Whats happened to Gera?

[BlacknWhite]

I was just thinking that we have seen very little of Zoltan Gera this season. Last season he played very well, he scored goals and was in the no.1 squad. This season it is completely different, I have seen him appear a few times but never has he performed or added anything to the game.

[jarv]

This has been discussed before and the general opinion seems to be that,
1. he wanted out in january (according to his agent anyway)
2. MH would not let him go (rightly).
Seems like he will go in the summer.

[clint23]

"but never has he performed or added anything to the game"

That's the reason why he didn't make the bench today. I think Gera and Pants are very likely to go in the summer.

[FatFreddysCat]

 Yesterdays man  :038: .

[MJG]

My view on this is that it was clear to everyone from early on that Hughes did not rate Gera. He swapped him and dempsey around early on then he was sub a lot.he then had a run in the team when we did not do well and to be fair neither did he.
Gera needs to be the second striker, as much as I like him he is not a wide midfielder in a 442 formation.

Sad day when he leaves after all he did last year and part of me hopes her can get back involved but I doubt her will. Hughes has brought in two loan players and he will play them before Gera for the rest of the season.

[nevzter]

The man gave his all while wearing the shirt and to that, I am forever grateful.  He should be off in the summer b/c he has the quality to play at some club - apparently, just not Fulham any longer.  The joy he expressed after crucial goals in the Europa League last campaign is something I'll never forget - he was "a kid in a candy store."  And it made me love the game as much as him.  Best o' luck to you, Zolly, wherever you may land.

COYW

[timmyg]

He's probably gone, but then again, I'm not surprised:

http://fulham.theoffside.com/team-news/gera-and-the-4-4-2.html

Gera's hat-trick in the thumping of Werder Bremen at the Cottage on Saturday got me wondering whether or not we'll see more of him this season.
And no, I'm not referring to the "reports" that Roy will recruit him to play at Anfield.
What I am concerned about is that Mark Hughes loves the 4-4-2 formation and Gera doesn't really fit into such a system. According to Football-Lineups.com, Mark Hughes used the 4-4-2 formation 139 times during his four seasons at Blackburn. That accounts for nearly 83-percent of the lineups used during his tenure.
Hughes diversified a bit at Manchester City, possibly because of the numerous players at his disposal, or maybe because the suits upstairs demanded something more 'European'. Of the 76 differing lineups, the 4-4-2 was used only 34-percent of the time over the season and a half Hughes led the Citizens. Yet City found success when using the 4-4-2, posting a 14-7-5 record.
Also according to Football-Lineups, Roy Hodgson was also an acolyte of the 4-4-2 formation. In his two and a half seasons leading our club, the 4-4-2 was implemented 91 times – accounting for nearly 73-percent. During the 2008-09 season Roy used the 4-4-2 formation constantly because the line-up never changed through injuries. This meant that Roy got to use the players he wanted in a system he wanted.
Yet Gera started that season on the left, performed ineffectively, and was ultimately replaced by Dempsey.
Last season was a different matter. Injuries to Andy Johnson and Diomansy Kamara's inconsistent form led to Roy adopting either the 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1. But one element that remained a constant was Gera or Dempsey playing as a withdrawn striker. As I wrote last December, the change in formation to a pseudo triangle-offense reaped massive dividends. It let Gera (and Zamora; two players that were public enemy #1 the prior season) to come into his own.
It's probably no coincidence then that the formation used most during our epic run in the Europa League was the 4-4-1-1, with Gera slotting in behind Zamora. And unfortunately Football-Lineups doesn't account for games where the formations were changed as otherwise the number of times non- 4-4-2 lineups were used would increase quite a bit.
So what's the point of all this? Well, I'm curious to know what Sparky is going to do formation wise, especially with Gera. Will he stick with what works? Or will he implement his beloved 4-4-2? If he does the later, then we're going to need another striker pretty quickly.
That's because when Roy utilized the 4-4-2 without AJ last season, he relied heavily on Erik Nevland, David Elm for a bit, and then later Okaka Chuka to partner with Bobby Zamora.
Well, Nevland went back to Norway and Okaka is back with Roma after his loan ended. David Elm is still with the club, but can we consider him a bona fide starter? That leaves the enigmatic Kamara (who's barely featured this preseason) Eddie Johnson (who has 8 first team appearances in his 30 or so months with the club) and the currently injured AJ. So we're a little thin up front to play a straight 4-4-2.
There's about three weeks left in the transfer window. I'm interested to see who, if anyone, arrives — not just because of their personal impact, but how it will effect the team's formation. Especially Zoltan

.

[HatterDon]

He's probably gone, but then again, I'm not surprised:

http://fulham.theoffside.com/team-news/gera-and-the-4-4-2.html

Gera's hat-trick in the thumping of Werder Bremen at the Cottage on Saturday got me wondering whether or not we'll see more of him this season.
And no, I'm not referring to the "reports" that Roy will recruit him to play at Anfield.
What I am concerned about is that Mark Hughes loves the 4-4-2 formation and Gera doesn't really fit into such a system. According to Football-Lineups.com, Mark Hughes used the 4-4-2 formation 139 times during his four seasons at Blackburn. That accounts for nearly 83-percent of the lineups used during his tenure.
Hughes diversified a bit at Manchester City, possibly because of the numerous players at his disposal, or maybe because the suits upstairs demanded something more 'European'. Of the 76 differing lineups, the 4-4-2 was used only 34-percent of the time over the season and a half Hughes led the Citizens. Yet City found success when using the 4-4-2, posting a 14-7-5 record.
Also according to Football-Lineups, Roy Hodgson was also an acolyte of the 4-4-2 formation. In his two and a half seasons leading our club, the 4-4-2 was implemented 91 times – accounting for nearly 73-percent. During the 2008-09 season Roy used the 4-4-2 formation constantly because the line-up never changed through injuries. This meant that Roy got to use the players he wanted in a system he wanted.
Yet Gera started that season on the left, performed ineffectively, and was ultimately replaced by Dempsey.
Last season was a different matter. Injuries to Andy Johnson and Diomansy Kamara's inconsistent form led to Roy adopting either the 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1. But one element that remained a constant was Gera or Dempsey playing as a withdrawn striker. As I wrote last December, the change in formation to a pseudo triangle-offense reaped massive dividends. It let Gera (and Zamora; two players that were public enemy #1 the prior season) to come into his own.
It's probably no coincidence then that the formation used most during our epic run in the Europa League was the 4-4-1-1, with Gera slotting in behind Zamora. And unfortunately Football-Lineups doesn't account for games where the formations were changed as otherwise the number of times non- 4-4-2 lineups were used would increase quite a bit.
So what's the point of all this? Well, I'm curious to know what Sparky is going to do formation wise, especially with Gera. Will he stick with what works? Or will he implement his beloved 4-4-2? If he does the later, then we're going to need another striker pretty quickly.
That's because when Roy utilized the 4-4-2 without AJ last season, he relied heavily on Erik Nevland, David Elm for a bit, and then later Okaka Chuka to partner with Bobby Zamora.
Well, Nevland went back to Norway and Okaka is back with Roma after his loan ended. David Elm is still with the club, but can we consider him a bona fide starter? That leaves the enigmatic Kamara (who's barely featured this preseason) Eddie Johnson (who has 8 first team appearances in his 30 or so months with the club) and the currently injured AJ. So we're a little thin up front to play a straight 4-4-2.
There's about three weeks left in the transfer window. I'm interested to see who, if anyone, arrives — not just because of their personal impact, but how it will effect the team's formation. Especially Zoltan

.

See, if only more people read you, Sir Timmyg, then they'd share your perspicasity.

And yes, I'm still pimping for another podcast.