week about how we were a a huge improvement

Very happy with how we played. And I'm especially happy that the manager changed his tactics, we dropped 5 yards and played with two central midfielders. Thats exactly how we should be setting up moving forward.

No real clear pick for man of the match, everyone looked good. Leno made a good save in the first half which was probably the best chance of the game. But I thought Affengruber had a solid debut, outside of a wayward pass in the first half I thought he looked good today, so I'm going with Affengruber as my man of the match.

Affengruber is the new Bairdinho.

Definitely signs there that AA is not stubborn, can tweak his tactics and will bench favourites. Let's hope this is the start of a wonderful season  ::scarf::

Affengruber definitely MOTM for me, not much went past him.

Quote from: Luka on September 12, 2026, 04:54:09 PMBetween Charles and F'ngruber who was F'n brilliant today.

I put Bassey but frankly would be happy with either of these guys too.

I gave it to King but I was so impressed by Affengruber, he was excellent. Looks a steal for just £8.5m.

Nice wee moment with Affengrubber and his family in the front row there

Can't argue about that performance, very encouraging

Quote from: the nutflush on September 12, 2026, 04:54:55 PMAffengruber is the new Bairdinho.

Reminded me more of Aaron Hughes. Decent passing too.

 ::scarf::
Such a better defensive showing...
Josh King is an absolute treasure..
Well done to the Team...AND the Manager...
 ::thumb::

So relieved to see the back of Anderson. Affenberger or whatever his name is seems a solid replacement.

I really liked Charles in midfield. Good on the ball, some smart passes.

Shea Charles !

Quote from: Luka on September 12, 2026, 04:54:09 PMBetween Charles and F'ngruber who was F'n brilliant today.

I was in the same position and went with Shea.

Thought he covered the ground brilliantly today.

With him and Berge at the base of midfield we looked a lot more solid

To me, Charles is the Man of the Match; he was solid in every aspect. Both he and Garcia really stood out during this game.

So much better. After the bizarre team selections, substitutions, and post match interviews of the past 3 games I was really really worried and skeptical that Arbeloa would adapt. I was wrong. If we're set up like this the rest of the way we'll be fine. Iwobi for Palacios, two solid midfielders and a surprisingly great debut from Affengruber made all the difference. I also really liked the substitutions Arbeloa made today. I'm excited for the season.

A moral victory and good for team spirit, also players confidence, and first clean sheet of the season, and well earned.
Shape, balance and depth was much better.
Clearly well thought out in advance, and well executed on the day.

Went with McGruber, seemed to have a solution for everything!

COYWs!

Quote from: FFC In Oz on September 12, 2026, 04:58:05 PM

Quote from: Luka on September 12, 2026, 04:54:09 PMBetween Charles and F'ngruber who was F'n brilliant today.

I was in the same position and went with Shea.

Thought he covered the ground brilliantly today.

With him and Berge at the base of midfield we looked a lot more solid

For me so far he's the signing of the season. A silky smooth footballer.

Quote from: LPNCanadian on September 12, 2026, 04:58:17 PMTo me, Charles is the Man of the Match; he was solid in every aspect. Both he and Garcia really stood out during this game.

Shea Charles has impressed in every game. Lovely composure mixed with mobility and aggression.

Quote from: alfie on September 12, 2026, 04:54:02 PMSomeone will come on and outline all the things they did wrong 🤣🤣

Do you know, some people are capable of changing their mind depending on what is served up in front of them? Others might always require a Pollyanna attitude to life for their own reasons, I like to look at the evidence. It's been shite so far, it wasn't today. Let's celebrate that

Gruber was fantastic, but Charles is my vote. Calmness, moved the ball well and made some great passes forward. Josh King of course continued to impress.

It's not all doom and gloom guys! AA has clearly tweaked tactics and/or Players are becoming  more used to the system.

Charles was my MOM, unflappable, picked some great passes and helped tidy up when needed. Watched him last season v arsenal (I think) in cup, and he was best player on the pitch. Same today.
Honourable mentions for Affengruber, Castagne (not passed once by £130m Barcola) and King. Also I've been panning Leno, he was really good today.

I think the difference is that Andersen couldn't be a scapegoat today.

Quote from: FFC In Oz on September 12, 2026, 04:58:05 PM

Quote from: Luka on September 12, 2026, 04:54:09 PMBetween Charles and F'ngruber who was F'n brilliant today.

I was in the same position and went with Shea.

Thought he covered the ground brilliantly today.

With him and Berge at the base of midfield we looked a lot more solid

those 2 Charles n Berge also the C.Bs ,also great to see Kevin,Tete and ESR bought on .
Delighted for Arebola and the coaching team.

Well done lads, a great point away, lets now kick on and hopefully have found our best line up and more clean sheets to come.

Went for Affengruber since I thought everyone, including Bobb, did well. The new CB slotted in so well, I think he deserves it.

One of the biggest praises I can give AA today is the lack of subs that make no sense, like subbing Castagne for Sess (though if Sess was available, he might have).

Affengruber MOTM for me with Charles a close second. Considering it was his first game in English football away at Liverpool he was outstanding, looks a great signing and also looked really good on the ball too.

Charles has looked very good in all his minutes and I am really happy with that signing too.

Special mention to Iwobi (pre game I said I don't think he should start and I thought he looked much much better on the wing. Berge was also much improved today too and looked solid.

I love Smith-Rowe and Kevin working very hard for the team when they came on also.. given lots of speculation about them being unhappy it was great to see Kevin especially track all the way back and put off Rio when he had a good chance.

Affi and Robinson. Affi looked more assured and aware than Andersen. Robinson full of running and very explosive. Iwobi had an excellent first half. Overall, gave it to Affi as I feel we'd have conceded if Andersen had played. Good upgrade.

Yeah went with Affengruber as well. Made some rough passes early on, but eventually found his form. Brilliant defensive positioning. So aware of his surroundings and when he gets caught, he recovers immediately. Passionate and even calling out players for not stepping up in their moment (when he tried to find Bobb, who was offside in the first). I really enjoyed watching him.

Overall, brilliant match - nerve-wrecking that's for sure, but a really great result that will lift spirits. Hoping more of the same, with a bit more cutting edge in the finishing, v West Ham.

Shea Charles for me. Dare I say he is a bit Jude-esque? Think we have a really good player on our hands here; seems to have it all in his locker (though I haven't seen his shooting technique yet). Passing, control, decision making, all top notch, hardly put a foot wrong all game.

Affengruber was also excellent. He seems to read the game very well and can break lines with some really slick passing.

Small side note; noticed that AA went straight down the tunnel. Thought it was a bit strange, but fair enough given the pathetic behaviour from some 'fans' at the palace game. 

Quote from: alfie on September 12, 2026, 04:54:02 PMSomeone will come on and outline all the things they did wrong 🤣🤣

I'm puzzled, why do you think someone would do that?

Affengruber for me but king and Charles also, good team performance, even Leno looked better!!!!!

good performance! I think its worth seeing sess instead of AR for a few matches. We need more quality in the final third. Was really hoping muniz would slot that Kevin cross, I felt for him

Affengruber for me. Making his debut away against Liverpool with all the pressure surrounding the team and its defensive  output, and he handled it brilliantly. Also looks to have a good eye for a pass as well.

High energy pressing in the 1st half broke up any potential Liverpool rhythm , their fullbacks were cooked by 1/2 time with the the workrate they had to get through, they created a few chances and we could have scored from ours. 2nd half we dropped back to a mid press and positioned in a more compact shape, not many chances for both sides and the Anfield crowd never really found their voice. Not surprised that Liverpool made subs earlier to try to break open the game, Mr AA was more sensible with his subs which injected some energy. Key stats - Liverpool didn't really dominate possession or bully the game - 14 shots 3 on target for them Vs 10 shots 4 on target for us and once again we had more touches in the opposition box 24 to their 18 . Very solid debut for Affengruber - neat and tidy, Iwobi effective as the linking player, King thriving with more game time, Garcia lots of energy and kept their defence busy trying to track his runs, Berge and Charles really anchored the midfield

Charles with Affengruber just behind. What a composed performance and an excellent result. A word for Kevin who tracked back well defensively several times.

Sorry, but I'm one of those people who thought it was a big improvement. I think that came down to several things.
•    A change in formation while maintaining high intensity and pressure in attack.
•    No more wide-open space between the center-backs.
•    Palacios was moved to the bench, although I think he should have been left out entirely, with Sess named among the substitutes.
•    Andersen was moved to the bench, with Affengruber brought in.
•    The players are beginning to understand each other's movement and style of play, producing some excellent passing combinations while also reading and intercepting the opposition's passes.

I can't help but think that if we had played like that in our first games, our point tally would be a lot higher. 

Quote from: Trusty Steed on September 12, 2026, 05:07:50 PMI think the difference is that Andersen couldn't be a scapegoat today.

He hasn't been scapegoated, people have simple been pointing out that he looks very uncomfortable in the AA set up and that seems to have negatively impacted his form.

To scapegoat means; "to blame a person for a mistake, failure or bad situation caused by someone(s) else". I honestly do not think that has been the case except perhaps by just a tiny minority of one or two.

Anyway delighted about today; the performance, AA's flexibility, some of our new signings. A point against Man U and things will start to look a lot better.

I didn't see or listen to the game but simply because he was the main change and we kept a clean sheet, I went for Affengruber!

Robinson will never improve his delivery and King needs to improve his shooting! 
Only half serious, but someone has to say something negative  ::wink::

I gave it to Leno...he has made mistakes recently, no doubt about it, but today he did everything that was asked of him more than competently. I'm glad for him....and for us too.

Of course, he didn't have a particularly busy day...which is a reflection of how well the team, and especially the defence played.

I went for Affengruber with Charles a miilimetre away. decision based on debut, at Anfield and only been here a relative short time. Someone mentioned Aaron Hughes no greater compliment.

Talking of Aaron. Loupalo Bi scored again for Fleetwood.

What a great debut from Affengruber and the more he plays with Bassey the better the understanding will be but on this occasion Shea Charles was my MOM. Can anyone remember him giving the ball away in the entire match because I can't. So comfortable in tight spaces surrounded by players and seems to turn with ease when facing his own goal to progress the ball forward. Many great performances throughout the team.

Quote from: Thailand Mick on September 12, 2026, 05:34:27 PMWhat a great debut from Affengruber and the more he plays with Bassey the better the understanding will be but on this occasion Shea Charles was my MOM. Can anyone remember him giving the ball away in the entire match because I can't. So comfortable in tight spaces surrounded by players and seems to turn with ease when facing his own goal to progress the ball forward. Many great performances throughout the team.

Charles played a lovely through ball down the left wing at one point, he's done that a few times since joining. Looking like such a great signing so far.

Quote from: Twig on September 12, 2026, 05:24:27 PM

Quote from: Trusty Steed on September 12, 2026, 05:07:50 PMI think the difference is that Andersen couldn't be a scapegoat today.

He hasn't been scapegoated, people have simple been pointing out that he looks very uncomfortable in the AA set up and that seems to have negatively impacted his form.

To scapegoat means; "to blame a person for a mistake, failure or bad situation caused by someone(s) else". I honestly do not think that has been the case except perhaps by just a tiny minority of one or two.

Anyway delighted about today; the performance, AA's flexibility, some of our new signings. A point against Man U and things will start to look a lot better.

I will say that Andersen would've done just fine in this match as well, because his teammates didn't leave Affengruber on islands with over-aggressive play like they've done this season. Wingers tracked, fullbacks stayed disciplined, and Bassey was a lot more calm off the ball. Jedi was the only one who seemed to be over-aggressive at times, but that was more towards the end of the match, and Tete was well supported by Castagne to double the right flank where there could be some afforded aggression.

Liverpool's chances didn't come from lack of pace from our defenders either. We just looked much calmer and collected - and I am very happy that AA brought in players that hadn't got to experience that such as ESR, Kevin and Muniz. Dare I say it was almost too casual at times by some players - but not in an apathetic kind of way, more so just genuinely trying to not rise too high for the moment so nothing rash could happen. Like I said, Robinson had his moments though which gave flashbacks of Man City away. 

I hope more of the same, because this approach is much more sustainable than the over-aggressive indecisive pressing that led to defensive mishaps and 0 pts. We've got the point now, time to continue to build AA's Fulham.

Went with Affenbruger, even if Charles had a "more polished" performance,as Affengruber gave away the ball 2 times in very dangerous areas. I won't take that against him though, I'll put it down to nerves and lack of understanding that always happen with a debut. He was a rock otherwise and made some excellent passes too.

Andersen is a dead duck as long as Affengruber is fit.

Charles gives that midfield composure and that bit of bite if necessary.

Positive signs from Macedo too..

Quote from: Bobsffc on September 12, 2026, 05:31:08 PMI gave it to Leno...he has made mistakes recently, no doubt about it, but today he did everything that was asked of him more than competently. I'm glad for him....and for us too.

Of course, he didn't have a particularly busy day...which is a reflection of how well the team, and especially the defence played.

For me this is it. It's a team game and if you defend how we defend then you stop the shots and crosses and what Leno has to do is kept to a minimum. I know there are stats which will show Leno in decline but the team needs to be in it as well.

Great, solid away performance. Very controlled from Berge and Charles.
Only negative was Garcia. I don't doubt his effort, but he looks,a bit out of his depth. Missed a good chance after rounding the keeper, and lacked the pace to take advantage of a second half through ball. The only time he's really sparkled was against a tired, defeated lower league team. Early days, but I think Muniz deserves a start soon.

Quote from: rusty shackleford on September 12, 2026, 04:54:37 PMI look forward to the 500 twitter articles this week about how we were a a huge improvement

More like how Liverpool didn't get the luck, nothing to do with us.

I gave it to King but could have been talked into Affengruber or Bassey. Great job all around. Bobb was the only obvious weak link, but even he had a few bright spots.

Excellent performance all round, some good game management. Slight demerit for the less than clinical finishing. Could it be that we have actually signed a real coach who can adapt and learn from his mistakes?

Carpenters
Mr Gruber

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O_eCGnGYT4

Quote from: Thailand Mick on September 12, 2026, 05:34:27 PMWhat a great debut from Affengruber and the more he plays with Bassey the better the understanding will be but on this occasion Shea Charles was my MOM. Can anyone remember him giving the ball away in the entire match because I can't. So comfortable in tight spaces surrounded by players and seems to turn with ease when facing his own goal to progress the ball forward. Many great performances throughout the team.

He reminds me of Bobby Moore the way he has extra time on the ball

I too think the team looks much more balanced. I would say that Berge and Charles together was strong and arguably won the midfield battle. Their lack of creativity however puts additional pressure on the wide players to create. Thought Bobb struggled today and whilst I am a big fan of Iwobi o thought our attack lacked pace out wide.
I am really keen to see Kevin play from the off but he clearly is not showing enough in training to warrant it.
I think your observation on Josh King in front of goal is spot on. He snatches and generally is not the most composed or clinical when the n goal scoring positions. His movement is electric and when he drops deeper in pockets of space he drags opponents out of position.
I also find it interesting that king and Garcia don't seem to connect yet. Slightly worried for all for all Garcia running he receives so few chances per game.
The best chance fell to Muniz from a brilliant Kevin delivery. Just wish Garcia had received that cross ..

We were really good; controlled the midfield, created chances and basically gave Liverpool no clear cut attempts which is really promising. MoTM for Affi making his debut away at Anfield in a team that looked as defensively watertight as the titanic up until today. Pleased for AA because the tactics were spot on and the system looked fluid. Need to take that to the utd game and build on it for the three after but certainly lots of promise from the whole squad today

Quote from: howitis on September 12, 2026, 07:43:09 PMI too think the team looks much more balanced. I would say that Berge and Charles together was strong and arguably won the midfield battle. Their lack of creativity however puts additional pressure on the wide players to create. Thought Bobb struggled today and whilst I am a big fan of Iwobi o thought our attack lacked pace out wide.
I am really keen to see Kevin play from the off but he clearly is not showing enough in training to warrant it.
I think your observation on Josh King in front of goal is spot on. He snatches and generally is not the most composed or clinical when the n goal scoring positions. His movement is electric and when he drops deeper in pockets of space he drags opponents out of position.
I also find it interesting that king and Garcia don't seem to connect yet. Slightly worried for all for all Garcia running he receives so few chances per game.
The best chance fell to Muniz from a brilliant Kevin delivery. Just wish Garcia had received that cross ..

It's not unthinkable that Kevin gets a go from KO next time round. Did a couple of nice things when he came on today, including covering.

Quote from: @jolslover on September 12, 2026, 05:11:19 PMAffengruber MOTM for me with Charles a close second. Considering it was his first game in English football away at Liverpool he was outstanding, looks a great signing and also looked really good on the ball too.

Charles has looked very good in all his minutes and I am really happy with that signing too.

Special mention to Iwobi (pre game I said I don't think he should start and I thought he looked much much better on the wing. Berge was also much improved today too and looked solid.

I love Smith-Rowe and Kevin working very hard for the team when they came on also.. given lots of speculation about them being unhappy it was great to see Kevin especially track all the way back and put off Rio when he had a good chance.

Agree with most of this except for the final point. I'm not a serial ESR basher by any means but made no attempt to close down their RB for a cross at the end which I found pretty concerning as every other player was busting a gut all match.

Really pleased with that performance and thought Affengruber made a huge difference. Berge and Charles looks like a good pairing, and importantly Arbeloa got his balance and tactics spot on today.

Quote from: Twig on September 12, 2026, 05:24:27 PM

Quote from: Trusty Steed on September 12, 2026, 05:07:50 PMI think the difference is that Andersen couldn't be a scapegoat today.

He hasn't been scapegoated, people have simple been pointing out that he looks very uncomfortable in the AA set up and that seems to have negatively impacted his form.

To scapegoat means; "to blame a person for a mistake, failure or bad situation caused by someone(s) else". I honestly do not think that has been the case except perhaps by just a tiny minority of one or two.

Anyway delighted about today; the performance, AA's flexibility, some of our new signings. A point against Man U and things will start to look a lot better.

Totally agree, Andersen hasn't been scapegoated. He's just made lots of errors regularly and been costly for us. Scapegoating is one thing, objective criticism another.

Quote from: howitis on September 12, 2026, 07:43:09 PMI too think the team looks much more balanced. I would say that Berge and Charles together was strong and arguably won the midfield battle. Their lack of creativity however puts additional pressure on the wide players to create.

That's the thing though, it's how we need to play. We don't have the budget to improve our squad significantly enough or the current squad quality that can play without two defensively sound midfielders. We're not like Man City who used to play Bernardo Silva there. We need the defensive stability of having two midfielders who are good defensively. People often moaned about Berge-Lukic, but I still think that worked better than Berge-Iwobi or Lukic-Iwobi. Same thing now. Berge-Iwobi was poor. Charles-Iwobi slightly better, but Berge-Charles was by far the best pairing.

Maybe if in a few years if our squad gets significantly better, we'll be able to have someone who's a bit of a weak link defensively in the middle,for now, we cannot.

And tbf, I think we created more than enough chances today to score some goals. Garcia should have scored. Bobb would have had a good chance had his first touch been better, likewise Muniz, King had 2 chances he could have dkne better with and had one good effort on goal, etc.

Agreed, we could easily have walked off with three points at a difficult stadium.

Excited for the next four games.

Quote from: howitis on September 12, 2026, 07:43:09 PMI too think the team looks much more balanced. I would say that Berge and Charles together was strong and arguably won the midfield battle. Their lack of creativity however puts additional pressure on the wide players to create. Thought Bobb struggled today and whilst I am a big fan of Iwobi o thought our attack lacked pace out wide.
I am really keen to see Kevin play from the off but he clearly is not showing enough in training to warrant it.
I think your observation on Josh King in front of goal is spot on. He snatches and generally is not the most composed or clinical when the n goal scoring positions. His movement is electric and when he drops deeper in pockets of space he drags opponents out of position.
I also find it interesting that king and Garcia don't seem to connect yet. Slightly worried for all for all Garcia running he receives so few chances per game.
The best chance fell to Muniz from a brilliant Kevin delivery. Just wish Garcia had received that cross ..

Am expecting Larsson to step in for Berge sooner or later to add the additional dynamism and creativity

Quote from: howitis on September 12, 2026, 07:43:09 PMI too think the team looks much more balanced. I would say that Berge and Charles together was strong and arguably won the midfield battle. Their lack of creativity however puts additional pressure on the wide players to create. Thought Bobb struggled today and whilst I am a big fan of Iwobi o thought our attack lacked pace out wide.
I am really keen to see Kevin play from the off but he clearly is not showing enough in training to warrant it.
I think your observation on Josh King in front of goal is spot on. He snatches and generally is not the most composed or clinical when the n goal scoring positions. His movement is electric and when he drops deeper in pockets of space he drags opponents out of position.
I also find it interesting that king and Garcia don't seem to connect yet. Slightly worried for all for all Garcia running he receives so few chances per game.
The best chance fell to Muniz from a brilliant Kevin delivery. Just wish Garcia had received that cross ..

I don't think it's as much an issue re Garcia and King, they're both great prospects and just need coaching to work better together. When that happens then we'll have quite a lethal pair.

went with Charles in the end.  Whilst Affengruber had a great debut, no doubts there, just thought Charles was calm and mature in the centre.

Quote from: General on September 13, 2026, 11:33:47 AM

Quote from: howitis on September 12, 2026, 07:43:09 PMI too think the team looks much more balanced. I would say that Berge and Charles together was strong and arguably won the midfield battle. Their lack of creativity however puts additional pressure on the wide players to create. Thought Bobb struggled today and whilst I am a big fan of Iwobi o thought our attack lacked pace out wide.
I am really keen to see Kevin play from the off but he clearly is not showing enough in training to warrant it.
I think your observation on Josh King in front of goal is spot on. He snatches and generally is not the most composed or clinical when the n goal scoring positions. His movement is electric and when he drops deeper in pockets of space he drags opponents out of position.
I also find it interesting that king and Garcia don't seem to connect yet. Slightly worried for all for all Garcia running he receives so few chances per game.
The best chance fell to Muniz from a brilliant Kevin delivery. Just wish Garcia had received that cross ..

Am expecting Larsson to step in for Berge sooner or later to add the additional dynamism and creativity

Sorry to disagree, but I don't think that is a good idea. Berge is seriously underrated on this board. I feel like we need his positional discipline and technical ability in the team. Larsson is definitely promising but at this stage of his career he simply is not as good.

Quote from: Moussa Dembele the 3rd on September 13, 2026, 01:28:08 PM

Quote from: General on September 13, 2026, 11:33:47 AM

Quote from: howitis on September 12, 2026, 07:43:09 PMI too think the team looks much more balanced. I would say that Berge and Charles together was strong and arguably won the midfield battle. Their lack of creativity however puts additional pressure on the wide players to create. Thought Bobb struggled today and whilst I am a big fan of Iwobi o thought our attack lacked pace out wide.
I am really keen to see Kevin play from the off but he clearly is not showing enough in training to warrant it.
I think your observation on Josh King in front of goal is spot on. He snatches and generally is not the most composed or clinical when the n goal scoring positions. His movement is electric and when he drops deeper in pockets of space he drags opponents out of position.
I also find it interesting that king and Garcia don't seem to connect yet. Slightly worried for all for all Garcia running he receives so few chances per game.
The best chance fell to Muniz from a brilliant Kevin delivery. Just wish Garcia had received that cross ..

Am expecting Larsson to step in for Berge sooner or later to add the additional dynamism and creativity

Sorry to disagree, but I don't think that is a good idea. Berge is seriously underrated on this board. I feel like we need his positional discipline and technical ability in the team. Larsson is definitely promising but at this stage of his career he simply is not as good.

That's not true. Appreciate the disagreement and way you put the point across, but no-one has seen enough of Larsson in this team and setup to make that call. I appreciate Berge may still be underappreciated and have his merits, but I put Andersen in that bracket too and it doesn't mean they don't have their limitations or areas they could be better in and where other players can't be better. E.g. berge doesn't carry a threat going forward. Larsson does. Watching Larsson's highlights he can do defensive work, play a fast and more creative passes as well as carry the goalscoring threat. Something he's proven at a younger age and at a higher level than Berge as Larsson has played in European football and at international level, as well as at the top end of bundesliga, though Berge was going between champ and prem for a lot of his career.

At 22 Larsson having achieved that has a much higher bar not only now but in future. The aim isn't to go with what works, but what works best now and future.

Post game thoughts:

Very pleased and encouraged by this show.  It will only be significant if we can see some follow through in upcoming games, particularly our next home game.  Fingers crossed for follow through.

Thought just about every player had a good game, only a few missteps.
Affengruber looks a real good player.  Made a couple poor passes, but also found some nice recipients as well.  Nice player.
Charles looks a very good player as well.  Had good game.
King still our best forward in the team.  Voted him my MOTM.  Affengruber and Charles were close seconds for me, but King is really providing FFC with positive forward chances.
Garcia had fairly good game, still waiting for him to really break out though.  He missed great scoring chance, should have scored, got beat be an outfield player as keeper was nowhere to be found.
Even Leno had a decent game (finally).  Made some nice saves, but nothing I wouldn't expect any PL keeper to make, but he earned his clean sheet.
Rest of the team played well.  However, I want to single out Bobb for commentary.

Bobb - I've noticed he's getting quite a bit of stick in this forum.  Some is justified.  I have even criticized him for not shooting enough, and still feel he needs to have confidence out there to take the shot.  He had great scoring chance at top of the box and he decided to take a studs touch and lost control and squandered the chance, when he should have just blasted the ball, no touch needed.  He does need to start scoring goals.  All that said, I believe there is a really good player in Oscar Bobb.  He needs continued playing time and fan support, and he needs to build up some confidence.  Methinks once he finally tallies, the floodgates could open and we see a really good, contributing player.  I think we have a good player in Bobb, and I also would like to see Kevin get more play time as well, as there is a terrific player in him too. 

I think dropping Bobb is on the menu as far as I'm concerned..

If you aren't producing the goods, you should be out and replaced with someone who is.

Kevin deserves a chance on the right hand side,

So glad Charles has already formed a solid partnership with Berge in the midfield.

And mightily relieved our fullbacks have stopped bombing forward and we're tighter at the back.

Long may it continue !  ::wine::

Quote from: General on September 13, 2026, 01:49:21 PM

Quote from: Moussa Dembele the 3rd on September 13, 2026, 01:28:08 PM

Quote from: General on September 13, 2026, 11:33:47 AM

Quote from: howitis on September 12, 2026, 07:43:09 PMI too think the team looks much more balanced. I would say that Berge and Charles together was strong and arguably won the midfield battle. Their lack of creativity however puts additional pressure on the wide players to create. Thought Bobb struggled today and whilst I am a big fan of Iwobi o thought our attack lacked pace out wide.
I am really keen to see Kevin play from the off but he clearly is not showing enough in training to warrant it.
I think your observation on Josh King in front of goal is spot on. He snatches and generally is not the most composed or clinical when the n goal scoring positions. His movement is electric and when he drops deeper in pockets of space he drags opponents out of position.
I also find it interesting that king and Garcia don't seem to connect yet. Slightly worried for all for all Garcia running he receives so few chances per game.
The best chance fell to Muniz from a brilliant Kevin delivery. Just wish Garcia had received that cross ..

Am expecting Larsson to step in for Berge sooner or later to add the additional dynamism and creativity

Sorry to disagree, but I don't think that is a good idea. Berge is seriously underrated on this board. I feel like we need his positional discipline and technical ability in the team. Larsson is definitely promising but at this stage of his career he simply is not as good.

That's not true. Appreciate the disagreement and way you put the point across, but no-one has seen enough of Larsson in this team and setup to make that call. I appreciate Berge may still be underappreciated and have his merits, but I put Andersen in that bracket too and it doesn't mean they don't have their limitations or areas they could be better in and where other players can't be better. E.g. berge doesn't carry a threat going forward. Larsson does. Watching Larsson's highlights he can do defensive work, play a fast and more creative passes as well as carry the goalscoring threat. Something he's proven at a younger age and at a higher level than Berge as Larsson has played in European football and at international level, as well as at the top end of bundesliga, though Berge was going between champ and prem for a lot of his career.

At 22 Larsson having achieved that has a much higher bar not only now but in future. The aim isn't to go with what works, but what works best now and future.

Internationally, Larsson has achieved almost nothing. Berge is miles and miles ahead there. Larsson is still young, but his international experience so far consists mostly of not so good sub appearances.