Friends of Fulham

We don't seem to be scoring as much of late. Personally I think Bobby Reid should come in.

If so, who would you drop?

Neither wingers should be dropped they should score against Wigan, we need to fix the midfield balance, we need a holder, b2b mover and playmaker.

We need to avoid the current three holding midfielders Reed, Arter and S.Sess, lots of holders is great for possession stats but unfortunately that won't get us into the premier league.

Knockaert needs to adapt his game dramatically to become useful to us IMO. Less tricks, less shots and stop cutting inside. Just get the head down, get inside the 18 yard box, get down to the touchline then cross it.

Still prefer him to any of the alternatives. Not least because I don't see Bobby Reid as a winger. Reid needs to play centrally as a number 9 or 10 IMO.

Quote from: Statto on September 25, 2019, 12:32:52 AM
Knockaert needs to adapt his game dramatically to become useful to us IMO. Less tricks, less shots and stop cutting inside. Just get the head down, get inside the 18 yard box, get down to the touchline then cross it.

Still prefer him to any of the alternatives. Not least because I don't see Bobby Reid as a winger. Reid needs to play centrally as a number 9 or 10 IMO.

We will miss Ayite especially off the bench, a more simple winger that just does his job of getting balls to the centre forward with a few goals to keep the opposition guessing. Knockaert looks like he is trying to win the Balloon D'Or, but he's not Neymar. I wonder if Knockaert should be tried on the left as a traditional winger.

Our bigger issue is our midfield and forwards only got 30.4%, which is high but not nearly as impressive as 70.8% overall. If we can get possession higher up the pitch even by a couple metres every few games, then we will be much more dangerous.

None. Things pointed to lack of accuracy.

So for now the good old solutions are to polish their technique and practice more.

I don't think it's a personnel issue but more about style of play. At the moment our possession based game is too slow and ponderous. We seem to take forever to move the ball from back to front by which time the opposition are settled into their defensive shape and become difficult to break down. We have the attacking players to rip up this division if utilised correctly, if we attacked with more tempo and pace.

The only team to takes us on from the getgo has been Barnsley, even with home advantage, 10 men behind the ball has been our problem to solve. So far we have found the issue very difficult but in couple of cases been within touching distance of three points. For now keep trying Scott to bring about a resolution on the training ground with the first signs of a less ponderous style this Friday.

COYW

Neither

Bobby Reid has started the last two games as well... He is not a winger, we have two of the best (if not the best) wingers in the league and you want to drop them for Kamara? or someone who has never played as a winger in his career?

Quote from: @jolslover on September 25, 2019, 08:13:56 AM
Neither

Bobby Reid has started the last two games as well... He is not a winger, we have two of the best (if not the best) wingers in the league and you want to drop them for Kamara? or someone who has never played as a winger in his career?

Two best wingers?,about time Cava started showing
it then,he's been lazy and poor last three games.

I do hate it when the notion 'drop that player' is used rather than the much less emotive language like 'and now for something completely different'.  SP and his team can experiment with different ways to hold onto the ball, move it around at several tempos, have players that are free to roam into different areas of the pitch, each having the confidence to attack or defend very effectively no matter what, and to trust all their partner players to be doing the same.  That is work rate and effectiveness.  By watching who does what, when and with whom, you can find the best matched and best balanced team for the next game coming up, regardless of how big a name or price tag each player has.  If its the same eleven every game so be it; if it is a different team then that is okay as well, but it is all down to who plays well with whom.

Versatility is the name of the game.

Quote from: JoelH5 on September 24, 2019, 11:45:56 PM
We don't seem to be scoring as much of late. Personally I think Bobby Reid should come in.

If so, who would you drop?

He has been in...?

I'd consider dropping Bobby to play Arter, Cairney, Harrison and then encourage the full-backs on with them knowing them have Harrison and Arter as cover. Removes an attacking minder player, but allows the whole eleven to play more attacking.

Mitrovic..........should be scoring for fun! And please don't state that he is not getting the service, he needs to speed up his game.

Quote from: pj180e on September 25, 2019, 09:17:08 AM
Mitrovic..........should be scoring for fun! And please don't state that he is not getting the service, he needs to speed up his game.

But he's not

Interesting leanings towards dropping Mitrovic. At the moment the only thing that will be dented would be his pride but would coming on after sixty minutes, under lights at The Cottage and to rapturous applause serve as an inspiring kick up the backside.
By the way Reid would stay on and Cav, who is showing why he was let go, off.

Mitro is the division's joint top scorer FFS

Indeed he is alongside at least half a dozen others with 5 in eight games. Almost invisible on the pitch at times though and a little nudge never hurt anyone. Who is FFS by the way?

At the moment the pressure is on Knockeart and Cavaleiro to score a few goals, go outside the fullbacks and to get some good crosses in. Neither of them are living up to their early promise and Kamara should be considered to replace one of them.

We are playing both men in good forward wide positions and before dropping either of them we should give them the opportunity to benefit from a change of tactics by getting the ball to them earlier. It is taking at least 3 or 4 passes to bring them into play , lets try a first time ball from defence to the wide men so that they have some space to work in.

Quote from: JoelH5 on September 24, 2019, 11:45:56 PM
We don't seem to be scoring as much of late. Personally I think Bobby Reid should come in.

If so, who would you drop?

Bobby Reid is already playing isn't he? I don't think players is the problem necessarily, we need to tweak the tactics. Full backs given licence to go forward but not at the same time, one staying behind so we don't get done on the counter. Wingers to switch if cutting inside doesn't work. More balls in the box to Mitro.

I think we are going to have to accept that teams will sit deep against us and thus the passing between centre backs will happen, but we need to have more movement off the ball and fluidity.

Quote from: Mitrovic the warrior on September 25, 2019, 04:45:21 PM

Quote from: JoelH5 on September 24, 2019, 11:45:56 PM
We don't seem to be scoring as much of late. Personally I think Bobby Reid should come in.

If so, who would you drop?

Bobby Reid is already playing isn't he? I don't think players is the problem necessarily, we need to tweak the tactics. Full backs given licence to go forward but not at the same time, one staying behind so we don't get done on the counter. Wingers to switch if cutting inside doesn't work. More balls in the box to Mitro.

I think we are going to have to accept that teams will sit deep against us and thus the passing between centre backs will happen, but we need to have more movement off the ball and fluidity.

Yes, but I think he may be better suited in one of the winger roles. I didn't make that clear. I think he may be a bit better at getting in behind when teams sit deep.

If the wingers are playing inside out, will he be any better than Cav or Knock? Tactics are in need of an adjustment maybe, moreso than players under-performing is my general feeling.

Abandon the idea of playing inverted wingers then we might have more balls crossed into the box. A left-footed player on the left and a right-footed player on the right.

Perhaps a 4-4-2. Mitro up top with Reid running about. Have Cav and Knocks looking for the cross rather than always cutting in. This should spread the defense which might open some more thru balls for Carney and reduce the double teaming on Mitro. Has anyone else noticed that when the opponent counters, Cav and Knocks are seldom back on defense?

Cairney?

It's not the players it's the tactics, we need to get our full backs overlapping and balls into the box, this will inturn create space all over the pitch by stretching teams rather than playing infront of them which most are comfortable with

A good result against Wigan is possible and may mask our current problems for a while, but they will likely resurface.

Other things aside, I feel our wide forwards need to swop sides more consistantly.
Knocky seems comfortably both sides, but Cav looks lost and ineffective on the left.
After his two goals early on when he cut inside and scored with his right, the opposition have recognised the danger and planned against it.
Also he does not seem to have the speed to get passed defenders, when on a break having to wait for TC or Bryan to join him to keep the attack going or to not lose possession, by which time it is too late.
Against the better teams this seems a real problem.

Quote from: Whitestone on September 25, 2019, 06:55:30 AM
I don't think it's a personnel issue but more about style of play. At the moment our possession based game is too slow and ponderous. We seem to take forever to move the ball from back to front by which time the opposition are settled into their defensive shape and become difficult to break down. We have the attacking players to rip up this division if utilised correctly, if we attacked with more tempo and pace.

Agree

Sent from my CMR-W19 using Tapatalk

Quote from: JoelH5 on September 24, 2019, 11:45:56 PM

If so, who would you drop?

It is a mistake to ask "who should we drop?" unless someone is on the sidelines that commands a place you shouldn't drop anyone, unless things are dire.

The questions we should we asking are "who deserves a start?" and "who should make way for them?".

Quote from: The Rational Fan on September 26, 2019, 12:34:09 PM

Quote from: JoelH5 on September 24, 2019, 11:45:56 PM

If so, who would you drop?

It is a mistake to ask "who should we drop?" unless someone is on the sidelines that commands a place you shouldn't drop anyone, unless things are dire.

The questions we should we asking are "who deserves a start?" and "who should make way for them?".

Not necessarily, no. Otherwise teams would never change their first eleven. If things aren't working, you look at your options.

Quote from: Dr Quinzel on September 26, 2019, 05:01:21 PM

Quote from: The Rational Fan on September 26, 2019, 12:34:09 PM

Quote from: JoelH5 on September 24, 2019, 11:45:56 PM

If so, who would you drop?

It is a mistake to ask "who should we drop?" unless someone is on the sidelines that commands a place you shouldn't drop anyone, unless things are dire.

The questions we should we asking are "who deserves a start?" and "who should make way for them?".

Not necessarily, no. Otherwise teams would never change their first eleven. If things aren't working, you look at your options.

If things are working or aren't working, a manager should look at his options. Alex Ferguson changed his first XI when things were working, but he thought they could do better.

Quote from: The Rational Fan on September 27, 2019, 01:37:51 AM
If things are working or aren't working, a manager should look at his options. Alex Ferguson changed his first XI when things were working, but he thought they could do better.

I agree with this proposition because 'working' can mean 'okay, but not at best'.  I think the conundrum for SP is that when the team has 'worked' this season it has varied from very good to not so good within an individual game, and the drop off has been the cause of us leaking goals.  Even against Barnsley and Forest there were good signs but they were simply not good enough to score goals and win games as required.  SJ would tend to pick his best or most consistent players as a core and make changes at the margins but I am not sure SP knows his best eleven yet; perhaps on paper but not in terms of required outcomes.  If I were to change anything for tonight it would be to squeeze Johansen into midfield somehow and push the full backs up the pitch but only on one side at a time so that the other can step inside and cover space with Mawson, Ream and the nominated defensive midfielder.  Four players should be enough to slow down any kind of counter.

Quote from: Mitrovic the warrior on September 25, 2019, 04:45:21 PM

Quote from: JoelH5 on September 24, 2019, 11:45:56 PM
We don't seem to be scoring as much of late. Personally I think Bobby Reid should come in.

If so, who would you drop?

Bobby Reid is already playing isn't he? I don't think players is the problem necessarily, we need to tweak the tactics. Full backs given licence to go forward but not at the same time, one staying behind so we don't get done on the counter. Wingers to switch if cutting inside doesn't work. More balls in the box to Mitro.

I think we are going to have to accept that teams will sit deep against us and thus the passing between centre backs will happen, but we need to have more movement off the ball and fluidity.

:plus one: