Winning defence

[BishopsParkFantastic]

Fulham have fielded the same defence line up for all their 5 victories this season - with 3 clean sheets and only 2 goals conceded: Schwarzer; Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise. These players have been on the pitch for the whole of those games, without any substitutions.

The start of Fulham's 'free fall' to the relegation zone was when we lost Hangeland through his sending off, against Sunderland.

[Holders]

It's the defence that has concerned me since the start of the season even when we were winning. It used to give such an air of confidence but even in the games we've won there have been far too many hairy moments. Presumably this is something about the way the team is now set up with less cover from the midfield and greater emphasis on attack (and, it seems, giving the ball away in midfield) but our well-drilled, league-leading, confidence-giving defence of the Hodgson era is but a distant memory. 

Even Hangeland does not seem as assured as he was and we have seemed more vulnerable in the air in general - Soton away being a case in point. Before that match, a Soton-supporting friend had told me how poor they were at corners and set-pieces. You wouldn't have thought it the way they dominated us on those that day.

There have been far too many late goals conceded which cost us valuable points even before the recent slide. That's largely down to the need to hold the ball up upfield, not giving it away so that the opposition can counter.   

It just seems to me that the drilling and coaching of the defence isn't what it was.

Views?

[HatterDon]

Fulham have fielded the same defence line up for all their 5 victories this season - with 3 clean sheets and only 2 goals conceded: Schwarzer; Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise. These players have been on the pitch for the whole of those games, without any substitutions.

The start of Fulham's 'free fall' to the relegation zone was when we lost Hangeland through his sending off, against Sunderland.

We were already well into our almost endless poor patch when Hangeland got his red. I thought Matty Briggs showed us today what we've been missing from Riise for a month or two.

[cebu]

Fulham have fielded the same defence line up for all their 5 victories this season - with 3 clean sheets and only 2 goals conceded: Schwarzer; Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise. These players have been on the pitch for the whole of those games, without any substitutions.

The start of Fulham's 'free fall' to the relegation zone was when we lost Hangeland through his sending off, against Sunderland.

We were already well into our almost endless poor patch when Hangeland got his red. I thought Matty Briggs showed us today what we've been missing from Riise for a month or two.

Briggs brings another advantage to the defence - in the height dept ... he's 6' 2".

[bulgariawhite]

Briggs reminds me of Bale when he was LB for Spurs, a bit of a 'Jonah". Rednapp moved him to mid field and protected his rear with Esskoto, look at Bales value now. Briggs is young and has a talent. Maybe a re-think on coaching. Jol sorted out Dembele, so why not again with this young lad