Our record

[Deanothefulhamfan]

Our record against the top 6 is as follows;
Played 5, Lost 5, Scored 3 conceded 12.... Of these games 1 was at home, and 3 were under Kit

Our record against the bottom 6
Played 5, Won 2, Drawn 3, Scored 14, Conceded 9.... Of these games 2 were at home, and 5 were under Kit.

What this tells me is we are a) nowhere near a top side in this division, and b) these results are good enough to suggest we are winning key battles  among the other bottom teams.

It also suggests that under Kit he has us well set up against the worse sides, but we and him need to do more against the top sides.

Brighton up next who are a very bad side , so I am hoping Kit gets it right, as he has done this season against a struggling manager.

[Deanothefulhamfan]

Also interestingly our goals scored record is worthy of a playoff spot.... Although goals conceded is the worst in the league and twice as bad as teams in the play off spots..... So in true Fulham fashion, the first signing in January will be a striker

[love4ffc]

I will get stick for this but I don't care.  You are right, we need to do something about a striker.  Rod is ok but not on fire.  We need to find a new front man...or do we try something different and actually play Smith up top and see what the old partnership can do?  Either way I agree we need a new striker. 

[MJG]

Seven goals and five assists in the league in 13 appearances.  Not sure what more you can ask from a striker?

EDIT: Just to clarify this is in response to love4ffc

[Deanothefulhamfan]

I think you missed my point.... I was using this stat as tongue in cheek, the one thing we definitley do not need is another striker. We are scoring goals for fun. But I said it would be true fashion that one will be our first signing.... A very "fulhamish" thing.

For what it's worth I am not a massive fan of Rodallega, but he is doing it at this level much to my surprise. He cannot be dropped on this form that's for sure.

[love4ffc]

We are not scoring goals for fun, sorry.  Rod has missed too many chances for me.  Has he done ok?  Yes.  Could he do a lot better?  Heck ya.  

You say this post is tongue and cheek.  I say the front man is actually not good enough and I truly believe we could be doing better.  A lot better.  

[MJG]

We are not scoring goals for fun, sorry.  Rod has missed too many chances for me.  Has he done ok?  Yes.  Could he do a lot better?  Heck ya. 

You say this post is tongue and cheek.  I say the front man is actually not good enough and I truly believe we could be doing better.  A lot better.   

We could do better at EVERY position, but we are where we are and Hugo is fine as a championship striker and is currently joint 10th in the goalscoring charts. Given he has not played in a third of our games, that's not bad.

[love4ffc]

So I am not taken wrong here.  Do I think the offense has more problems then the defense?  No, absolutely not.  Do I think the defense should be our number 1 priority in the Jan window?  Absolutely beyond a positive doubt.  

With that said though, I still think we need a better strike team.  Maybe we need a new partner for MacCormack?  Someone who plays in the slot and allows him to be the front man?  

[love4ffc]

We are not scoring goals for fun, sorry.  Rod has missed too many chances for me.  Has he done ok?  Yes.  Could he do a lot better?  Heck ya. 

You say this post is tongue and cheek.  I say the front man is actually not good enough and I truly believe we could be doing better.  A lot better.   

We could do better at EVERY position, but we are where we are and Hugo is fine as a championship striker and is currently joint 10th in the goalscoring charts. Given he has not played in a third of our games, that's not bad.

MJG, so we are not going to bad place please don't think this is a dig at you.

Our current problem is that we are not good enough is several positions.  Is this Kit faults?  Absolutely not.  Is Rod good enough for the Championship?  Absolutely.  If you want to be a mid to bottom level team. 

I'm sorry, and again I know I will receive stick for this, but Rod is not the answer for Kit's front man.  Not if we want to get promoted. 

Again, I love the goals that Rod has scored but they are not enough. Not for the chances he has had. 

[MJG]

We are not scoring goals for fun, sorry.  Rod has missed too many chances for me.  Has he done ok?  Yes.  Could he do a lot better?  Heck ya. 

You say this post is tongue and cheek.  I say the front man is actually not good enough and I truly believe we could be doing better.  A lot better.   

We could do better at EVERY position, but we are where we are and Hugo is fine as a championship striker and is currently joint 10th in the goalscoring charts. Given he has not played in a third of our games, that's not bad.

MJG, so we are not going to bad place please don't think this is a dig at you.

Our current problem is that we are not good enough is several positions.  Is this Kit faults?  Absolutely not.  Is Rod good enough for the Championship?  Absolutely.  If you want to be a mid to bottom level team. 

I'm sorry, and again I know I will receive stick for this, but Rod is not the answer for Kit's front man.  Not if we want to get promoted. 

Again, I love the goals that Rod has scored but they are not enough. Not for the chances he has had. 

I dont take anything like this as a dig. I disagree that Hugo is not good enough for us in the championship, He is actually a good fit for this league and he is much better than Smith thats for sure. One more assist and Hugo will have match all of Smiths for last season.

As I said we could improve everyone, would I like Rhodes in the team? Yes of course I would. Would I have Will Hughes, in a heartbeat. But we have to be realistic with the players we can actually get to join the club now we are in the championship.

I'm still fairly happy with the squad as a whole, but we need one probably two central midfielders (bring Tunnicliffe back in Jan and we need another one), Kaca back means we have another winger. Offload 2 of the 3 right backs, hopefully Grimmer will do well, if not i would loan one in. And we need another CB to give us 4 senior ones.
So recall two of the players on loan and 1 CM and 2 defenders is what we need. Maybe another GK if Pajama bottoms is not up to it.

[Deanothefulhamfan]

Love4ffc in my second post you will notice, that I mention that our goals scored record is as good as most in the league and would be worthy of a playoff spot . So imo we are scoring goals for fun.

I think Rodallega needs 5 chances to score 1, and if a one on one came about he would score less than half, but he is one of the few players that are playing well.... He simply cannot be replaced at the moment with the form he is in. Is he premiership quality.. . No way.... But he seems comfortable at this level, I thought Woodrow would score 15 league goals at the start of the season, but I fully expected him to be above Roddallega in terms of our attacking options. It seems that is not the case, but Rodallega is likely to be our top goal scorer this season, and is a player I don't see dropping to the bench anytime soon.

[TonyGilroy]

I suspect the stats are different when you look at where the opposition was in the table when we played them.

We are a mixture of young players, experienced guys who thought they were leaving and odds and sods brought in by Magath. With that combination Kit has worked miracles but a great deal of improvement is necessary, mostly defensively, if we're to challenge for promotion.

This season has to be about giving the kids experience and acquiring some battle hardened Championship players in January and preparing for a push next season.

[snarks]

But Norwich were in the top six when Fulham won 1-0, so I think that's a little harsh in pure statistical terms.

Also whilst I don't wish to denegrate this even further some of those results were under Magath (Derby, Forest) where Fulham conceeded 10 goals alone, it does tend to distort things.

[love4ffc]

Man is it late for me.  The misses is going to kill me but I will live with that.  

Dean and MJG - I think I have been on this board long enough, and the two of you have my total respect as being two straight up stand up guys, so please call me Don as I do respect your opinions.  

Sorry Rod is not good enough for me.  Again do I appreciate what he has done for us, yes.  Still think we could do a lot better for a front man.  Is Smith the answer, not sure as I have not seen enough of him to form a good opinion.  

What do I think Kit needs to address?  Not the midfield like everyone seems to think.  For me he needs to address RB can CB.  We don't have a good RB nor do we have a good back up RB.  I am satisfied with LB as long as Amorebieta and Staf are healthy. 

Midfield I am satisfied with Scotty - who I have always respected and think is doing a stand up fantastic job as both our captain and as a midfielder.  

As for CB I still think Burns needs a new partner.  A stronger partner. that could help him with developing. 

Last thing.  This is going to get all the Ruiz haters going tomorrow.  We are not a better side without him!  Really think if he is willing to stay that we could build a heck of team around him as the number 10. 

I also think that pajama bottoms must go and a reliable number 2 is brought in. 

These are not all the answers to our problem but I think a good start. 

Don   

[Deanothefulhamfan]

Snarks the main reason I posted my original message, was mainly to focus on the fact Kit seems to be winning the war on teams around us. We did beat Norwich who were top at the time, so these stats are a little bit unbalanced, but it is still a pretty good indicator that we struggle with the better sides in this division, and are a long way off being a top side.

Don, I agree with your comments about RB, but I think we desperately need cover in Central Midfield. Whilst I think the world of Hyndman, he is not the man to be our ball winner in the middle of the pitch, which is what we so desperately need. If we can recall Tunnicliffe I will be delighted as this is exactky the sort of player we need to bring on when we are holding onto a lead , or to replace Parker if he is being overused.

Ruiz has been indifferent this season, better at home than he is away, but I still think he will leave. If it allows Woodrow some time then it will not be all bad, as I think we will see a difference in our play for the better.

[nose]

The thing with hugo is that he tries hard, he is a lovely bloke, he is scoring at the moment
BUT
he has no first touch and as a result cannot really hold up/link the play . we do need somebody that can keep the ball with back to goal BZ fashion... that is one of the key problems we have and why our defence is always under such pressure, because the ball does not stick well enough with the forwards

That is the problem with Hugo.

[love4ffc]

The thing with hugo is that he tries hard, he is a lovely bloke, he is scoring at the moment
BUT
he has no first touch and as a result cannot really hold up/link the play . we do need somebody that can keep the ball with back to goal BZ fashion... that is one of the key problems we have and why our defence is always under such pressure, because the ball does not stick well enough with the forwards

That is the problem with Hugo.

Agree.  Hugo first touch is awful.  We really do need someone who can hold up the play and get others involved. 


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[love4ffc]

Snarks the main reason I posted my original message, was mainly to focus on the fact Kit seems to be winning the war on teams around us. We did beat Norwich who were top at the time, so these stats are a little bit unbalanced, but it is still a pretty good indicator that we struggle with the better sides in this division, and are a long way off being a top side.

Don, I agree with your comments about RB, but I think we desperately need cover in Central Midfield. Whilst I think the world of Hyndman, he is not the man to be our ball winner in the middle of the pitch, which is what we so desperately need. If we can recall Tunnicliffe I will be delighted as this is exactky the sort of player we need to bring on when we are holding onto a lead , or to replace Parker if he is being overused.

Ruiz has been indifferent this season, better at home than he is away, but I still think he will leave. If it allows Woodrow some time then it will not be all bad, as I think we will see a difference in our play for the better.

Dean, agree that Ruiz will probably leave in Jan, and sadly like almost all players who leave FFC, will probably do very well. 

A back up option for Scotty?  I haven't really given this any thought as I am more concerned about the back 4.  Long term I do think Parker needs a better partner, but again I don't think that is the number 1 priority currently. 


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[MJG]

and sadly like almost all players who leave FFC, will probably do very well.

Really? Have a look at a long list of players who have left us over last 5 years and not many have done well at all. You only have to look at D&D and their ill fated move to Spurs to show the grass is not always greener.

[ToodlesMcToot]

and sadly like almost all players who leave FFC, will probably do very well.

Really? Have a look at a long list of players who have left us over last 5 years and not many have done well at all. You only have to look at D&D and their ill fated move to Spurs to show the grass is not always greener.

It's funny though. Both those players actually played well and were/have been successful with Spurs when given real opportunity. But, for me, Spurs continues to pretend they are Man City/Chelsea - continually buying up and paying inflated wages to players just to have them. Ultimately, Spurs and the players themselves (by choosing to go there) wasted the absolute best of the two Dems. I think both would have elevated their careers and importance to the league by staying with more humble clubs - didn't even need to be us. Sadly, that's not the way the most driven professionals see things and must continually strive to reach the pinnacle of the game - onward and upward. I'll still believe they'd have had more memorable careers had they chosen to remain the big fish at clubs more like Fulham.

With regard to our results and the way forward, I agree with TonyG that this season must be about building experience for the young ones (Save for maybe Betts, none has proven fully ready for this level - much less the next.), improving our league play and position (We must address midfield and defensive issues via loans and in January), and building toward a promotion push next season.