Cairney

[Count Flapula]

Terrible decision to take that shot late. Sess probably doesn't get the red if he passed it to Iwobi (I think that's who was available for the pass to take it into the corner and run off a ton of time).

I'm sorry but you truly are the king of hindsight.

If TC is in a shooting position - which he was - then I want him to take the shot on every time out of anyone in our squad. People moan we don't shoot enough and if he pinged that in (which he did in a very similar position in his very last game) when you wouldn't be moaning about him taking that shot on.

So it's TC's fault Sess got sent off because he had a shot when in a shooting position?

So are we saying TC controlled every multiple touch Sess had when carrying the ball, as well as the patch of pitch Sess slipped on, as well as Sess's decision not to boot it into touch further down the pitch when he didn't have the speed or the right foot to run it to the corner flag as was his intention? FWIW I'm not really blaming Sess either, was just bad luck/timing.

Yes, when TC took that shot on it was obvious Sess would inevitably get sent off 45 seconds later and should have factored that in.

It was TC's fault the same way it was Gonzalo's fault for not putting the header in about 20 mins before, or the same way King didn't score from his chance. I.e - it's not really TC's fault that Sess got sent off.

Sess sadly got sent off for a combination of choices Sess made for his multiple touches when Sess had the ball and sheer bad luck at slipping - not because TC had a shot several passages of play beforehand.

If TC gets in a similar position again I want him taking that shot on 100%.

[cwindsor]

We definitely could have used him in the United and Ipswich matches.

[FFC007]

It's amazing how he came on and stabilised the midfield straight away. The short, simple passes that weren't intercepted gave us breathing space, and he almost scored as well.

He is the perfect foil if we need to calm things down. Yes his engine isn't as strong as others, but if Berge and Charles are on the field, they can do the engine running.

[hopper]

A quality player and long may he be able to do a job for us.

I can really see him continuing his super sub role under Arbeloa, given AA's focus on possession - TC has been our go-to man for calm and possession play for years.

Charles rightly has the starting shirt but TC is a great option. Hope he breaks the 400 appearance mark this season.

I think TC took ESR's spot. I don't expect to see him in that deep a role under AA.

Larsson was also out of the squad and Robinson came back in. Will be interesting to see what midfield choices are made when everyone is fit. I imagine he'll keep Angel on the bench as he seems to like him and Larsson will be out of the squad. TC needs to be there every week he's available.

[Chi_FFC]

Terrible decision to take that shot late. Sess probably doesn't get the red if he passed it to Iwobi (I think that's who was available for the pass to take it into the corner and run off a ton of time).

I'm sorry but you truly are the king of hindsight.

If TC is in a shooting position - which he was - then I want him to take the shot on every time

I don't. Not when 1) we have a one goal lead, 2) there are 55 seconds left in the match 3) the chance is not a good one from distance with multiple defenders and the GK to beat (and was going to result in a change in possession in the almost certain event it didn't go in the goal) and 4) he has passing options (Iwobi in particular) that would have allowed us to run it into the corner to take more time off the clock (or at worst take a more dangerous shot). Look, it's not THAT big of a deal. We did go on to win the game and otherwise Tom had an excellent cameo on Saturday, but I would like to see a little more composure/thoughtfulness in that situation from an experienced player (and captain). Bad things can happen when you needlessly give the ball away so late in a match. Fortunately on Saturday it was only a red card to a back up, not a goal.

[Whitestone]

Terrible decision to take that shot late. Sess probably doesn't get the red if he passed it to Iwobi (I think that's who was available for the pass to take it into the corner and run off a ton of time).

I'm sorry but you truly are the king of hindsight.

If TC is in a shooting position - which he was - then I want him to take the shot on every time

I don't. Not when 1) we have a one goal lead, 2) there are 55 seconds left in the match 3) the chance is not a good one from distance with multiple defenders and the GK to beat (and was going to result in a change in possession in the almost certain event it didn't go in the goal) and 4) he has passing options (Iwobi in particular) that would have allowed us to run it into the corner to take more time off the clock (or at worst take a more dangerous shot). Look, it's not THAT big of a deal. We did go on to win the game and otherwise Tom had an excellent cameo on Saturday, but I would like to see a little more composure/thoughtfulness in that situation from an experienced player (and captain). Bad things can happen when you needlessly give the ball away so late in a match. Fortunately on Saturday it was only a red card to a back up, not a goal.

I'm with you Chi FFC. I still haven't forgotten the Europa League match at the Cottage against Odense. We were winning 2-1 going into the final seconds of that game when Orlando Sa decided to go for glory rather than to the corner flag. He missed of course and the ball went straight down to the Putney End with Odense equalising and in the process we were eliminated from the tournament.

[demeant0r]

We need to give TC something anti-aging because lord knows he will be missed when her leaves this club

[Sting of the North]

Terrible decision to take that shot late. Sess probably doesn't get the red if he passed it to Iwobi (I think that's who was available for the pass to take it into the corner and run off a ton of time).

I'm sorry but you truly are the king of hindsight.

If TC is in a shooting position - which he was - then I want him to take the shot on every time

I don't. Not when 1) we have a one goal lead, 2) there are 55 seconds left in the match 3) the chance is not a good one from distance with multiple defenders and the GK to beat (and was going to result in a change in possession in the almost certain event it didn't go in the goal) and 4) he has passing options (Iwobi in particular) that would have allowed us to run it into the corner to take more time off the clock (or at worst take a more dangerous shot). Look, it's not THAT big of a deal. We did go on to win the game and otherwise Tom had an excellent cameo on Saturday, but I would like to see a little more composure/thoughtfulness in that situation from an experienced player (and captain). Bad things can happen when you needlessly give the ball away so late in a match. Fortunately on Saturday it was only a red card to a back up, not a goal.

Whilst I don't disagree to your overall point (even though I disagree on the implied severity of the decision, since there are so many decision of this magnitude or worse by almost every player during most games) I don't understand why you keep bringing up the red card as if they were related. TC didn't cause Sess to be sent off, and we may as well have lost the ball 2 seconds lager instead leading to almost the same events (or worse, mind you).

Whilst it may have been smarter to run down the clock, TCs attempt to shoot was not a meaningful factor in the red card that happened in another passage of play with different players after possession had shifted yet again. To relate the two is a misguided attempt in trying to support your opinion of TCs decision to shoot being poor. In my opinion.

[Chi_FFC]

Terrible decision to take that shot late. Sess probably doesn't get the red if he passed it to Iwobi (I think that's who was available for the pass to take it into the corner and run off a ton of time).

I'm sorry but you truly are the king of hindsight.

If TC is in a shooting position - which he was - then I want him to take the shot on every time

I don't. Not when 1) we have a one goal lead, 2) there are 55 seconds left in the match 3) the chance is not a good one from distance with multiple defenders and the GK to beat (and was going to result in a change in possession in the almost certain event it didn't go in the goal) and 4) he has passing options (Iwobi in particular) that would have allowed us to run it into the corner to take more time off the clock (or at worst take a more dangerous shot). Look, it's not THAT big of a deal. We did go on to win the game and otherwise Tom had an excellent cameo on Saturday, but I would like to see a little more composure/thoughtfulness in that situation from an experienced player (and captain). Bad things can happen when you needlessly give the ball away so late in a match. Fortunately on Saturday it was only a red card to a back up, not a goal.

Whilst I don't disagree to your overall point (even though I disagree on the implied severity of the decision, since there are so many decision of this magnitude or worse by almost every player during most games) I don't understand why you keep bringing up the red card as if they were related. TC didn't cause Sess to be sent off, and we may as well have lost the ball 2 seconds lager instead leading to almost the same events (or worse, mind you).

Whilst it may have been smarter to run down the clock, TCs attempt to shoot was not a meaningful factor in the red card that happened in another passage of play with different players after possession had shifted yet again. To relate the two is a misguided attempt in trying to support your opinion of TCs decision to shoot being poor. In my opinion.

I think you're reading a bit too much into my comments...and to be fair after looking back at my initial post ("ip") here that's largely my fault. My ip was somewhat in the heat of the moment shortly after the match and was probably a bit of an emotional reaction to the glowing reviews of Tom's performance from others when I believed at the time (and still do) that it was a really poor decision (especially from a senior pro and captain) to take that shot at that time. Regarding its impact on the Sess situation I should have said something more measured like "if he doesn't take that shot and manages that situation better (reminder, there were only 55 seconds left when he took the shot) there's a chance Sess doesn't end up in the situation that led to his red."

[Chi_FFC]

Terrible decision to take that shot late. Sess probably doesn't get the red if he passed it to Iwobi (I think that's who was available for the pass to take it into the corner and run off a ton of time).

I'm sorry but you truly are the king of hindsight.

If TC is in a shooting position - which he was - then I want him to take the shot on every time

I don't. Not when 1) we have a one goal lead, 2) there are 55 seconds left in the match 3) the chance is not a good one from distance with multiple defenders and the GK to beat (and was going to result in a change in possession in the almost certain event it didn't go in the goal) and 4) he has passing options (Iwobi in particular) that would have allowed us to run it into the corner to take more time off the clock (or at worst take a more dangerous shot). Look, it's not THAT big of a deal. We did go on to win the game and otherwise Tom had an excellent cameo on Saturday, but I would like to see a little more composure/thoughtfulness in that situation from an experienced player (and captain). Bad things can happen when you needlessly give the ball away so late in a match. Fortunately on Saturday it was only a red card to a back up, not a goal.

I'm with you Chi FFC. I still haven't forgotten the Europa League match at the Cottage against Odense. We were winning 2-1 going into the final seconds of that game when Orlando Sa decided to go for glory rather than to the corner flag. He missed of course and the ball went straight down to the Putney End with Odense equalising and in the process we were eliminated from the tournament.

More recently I recall our home match against WHU in September 2024 which we dominated but only managed one goal and very late on Adama had a chance to run the ball into the corner and instead inexplicably attempted a shot or pass (can't find video of it, so I could be misremembering) which led to a turnover of possession and shortly after the tying goal.

[WindyCity]

If TC is in a shooting position - which he was - then I want him to take the shot on every time out of anyone in our squad. People moan we don't shoot enough and if he pinged that in (which he did in a very similar position in his very last game) when you wouldn't be moaning about him taking that shot on. If TC gets in a similar position again I want him taking that shot on 100%.

Agreed.  Yes, I'm in the camp of if you have a shot, take the shot!  And not just TC, any player in a FFC shirt.  Thing is, taking a shot, even if rather ambitious, there's always a chance a goal can result from deflection or rebound to a team mate for easy tap in or conversion.  (Sess v Ipswich and Iwobi v Hull examples of taking the shot, deflections, etc.). Sure, always a chance the opposition can come back down the field and get the equalizer.  But there's chance also the game is put to bed with our own late goal.  The past several seasons I have been on about FFC just not shooting enough.  This season they do seem to be having a go more often, and I want to see it continue, and I still want to see more shots being taken in general.  You can't score unless you take the shot!!

Edit....Also, no connection whatsoever between TC shot taken and Sess red.....

[bobbo]

I soo hope he gets a permanent job with the club when it's finally time to hang those new orange boots up.

[bobbo]

I soo hope he gets a permanent job with the club when it's finally time to hang those new orange boots up.

[btffc]

I soo hope he gets a permanent job with the club when it's finally time to hang those new orange boots up.

Think he has a future in being a pundit if he wants that

[cookieg]

A quality player and long may he be able to do a job for us.

I can really see him continuing his super sub role under Arbeloa, given AA's focus on possession - TC has been our go-to man for calm and possession play for years.

Charles rightly has the starting shirt but TC is a great option. Hope he breaks the 400 appearance mark this season.

I think TC took ESR's spot. I don't expect to see him in that deep a role under AA.

Larsson was also out of the squad and Robinson came back in. Will be interesting to see what midfield choices are made when everyone is fit. I imagine he'll keep Angel on the bench as he seems to like him and Larsson will be out of the squad. TC needs to be there every week he's available.

Hasn't Larson got an injury?

[hopper]

A quality player and long may he be able to do a job for us.

I can really see him continuing his super sub role under Arbeloa, given AA's focus on possession - TC has been our go-to man for calm and possession play for years.

Charles rightly has the starting shirt but TC is a great option. Hope he breaks the 400 appearance mark this season.

I think TC took ESR's spot. I don't expect to see him in that deep a role under AA.

Larsson was also out of the squad and Robinson came back in. Will be interesting to see what midfield choices are made when everyone is fit. I imagine he'll keep Angel on the bench as he seems to like him and Larsson will be out of the squad. TC needs to be there every week he's available.

Hasn't Larson got an injury?

He did yeah, I'm wondering what happens when everyone is back.

[LC]

I think he'll play a lot moving forward. If we are winning or need the game controlled he slots into the midfield nicely. He's still a good player and has so much to offer. One of my favourite players and I think he still has a lot left in his legs. Really want him to play in Europe with us.

[Count Flapula]

I don't. Not when 1) we have a one goal lead, 2) there are 55 seconds left in the match 3) the chance is not a good one from distance with multiple defenders and the GK to beat (and was going to result in a change in possession in the almost certain event it didn't go in the goal) and 4) he has passing options (Iwobi in particular) that would have allowed us to run it into the corner to take more time off the clock (or at worst take a more dangerous shot). Look, it's not THAT big of a deal. We did go on to win the game and otherwise Tom had an excellent cameo on Saturday, but I would like to see a little more composure/thoughtfulness in that situation from an experienced player (and captain). Bad things can happen when you needlessly give the ball away so late in a match. Fortunately on Saturday it was only a red card to a back up, not a goal.

1) and 2) For future reference, what does the score need to be and how after how many minutes should we stop trying to score when we've worked our way into shooting positions?
3) We'll have to disagree on that one - he was in a good enough shooting position for TC as he scored in his last game from a similar distance. He has enough space to get the ball beyond the defenders and got the ball on target/forced the keeper into a save. No shot is ever guaranteed before it's taken but he's scored many goals form similar positions with an equal number of defenders and GKs in front of him. I for one certainly don't want TC to stop trying to score in those positions - the game would be a lot more boring if he did.
4) Agree Iwobi was also on for the pass but he was cutting into the box so if you think he was going to receive the ball, turn around and run 15-20 yards to the corner flag then IMO I think you were about to be disappointed. If TC passed to him I would've been fine with that, but if either didn't take a shot from the position we'd worked it to then what are we doing?

You cut off and didn't even respond to my longer, main point that TC shooting is NOT why Sess got sent off - what Sess did (and his unfortunate slip to lose the ball) is entirely why Sess got sent off - but you seem to have rowed back on that slightly elsewhere so no worries.

[Whitestone]

What a player.

Wish we could keep him playing forever

No reason he can't play for longer he has never relied on pace like Modric which is why he can still play top level at nearly 40 years old. I personally couldn't understand why some fans didn't want to extend his contract when he is still useful in certain situations.

Modric is 41 now and it showed in the recent Croatia v England game. A great player in his day though.

[Chi_FFC]

1) and 2) For future reference, what does the score need to be and how after how many minutes should we stop trying to score when we've worked our way into shooting positions? 

Eh, it depends. Lots of factors to consider...size of the lead, time remaining, quality of the shooting chance, etc. But the situation we're talking about isn't a particularly tough call. I don't want a Fulham player taking a very low percentage shot that will almost surely lead to an immediate change of possession with 55 seconds left in a match we're leading by one when there are multiple other better options available to that player (passing to Iwobi, checking back himself, passing to Charles, etc). It was a poor decision from a game management perspective from a player I expect better of.

4) Agree Iwobi was also on for the pass but he was cutting into the box so if you think he was going to receive the ball, turn around and run 15-20 yards to the corner flag then IMO I think you were about to be disappointed. If TC passed to him I would've been fine with that, but if either didn't take a shot from the position we'd worked it to then what are we doing?

Keeping possession of the ball? I mean the opposition can't score without it. With 55 seconds left and a one goal lead I think that's pretty damn valuable. Now as for what Iwobi might have done had Tom passed to him...I think taking it to the corner would have been a sensible decision, but he certainly might have taken a shot (and I might have criticized him for that had it happened) but even then he was better positioned to take a higher percentage shot than was Tom, a shot that even if not successful was more likely to produce a rebound/goal mouth scrum/etc than the incredibly low percentage shot Tom took, which again, was almost certain to (and in fact did) lead to an immediate change in possession.