Fulham 2-3 Crystal Palace (H) 05/09

[AnOldBrownie]

Terrible cross Antonee.... what was that?!

Hopefully just a little winded.  Horrible cross.  Jedi can do better.

[Sting of the North]

We absolutely battered them, but looks shaky every time they even get close to our goal.

Predictions:
Short term: King will be called up by Tuchel soon, likely next time.

Long term: If he ever leaves it will be for way over 100 million.

[LPNCanadian]

I'm really pleased with our game and the score up to this point. Now, let's find a way to create some pressure during corner kicks.

[SerbianLad]

King so far, when involved, has stood above.  Charles / Iwobi hasnt been bad in the middle, but I dont think we are getting challenged much, so it might not be a good indication of what we can see against our next couple opponents.

Charles definitely looks more comfortable in this system than Berge does, though. If Arbeloa insists that Iwobi starts in the middle, it should be next to Charles.

[Citizen Smith]

King has been unreal
[/quote Totally - the outstanding player of the half

[Fulham 1879]

Very entertaining. Both teams far better going forwards than defending. Feel like Palace will score again meaning we'll need to score at least one more. At least the Spanish pair look sharp.

[Bassey the warrior]

Josh King is pure class, superb dummy to create the chance for the second and great dribbling for the Bobb chance. Charles has looked excellent as well, much more mobile than Berge and quicker in his passing. Looked great going forward, front four all looking good and Iwobi some nice through balls. Shaky back four, not defending the flanks well. Need another goal.

[Nittany_Joe]

Fulham is not as good as last year but neither is Palace. Both teams will be fighting to stay out of relegation. I think Hull City have been lucky and will not stay up along with Ipswich and maybe Forest.

[Deuce]

We seem to thrive against 343. We overload in the right areas with Castagne cutting inside. Im surprised Palace hasnt punished us more often.

I think this game is quite reminiscent of the Chelsea match in the way that Palace defence are looking just as poor as Chelseas did, which is understandable considering that they have so many new players. Our defence isnt perfect either, still a couple of mistakes and at times unorganized.

King is our best player. period. Cant see anyone better than him at the moment

[McBrideOfFrankenstein]

Been happy with Charles today. Seems to read the game maybe a beat quicker than Berge.

[LittleErn]

Good shot but Leno is getting beaten at his near post weekly at this point. Did it loads last season too.

Name me a goalkeeper that's never been beaten at his near post?

Are we seriously going to do this? Youre changing my claim from regularly to ever. Do better than that.

Leno is still a good GK but he used to be better. No-one can resist the ravages of time, only delay them. His positioning is still good and he is still good at one-on-ones and reaction saves, but he has lost a little agility. Last season we conceded a lot of goals to long shots placed in the top corners. At one time he would have got closer to those and the same seems to be happening with low shots in the corners. That's not to say that there are many other GKs who would have done better.

[Sgt Fulham]

Good shot but Leno is getting beaten at his near post weekly at this point. Did it loads last season too.

Name me a goalkeeper that's never been beaten at his near post?

Are we seriously going to do this? Youre changing my claim from regularly to ever. Do better than that.

Goalkeepers get beaten at their near post. It happens. But if you want to single out Leno that's your choice.

Decent Premier League goalkeepers do not regularly get beaten at their near post. I'm singling Leno out because he is a glaring weakness in our team. Hes not an U11s player that needs protection, hes a millionaire paid handsomely by our club in a cutthroat industry. He needs replacing.

[ChesterTheTabby]

For years we have been calling for youth, energy, creativity, and being aggressive - this AA philosophy and the team he is assembling is a very exciting project. It has the opportunity to implode but also to sky rocket to the moon.

Tottenham will be banging on the door for King at Christmas

[WindyCity]

1st Half comments:

King still looks like our best offensive player overall
Garcia, I like this player, seems to be always looking to shoot
Leno was having a good game, until beaten on short side, although very good shot taken
Bobb had a few good moments, still needs to shoot more, King set him up close
Not overly impressed with Iwobi and Charles shows
Felt FFC was always looking good and aggressive when pressing, need to keep pressing
Backline defense still very dodgy, fortunate Palace goal chalked off

[cookieg]

Good shot but Leno is getting beaten at his near post weekly at this point. Did it loads last season too.

Name me a goalkeeper that's never been beaten at his near post?

Are we seriously going to do this? Youre changing my claim from regularly to ever. Do better than that.

Leno is still a good GK but he used to be better. No-one can resist the ravages of time, only delay them. His positioning is still good and he is still good at one-on-ones and reaction saves, but he has lost a little agility. Last season we conceded a lot of goals to long shots placed in the top corners. At one time he would have got closer to those and the same seems to be happening with low shots in the corners. That's not to say that there are many other GKs who would have done better.

Sometimes you just have to appreciate that a shot in the top corner or bottom corner is unstoppable. If any of our players scores a goal like that is the keeper at fault or is it a well placed shot?

[LittleErn]

for those who are lucky enough to have a stream, do we look as open at the back as we did last week? Would a faster defender have got back to defend the goal that CP scored? In other words, will any of the new signings be what we need in defence in the new gung-ho AA style?

[WindyCity]

Question - who covers for Castagne should he go down with a knock?

[Chi_FFC]

We absolutely battered them, but looks shaky every time they even get close to our goal.

Predictions:
Short term: King will be called up by Tuchel soon, likely next time.

Long term: If he ever leaves it will be for way over 100 million.

At times I've found some of the King hype to be not quite merited by his performances. He's flattered to deceive too often for me. That was easily the best 45 minutes I've seen him play for Fulham. He was excellent.

[LittleErn]

Good shot but Leno is getting beaten at his near post weekly at this point. Did it loads last season too.

Name me a goalkeeper that's never been beaten at his near post?

Are we seriously going to do this? Youre changing my claim from regularly to ever. Do better than that.

Leno is still a good GK but he used to be better. No-one can resist the ravages of time, only delay them. His positioning is still good and he is still good at one-on-ones and reaction saves, but he has lost a little agility. Last season we conceded a lot of goals to long shots placed in the top corners. At one time he would have got closer to those and the same seems to be happening with low shots in the corners. That's not to say that there are many other GKs who would have done better.

Sometimes you just have to appreciate that a shot in the top corner or bottom corner is unstoppable. If any of our players scores a goal like that is the keeper at fault or is it a well placed shot?

As my last sentence acknowledges.

[WolverineFFC]

Good shot but Leno is getting beaten at his near post weekly at this point. Did it loads last season too.

Name me a goalkeeper that's never been beaten at his near post?

Are we seriously going to do this? Youre changing my claim from regularly to ever. Do better than that.

Leno is still a good GK but he used to be better. No-one can resist the ravages of time, only delay them. His positioning is still good and he is still good at one-on-ones and reaction saves, but he has lost a little agility. Last season we conceded a lot of goals to long shots placed in the top corners. At one time he would have got closer to those and the same seems to be happening with low shots in the corners. That's not to say that there are many other GKs who would have done better.

Disagree on Leno. Palace currently have 0.27 xg on 3 shots on target but 1 goal. He looks indecisive on when to come out, when to stay on his line. Of the 5 goals the team have given up in the league I feel like he should have done better on 3 of them. Not a good start.

Unfortunately I don't think Lecomte is better.