The View From South Texas -- Arsenal v. Fulham FC

[HatterDon]

3-3 and what an absolutely wonderful match to watch

A few seasons back, Arsenal came to Craven Cottage and put a chubby 18-year-old Italian between the sticks. For 90 minutes he put on a display that ranks among the very best I've ever seen. He stopped seven shots that, had they been against any other Arsenal goalkeeper, would have been Fulham goals. Andrew Johnson should have had three and Clint Dempsey two, but for the Herculean efforts of the guy I called "that Fat Italian Kid." Late in the match, van Persie came in and, with his first touch, got the only goal. What a day that was for Vito Mannone. What a day today WASN'T for Vito Mannone.

But what a day for the fans! Fulham started the match looking cool and calm, every bit the equal of their hosts. Although Berbatov and Ruiz looked the more dangerous pairing, it was Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski who turned that danger into goals. The Frenchman with a very easy goal in the 11th, and the German with the Polish name an equally soft effort in the 23rd. And, really, that should have been that. Despite the fact that we're equal with Arsenal on points, and despite the fact that we score more goals than 15 sides in the league, we are Fulham and Arsenal are Arsenal. My only hope at this point was that we could keep at least SOME of our +5 goal difference. Most years, two goals down to a "top club" inside a half hour is game over.

Yeah, but we have Dimitar Berbatov and he, and his henchman Bryan Ruiz, weren't about to allow the Whites to go quietly. Five minutes after Kieran Richardson apparently pulled a hamstring and had to go off in favor of Kacaniklic, we pulled one back. After some pressure down the right wing by the classy Ashkan Dejagah, Fulham won a corner. Ruiz took it and Berbatov nodded it in. 2-1. One of the great skills of goal scorers is the ability to find attacking space in a crowded penalty area. McBride was great at this, Gera also had this skill in abundance. Berbatov is the master at it. And so, just before the 30 minute mark, we were only one goal down.

At this point, Arsenal looked disjointed and dejected. Despite the fact that our back four and goalkeeper looked weak and disorganized most of the match, the Gunners looked as if they had someplace to go, but no idea how to get there. Just before half time, Fulham struck again. Berbatov consistently had the beating of the Arsenal defense on each wing, and so it was he ghosted in on the right wing, drove to the dead ball line and pulled the ball back sharply to our Swedish international. Special K headed in from a good 12 yards just inside Mannone's near post. The [terrible] announcing crew went easy on him, but that was an eminently stoppable shot that he barely got his fingertips to. 2-2 at the half. What would the second 45 bring?

Fulham started the second half once again maintaining most of the possession. Arsenal countered, but Fulham seemed the side most likely. I was thrilled to see that we did NOT decide to park the bus for the entire second half. Ruiz was especially fun to watch. Arteta could not control him, and his ability to turn sharply in dangerous positions with defenders hanging on him was remarkable. On one foray upfield, Arsenal thought they had dispossessed him twice, only to see him wiggle free and drive into the penalty area with the hapless Arteta clinging to him like a shabby cloak. Mr. Dowd blew the whistle, Berbatov took the slow-motion penalty while Mannone posed for photographs, and Fulham took the lead – away to the Arsenal, a side we've never beaten on any of their grounds. Indeed, I wonder if we've ever scored three goals at their place. Hmmmm.

Arsenal came back at us again and, only two minutes later, Giroud slipped sideways through a spread out and tiring Fulham defense and the game was knotted. Arsenal's "supporters," who had been napping since Fulham drew level in the first half, came to life and the last 20+ minutes was either a joy or an agony to watch. Either side could have scored, Kacaniklic and Berbatov for us and Giroud for them. We won several corners but both Hughes and Hangeland made poor efforts at attacking them. All of this happened in a wide-open last ten minutes of full time.

Finally, in extra time, Fulham fell back to defend the point. In the last 30 seconds of the four allotted minutes, a Fulham clearance fell to Ruiz. That, you had to feel, was that, but instead of moving forward, the Costa Rican played a long diagonal back pass that was intercepted by Andrei Arshavin. The enigmatic Russian drove towards goal and shot. Riether blocked the ball with his elbow and, with the very last action of the game, Arsenal had a chance to secure all three points. Arteta, who won't be watching this match on his DVR, stepped up to take the penalty and fired hard and low to Schwarzer's left. Tha Big Aussie was equal to it and, as the ball was pushed around the post, Mr. Dowd blew for time. Great stuff to watch.

As a team, Fulham looked every bit a top 10 side. Individually, there are some concerns. Dejagah is possessed of great touch and tremendous skill. What he doesn't have is pace or quickness. In other words, he's last season's Bryan Ruiz. I hope he improves as much as our Costa Rican did. Hughes and Hangeland, for the most part, had horrific games. Riether played his worst game in memory, and Riise only ventured upfield once. Schwarzer had his usual "little girl with the little curl" 90 minutes. His handling and distribution were shaky, but that point saving effort in the 95th minutes wipes clean a lot of slates. Sidwell and Baird worked hard, but if our midfield were the equal of our strike force, neither would be starting. Kacaniklic played very well after coming on. I do believe that the more pitch time he gets with Berbatov and Ruiz the better he'll become. He's got good attacking instincts. All he needs to improve is his decision-making.

Coulda been three; coulda been none. I'll settle for the one point, and I think most who read this will. I know that Martin Jol will.

HatterDon's Man of the Match is Dimitar Berbatov – two goals and one assist will do that for you. Despite Arsenal's high-priced talent on display, Great Uncle Bulgaria was easily the best player on the pitch. Second best, by some margin, was Bryan Ruiz. He has arrived, folks, and he and Berbatov are a fearsome pairing up front.

International break coming up; I'll be rooting hard for no Fulham injuries. COYW

[Beamer]

Riether did not block the ball with his elbow - one of the worst decisions ever. He made every effort to pull his arm behind him out of the way and I cannot believe the ref making gestures that he had stuck his arm out. No wonder the players were raging, if it struck his arm at all it was not because of anything he had done - exactly the opposite. Schwarzer,s save was poetic justice. I was sitting in our bar here in Spain with two gooners watching it live who couldn't believe it either and the replays made the decision look a joke.

[BillNRoc]

Well put, HD. Berbatov is the best player wearing a Fulham shirt in my (admittedly short) experience with the club. The more Kaca is on the pitch with him, the better our offense will be; same with Ruiz, though that last-second brain-cramp "clearance" is not what you'd expect from an international-class player. Dejegah gave us a lot, ran out of steam, but no crime to bring Duff on in his place. Sadly, can't see Baird or Sidwell ever being up to it.

That said, our back four played so poorly, it's astonishing we managed to hold onto a point. H&H are barely recognizable as the players who wore 5 and 18 in prior years, and the FBs didn't cover themselves in glory either. We showed great resilience to come back, looked like a top-half team doing it. Wouldn't want to be an Arsenal fan this year, however; hard to see how they could possibly make it to the top four.

[NogoodBoyo]

I watched the same game on ESPN2 HD (is that a Hatter Don franchise?).
Yes, we evidently have defensive weaknesses with Hughes being out-muscled from the corner that led to Arsenel's first goal.  All four of our defenders looked static, ill-disciplined and lacking in aggression for their second, although your favourites on the ESPN2 Hatter Don channel laid the blame for that one at Reither's feet.  Schwartzer flapped a bit and seems to have lost his vocal authority at corners but made two world class saves (the penalty being one).
BUT, enough with the complaining already.  That was a smashing game of football and I think we looked the better footballing side out there - AT THE EMIRATES.  (Stop shouting, Boyo!)
Yet another enjoyable read form the high definition Texan.
Nogood "HD is Big Don, isit" Boyo

[YankeeJim]

Can't argue with much. I do feel that Sidwell was decent on defense but agree that neither he nor Baird (where was he today?) are good enough to provide the service that the graceful Berbatov and Ruiz need. The worse player on the pitch was one of my favorites, Aaron Hughes. He was beaten on the first goal and was ball watching on the other two. I hope it was just a bad day and not as I believe, a sign of things to come.  Overall, it was a joy to watch.

Is it possible that the problem with Hanger's game is actually Hughes?

[Fulham1959]

Your match reports, HD, are my "go-to" for an informed, balanced, intelligent view of Fulham's matches.

I live in Stoke-on-Trent (since 1955), though born in Gloucestershire, yet I have been a Fulham fan since 1959  -  for no logical reason.  I can no longer justify the cost of SKY TV for seeing matches live or watching extended highlights so I have to rely on BBC Match Of The Day highlights to see any Fulham action.

Your match reports are therefore very much valued.  Keep up the excellent work !

[MasterHaynes]

Once again I do not understand why referees book our players and not even lecture opposition players for worse fouls in more threatening situations. How Koscelny did not go straight into the book for scything Dejagah down after he had beaten him to cut in along the by line, but no nothing, Podolski takes down Ruiz when he had been robbed - nothing and again nothing in the 2nd half for a bad tackle by Arteta after being robbed as well as the penalty. Sidwells first booking was ridiculous the player was going now where he won the ball, he may have made a samll foul but never a booking.

The only time he had a word with a defender , not sure who it was a clear booking. Bairds booking again was soft. He seemed more intent on laughing and having Jokes with the Arsenal players

Am I the only one that thinks refs seem to be happy to pull the book on us and loathe to do it for teams we play against, Fellaini should have been booked on two occasion last week, even the commentator thought he should have gone in at least once. If he would have been booked maybe he would not have been able to be as physical as he was against us for 90 minutes

[FC Silver Fox]

As always Don, great report that I read with pleasure.  I agree with Beamer about the penalty - no way was that deliberate. You didn't mention that Sidwell almost get sent off for an unwarranted 2nd yellow card before Phil Dowd saw the error of his ways and shoved the card back into his pocket.

[Snibbo]

Thanks HD. Incisive as usual.

I thought Ruiz was the best player in the pitch, but we certainly had the best 2 on the pitch in him and Berba.

Maybe time to make Berba captain - clearly a great leader by example but also vocally.

[sipwell]

I have read this with great pleasure, just like I have watched the last three Fulham games with great pleasure. 8 Fulham goals in 3 games. Unfortunately also 8 Fulham opponent goals. If we can work on that, fabulous.

That was never a penalty. Riether even tried to pull his arm back. I thought the rule was a deliberate attempt to touch the ball or having your hands where they should not be. Riether did none of those.

[Rupert]

I have read this with great pleasure, just like I have watched the last three Fulham games with great pleasure. 8 Fulham goals in 3 games. Unfortunately also 8 Fulham opponent goals. If we can work on that, fabulous.

That was never a penalty. Riether even tried to pull his arm back. I thought the rule was a deliberate attempt to touch the ball or having your hands where they should not be. Riether did none of those.

It is a foul, and thus a penalty/free kick, if the hand or arm moves into contact with the ball. Unfortunately, trying to move the arm out of the way can be seen as moving the arm into contact, since it is moving.
Having said that, and having watched the incident a couple of times, I do not think our man moved his arm at all, he twisted his body, and so I think it was a poor decision, but I can understand why the ref called it.

Fortunately, justice was done, in the end.

[epsomraver]

The law says it has to be deliberate, how can a player less than 6 feet away from a ball blasted at him get any part of his body out of the way, no way was that a penalty. It is no excuse for a poor decision for people to say " I have seen them given".

[Gozorich]

Good report with interesting comments however I disagree about the gentle put-down of the midfield. I thought they outplayed Arteta and company for a lot of the game and I would rate Sidwell as one of our best players on the day.

It would be nice to have a truly creative player, Bryan notwithstanding, in the middle as well but I think that Sidwell and Baird did us proud. 

[Kent Cassandra]

I think Diarra would have been playing today if fit.  He is an exceptional midfielder and obviously has class and creativity.  Having said that I don't think he has adapted fully yet to the rough and tumble of English football.  It would have been interesting to see him yesterday against a team that has high quality players, I think he would have made the difference.

[Rupert]

The law says it has to be deliberate

Not for the last twenty-odd years, it hasn't. Deliberate hand ball went out with the four-steps rule for goalies and poor old T-Rex (the big lizard, not the band, although I am willing to stand corrected on that if anyone disagrees).

[Me-ate-Live, innit??]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4524354.stm
What is 'deliberate' handball?
   

The challenging decisions are if the defending player spreads their arms to make themselves bigger 
Former Premier League referee David Elleray
"Hand to ball or ball to hand?" Nothing stirs the passion like a controversial handball decision.

You've only got to look at players and managers jumping up and down enraged at a dodgy penalty to know that.

A ball slams into a player's arm and one team is screaming for a penalty, while the others are claiming it was an accident.

It's a tricky one for the referee to call in the heat of the moment.

So what is 'deliberate' handball?

In Fifa's Laws of the Game 2005, Law 12 says a free-kick or penalty will be awarded if a player "handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)".

Page 67 of the document gives "additional information for referees, assistant referees and fourth officials".

It adds: "Referees are reminded that deliberately handling the ball is normally punished only by a direct free-kick or penalty kick if the offence occurred inside the penalty area.

"A caution or dismissal is not normally required."

However, the document fails to describe what constitutes deliberate handball, which places the responsibility firmly on the referee and referees' assistants.

Former Premier League referee David Elleray said the referee's interpretation depends on whether the hand or arm is in an "unnatural" position at the point of contact.


Referees often consult their assistants on decisions
"Referees look at two specifics - did the hand or arm go towards the ball or in a manner which would block the ball, or is the hand in a position where it would not normally be?" Elleray told BBC Sport.

"The challenging decisions are if the defending player spreads their arms to make themselves bigger.

"If the ball hits the arm then the referee must decide whether this action was to deliberately block the ball or whether the player has raised their arms to protect themselves - especially if the ball is hit at speed."

The referee and referees' assistants, therefore, have a matter of seconds to weigh up these factors, and take the appropriate action.

And there will always be at least one manager, 11 players and thousands of fans who will insist they have been hard done by.

[cmg]

Thanks for publishing that excellent analysis.

Obviously there is nothing in there to indidcate anything other than that the referee got it wrong yesterday.

Compare and contrast with the incident in the current Manchester City - Spurs match in which the ball hit Gallas's outstretched and flapping around arm from similar range as yesterday's incident. No handball given. (Possibly neither ref nor linesman saw it, or, at least, that's the opt-out).

[Lighthouse]

Watching the game in real time I had no doubt that the ball hit the elbow with the defender trying to keep his arms by his side. The only deliberate thing was he was trying to keep his arm out of the way. In future any player in the area only has to smash the ball at the side of any player and hopes it hits the handor arm for this referee to give a penalty.

Also the Sidwell booking was clearly a dive by the Arsenal player. A fact the referee must have been informed of or watched a replay at half time otherwise Sidwell would surley have been sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence.

[RidgeRider]

Watching the game in real time I had no doubt that the ball hit the elbow with the defender trying to keep his arms by his side. The only deliberate thing was he was trying to keep his arm out of the way. In future any player in the area only has to smash the ball at the side of any player and hopes it hits the handor arm for this referee to give a penalty.

Also the Sidwell booking was clearly a dive by the Arsenal player. A fact the referee must have been informed of or watched a replay at half time otherwise Sidwell would surley have been sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence.

agree with this, as a forward player, I would be looking to smash it into a player in hopes of a pen if the box is crowded and no clear shot is present....may even get a deflection if you miss

[mancwhite]

 ROI flag Sidewall was solid yesterday - Baird touch lets him down - otherwise they both out in a tremendous shift yesterday -considering that Ruiz without the ball is a waste of space, that said I think that was Ruiz best game for us he had so much of the ball it was great to see him running at players. Anxious that H + H not as robust as used to be. Either way that was a great peformance made you proud to be a fan. Pity we cold not have kept Moussa though - -then we might have been a top six team