Oscar Bobb

[H4usuallysitting]

I'm wondering if he could be used as a wing back

Why would you want him to be a defender?

Wing back... he's young, can sling a decent cross in, good & quick with his feet.... I'm thinking out the box

Oscar Bobb for me is a star in the making. Looks quality. I've been really impressed by what I have seen albeit very early days. ESR is displaying what we always knew he had. Kevin is starting to get there but a tendency to force things. Chuk has Willian vibes about him. Get a quality 9 and we are sorted.

Right back and GK needs addressing next.

I'd better get warmed up

[General]

All sounds very promising for, as many say, his first start. Will take time to get up to speed, but creativity, close ball control, linking up well with King and Castagne all show signs of a very capable and intelligent player.

Hopefully someone can put a highlight reel together at some point. Would be great to see

[bencher]

I'm wondering if he could be used as a wing back

Why would you want him to be a defender?

Wing back... he's young, can sling a decent cross in, good & quick with his feet.... I'm thinking out the box

Oscar Bobb for me is a star in the making. Looks quality. I've been really impressed by what I have seen albeit very early days. ESR is displaying what we always knew he had. Kevin is starting to get there but a tendency to force things. Chuk has Willian vibes about him. Get a quality 9 and we are sorted.

Right back and GK needs addressing next.

I'd better get warmed up

Don't forget to stretch

[H4usuallysitting]

I'm wondering if he could be used as a wing back

Why would you want him to be a defender?

Wing back... he's young, can sling a decent cross in, good & quick with his feet.... I'm thinking out the box

Oscar Bobb for me is a star in the making. Looks quality. I've been really impressed by what I have seen albeit very early days. ESR is displaying what we always knew he had. Kevin is starting to get there but a tendency to force things. Chuk has Willian vibes about him. Get a quality 9 and we are sorted.

Right back and GK needs addressing next.

I'd better get warmed up

Don't forget to stretch

The only thing I can stretch is my imagination

[bencher]

Bobb combined very nicely with King in the second half. He moves on the ball a bit like Dembele (I), ghosting past players, left footed, perhaps needs to learn to get his shots off quicker but that will come with confidence. However, he was let down badly by Castagne who couldn't put any decent crosses in when well placed. I'd like to see Bobb also threaten to go down the line and whip in a ball right-footed, because it gets too predictable and easy to stop if you only ever cut inside or look for 1-2s. Whereas Wilson always seems quite limited with the ball in the middle third, Bobb looks like a right sided playmaker that can help us build attacks with smart passing and dribbling. With Chuk able to play on both sides there is exciting competition.

[blingo]

Which all makes me think that MS will sign a new contract as Bencher is right, we are building an exciting looking team with youth on its side. Why build that and then walk? I don't see europe this year, but I most certainly do next season.

[Hatch007]

Any combination of the following two line-ups is exciting and I've assumed the worst with Harry leaving on a free:

Bobb ESR Kevin
Muniz

Chuk King Sess
Pepi (or A N Other)

If Harry re-signs then we are even stronger plus TC still another option to come off the bench in the 10 and be effective in certain match scenarios.

If we can add the Holy Grail of an 8-10 goals a season box-to-box 8 there's a helluva lot to like about our attacking prowess next season.

[FFC007]

Any combination of the following two line-ups is exciting and I've assumed the worst with Harry leaving on a free:

Bobb ESR Kevin
Muniz

Chuk King Sess
Pepi (or A N Other)

If Harry re-signs then we are even stronger plus TC still another option to come off the bench in the 10 and be effective in certain match scenarios.

If we can add the Holy Grail of an 8-10 goals a season box-to-box 8 there's a helluva lot to like about our attacking prowess next season.

The central midfield needs major surgery, and the back line is looking creaky at present.

[btffc]

I'm wondering if he could be used as a wing back

Why would you want him to be a defender?

Wing back... he's young, can sling a decent cross in, good & quick with his feet.... I'm thinking out the box

He's a prodigious attacking talent with excellent close control who is great in tight spaces which is probably the rarest ability in football and you want to turn him into a crosser? You can find a quick wingback to whack in a cross almost anywhere.

[hovewhite]

Which all makes me think that MS will sign a new contract as Bencher is right, we are building an exciting looking team with youth on its side. Why build that and then walk? I don't see europe this year, but I most certainly do next season.

despite the relegation optimists on this board.

[Hatch007]

The central midfield needs major surgery, and the back line is looking creaky at present.

Hence my comment about a goal-scoring number 8.

I don't disagree about the defence either but the focus of my post was about the positivity around our attacking options for next season.

Given the personnel in our back four hasn't changed much in the last 2 ½ seasons I think the defensive weaknesses are exacerbated by the failure to replace the defensive shield of Paulinha's tackling that, statistically, was so far ahead of the second highest-rated DM throughout Europe's top 5 leagues, any team of our stature would miss him.

[Matt10]

We rarely give the ball away in central midfield yet it needs major surgery. It's a double pivot for a reason, and not designed to score goals.

Reed was good yesterday but he capitalized on terrible midfielder awareness, while also terribly chasing shadows on the goal we conceded.

I think we are missing Lukic quite a lot actually. Not just in his aggression but his ability to find a pass and break lines through his dribbling.

[hovewhite]

Lukic is a big miss ,more crucial than berge.

[SerbianLad]

It's a double pivot for a reason, and not designed to score goals.

I agree with this. In our set-up, I don't think we are set in a way that enables the two in a midfield pivot to score a lot of goals. I do think they need to score some goals, but I can't see how, without changing our system, we can get a lot of goals from central midfield. We also have 4 players in front of the pivot. I think that should be enough firepower to break most teams. Plus, I think Lukic's goal contributions have actually been fine this season. 2 goals + 2 assists while he missed quite a lot of games through suspension/injury. That's actually same as Iwobi for example, who played at the wing in a lot of matches.

The midfielder we should get is someone who is defensively good, but a more progressive passer than Berge and Lukic. We don't need someone who'll score double digit goals. The other option would be to change our system to 4-3-3 and play with a single dm. If we do that, we'd probably need to get more than 1 new midfielder.

[Matt10]

It's a double pivot for a reason, and not designed to score goals.

I agree with this. In our set-up, I don't think we are set in a way that enables the two in a midfield pivot to score a lot of goals. I do think they need to score some goals, but I can't see how, without changing our system, we can get a lot of goals from central midfield. We also have 4 players in front of the pivot. I think that should be enough firepower to break most teams. Plus, I think Lukic's goal contributions have actually been fine this season. 2 goals + 2 assists while he missed quite a lot of games through suspension/injury. That's actually same as Iwobi for example, who played at the wing in a lot of matches.

The midfielder we should get is someone who is defensively good, but a more progressive passer than Berge and Lukic. We don't need someone who'll score double digit goals. The other option would be to change our system to 4-3-3 and play with a single dm. If we do that, we'd probably need to get more than 1 new midfielder.

Good point about Lukic. I think there is a bit of inventiveness that he brings to the table as well. I still remember the brilliant assist to Muniz last season at Chelsea away.

For me, if I didn't go on the internet, I'd never know the Lukic-Berge would even be an issue. Even more so that so many Fulham supporters are unhappy with Berge. It boggles my mind as a supporter, a former collegiate player and current youth coach. He is exactly what I'd want any 6 to play like within the system Marco has set up. His scanning ability alone is at the highest level. Look at Reed's goal yesterday where their midfielder, Seko, simply stopped after his initial scan - leaving no time for a crucial scan, let alone preparing for Reed to just bust through. I've seen posts blaming the keeper, but that is 100% the midfielder's fault. Berge is put in those scenarios every single match and has never messed up such a high pressure moment.

If we ever look at more of a destroyer position, then someone like Morton Frendrup for me has always come to mind. He won't win many aerial duels, but he will be the workhorse that everyone seems to want for Fulham. The trade-off there will be losing the link play that Berge provides because Frendrup doesn't complete as many long ground passes in comparison.

I think the more it's realized how valuable the controller type player Berge is, the more this kind of narrative can be put to bed. At this level, passing the ball isn't as simple as see it and pass it, it's whether knowing your pass is going to put the recipient under immediate pressure or not. The way he dictates play is the kind of way only someone that played higher up in the lines would be appreciative of.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Let us not forget the system of play Marco sets the team up to execute.
It is slow and predictable which nullifies the skilful players in our team because the delay in getting it forward quick enough and often enough gives our opponents plenty of time to tuck in with two banks of four with depth, and double up on the likes of Bobb and Kevin. Delay enough and
they are just waiting for Fulham to make an unforced error, which ends up with Fulham spending twice as much energy trying to win the ball back.

[copthornemike]

Early days, but is Bobb a potentially the younger version of Tom Cairney, maybe even a Danny Murphy?
Good awareness of those around him, tight ball control and looks an excellent passer of the ball?

[H4usuallysitting]

I'm wondering if he could be used as a wing back

Why would you want him to be a defender?

Wing back... he's young, can sling a decent cross in, good & quick with his feet.... I'm thinking out the box

He's a prodigious attacking talent with excellent close control who is great in tight spaces which is probably the rarest ability in football and you want to turn him into a crosser? You can find a quick wingback to whack in a cross almost anywhere.

Yep, we've got a couple - they can't cross their eyes

[btffc]

I'm wondering if he could be used as a wing back

Why would you want him to be a defender?

Wing back... he's young, can sling a decent cross in, good & quick with his feet.... I'm thinking out the box

He's a prodigious attacking talent with excellent close control who is great in tight spaces which is probably the rarest ability in football and you want to turn him into a crosser? You can find a quick wingback to whack in a cross almost anywhere.

Yep, we've got a couple - they can't cross their eyes

One of them had 10 assists last season which has only been done 11 times in history and came from Wigan for 1 million

[iansthailand]

I'm wondering if he could be used as a wing back

Why would you want him to be a defender?

Wing back... he's young, can sling a decent cross in, good & quick with his feet.... I'm thinking out the box

He's a prodigious attacking talent with excellent close control who is great in tight spaces which is probably the rarest ability in football and you want to turn him into a crosser? You can find a quick wingback to whack in a cross almost anywhere.

Yep, we've got a couple - they can't cross their eyes

One of them had 10 assists last season which has only been done 11 times in history and came from Wigan for 1 million

Because he gets to a crossing position so many times. I don't know the stats but i would guess that Ryan's successful crossing percentage is much better than Jedi's. On Sunday how wasteful was he when countless times he was in a brilliant position and his cross was easily cleared. I do however, like both of them so i'm not being critical for criticals sake. Hope Jedi returns to full confidence soon.