Fulham have kept

[RAY Rock]

3 clean sheets in the premier league this calendar year . That is where the problems lies nothing has changed we play with 6 or 7 defensive minded players and still concede stupid easily preventable goals it is our Achilles heel and Silva has done nothing to rectify it . Long balls over the top and players running unopposed every week to take a shot what are we doing on the training pitch 🤷�♂️

[Sgt Fulham]

How does this compare to teams that finished around us last season? Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth, Palace etc.

Edit: I've looked it up and we're more in line with the bottom 5 in that regard. Definitely something to work on.

[FFC In Oz]

Don't think we score goals consistently enough either.

It seems that many teams seem to have worked out our patterns of play.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Our pattern of play is so predictable, opponents set themselves up in preparation as we appear easy to play against due to the slow tempo walking football in our own half.
Which often ends up giving the opposition time to get back behind the ball with depth and balance, or it ends up with Leno miscueing the ball into touch.
Either way we have just wasted time passing the ball sideways backwards in our own half, foolishly thinking we are going to suck them forward into leaving space behind them.
But in fact opponents just sit watching us fanny around at the back until an unforced error hands them possession.
If the opposition do press putting our players in defensive areas under pressure, then the chances are a pass goes astray and we lose possession cheaply and this happens home and away, and MS  does not seem to respond by way of a solution to prevent this happening.
I should really start taping our matches  and watch them at night. Much better than taking a sleeping tablet.
The NHS could take it up too, as a recognised cure for insomnia.

😂 

 

[JimmyConway]

Very difficult nowadays especially in this league against elite opposition most weeks to keep clean sheets let alone factor in strange VAR decisions. Who are the best team/s defensively and how much have their defence cost to put together?
Arsenal are the standout for me defensively Liverpool were 2nd but new defenders struggling a tad. Palace system probably puts them up there as one of the better teams defensively. Can't put up an argument for any other team including the likes of Man City. Lots of teams in premier league have average defence and a few with good defences.
There might be an debate whether today's managers work on their defence as much as they should?

[KentFulham]

Very difficult nowadays especially in this league against elite opposition most weeks to keep clean sheets let alone factor in strange VAR decisions. Who are the best team/s defensively and how much have their defence cost to put together?
Arsenal are the standout for me defensively Liverpool were 2nd but new defenders struggling a tad. Palace system probably puts them up there as one of the better teams defensively. Can't put up an argument for any other team including the likes of Man City. Lots of teams in premier league have average defence and a few with good defences.
There might be an debate whether today's managers work on their defence as much as they should?

I suposes its ok if you score as well, but we lack the goals part, so being defensively good is important

[KentFulham]

It is basically Parkerball v2

[hopper]

Posted a thread on this the other day.

We in fact were fourth worst last season for clean sheets with 5, worse than West Ham and Wolves. Only the relegated sides were worse.

Definitely a cause for concern, think Andersen's lack of pace has been an issue, but also that we concede so many from outside the box.

[Jim©]

It's the silly goals that frustrate me. That long ball over the top against Villa would give me nightmares as a 50+ year old player in a vets team. Shockingly bad.

What's perhaps worth mentioning is in the last two games our opponents have absolutely put us to the sword without many real chances- Villa's expected goals was 1.37 and Bournemouth's was 1.33. That's a huge swing.

[JimmyConway]

Very difficult nowadays especially in this league against elite opposition most weeks to keep clean sheets let alone factor in strange VAR decisions. Who are the best team/s defensively and how much have their defence cost to put together?
Arsenal are the standout for me defensively Liverpool were 2nd but new defenders struggling a tad. Palace system probably puts them up there as one of the better teams defensively. Can't put up an argument for any other team including the likes of Man City. Lots of teams in premier league have average defence and a few with good defences.
There might be an debate whether today's managers work on their defence as much as they should?

I suposes its ok if you score as well, but we lack the goals part, so being defensively good is important

Quite right and since Palhinha left we do not have that protection we had. We have two players now doing the job Joao did and arguably not as good? Wide players like Iwobi Wilson & Traore are not disciplined enough to track back. Whether Kevin or Samuel are remains to be seen.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Very difficult nowadays especially in this league against elite opposition most weeks to keep clean sheets let alone factor in strange VAR decisions. Who are the best team/s defensively and how much have their defence cost to put together?
Arsenal are the standout for me defensively Liverpool were 2nd but new defenders struggling a tad. Palace system probably puts them up there as one of the better teams defensively. Can't put up an argument for any other team including the likes of Man City. Lots of teams in premier league have average defence and a few with good defences.
There might be an debate whether today's managers work on their defence as much as they should?

I suposes its ok if you score as well, but we lack the goals part, so being defensively good is important

Quite right and since Palhinha left we do not have that protection we had. We have two players now doing the job Joao did and arguably not as good? Wide players like Iwobi Wilson & Traore are not disciplined enough to track back. Whether Kevin or Samuel are remains to be seen.

Precisely, by failing to track back to pick up their markers, it leaves no depth or delay or balance, therefore we lose our shape.
The back 4 get hit too early and no matter how many times they clear sometimes desperately due to lack of players in defensive areas, but eventually errors will occur which is the consequence of wingers not tucking in.

[WindyCity]

There is another thread on this page about clean sheets (lack thereof).

Rather than looking at defensive setups, coach game plans, lack of goal scoring et al, one might want to take a look at the keeper.

[cookieg]

There is another thread on this page about clean sheets (lack thereof).

Rather than looking at defensive setups, coach game plans, lack of goal scoring et al, one might want to take a look at the keeper.

If the players in front of Leno aren't doing their job properly then he will concede goals. even the best keepers concede if their defence and midfield aren't stopping the shots etc.

[hopper]

There is another thread on this page about clean sheets (lack thereof).

Rather than looking at defensive setups, coach game plans, lack of goal scoring et al, one might want to take a look at the keeper.

If the players in front of Leno aren't doing their job properly then he will concede goals. even the best keepers concede if their defence and midfield aren't stopping the shots etc.

I feel like Leno has been a steady presence but I rarely leave any game feeling he won us the points. Doesn't make that many errors, but is a bit susceptible to long range shots.

[JimmyConway]

There is another thread on this page about clean sheets (lack thereof).

Rather than looking at defensive setups, coach game plans, lack of goal scoring et al, one might want to take a look at the keeper.

If the players in front of Leno aren't doing their job properly then he will concede goals. even the best keepers concede if their defence and midfield aren't stopping the shots etc.

I feel like Leno has been a steady presence but I rarely leave any game feeling he won us the points. Doesn't make that many errors, but is a bit susceptible to long range shots.

I don't have a problem with Leno in general his a tidy keeper.That said I mentioned on here back in the summer we should have got a keeper in who would challenge him not someone happy to be a number two? Has he become a tad complacent without the competition.

[Jim©]

I feel Leno has been better this season than last, where he was one of the worst performing keepers in the league. Great with one on one's, imo terrible with longer shots and not massively comfortable under corners.

[Chi_FFC]

There is another thread on this page about clean sheets (lack thereof).

Rather than looking at defensive setups, coach game plans, lack of goal scoring et al, one might want to take a look at the keeper.

If the players in front of Leno aren't doing their job properly then he will concede goals. even the best keepers concede if their defence and midfield aren't stopping the shots etc.

Of course all of the relevant stats show that the defense in front of our GK has gotten better every season we've been in the PL while unfortunately Bernd has gotten progressively worse. If Bernd had been just a roughly average PL level shot stopper last season we'd have almost certainly comfortably finished at least a couple spots higher in the table. And while it's a little too early in the current season to draw any conclusions about whether there's been any improvement from Leno, the early returns are not terribly promising.

[White Knight]

I feel Leno does not really look that comfortable with the ball at his feet, and it can effect his distribution at times. 
All professional keepers should be good shot stoppers, but commanding their area is just as important. especially high balls and crosses in  the box.
Maik Taylor was particularly good at that. He was a safe pair of hands.

[cookieg]

There is another thread on this page about clean sheets (lack thereof).

Rather than looking at defensive setups, coach game plans, lack of goal scoring et al, one might want to take a look at the keeper.

If the players in front of Leno aren't doing their job properly then he will concede goals. even the best keepers concede if their defence and midfield aren't stopping the shots etc.

Of course all of the relevant stats show that the defense in front of our GK has gotten better every season we've been in the PL while unfortunately Bernd has gotten progressively worse. If Bernd had been just a roughly average PL level shot stopper last season we'd have almost certainly comfortably finished at least a couple spots higher in the table. And while it's a little too early in the current season to draw any conclusions about whether there's been any improvement from Leno, the early returns are not terribly promising.

And if we'd have scored more goals we would have finished higher. If we'd have been able to defend a lead more often we would have finished higher. To single out Leno for us not being higher up the table and in Europe is a bit harsh. If we are closing down the opposition and stopping the shots we concede less. Not fannying around at the back and giving away the ball would also help.

[Jim©]

Actually, only Arsenal, Newcastle and Man Utd have allowed LESS shots than we have (9.71 per 90), we are better than Man City, Liverpool & Chelsea in this regard, but we're still conceding more.
Now, I'm not putting that all on Leno but...