Finally got the time to watch the entire Wednesday match ... .

[HatterDon]

A couple of comments:

1. Betts doesn't look like a kid out there, does he?
2. Yes, Hutch had a very good match out there, but has Budarov ever looked better than he did in this match?
3. I can't believe I'm watching the same Bryan Ruiz as some of the rest of you.
4. The only sub-par performance was from Jack Grimmer who was parboiled, roasted, BBQ'd, and pureed by their #17 in the first half. If they hadn't made a half-time adjustment to put the guy at LB, god knows what might have happened.
5. Fofana looks a lot less finished to me than he does to some of you.
6. Yes, LVC's goal was tasty -- especially the two head fakes -- but his footwork on his first chance earlier was purely stunning.
7. I wish I had seen all the replays of Woodrow's dive/shouldabeenapenalty. It did look like a dive, but their keeper's reaction made it seem like he was at fault. As someone pointed out, that might have been the reason for the relatively soft penalty.
8. I want Patrick Roberts on the pitch for the last 13-30 minutes of every match [unless we're down to 10 men]. He's not our best player by any means, but it's fun watching him scare the bejesus out of tired defenders.
9. Counting TV replays like this one, I've seen about 7 or 8 of our matches under Kit, and I'm beginning to think that "his long-ball tactics" belong up there with Nessie and Bigfoot.
10. I'm running out of good things to say about Mac. He's just flat good.

Best of the match:

Attack: Mac
Midfield: LVC
Defense: Budarov

MOtM: Budarov didn't put a foot wrong, but LVC's break out of our penalty area for what became our third goal was an icepick in Wednesday's hearts, so he gets it.

[dannyboi-ffc]

Àll ill say is watching it live at the game can be different to watching it on a replay on the Internet.  But thanks for sharing.

Can't argue with bod as motm.

[Lighthouse]

I do have doubts over Forfana. I really am a bit surprised how poor his first touch is. He often overruns the ball and one day will over do it in trying to win the ball back.

Grimmer needs time but he isn't there yet.

Despite the age old argument over watching games live or on tv. I have come to the conclusion that one often misses things both watching live compared to tv and visa versa.

[Jonaldiniho 88]

 1500.gifMr don agree with almost everything u have said. My first game home and Ruiz looked class. Saying that he didn't do so much but his first touch was incredible. Grimmer not nearly there first half, looked very good second but soooo committed to the tackles he made if he had miss timed one it was a red or they were in on goal. He did well but fine lines. I didn't notice bod which is the finest compliment I could give him. Lvc is our best player right now. Ross does so much more than he is credited for. Staf was as good as I have seen and I'm still glowing from the performance. Thank you FFc. Coyw

[dannyboi-ffc]

I do have doubts over Forfana. I really am a bit surprised how poor his first touch is. He often overruns the ball and one day will over do it in trying to win the ball back.

Grimmer needs time but he isn't there yet.

Despite the age old argument over watching games live or on tv. I have come to the conclusion that one often misses things both watching live compared to tv and visa versa.

That's what I meant. I gave my opinion watching it live, I don't bother watching replays because I'm there.  Maybe I get things wrong and I probably was a bit harsh on ruiz but I'd rather be harsh on ruiz and see the positives in Grimmer.  Somewhere i see irony in that.

I didn't think you were a good fan if you criticised or were negative about anything or at least that's what I thought the irony thread was about the other day.

It was a good team performance and id play the same team against Bournemouth (I mean I want kit to play what he thinks is best, that's the best opinion to have)

Dannyboi's woke up grumpy today. ....Ho Ho Ho merry xmas

[cmg]

I rarely form an opinion these days without a couple of  viewings of the excellent replays provided, irrespective of whether I was there or not.

I'd go along with most of HD's astute observations. But would combine the thoughts on Betts, LVC, Grimmer and Fofana into the obvious observation that these are kids we are talking about, none of them are the finished article. Betts and LVC have 'grown up' real quick, the others (who are even younger) will learn (hopefully quckly) from any errors they make. LVC already looks like he owns the place and that run he does deep into the box for a through ball from Ross that he pulls back  from just outside the post is a thing of beauty that has already produced a goal and always looks threatening.

I feel that the garbage start we made severely limited the risks we were prepared to take and undermined confidence. Hence the early appearence of some 'Wimbledonish' stuff which has now, thakfully, receded. This has also affected the contribution of Pat Roberts, who, again, has time on his side. I remember him utterly mugging the Bolton defence and, as we saw, is a penalty magnet. If we had started as we are playing now, I think we would have seen a bit more of him.

The progress (if indeed it occurs at all) of young players is rarely very rapid or predictable, but these are as exciting times to be a Fulham supporter as I can remember.

[snarks]

On the Fofana comments, he is not the finished article. His first touch when the ball comes to him seems OK, where it isn't that great, is where his first touch is to push it forward to start running with it, then it is a little heavy.

Still the heavy touch won the free kick that ross scored from, and he does cover some ground.

[VicHalomsLovechild]

I've reached the point where I'm finding "they are still kids" over used. Dempsey wasn't prolific from the beginning nor did he or the Club find his best position for a while. Gera got nearly as much abuse as Bairdino at the start. The fact they are so young and producing good football at times and bouncing back from defeats is simply fantastic. The last time we went through so many changes was when Sanchez took over and he brought in seasoned pro's, same awful start to a season . Roy took over added a few and the rest is history. Kits done more or less the same but has had to bring in his changes from within the squad. When we're playing well you can see the beginnings of shape and purpose. Putting aside the chances of reaching the play offs just the fact that this team will only get better and we're in for a few memorable games as the season progresses is more than enough for me. 

[dannyboi-ffc]

Reading my post again it didn't come out how I meant it. I wasn't trying to be arrogant against anyone who isnt able to go. What I meant was I don't find the time to watch the replay because I'm at the game, so I only see it from a live point of view. Where as some of you get the benefit of replays and rewinding the footage if need be or doing both.

Most of HD comments are spot on but the Grimmer one is a bit harsh. With hindsight my ratings the other day were far too generous but I was excited at the time lol. Maybe their winger went to left back in the second half but Grimmer still improved a lot as the game went on and grew in confidence. I don't understand the patience of 4 years with Ruiz and the criticism of a youngster.

Ruiz might have done better than I give him credit for but I find the praise for him a little odd personally, just like most of you think it's odd I don't rate him.

And by the way I like ruiz as a person and feel he has a lot of quality. I just don't feel he has ever convincingly proved to live up to his potential and it might be time for a change for him.

Apologies HD for being grumpy earlier. I didn't like it when you did it to me so I take it back

[MasterHaynes]

Just remember Grimmer's best position is playing in the middle of defence, the problem we have(good problem) is that we have an abundance of central defensive players in Burn Bodurov,Hutchison, Arthurworrey and Burgess bit like Utd when they constantly played Smalling at right back because he has quite a lot of pace and is a good defender that fits in well when playing a narrow back 4.

[cmg]

Usually, whenever I have seen them together, Grimmer has played CB (and done so very well indeed) and Passley has been RB (also very good. Although I played full back long enough ago to be amazed that someone with Passley's speed and skill would be a full-back). Perhaps only the Shrewsbury fans could, at this moment, definitively say who was the better RB....And I know there are some wise heads on here who actually think Passley would be at his best at CB.

[filham]

Well, I watched the game at the Cottage and on TV and sure you do see a different aspect of some things on TV but others remain the same.

1. Christensen was man of the match and his goal has to be our goal of the season whether watched on TV or at the ground.

2. Those numerous long kicks high in the air from keeper towards Hugo, which were never won by Hugo but were quickly returned into our half, were route one football at it's worst ,both at the Cottage and on TV.

3. We reached our best point of the season to date both on TV and at the Cottage.

[epsomraver]

What I find unfair is when players like Grimmer get castigated for a poor performance when having to cope with two defenders running at him most of the time and poor support, his talent showed through second half as a defender when Kit changed things to give him that  support

[dannyboi-ffc]

Well, I watched the game at the Cottage and on TV and sure you do see a different aspect of some things on TV but others remain the same.

1. Christensen was man of the match and his goal has to be our goal of the season whether watched on TV or at the ground.

2. Those numerous long kicks high in the air from keeper towards Hugo, which were never won by Hugo but were quickly returned into our half, were route one football at it's worst ,both at the Cottage and on TV.

3. We reached our best point of the season to date both on TV and at the Cottage.

It was more how everyone interprets how an individual plays rather than the team. I've noticed you even see the game differently from different stands.

I still don't think ruiz was at the races but we appear to be going round in circles with that one.

LVC Hutchinson Bodurov. ... any of the three could've been motm so I don't disagree with bod getting it from HD.

You definitely don't see everything live that someone at home sees so it's good we come on here and share our opinions.

Is it bad that I quite like betti kicking it long? I think in moderation it's very effective and a good weapon. Saturday we had a variety to our play and for me a bit of everything is the most entertaining and the most effective

[CottagersOnTour]

Well, I watched the game at the Cottage and on TV and sure you do see a different aspect of some things on TV but others remain the same.

1. Christensen was man of the match and his goal has to be our goal of the season whether watched on TV or at the ground.

2. Those numerous long kicks high in the air from keeper towards Hugo, which were never won by Hugo but were quickly returned into our half, were route one football at it's worst ,both at the Cottage and on TV.

3. We reached our best point of the season to date both on TV and at the Cottage.

It was more how everyone interprets how an individual plays rather than the team. I've noticed you even see the game differently from different stands.

I still don't think ruiz was at the races but we appear to be going round in circles with that one.

LVC Hutchinson Bodurov. ... any of the three could've been motm so I don't disagree with bod getting it from HD.

You definitely don't see everything live that someone at home sees so it's good we come on here and share our opinions.

Is it bad that I quite like betti kicking it long? I think in moderation it's very effective and a good weapon. Saturday we had a variety to our play and for me a bit of everything is the most entertaining and the most effective

HD gave it to LVC quite rightly imo, Bod was a close second tho.

Bett's distribution generally on Saturday was decent I thought, like you say Danny the variation with a few longer kicks was nice, they were pretty accurate as well.

[dannyboi-ffc]

Well, I watched the game at the Cottage and on TV and sure you do see a different aspect of some things on TV but others remain the same.

1. Christensen was man of the match and his goal has to be our goal of the season whether watched on TV or at the ground.

2. Those numerous long kicks high in the air from keeper towards Hugo, which were never won by Hugo but were quickly returned into our half, were route one football at it's worst ,both at the Cottage and on TV.

3. We reached our best point of the season to date both on TV and at the Cottage.

It was more how everyone interprets how an individual plays rather than the team. I've noticed you even see the game differently from different stands.

I still don't think ruiz was at the races but we appear to be going round in circles with that one.

LVC Hutchinson Bodurov. ... any of the three could've been motm so I don't disagree with bod getting it from HD.

You definitely don't see everything live that someone at home sees so it's good we come on here and share our opinions.

Is it bad that I quite like betti kicking it long? I think in moderation it's very effective and a good weapon. Saturday we had a variety to our play and for me a bit of everything is the most entertaining and the most effective

HD gave it to LVC quite rightly imo, Bod was a close second tho.

Bett's distribution generally on Saturday was decent I thought, like you say Danny the variation with a few longer kicks was nice, they were pretty accurate as well.

My mistake. I misread the part about lvc. I thought he said bod edged it but it was the other way round. I think lvc for that goal edges it and hes been so consistent. Bod and hutch were a very close second to him though.

As for betti ' s kicks...... I think he's the best distributor of the ball since van der sar.  I rate bettinelli so highly that even if we get promoted some time soon I want him to remain number 1. His family ties to fulham (dad being a coach and sister being a physio) and the fact he's from camberwell means with a bit of luck he will stay with us for a very long time.

I hope anyway

[HatterDon]

Just for clarification, I said that Grimmer had a frightful first half. I rate him highly overall. Some may remember that I've said more than once that he's a future club captain and I hope that will be with Fulham. His two greatest skills are vision and leadership. I think that his best position may be midfield. I see a little bit of Billy Bremner in him.

And, yes, as has been said, we're talking about guys with fewer than 25 first-team matches. It's ridiculous to expect perfection. It is nothing short of amazing what Kit has been able to accomplish with these guys. I think we're in for a joyous couple of seasons as these guys mature. In my VERY humble opinion, there is absolutely nothing so emotionally rewarding as watching a bunch of talented youngsters grow into a squad of tested professionals.

I know we've just been relegated, but I can't imagine feeling better about supporting Fulham than I do right now.

Clarification over & thanks for your comments.

[VicHalomsLovechild]

What I find unfair is when players like Grimmer get castigated for a poor performance when having to cope with two defenders running at him most of the time and poor support, his talent showed through second half as a defender when Kit changed things to give him that  support

:plus one:

[Whitesideup]

What I find unfair is when players like Grimmer get castigated for a poor performance when having to cope with two defenders running at him most of the time and poor support, his talent showed through second half as a defender when Kit changed things to give him that  support

Indeed, full backs need support, and that is a key part of the midfield's job. Remember under Hodgson how well the midfield worked to shift from side to side, ensuring full-backs got as much support as possible? For my money, this is an area that we don't do particularly well, and one of the reasons (not the only reason,mind you) is Ruiz. At one stage in the first half, when he was playing in front of Staff, I saw him jog back but then just let the Wednesday player get ahead of him. There were then two bearing down on Staff ..by which time Ruiz was now at a total standstill the wrong side of the ball. He made no effort whatsoever to recover his position. At that stage I didn't care how good his first touch is. He has a part to play, but at times he looked as if he just couldn't be bothered. If the same happens against Bournemouth we will be put to the sword.

[Max Headroom]

I think we need to get RUIZ to sign up to a new long term contract.

In another four years time he may get used to the speed of the English game. I think it's really harsh of people to judge him after only three years. Not fair at all....