Playing devil's advocate

[Joe McDonald]

Okay, first up, I'm far from happy with our current performances.  However, I'm trying to remain positive and would love our fans to regain the 'stand up if you still believe' mentality that helped carry the players to th Europa League final.

Looking at the season so far and the points that have been dropped, what would you have predicted our points total to be at this stage of the season?  If we'd held on against Newcastle, Cardiff, West Brom, we'd have an extra 4pts and be up in 8th place level with Man Utd

Did we expect to get to Wembley and win a cup final?  Will having mid weeks free help our ageing squad overthe course ofthe season?

There does seem to be a really good team spirit amongst the squad, when you see the way they celebrated the goals against Crystal Palace.  Berbatov has shown the same petulance at other clubs, with better players than ours, that's just him.

I'd like to see us play the free flowing attacking game that saw us tear QPR and Norwich apart in the last few seasons.  I'd like us to stop conceeding so late in games, conceeding so many shots (although stas can be misleading - how many of thos shots were truly threatening the goal/gettng past our keeper).

Tha attitude the team shows in the coming weeks will likely cement my view one way orthe other in terms my position on the way the team is managed

[Northern Cottager]

If we don't consider other teams shots properly because they aren't correct then surely there is even more concern about our actual threats towards goal?

We're playing poorly. We concede absolutely shocking goals and our team is lacking spark, pace and cutting edge. There's very little to be positive about no matter which way we look at it.

[Lighthouse]

The very games you picked out WHEN we attacked proved the team can play. But I am afraid we just don't seem to want to. We play scared football. We don't go forward, we make a mistake and then make more mistakes. If we score first we don't continue and hide away. I know we may be simply not as good as many teams. But we look as if we don't try until we are pushed into it. This season we were simply poor against all the teams who scored in the last minutes against us. We were not unlucky but lucky to hold out for so long.

I love Fulham. It has been a part of my familys life for a generation. When I think of my past I think of Fulham being part of it. But if somebody offered me a free season ticket now I would have to think about it. We are just so boring to watch. I now don't bother to listen in and just look at the score.

I would love to spend time moaning about players or arguing that one player is better than an other. I would love to feel one win would turn us around. But you know that under our present regime, a lucky win is followed by another set of scare tactics.

[MJG]

My pre season target was 45 Pts. That''s about the minimum we should be looking to get.

My target at this stage was 14 pts allowing us to lose the next 2 and still be above a pt a game.
To be mid table in the prem you need to average 1.1-1.3 pts per game. That will get you anywhere from 8-14 usually.
Now it looks like we will have 10 pts from 11 games and while its does not seem a big change it does mean for 27 games we need to play like a top 8 side on average to get to 45 pts.

Start poorly in this league and your playing catchup all season.

[Southcoastffc]

My pre season target was 45 Pts. That''s about the minimum we should be looking to get.

My target at this stage was 14 pts allowing us to lose the next 2 and still be above a pt a game.
To be mid table in the prem you need to average 1.1-1.3 pts per game. That will get you anywhere from 8-14 usually.
Now it looks like we will have 10 pts from 11 games and while its does not seem a big change it does mean for 27 games we need to play like a top 8 side on average to get to 45 pts.

Start poorly in this league and your playing catchup all season.

Talk about selective use of statistics!  I could argue that we have 10 points from 9 games which equates to 42 points from 38. 

[ToodlesMcToot]

I love Fulham. It has been a part of my familys life for a generation. When I think of my past I think of Fulham being part of it. But if somebody offered me a free season ticket now I would have to think about it. We are just so boring to watch. I now don't bother to listen in and just look at the score.

If ever Mr. Khan is looking for a rational reason for making changes, this is it. Fans are beginning to re-consider the money they spend where the club is concerned. Sustainability is difficult when fans are walking away from the turnstiles and changing the channel.

Mr. Khan says that he won't be rash in his decisionmaking and it's apparent that he and the upper management at the club view making a change now as being rash. Perhaps they should change their perspective and find a way of viewing change as being bold. Find a manager to inspire the fans as well as the players and not just choose from usual suspects on the PL coaching carousel.

[SKSW6]

Apart from against Palace, and even then it took a wonder goal to get us back into the game, AND EVEN THEN we weren't the better side until Sidwell scored, we've been the second best team in every game this season. We shouldn't let the points total, and it's a pretty poor one at that, mask what have been awful performances with no signs of getting better. We concede around 20 shots a game and have very few ourselves. We were terrible at the back end of last season, and it has only gotten worse in this one.

Even if the team started to "gel" (most other teams have managed to get on just fine with a similar number of new players as us), the team's average age is around 30. That means the players are generally on the decline and will need replacing soon, and as we have so many it will mean a massive overhaul of the squad. The future under Jol is bleak. We need someone who has the ability to plan further than a season ahead, and start integrating some of the talented youngsters, as well as spending money on 22-26 year olds.

[MJG]

My pre season target was 45 Pts. That''s about the minimum we should be looking to get.

My target at this stage was 14 pts allowing us to lose the next 2 and still be above a pt a game.
To be mid table in the prem you need to average 1.1-1.3 pts per game. That will get you anywhere from 8-14 usually.
Now it looks like we will have 10 pts from 11 games and while its does not seem a big change it does mean for 27 games we need to play like a top 8 side on average to get to 45 pts.

Start poorly in this league and your playing catchup all season.

Talk about selective use of statistics!  I could argue that we have 10 points from 9 games which equates to 42 points from 38. 

did I not write..it looks like..when talking about next two games. Anyway its just about avergaes.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[premFlem]

My pre season target was 45 Pts. That''s about the minimum we should be looking to get.

My target at this stage was 14 pts allowing us to lose the next 2 and still be above a pt a game.
To be mid table in the prem you need to average 1.1-1.3 pts per game. That will get you anywhere from 8-14 usually.
Now it looks like we will have 10 pts from 11 games and while its does not seem a big change it does mean for 27 games we need to play like a top 8 side on average to get to 45 pts.

Start poorly in this league and your playing catchup all season.

Talk about selective use of statistics!  I could argue that we have 10 points from 9 games which equates to 42 points from 38. 

My pre season target was 45 Pts. That''s about the minimum we should be looking to get.

My target at this stage was 14 pts allowing us to lose the next 2 and still be above a pt a game.
To be mid table in the prem you need to average 1.1-1.3 pts per game. That will get you anywhere from 8-14 usually.
Now it looks like we will have 10 pts from 11 games and while its does not seem a big change it does mean for 27 games we need to play like a top 8 side on average to get to 45 pts.

Start poorly in this league and your playing catchup all season.

Talk about selective use of statistics!  I could argue that we have 10 points from 9 games which equates to 42 points from 38. 

Unfortunately the bulk of our points this season have come from fellow relegation candidates stoke sunderland and palace , we've been playing relegation football for more than a year now.

[bill taylors apprentice]

Okay, first up, I'm far from happy with our current performances.  However, I'm trying to remain positive and would love our fans to regain the 'stand up if you still believe' mentality that helped carry the players to th Europa League final.

Looking at the season so far and the points that have been dropped, what would you have predicted our points total to be at this stage of the season?  If we'd held on against Newcastle, Cardiff, West Brom, we'd have an extra 4pts and be up in 8th place level with Man Utd

Did we expect to get to Wembley and win a cup final?  Will having mid weeks free help our ageing squad overthe course ofthe season?

There does seem to be a really good team spirit amongst the squad, when you see the way they celebrated the goals against Crystal Palace.  Berbatov has shown the same petulance at other clubs, with better players than ours, that's just him.

I'd like to see us play the free flowing attacking game that saw us tear QPR and Norwich apart in the last few seasons.  I'd like us to stop conceeding so late in games, conceeding so many shots (although stas can be misleading - how many of thos shots were truly threatening the goal/gettng past our keeper).

Tha attitude the team shows in the coming weeks will likely cement my view one way orthe other in terms my position on the way the team is managed

I admire your loyalty, but anyone who is prepared to sit on there arse and fiddle while everything around them
burns is a fool.

The games you mention, like the recent palace game were against teams who stood off and allowed us to play without offering much of a threat themselves.

I didnt expect to win the cup but i did expect a higher level of competence from my team.

As for what we might of done against other teams, well, if my aunty had balls she would be my uncle.

The teams moral only lasts long as the last win at the moment, that what happens to poor, lazy, losers.

And I would like my team to be organised, playing to their strengths, tactically aware and hard to beat before playing any fancy free flowing football, that comes later.

[Denver Fulham]

Our three wins have been against the teams currently in 17th, 19th and 20th place. Our other point was at home against the 12th place side, who hadn't scored all season before the equalizer.

We have been outplayed in every match this season, save perhaps for Crystal Palace, when two miracle goals broke their spirit.

I'd love to be optimistic, but I'm not. The upcoming schedule is daunting, the "easy" matches are all at the end of the season, and no one fears coming to the Cottage anymore. I used to get excited about home matches against the Manchester Uniteds of the world. Now there's just dread and the hope we can somehow steal a point.

I'm really not sure what else ownership needs to see. The team has mostly stunk for a year. The fans are disgusted. The roster is comprised of guys 2-3 years past their prime. It's a bad situation. If you gave me 40 points right now, I'd take it in a heartbeat and hope it's enough to stay up. I don't think we're going to find 30 more this season unless the manager changes or substantial moves are made in January.