It ends 2-0 to Fulham at the King Power Stadium, with goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore.
Much needed win after the West Ham loss, so lets have all your post match thoughts below 👇🏻
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GhlyFAHXEAE0AI4?format=jpg&name=small)
#ffc #LEIFUL
:welcome1:
Two very good team goals
At last we beat a bottom feeder!...... ::scarf::
Great to see Berge back .
But miss Tete down the right .
Everything goes down left side.
Sasa was fantastic again. Also Joachim really made some amazingly ballsy passes through the lines, it really makes us look so dangerous when he does that. Me and my dad couldn't believe Adama slotted that, hats off to the man.
Only negative for me was Castagne , some woeful balls when we were 0-0 but it's all moot. Great win
Leicester are crap and we strolled it when we got out of second gear. Berge is likely the most important player in the team regarding how we run our 4-2-3-1 system and is looking good value for money based on what we paid. Important goal for ESR's confidence and being heavily involved in the second too. I'm going to sound like a stuck record but we need Nelson back so Iwobi can play on the right and give us better balance, something like 65% of our attacks go down the left and better teams will find ways to shut Iwobi and Robinson out and then we get a bit stuck for ideas.
Also found it interesting AP didn't make it on the pitch today with both King & TC coming on instead. Wonder if there's something in that?
Berge and Sasa 💪 💪
Good, competent job, well done. Credit to the coaching staff and squad. (Only slight downside is Lukic's 9th yellow - as I understand it, 1 more and he'll have a 2 game suspension.)
The only thing I'll say apart from being glad to have beaten a bottom half team is that we look so much better with Lukic and Berge in the middle
A bit like running out of coffee but finding a tatty old jar with bits you could scrape off the bottom with a knife - a bit rough, a little bland but got the job done
A progressively easy watch as the game went on, simply because after the goals we didn't fall back and defend deep, which eased the coronary considerations.
Away presence was awesome!! Thank you FFC roadies! I heard you ALL game in my headphones back here in the states!! 🖤🤍❤️
Standard win against a poor side.
ESR did a job which will hopefully start to calm a few down.
Our movement down the left sets up our attacks back to the right. That's why Sasa was involved in the first and Wilson involved in both in opposite sides. We aren't one note at all, we're baiting teams out of position so they can't set their press. As a result we strike with late runs by our central midfielders like Lukic and Esr.
They are dire & going down.
We got the job done in the second half which is good after some disappointing results against similar poor opposition.
Still think we are way too slow & conservative in our approach play.
Quote from: OZ-WHITE on January 18, 2025, 05:11:53 PMA bit like running out of coffee but finding a tatty old jar with bits you could scrape off the bottom with a knife - a bit rough, a little bland but got the job done
I agree, not great viewing entertainment wise but we got the job done and hopefully that will give the team a lift. A clean sheet is a bonus as well.
It is a good win. But the same old first half. Only When we changed it and put Traore on did we look as if we were fully in control. So after seeing how poorly West Ham played today.I again question the starting line up and tactics. We had so many chances and yet put two away. Yes I know Liverpoolhad a record number of chances and only won in injury time in their match.
But oh for a side that can win when on top more often than we do. But today was good and against an awful side we actually won. So good result.
Professional job done after the rubbish from the last game away from home.
Man Utd next at home and if they get tonked by the Seagulls then we should be in a great place to wallop them too.
About time Adama hit the target, perhaps all that baby oil affects his shooting!
Got home just in time to see the second half,thought we were great proper team game.
Good header by ESR this time
Funny how Iwobi came off and we scored 2.
Quote from: Somerset Fulham on January 18, 2025, 05:14:20 PMStandard win against a poor side.
ESR did a job which will hopefully start to calm a few down.
Yeah, I liked how the Team was chatting with him after the goal. Probably saying the same thing. And he had a big smile.
Why was Iwobi subbed anyway, did he pick up a knock?
Quote from: Tabby on January 18, 2025, 05:47:21 PMWhy was Iwobi subbed anyway, did he pick up a knock?
ill apparently - Silva asked about it after the game
Quote from: Deeping_white on January 18, 2025, 05:52:52 PMQuote from: Tabby on January 18, 2025, 05:47:21 PMWhy was Iwobi subbed anyway, did he pick up a knock?
ill apparently - Silva asked about it after the game
He was poor in the first half so it was no surprise Adama replaced him.
Thought Raul played really well today - holding up ball well, winning it a few times, good passing and heading. Made a few mistakes but overall good.
Quote from: Somerset Fulham on January 18, 2025, 05:14:20 PMStandard win against a poor side.
ESR did a job which will hopefully start to calm a few down.
Something we failed to do against teams like Southampton - I will take it with both hands!
I love Adama. That is all.
Why does no one enjoy how we are doing, instead of finding faults all the time, obviously weren't supporting club in 90's
Quote from: FFC1987 on January 18, 2025, 07:54:45 PMI love Adama. That is all.
what a finish by the man.great partnership sasa and Berge can see with ESR how Andreas seems the one to many in the midfield, 8 role.
Quote from: FFC1987 on January 18, 2025, 07:54:45 PMI love Adama. That is all.
Here here,criminally underated and does way more than he gets credit for. His presence alone on the right and staying out wide there brings balance to our team who certainly have a tendency to favour the left flank so much it can become predictable for teams at times.
Quote from: TB1973 on January 18, 2025, 09:05:12 PMWhy does no one enjoy how we are doing, instead of finding faults all the time, obviously weren't supporting club in 90's
Because we've all seen how good this current team can be, beating Chelsea, Arsenal, Man U, Spurs, etc. and it's criminal how we can do so well against those teams but then flounder against the likes of West Ham and Southampton. Also, because we've seen the glory days of the Europa League final and would dearly love to get that again.
Very professional job. Makes a change to get a routine win against one of the league's 'lesser' sides. Berge elevates this team so much. He and Lukic offer so much in the middle - our problem is a lack of depth in that area.
Quote from: TB1973 on January 18, 2025, 09:05:12 PMWhy does no one enjoy how we are doing, instead of finding faults all the time, obviously weren't supporting club in 90's
Previous decades are irrelevant to large numbers of current supporters. Nothing wrong with that.
Looked a more Balanced and Stable side with Berge back along side Lukic. Sander breaking up Leicester's midfield and Sasa able to get into more attacking areas to distribute and close down their defenders.
Heart in mouth time was Andersen's block in the area. Had flashback to the Olly Watkins sending off against Villa.
Quote from: Coast94 on January 18, 2025, 10:40:40 PMVery professional job. Makes a change to get a routine win against one of the league's 'lesser' sides. Berge elevates this team so much. He and Lukic offer so much in the middle - our problem is a lack of depth in that area.
Yes. If the club can get another player in there of similar quality it would be huge. When either are out the defensive set up looks much more fragile.
Lukic and Berge make us look stronger and balanced and that's something we have missed in the last few weeks, pleased to see Adama get take his goal the way he did
That second goal was pure class. Traore did well to find space, Wilson with a pinpoint chipped cross and Traore so composed eith the finish.
ESR much better as well and showed he really wanted it by putting his head where he might be kicked.
Really satisfying victory.
Quote from: Bassey the warrior on January 19, 2025, 09:09:08 AMThat second goal was pure class. Traore did well to find space, Wilson with a pinpoint chipped cross and Traore so composed eith the finish.
Watching the game on MOTD now as I only had the radio coverage yesterday. Beautiful finish from Adama, let's hope he can build on this & grab a few more.
First half was okay, second half was very good.
Leno - calm presence at the back. Not sure he did a single thing wrong in the game. After a game he had against West Ham, this shows great character-
Castagne - he wasn't poor, but worst performance of the 4 defenders. Okay defensively, decent in build-up of our attacks as well, poor crossing.
Andersen -now this is the Andersen from the start of the season. If you compare this to his other league performances since his injury, it's night and day. Superb passing throughout the game too.
Bassey - solid. Had a decent effort go slightly wide in the first half.
Robinson - solid. Our main outlet in the first half. He put some decent crosses in.
Berge - great performance from him. He looked very composed. His height and strenght help us a lot too. I like AP and he tries very hard, but he just doesn't have the same physicality that Berge or even Lukic have. Berge and Lukic compliment each other very well. Sander is usually the one that is staying further back, but there were one or two moments where they reversed their roles, and they generally seem to be in sync. We missed him so much during his injury... They remind me a bit of the McDonald and Johansen duo we had in the Championship, only at a higher level.
Lukic - another one who had a great game. It's between him, Berge and ESR for MOTM, imo. If anyone had doubts whether Berge and Lukic would be too defensive against "weaker" teams, I'm sure those doubts have disappeared yesterday. Sasa effectively crashed the box multiple times, which resulted in him getting an assist too. He also carried the ball effectively whenever he had empty space in front of him(like he did before our second goal) and managed to put a perfect cross for Muniz too. Only slight criticism is his yellow, which I don't think was neccessary this time (I do think most of his other yellows were though, as he usually stopped a dangerous counter or something).
Wilson - was pretty quiet in the first half, imo. He did play a major part in both of our goals in the secnd though. Showed great desire to keep the ball in the play for our first and even managed to put a cross in the danger area, Lukic and ESR did the rest. And for the second goal, that cross was just superb. When him and Traore play together, I prefer the set up that was used in most of this game, Wilson on the left and Traore on the right. Wilson drifts in to the middle whether he plays on the left or right, so he'll still be a goal threat and when he's on the left he can put some dangerous crosses in. Traore is much better on the right than he is on the left.
ESR - a great game from him, and the goal was the least important thing for me. He showed incredible desire from the first minute to the las minute he spent on the pitch. He was tracking back Leicester players all over the pitch, there were multiple instances in the both halfs when he ended up defending near our box. He wasn't afraid of the aerial duels either, that one in the second half resulted in a pretty painful landing, but it showed incredible desire to win the ball. Same can be said for his goal. And whenerver he had the ball, he was much more positive than in previous games. Great performance and hopefully he can use this performance as a blueprint in the future
Iwobi - his crossing was a bit off, but I thought he looked decent otherwise. Heard Marco say he has a flu. Hope he recovers well and fast.
Raul - decent performance. My only criticism is some of his passes in the 2nd half were very poor.
Adama - superb performance from him. Took his goal extremely well and was a threat for the entire second half. If he played more than 45 minutes, he'd have been in contention for MOTM, imo. Marco will have a difficult job to pick starting wingers for the next game, if Iwobi is back from illness.
All other subs did well too.
Overall, a good result and a good performance which was needed after the West Ham debacle. Let's build from here, COYW!
Good result. Moaned a bit on Match Day thread about first half with 9 shots & none on target; but second half was good. I went for Berge as Man of the Match as he constantly broke their play and his passing was superb.
I think ESR's pressing really puts teams off when he's up for it. I recall it led directly to a goal earlier in the season
Pretty much workman like affair against a really poor side. Good result, though that first half was a bit nervy. Very happy to see Traore net. He actually should have had a second, why he passed off on that chance I just don't know. Need to be selfish in those opportunities, take the shot! Anyway, all's well that ends well. Nice to see a clean sheet for a change.
No reason not to expect a good result next game v ManU. Should have had better result in reverse fixture. They really aren't that good, hope to have favorable result at the Cottage.
Quote from: SerbianLad on January 19, 2025, 10:22:20 AMFirst half was okay, second half was very good.
Leno - calm presence at the back. Not sure he did a single thing wrong in the game. After a game he had against West Ham, this shows great character-
Castagne - he wasn't poor, but worst performance of the 4 defenders. Okay defensively, decent in build-up of our attacks as well, poor crossing.
Andersen -now this is the Andersen from the start of the season. If you compare this to his other league performances since his injury, it's night and day. Superb passing throughout the game too.
Bassey - solid. Had a decent effort go slightly wide in the first half.
Robinson - solid. Our main outlet in the first half. He put some decent crosses in.
Berge - great performance from him. He looked very composed. His height and strenght help us a lot too. I like AP and he tries very hard, but he just doesn't have the same physicality that Berge or even Lukic have. Berge and Lukic compliment each other very well. Sander is usually the one that is staying further back, but there were one or two moments where they reversed their roles, and they generally seem to be in sync. We missed him so much during his injury... They remind me a bit of the McDonald and Johansen duo we had in the Championship, only at a higher level.
Lukic - another one who had a great game. It's between him, Berge and ESR for MOTM, imo. If anyone had doubts whether Berge and Lukic would be too defensive against "weaker" teams, I'm sure those doubts have disappeared yesterday. Sasa effectively crashed the box multiple times, which resulted in him getting an assist too. He also carried the ball effectively whenever he had empty space in front of him(like he did before our second goal) and managed to put a perfect cross for Muniz too. Only slight criticism is his yellow, which I don't think was neccessary this time (I do think most of his other yellows were though, as he usually stopped a dangerous counter or something).
Wilson - was pretty quiet in the first half, imo. He did play a major part in both of our goals in the secnd though. Showed great desire to keep the ball in the play for our first and even managed to put a cross in the danger area, Lukic and ESR did the rest. And for the second goal, that cross was just superb. When him and Traore play together, I prefer the set up that was used in most of this game, Wilson on the left and Traore on the right. Wilson drifts in to the middle whether he plays on the left or right, so he'll still be a goal threat and when he's on the left he can put some dangerous crosses in. Traore is much better on the right than he is on the left.
ESR - a great game from him, and the goal was the least important thing for me. He showed incredible desire from the first minute to the las minute he spent on the pitch. He was tracking back Leicester players all over the pitch, there were multiple instances in the both halfs when he ended up defending near our box. He wasn't afraid of the aerial duels either, that one in the second half resulted in a pretty painful landing, but it showed incredible desire to win the ball. Same can be said for his goal. And whenerver he had the ball, he was much more positive than in previous games. Great performance and hopefully he can use this performance as a blueprint in the future
Iwobi - his crossing was a bit off, but I thought he looked decent otherwise. Heard Marco say he has a flu. Hope he recovers well and fast.
Raul - decent performance. My only criticism is some of his passes in the 2nd half were very poor.
Adama - superb performance from him. Took his goal extremely well and was a threat for the entire second half. If he played more than 45 minutes, he'd have been in contention for MOTM, imo. Marco will have a difficult job to pick starting wingers for the next game, if Iwobi is back from illness.
All other subs did well too.
Overall, a good result and a good performance which was needed after the West Ham debacle. Let's build from here, COYW!
I disagree on Castagne. His passing was an issue. Seemed most of Leicester's dangerous possession came out of poor passes from the back. The majority from him.
Another RB may be what the team needs most this window if Tete is not coming back for another month or two. If Castagne has an injury or extended poor form, the club are vulnerable there right now.
Could someone assist me in clarifying the following points:
1) If Iwobi is suffering from the flu, why was he included in the starting lineup against Leicester?
2) After the second goal, it appeared that no one on the team celebrated, and even Adama, who scored, displayed minimal emotion.
3) Muniz missed a chance at the end of the game from just 1-2 meters, which seems to be a recurring issue for him. However, I am curious as to why he was smiling after the miss. What could be amusing about it, and why isn't he upset about missing another clear opportunity?
Perhaps I am overanalyzing the emotional aspects. Thank you for your insights.
Quote from: LPNCanadian on January 19, 2025, 06:43:18 PMCould someone assist me in clarifying the following points:
1) If Iwobi is suffering from the flu, why was he included in the starting lineup against Leicester?
2) After the second goal, it appeared that no one on the team celebrated, and even Adama, who scored, displayed minimal emotion.
3) Muniz missed a chance at the end of the game from just 1-2 meters, which seems to be a recurring issue for him. However, I am curious as to why he was smiling after the miss. What could be amusing about it, and why isn't he upset about missing another clear opportunity?
Perhaps I am overanalyzing the emotional aspects. Thank you for your insights.
i think you are definitely over analysing
1/ he thought he was able to play based on his condition and found he wasnt
2/ im not sure what needs clarifying here, just seemed like a set of players who felt fairly comfortable. wasnt a release of a goal that esrs was clearly
3/ one natural response to bemusement is to smile
Quote from: TB1973 on January 18, 2025, 09:05:12 PMWhy does no one enjoy how we are doing, instead of finding faults all the time, obviously weren't supporting club in 90's
For me (and I've been going on and off since the very late sixties) Its like watching you horse take the fences with ease and style, not necessarily in the lead but in the running. Then taking one like a complete donkey and it's all over. Looking over the years it's not down to one manager, chairman or players. We're not the only club in the Premiership or London like this. Crystal Palace and now Brentford are experiencing much the same. Fulham like the majority on here is my club and will always be. Whether it's here in the Premiership or Division 2. I, like everyone else wants to bathe once again in the Tigana and Hodgson moments. This team and Manager have that in them.
Quote from: LRCN on January 19, 2025, 06:56:25 PMQuote from: LPNCanadian on January 19, 2025, 06:43:18 PMCould someone assist me in clarifying the following points:
1) If Iwobi is suffering from the flu, why was he included in the starting lineup against Leicester?
2) After the second goal, it appeared that no one on the team celebrated, and even Adama, who scored, displayed minimal emotion.
3) Muniz missed a chance at the end of the game from just 1-2 meters, which seems to be a recurring issue for him. However, I am curious as to why he was smiling after the miss. What could be amusing about it, and why isn't he upset about missing another clear opportunity?
Perhaps I am overanalyzing the emotional aspects. Thank you for your insights.
i think you are definitely over analysing
1/ he thought he was able to play based on his condition and found he wasnt
2/ im not sure what needs clarifying here, just seemed like a set of players who felt fairly comfortable. wasnt a release of a goal that esrs was clearly
3/ one natural response to bemusement is to smile
I agree, although I was a little surprised with the muted response to Adama's goal. Muniz is an easier one. He smiles all the time. He probably smiles in his sleep!
Yeah, the muted response to the Traore goal was head scratching. Thought there would have been more enthusiasm. After all, big FFC weakness this season has been just creating one goal leads that are easily given up, we have lost quite a few points from winning positions. One would think getting that all important two goal lead would have brought a bit more joy.