Monday Fulham Stuff (20/09/10)...

[WhiteJC]

http://www.footballfancast.com/2010/09/football-news/mark-hughes-content-with-fulhams-latest-draw?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ffc_Premiership_Blogs+%28FFC_Premiership_Blogs%29
MARK HUGHES CONTENT WITH FULHAM'S LATEST DRAW

Fulham boss Mark Hughes claimed Blackburn's goal in Saturday's 1-1 draw should not have stood, but accepted that a draw was probably the right result.

Sam Allardyce's team took the lead on the half-hour mark when a long ball forward by Paul Robinson found Chris Samba, who headed home, although Mark Schwarzer appeared to be blocked by El-Hadji Diouf.

However, the unbeaten Cottagers claimed their fourth draw of the campaign when Clint Dempsey headed the equaliser soon after the interval.

Afterwards Hughes was critical of inexperienced referee Anthony Taylor but accepted the point gained on their travels.

"I don't think the referee has had a game like this before, it's only his second game in the Premier League," he stated.

"I just feel there's a lot going on off the ball when you play the likes of Blackburn and you need an experienced referee to recognise that and understand what's going on.

"Maybe that's why he missed the challenge on Mark.

"I was disappointed with the award of the goal, there were two other incidents prior to that so for the referee to allow the play to continue was disappointing."

He continued:"I think it was a fair result in the end. I thought we allowed ourselves to get a little bit penned in during the first half and we didn't really play our game.

"I was pleased with what we produced in the second half. We got the ball down and scored a great equaliser.

"With a bit more fortune in the second half, when we created some good chances in possession, we could have won it.

"It's another away point for us and three from three away games. We remain unbeaten and we're pleased."

[WhiteJC]

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/154485/Chris-Samba-leaves-Fulham-fuming/?
CHRIS SAMBA LEAVES FULHAM FUMING

Blackburn 1 Fulham 1

CHRIS SAMBA was helped by Blackburn's knowledge of the dark arts but his disputed strike left Fulham fuming.

The big defender nodded home after Cottagers keeper Mark Schwarzer was felled by El-Hadji Diouf on his way to collect a long Paul Robinson free-kick.

It was a clear foul but with rookie referee Anthony Taylor missing the incident Rovers nearly got away with it – that was until Clint Dempsey popped up to snatch a point.

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Boss Mark Hughes moaned: "I was not happy with their goal. There were two other incidents prior to that so for the referee to allow play to continue was disappointing.

"our performance in the second half merited a win. I wanted us to get the ball down, move it quickly and play our game not Blackburn's. We did that and scored a great equaliser."

The game exploded when Schwarzer came charging out to reach Robinson's punt in the 30th minute.

Diouf made a beeline for the Aussie and clearly dumped him on his backside as the ball headed towards the danger zone.

It dropped on Samba's head and took a couple of bounces before rolling over the line for the defender's first goal of the season.

Hughes was livid and rightly so, as referee Taylor waved aside the angry protests from Fulham's players.

But that served only to inspire Fulham and they dominated from then on, equalising on 65 minutes through Dempsey, who has now scored in his last four games against the Lancashire team.

But while Fulham played well, all talk after the game centred on Blackburn's controversial goal.

Boss Sam Allardyce said: "We got away with that but we were exposing Schwarzer's weaknesses.

"Sparky is moaning about the foul but I'm complaining even more bitterly, they shouldn't even have 11 men on the
field.
"We had a couple of penalty decisions on both Dioufs – Mame and El-Hadji not given – the referee had a difficult day."

[WhiteJC]

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/200410/Blackburn-1-Fulham-1-Samba-has-Hughes-dancing-with-rage-?
BLACKBURN 1, FULHAM 1: SAMBA HAS HUGHES DANCING WITH RAGE

BLACKBURN 1, FULHAM 1. CHRIS SAMBA benefited from Blackburn's knowledge of the dark arts but his controversial strike left Fulham fuming.

The big defender nodded home after Cottagers keeper Mark Schwarzer was felled by El-Hadji Diouf on his way to collect a long Paul Robinson free-kick.

It was a clear foul, but with ref Anthony Taylor missing the incident Rovers nearly got away with it. That was until Clint Dempsey popped up to snatch a point with an expertly taken leveller.

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce's tactics at set-pieces have long been criticised by Arsene Wenger – and he may have a point.
The Frenchman has been whingeing about the way Blackburn use runners to block off the keeper.

"Sour grapes'' has been the reply from this neck of the woods. The soft London side's inability to cope with the game's physical challenges pinpointed as the real problem.

The row has been long and heated, and considering all the media attention it's generated it was a surprise to see Schwarzer had hatched a plan to come and catch everything.

And the policy backfired when Schwarzer came charging out to reach Robinson's long free-kick in the 30th minute.

Diouf made a beeline for the Aussie and clearly dumped him on his backside as the ball headed towards the danger zone.

It dropped on Samba's head and took a couple of bounces before rolling over the line for the defender's first goal of the season.

Fulham boss Mark Hughes was livid, and rightly so, as ref Taylor waved aside the angry protests from his players. The former Rovers manager had returned to his old stamping ground determined not to see his unbeaten record dismantled.
And it seemed the only way Blackburn would break through was via set-pieces.

As early as the seventh minute Schwarzer dashed a long way off his line to reach a deep free-kick and, under pressure from Mame Biram Diouf, failed to clear.

Phil Jones jumped on the loose ball and although his initial effort was blocked, Morten Gamst Pedersen saw the chance to dink a cheeky chip at goal.

But his attempt to net a delicate finish was thwarted by fellow Norwegian Brede Hangeland, with the giant defender heading off the line.

Fulham's first foray upfield earned them a free-kick 20-yards out and Dempsey's eyes lit up as he saw a chance to add to his incredible record against Rovers.

The Cottagers striker has fired three goals in his last three games against the Ewood Park outfit.

And maybe there was a sense of greed in his decision to hammer the chance wide rather than float in a cross for his team-mates to attack.

Moussa Dembele was next to threaten the home goal with a run from deep, and as Blackburn's defenders dropped off he cracked a low drive just wide of the post with Robinson relieved to see the ball skid wide.

Then came Rovers' controversial opener. But instead of inspiring them, surprisingly it took the energy out of their play.

Fulham got on the ball with Danny Murphy becoming far more involved and he was the architect of his side's best move of the opening half ten minutes before the break.

His clever, lofted ball was worked to left-back Carlos Salcido by a combination of Dembele and Simon Davies and the defender produced a superb curling shot that Robinson went full length to tip away. The visitors' dominance continued after the break and it was no surprise to see Dempsey score a 56th-minute equaliser.

Dembele fed Salcido down the left wing and his cross found the American in between Rovers' two central defenders.

He took advantage of the space to plant an unstoppable header past the exposed Robinson from close range.

MAN of the MATCH Danny Murphy: His desire to get on the ball for Fulham and pick the right pass was in contrast to the rest of the kick and rush football.

BLACKBURN: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Grella (Nzonzi (75th)) Jones, Mame Diouf, Pedersen (Emerton (60th)), El-Hadji Diouf, Kalinic (Benjamin (64th)).

FULHAM: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hughes, Hangeland, Salcido, Duff, Etuhu, Murphy (Gera (88th)), Davies, Dempsey (Eddie Johnson (77th)), Dembele.Ref: A Taylor   Att: 23,759

[WhiteJC]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/hughes-blasts-ref-decisions-2343641.html?
Hughes blasts ref decisions

Mark Hughes claimed referee Anthony Taylor was too inexperienced to handle Fulham's draw at Blackburn, after he allowed a controversial goal for the home side.

The official missed an obvious shove by El Hadji Diouf on goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, allowing Chris Samba to head into an empty net after half an hour. Rovers boss Sam Allardyce was also critical of Taylor -- claiming Schwarzer should not even have still been on the pitch because of a "blatant" handball outside the box.

"It was a foul for their goal, so we are disappointed and our performance in the second half merited a win," said Hughes. "I don't think the referee has had a game like this before, it's only his second game in the Premier League. I just feel there's a lot going on off the ball when you play the likes of Blackburn and you need an experienced referee to recognise that and understand what's going on."

Clint Dempsey headed home expertly on the 56th minute, as Fulham brushed off a poor first-half display to finish on top and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

"We have got away with that [the shove] perhaps, but we were exposing Mark Schwarzer's weaknesses and he handled outside the box blatantly," said Allardyce.

- Martyn Ziegler

Sunday Independent

[WhiteJC]

http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=213752
Fulham - Hughes Criticises Referee!
Sixth place is a hell of a good place to be but Mark Hughes reckons we should be higher following yesterdays 1-1 draw at Ewood Park.

In his after match press interview Mark, quite rightly, had a right rant at the referee, a certain Anthony Taylor, remarking,

"It was a foul for their goal, so we are disappointed, an dour performance in the second half merited a win."

"I don`t think the referee has had a game like this before, it`s only his second game in the Premier League."

"I just feel there`s a lot going on off the ball when you play the likes of Blackburn and you need an experienced referee to recognise that."

"Maybe that`s why he missed the challenge."

Just think, if he had of seen the blatant foul, by Diouf on Schwarzer, we`d be sitting in third place now!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=213752#ixzz1035pt3PF

[WhiteJC]

http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=213751
Fulham - And Sam`s Verdict Was?
Whilst Mark Hughes has every right to bemoan the fact that the referee, at Blackburn, had a stinker, the opposition boss, Sam Allardyce, kind of agrees with Sparky.

Allardyce who, this week, seemed to believe he could coach any big side to the double, spoke about the challenge, on Schwarzer that should have seen the goal ruled out, commenting,

"There was possibly a little nudge off Dioufy, but perhaps the referee wasn`t in a great position to see that."

"We have got away with that, perhaps, but we were exposing Schwarzer`s weaknesses."

What would that be Sam, the inability to withstand a foul challenge whilst going about his duties?


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=213751#ixzz103662uAH

[WhiteJC]

http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=213749
Fulham - Differing Views on Schwarzer!
Yesterday, it`s fair to say that it wasn`t one of Mark Schwarzer`s better days.

The Aussie keeper looked strangely vulnerable, especially early on committing several errors.

However, after the match, Mark Hughes defended his keepers` decision to come for the high balls that were so much the cause of his problems, explaining,

"He`s prepared to do that and on occasion get bumped and knocked over."

"But he will never get criticized by me for being positive and in the second half especially it helped us."

But Sam Allardyce believed Schwarzer shouldn`t have been on the pitch after an earlier indiscretion, commenting,

"Earlier on he handled outside the box blatantly and the referee`s in a position to see and he should be sending him off and he doesn`t."

"We`ve exposed one of their weaknesses in that the keeper`s not great on balls into the box. I thought he had a very difficult day."

Who`d be a goalkeeper eh!


Read more: http://www.fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=213749#ixzz1036KHkC4

[WhiteJC]

http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/attacking-away-from-home-tactics/?
Attacking away from home – tactics
Filed under: General — weltmeisterclaude @ 9:33 am
One of the issues with the Roy years was the steadfast refusal to 'give it some' away from home.    The point can be summarised with the following diagrams:


Here we see the 'double stalemate', something of a Hodgson goal when we met big teams away from home.

The idea here is to ensure that both teams have two banks of four behind the ball at all times.

Both teams?

Sure, because if you try to get beyond the opponents' midfield four and lose the ball, they have men goalside.  Hodgson hated opponents to have men goalside, and went to great lengths to ensure the two banks of four remained intact.  It is, as Inter Milan showed last year, very very hard to break down a well organised defence in which people are where they're meant to be.   So if you avoid the sorts of things that lead to the breakdown of organisation – especially over-commitment to attack, it's reasonably straightforward to nick a 0-0.

Which is more or less what we seemed to strive for under Roy.

In the diagram you see this played out:  the ball (black dot) always has to get through two banks of four, whichever side has possession.   It leads to some particularly turgid encounteres, particularly (as in our Hamburg away game) both teams play with wide men who play very narrow.

Another good example of this type of game was Aston Villa away a couple of years ago, where we almost seemed to be deliberately slowing down the game when we had the ball.  This ensured Villa regrouped in front of us, and therefore that Villa's pacey forwards weren't going to catch us out behind us.  0-0.



This is what happens when you open up (just a bit).

Get men ahead of the ball (top) and you create much more favourable matchups (numerically), much more support for the poor forwards (this is why I used to defend Zamora, even pre-goals).

But if you lose the ball, as noted above, we see the below.

Roy wasn't going to let that happen.

This is the difference between an open game and a tight game.

The frustration for a lot of us wasn't that we played like this sometimes – clearly it worked against superb sides like Shahktar Donetsk – but that we played like this too often.

In an open game both sides will have lots of attacks.  In a tight game both sides will have fewer attacks.

The law of averages says that, generally, the more attacks the more chances.

So if you think you're playing against a superior team you close the game down, lessening the opponents' opportunities to make their ability count.    If you give Manchester United 40 attacks they'll score more than if you give them 20 attacks.

But if you're playing against a team of similar or (especially) lesser ability, it makes every sense to open up and trust your players to outplay their opponents.    Hodgson seemed intent on playing the same way against Burnley as against Man United.   It wasn't fun.

Anyway, so far, so obvious.   But look what happened at Blackburn yesterday:


It would be silly to say that this never happened under Hodgson, but it didn't happen that often.

Here we see Etuhu with the ball, and four men ahead of him.   Hodgson wouldn't have been too keen on this – if we'd lost possession we'd have only had six men behind the ball.  If Blackburn were able to break quickly it'd be worse.

Particularly when we note that Murphy and Kelly are also in advanced areas (second frame).

And so is Salcido (third frame).    That's eight players in attacking areas, giving the Blackburn defence much more to consider, stretching them and giving us options (it's very easy for four defenders to cover 2-3 attackers; if eight men are up then the defence needs to get serious numbers back to defend).

All of which led to a good Salcido shot (look at the space he was in (#8 in the picture above)).

And it's how we scored, too.  Again, eight men up, giving the defence issues, and giving us options.  We took the right choices in the attack, spread the play brilliantly, and had someone on the end of Salcido's fine cross.


This goal wouldn't have happened with only 2-3 men attacking.

So the signs are quite positive.

[WhiteJC]

http://threeandin.com/2010/09/19/will-refs-keep-an-eye-on-blackburn/?
Will refs keep an eye on Blackburn?

Blackburn's goal against Fulham should not have been allowed yesterday.

As the ball came in Mark Schwarzer, eyes only on the ball, went to try and get it. El Hadj Diouf ran in, eyes only on the keeper, and barged into him so the Australian was in no-man's land when it hit Samba's head. It was as clear and deliberate a foul as you will ever see, and the second time in the game Diouf had done it.

It's hard to imagine that the referee didn't see either incident. He looked well placed to do so, especially for the goal. It was poor refereeing by any standards. And before I'm accused of anything untoward he made another serious error when Schwarzer handled the ball outside his area.

That doesn't alter the fact that Blackburn constantly, deliberately and tactically foul goalkeepers all the time. Arsene Wenger compared Stoke's treatment of Gomes to rugby, well Diouf's blocking off of Schwarzer belongs in American Football, not real football.

The incident was highlighted on Match of the Day and they were critical of the ref, rightly enough, but why not also be critical of a team who plays like that? Why not be critical of a manager who sends his team out with those kind of instructions? The same manager who reckons he's good enough to take charge of teams like Real Madrid or Man United, by the way. Let's face it, even if by some miracle that happened, the fans wouldn't take kindly to his industrial, clogging football.

It's been a poor start to the season for referees, there have been too many bad decisions and too many teams have gotten away with things that have no place on a football pitch, from bad fouls to the kind of thing Diouf was doing yesterday against Fulham.

You can only hope that lessons will be learned. From now on if there's a challenge on an opposition keeper in a Blackburn game they need to give the benefit of the doubt to the man with the gloves – and Allardyce's men will only have themselves to blame.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2010/09/19/john-pantsil-announces-fulham-departure-on-facebook/?
John Pantsil Announces Fulham Departure On Facebook

Craven Cottage man apparently voices displeasure on social networking site.

John Pantsil is set to quit Fulham after he was axed for yesterday's Blackburn game.

Just before kick off the frustrated Ghanaian right back said on Facebook: "I will for ever love you all Fulham fans where ever I will go...thank you all for your support, it was great and sweet being with you all...jp."

Pantsil has been in disappointing form this season. But Fulham boss Mark Hughes will surely be angry with the decision to publicly air his feelings. (Sunday People)

We are going to see more and more of this type of thing as footballers become more clued up in the ways of social networking. Ryan Babel is already a professional on Twitter and a number of others have used the internet as a speedy way to profess their irritation to the world.

One does feel for John Pantsil though as the Ghana man is a pretty good consistent attack minded full back but it could well be that Mark Hughes opts for alternative right back options.

Expect a move to Liverpool to be touted in the tabloids before too long.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/sep/19/sam-allardyce-anthony-taylor-referee?
Sam Allardyce to make complaint over referee Anthony Taylor
• Blackburn manager will point out 'errors' to Premier League
• Official made decisions that annoyed Rovers and Fulham


Blackburn's Sam Allardyce, right, and Fulham's Mark Hughes were both annoyed by the decisions of Anthony Taylor. Photograph: Paul Burrows/Action Images

The Blackburn Rovers manager, Sam Allardyce, will complain to Premier League referees chiefs about the performance of Anthony Taylor during his side's draw with Fulham yesterday.

Allardyce claimed Blackburn should have been awarded two penalties and that Fulham's goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, should have been sent off for handling outside the area.

Taylor, the subject of criticism from the Sunderland manager Steve Bruce earlier this season, also angered the Fulham manager Mark Hughes for allowing Christopher Samba's goal for Blackburn despite a clear push on Schwarzer by El Hadji Diouf.

Allardyce said: "The only person that made the game difficult was the referee. It was not a tough game to referee but he made both managers, both sets of players and both sets of fans angry.

"It's my job to point out those things and I will do that through the correct channels this week."

Allardyce admitted that Diouf had committed a foul but claimed that Schwarzer should have been sent off earlier for handling Morten Gamst Pedersen's chip outside the area.

"We have got away with that perhaps but we were exposing Mark Schwarzer's weaknesses and he handled outside the box blatantly," said Allardyce. "The referee's in a fantastic position to see and he should be sending him off and he doesn't."

Allardyce also insisted that Blackburn should also have been awarded two penalties for challenges on El Hadji Diouf and Mame Biram Diouf.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.cottagersconfidential.com/2010/9/19/1697490/early-thoughts-on-the-mark-hughes?
Early Thoughts On the Mark Hughes Era At Fulham - Opinion

Fulham are five games into the season, and I wanted to comment on what I have noticed so far from the Cottagers. The one word that keeps popping up in my mind regarding Fulham is "encouraged". In five games so far Fulham have 7 points and have yet to lose. They also have drawn on the road three times. I really don't have much to complain about as a fan. The beginning of the season has been a nice surprise.

After Roy Hodgson's departure I was really concerned that everything that was established the last couple of seasons could start turning in the wrong direction. I really believed the new manager would be a huge factor in which direction Fulham were to go.

I was not sure what to expect from Mark Hughes in the beginning. I was hopeful that he would be the right man to push Fulham forward. His track record at Blackburn made me feel he could be the right fit for Fulham. It is early in his era, but so far I am excited by the play of Fulham under Hughes.

Road games the last couple of season have been an issue for Fulham. Under Roy Hodgson, Fulham it seemed to play for the draw on the road. They were disciplined and did not make many mistakes. This style led to some draws. However, it did not lead to many victories.

Under Hughes in three road games this season, I have noticed a Fulham club that is attacking on the road. At times the Cottagers are really passing beautifully, and getting the ball up to the strikers. This play has not led to a victory yet. However, I believe it is a matter of time before Fulham start winning on the road. It is pretty obvious to me that this season's Fulham club is going for the win, and not trying to just get a draw. There is risk in this style on the road, but the reward could be some significant victories away from Craven Cottage.

It has been a pleasure to watch these games on the road for Fulham this season. I am not discouraged by the draws so far for the Cottagers. I am very encouraged that in future road games Fulham fans will start to see three points coming on the road instead of just one.

The Mark Hughes era has also brought in some new players that could play vital roles this season. I have mentioned several times about the play of Moussa Dembele. It is too bad that Bobby Zamora got hurt, because when he does come back, I really think when Zamora is joined with Dembele, Fulham will have a real force up front.

Now, I was not thrilled to see Paul Konchesky go to Liverpool. I really thought he was a solid left back. However, I am really encouraged by what I saw yesterday from Carlos Salcido. It is only one game but he showed some serious quality as a defender, and as an offensive threat. A two way left back could be very valuable for Fulham this season. I am looking forward to seeing more of Carlos Salcido.

I had one big question going into the season for Fulham. Could Mark Hughes move Fulham forward? The early returns are favorable, and leave me "encouraged" for the rest of this season.

[WhiteJC]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1313438/Chris-Samba-tells-Blackburn-fans-lay-manager-Mark-Hughes.html?
Chris Samba tells Blackburn fans to lay off former manager Mark Hughes

Blackburn captain Chris Samba has criticised fans who taunted former manager  Mark Hughes – and urged them to forget about him.

Samba put Blackburn 1-0 up against Hughes's Fulham side, leading to chants mocking the Welshman.

The game eventually finished 1-1 and Hughes celebrated in an animated fashion when Clint Dempsey headed in the equaliser.


Leveller: Fulham's Clinton Dempsey heads the equaliser that brought celebrations from Mark Hughes

Samba said: 'I'm sure there is a respect from the fans for what he did, but  it's two-and-a-half years since he left.

'The page has turned on him and now we have to look to the future.

'It has to be about us now. Don't get me wrong, I'm eternally grateful for what Mark Hughes did for me.

'He brought me here and gave me my chance in English football. But you've to to move and I'm grateful to Sam (Allardyce) for putting  his trust in me by giving me the armband. 

'I had a good chat with Mark Hughes before the game - not really about  football, but about families and stuff. I can see him doing a really good job at Fulham.

'That's twice he's come here and got a draw. He knows this place very well. He  knows a lot of the players.

'That makes him difficult for us to play against. We know he's a good manager and he knows all about us.'

Explaining his celebration, Hughes said: 'I just had one guy behind me who was  giving me some stick. It (the celebration) was just for my benefit, nobody else's.

'I was just little disappointed with the award of the first goal so I enjoyed  that moment.

'I really loved my time here. It still is a great club and there are good, quality people here - much the same as I've found at Fulham in fairness. There  are real comparisons to be drawn between both clubs.

'That (mocking chants) always happens. I think they appreciate what I tried to do when I was here. It's just a little bit of banter.'



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1313438/Chris-Samba-tells-Blackburn-fans-lay-manager-Mark-Hughes.html?#ixzz1039FFxXT

[WhiteJC]

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/200576/Blackburn-v-Fulham-Mark-Hughes-praises-his-squad?
BLACKBURN V FULHAM: MARK HUGHES PRAISES HIS SQUAD

MARK Hughes praised his squad for showing a different mentality to maintain Fulham's unbeaten record under his leadership this season.

Hughes was on the wrong end of some abuse from home supporters after returning to the club he once managed, but the banter represented a backhanded compliment to someone who led Blackburn into Europe and an FA Cup semi-final during his time at the helm.

Hughes was the man who gave Chris Samba his first chance to shine in the Premier League and it was Samba who put Blackburn into the lead from Paul Robinson's hopeful free-kick, despite Mark Hughes claiming Mark Schwarzer was fouled when coming to punch clear.

But Hughes's side displayed the same sort of spirit and fight which defined his own career to hit back just before the hour and earn a point thanks to Clint Dempsey's clinical header. Hughes said: "Getting an equaliser was good so I enjoyed that moment. We understood what we needed to do in the second half. Rather than allowing Blackburn to dictate to us in terms of the tempo, we took the initiative. Historically we haven't been very good on the road.

This is the type of game we would have invariably lost in the past."

[WhiteJC]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1313475/Graham-Poll--The-Official-Line-Blunder-refs-spotted-key-incidents.html?
Blunder Premier League refs Andre Marriner and Anthony Taylor should have spotted key incidents

Blunder Ref 1: Anthony Taylor
El Hadj Diouf did a very effective - although illegal - job for Sam Allardyce when blocking off Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer twice in the first half. The second incident lead directly to Blackburn's only goal.

The Rovers manager has used players in the past to disrupt keepers: Kevin Nolan for Bolton on Arsenal's Jens Lehmann is one famous example.

Coaching illegal tactics is disappointing to see but it is the referee's job to detect and punish such incidents, especially when they are as obvious as those at Ewood Park.

Anthony Taylor, who at 31 was refereeing only his third Premier League game, should have been aware of such tactics and positioned himself wider to help him detect the fouls.

His inexperience meant he was too central to spot either of Diouf's blatant blocks.

The fact he also missed Schwarzer's hand ball, which was clearly outside the box, proves he still has a lot to learn.

Blunder Ref 2: Andre Marriner
Andre Marriner -in my opinion last season's best referee - will be grateful that his two errors had no impact on the game at Goodison Park.

Marouane Fellaini struck Mike Williamson with his arm and should have been sent off.

Marriner only cautioned the Belgian, which indicated that he had seen the incident.

Luckily Williamson was not hurt and Marriner will have been relieved that Fellaini missed a sitter to equalise for Everton late on.

Newcastle should have been two up by then after an obvious penalty, which Marriner turned down after Seamus Coleman hacked down Kevin Nolan.

Coleman should have been sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

P.S. And one who got it right
No timing issues for David Moyes this week, unlike at The Stadium of Light where Arsene Wenger moaned (yet again) about Phil Dowd's additional 15 seconds on top of the four minutes of added-time indicated.

Referees have the right to allow more. If there are four and a half minutes of stoppage time, the fourth official will often only indicate four, as the law states that the minimum time should be displayed on the board.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1313475/Graham-Poll--The-Official-Line-Blunder-refs-spotted-key-incidents.html?#ixzz103AMXyjl

[WhiteJC]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/sep/20/blackburn-rovers-fulham-premier-league?
Fulham add steel but bruising Blackburn make their point

Further proof, if any was required, that Mark Hughes's teams are among the toughest nuts to crack in English football was provided by the fightback in the face of adversity here which maintained Fulham's unbeaten start to the season.

Trailing to Christopher Samba's unjust goal, Blackburn's 500th at home in the Premier League, the visitors took hold of the contest to wrestle a point off rough-and-ready Rovers. Given their soft-touch reputation on the road – their last league victory was at Portsmouth 13 months ago – Fulham might have been expected to fold once behind but Hughes, whose personal record now stretches to only two defeats in his last 23 top-flight matches as manager, has injected a resilience into their displays without detracting from the footballing ethos instilled by his predecessor, Roy Hodgson.

Three weeks ago, a late equaliser, after Bobby Zamora hobbled off, party-pooped Blackpool's housewarming; now, without their talismanic striker for months, it was his replacement Clint Dempsey who secured another North-west draw early in the second period. In a move pertaining to Hughes' more progressive principles, the debutant full-back Carlos Salcido produced a surge down the left and dinked a cross on to the edge of the six-yard box, where Dempsey emerged ahead of Ryan Nelsen to power in a header.

"When I came in during pre-season, I just thought we needed to be a little bit more dynamic as a team, and recognise when you can drive with the ball rather than possibly conceding ground and allowing the opposition to take the initiative," said Hughes. "I just want us to dictate to the opposition rather than the other way around."

Hughes's manic celebration of the 56th-minute equaliser was a reaction to both the injustice of going behind on the half-hour and the flak he received upon his return to his former club.

Some of the home crowd's verbals were as unsubtle as their team's play. For Blackburn's goal was more befitting of an Australian Rules Football contest: the goalkeeper Paul Robinson's free-kick from just inside home territory homed in on the penalty spot and, as the ruck ensued, Mark Schwarzer, the one Aussie in the pack, was cleared out by El Hadji Diouf's barge, leaving the ball to skim into the net off the top of Samba's head.

Despite their success in bombarding Schwarzer's area, however, it remained their sole reward. The giant centre-back Samba, brought to Ewood Park deep into Hughes's era in charge (which included three top-10 finishes), is one of the cornerstones of Sam Allardyce's Blackburn. They have lost none of the physicality in two-and-a-bit years of transition but Allardyce nevertheless vented his spleen in the dressing room following the extension of a worrying weakness.

"We have been in front four times out of five Premier League games and we have only won once. That is unacceptable," he said. "The hardest thing to do is getting a lead, the easiest thing to do is maintain that lead, or should be."

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http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/DictatingThePlay.aspx?
Dictating The Play

Fulham once again came from behind last weekend to earn another valuable point on their travels and Mark Hughes' desire to encourage his Team to take this initiative in matches is clearly paying dividends.

"Historically we've not been very good on the road and a game against Blackburn was one that we invariably lost in the past, but we earned a draw and showed some good signs," Hughes told fulhamfc.com. "It's another away point and that's three away points in three games and we remain unbeaten. We've had a good start.

"We've been to three difficult places, Bolton, Blackpool and Blackburn. They're not easy places to go but we've shown good qualities and have stood up to the challenge in all three games. We've come back in most of the games recently and that's a really good quality that I've been pleased to see in the Team.

"I didn't have the benefit of looking at the Team in pre-season. I saw them in a friendly against Portsmouth and I felt they did a lot of good work up until a certain point. I felt that if we were a little bit more dynamic as a Team and recognise when we can drive forward with the ball then that would add something to us.

"Instead of conceding ground and letting the opposition to take the initiative I wanted the Team to take the initiative themselves in matches and dictate the opposition."

Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/DictatingThePlay.aspx?#ixzz103BMcAGR

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premiership/samba-time-to-forget-mark-hughes-era-and-build-for-future-14953491.html?
Samba: Time to forget Mark Hughes era and build for future

Blackburn Rovers 1 Fulham 1: Chris Samba insists Blackburn Rovers should have known better than to expect nothing but a spirited fightback from Fulham, given the fact Mark Hughes was back in town to haunt his former club at Ewood Park.

But while the Blackburn captain knows more than most how good Hughes was for Rovers during his spell in charge, he believes it is time for the club to condemn his former manager to history and try and achieve even more under current leader Sam Allardyce.

Hughes was on the wrong end of some abuse from home supporters, but the banter represented a back-handed compliment to someone who led Blackburn into Europe and an FA Cup semi-final during his time at the helm. He also gave Samba his first chance to shine in the Premier League and it was Samba who put Rovers into the lead after hapless Mark Schwarzer had been fouled when coming out to punch clear.

But Hughes's side displayed the same sort of spirit and fight which defined his own career to hit back just before the hour mark and earn a deserved point thanks to Clint Dempsey's clinical header.

Samba appreciates what Hughes did for both himself and Rovers during his four years at the helm before quitting for Manchester City, but the defender reckons the time has come to banish those memories and create some new ones. He said: "We know he's a good manager and he knows all about us. Mark Hughes did well when he was here, but it's two-and-a-half years since he left. The page has turned on him and now we have to look to the future."

The Cottagers remain unbeaten this season since Hughes replaced Roy Hodgson and the man himself believes his new side are showing a different mentality under him, saying: "Obviously getting an equaliser was good from my point of view. I just thought we needed to be more dynamic and recognise when you can keep the ball rather than conceding ground and allowing the opposition to take the initiative. I wanted us to dictate to the opposition.

"Historically we haven't been very good on the road. This is the type of game we would have invariably lost in the past. But we haven't done that and we showed good signs."

Match facts

Blackburn Rovers (4-5-1) Robinson; Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Givet; M Diouf, Jones, Grella (Nzonzi, 75), Pedersen (Emerton, 60); E Diouf; Kalinic (Benjani, 64). Substitutes not used Bunn (gk), Chimbonda, Linganzi, Hoilett.

Fulham (4-4-1-1): Schwarzer; Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, Salcido; Davies, Murphy (Gera, 88), Etuhu, Duff; Dembele; Dempsey (E Johnson 77). Substitutes not used Etheridge (gk), Pantsil, Baird, Riise, Greening.

Booked Hangeland

Man of the match Samba

Possession Blackburn 60% Fulham 40%

Shots on target Blackburn 14 Fulham 6

Referee A Taylor (Cheshire) Attendance 23,759

Match rating 6/10.



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http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/September/SalcidoDebut.aspx
A Splendid Start

Fulham's new Mexican left back, Carlos Salcido, had a telling impact on Saturday's Barclays Premier League encounter against Blackburn Rovers.

Salcido delivered an inch perfect cross from the left flank in the second half for Clint Dempsey to bury the ball past Paul Robinson and earn Fulham another valuable point on the road.

Manager Mark Hughes was certainly impressed by Salcido's performance at Ewood Park and clearly believes the defender will become a key performer for Fulham over the coming seasons.

"I was really pleased with Carlos' debut against Blackburn," Hughes told fulhamfc.com. "He hasn't had a lot of time with the Team in training but obviously he very quickly understood what the game [against Blackburn] was about after a nervous couple of minutes.

"He [Salcido] looked like he was really enjoying himself at the end of the match and produced a great ball for the equaliser. He's going to be a really important player for us."

Fulham were without Bobby Zamora for the first time on Saturday and whilst Hughes acknowledges that his Team will sorely miss the England international striker, he evidently believes Fulham have an array of attacking options to cope in Zamora's absence.

"Last Saturday was our first game without Bobby and obviously we're going to miss him because he's a quality player and he was the main focus of our attack. That was the intention this year and Bobby was going to be a big part of what we did.

"Unfortunately he's going to missing for possibly five months and we've got to get on with it. I've got good players that can come in and have an impact for us. We can't look at players that aren't here – we've got to look at the ones we have and make sure they have an impact and I think they did on Saturday against Blackburn."

Fulham remain unbeaten in the Barclays Premier League after five competitive matches and the Team is clearly benefitting from Hughes' positive, attacking approach, with Fulham picking up three points from three testing encounters away from home so far this season.

"We're trying new things whilst keeping a lot of the good work that was in place. Obviously we're not dismantling that but we're adding a more positive slant to the way we approach games, certainly away from home. You could see that in our play on Saturday and I think we're better for it."

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Fulham manager Mark Hughes rebranding club in his own image with draw at Blackburn
Blackburn Rovers 1 Fulham 1

For a team who have not won an away Premier League encounter in more than a year, Fulham are at least showing signs of solidity.

The west Londoners' five-game unbeaten start to the season has included draws at Bolton Wanderers, Blackpool and now Blackburn Rovers.

"They are not easy places to go to, but we have shown a lot of good qualities and stood up to the challenge," manager Mark Hughes said. He also indicated the fightback against Manchester United and victory over Wolves significant milestones in his rebranding of Fulham as a team who are no longer considered a soft touch.

"I didn't have the benefit of looking at them in pre-season although in the one game I did see, they did a lot of good work up to a certain point, but I felt the need to be a bit more dynamic overall.

"I wanted them to recognise when you can drive with the ball. I want my team to take the initiative and dictate rather than the other way round."

It was that quality Fulham reserved for the second half at Ewood Park on Saturday when a splendid 56th-minute move involving Danny Murphy and newcomer Carlos Salcido enabled Clint Dempsey to secure his fourth goal in as many games against Blackburn.

Rovers had led when Chris Samba back-headed in a Paul Robinson free-kick despite El-Hadji Diouf clearly fouling the edgy Mark Schwarzer. However, Sam Allardyce, while acknowledging that offence, was equally correct in claiming the Fulham goalkeeper had earlier handled outside his area, an infringement which demanded a red card.

Allardyce said: "After we scored, instead of getting better, we got worse. Our second half quality was not good enough."