Are we just papering over the cracks??

[Fulham Tup North]

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First of all, let us not try to put a downer on yesterday. Brilliant result, 3 valuable points, we kept fighting to the very last minute.
My concern is that just because we won, it was against a team in 19th, struggling this season. A team we should be beating, but we made very hard work of the game. Yes you can moan about the quality of the pitch, teams playing 11 behind the ball, time wasting, etc etc, but again this hides from the fact that as a team we had an awful first half, could not put two passes together.
One could argue that if they did not sacrifice a player with a stupid sending off, we would not have got back into the match.
We fought hard and scored two very late goals. We stuck in and ground out a result and the team spirit showed though, which was excellent. But it is easy to argue that the final score flatters our overall performance.
As I say I do not want to try to be Mr Moaner, but if we fail to strengthen in the next three days, we could well get found out at the end of Feb when we face 5 of the top 6 !
IMO
COYW

[MrD1879]

I get what you mean but you will never play brilliantly ever game but what you have to do is win ugly sometimes and get a bit of luck something we really struggled with at the start of the season. My only hope is that our fantastic January doesn't mean the Khans think the squad is deep enough not to invest.

[bencher]

A few points are relevant here:
1. Barnsley were well up for it, because of the death of their owner
2. There are no easy games in the Championship
3. Any team can beat any team on their day
4. Even the great teams have poorer days
5. We have played far better and lost
6. Winning when you're having an off day is what successful teams are all about

[davew]

A few points are relevant here:
1. Barnsley were well up for it, because of the death of their owner
2. There are no easy games in the Championship
3. Any team can beat any team on their day
4. Even the great teams have poorer days
5. We have played far better and lost
6. Winning when you're having an off day is what successful teams are all about

Well said but we were very fortunate with the stupid sending off, really don't think we would have got 3 points otherwise.

[filham]

You can't win every game in style and even the best teams struggle against lower opposition from time to time.
Last season's outstanding champions, Newcastle, dropped 5 points to us.

[One Martin Thomas]

Barnsley played us very well. Three upfront putting pressure on our goalie and defenders. We lost an awful lot of the ball here in the first half. PNE did the same at home. Barnsley main striker was a bit like a Matt Smith and was a handful but we coped; just.

[VicHalomsLovechild]

Another way of looking at it is. We've had the best January of any team in the Championship. As already mentioned Barnsley had a huge and honourable reason to give 120% on their home ground. Was Betts fouled while they scored? Did Cavares indiscipline ultimatley cost them the game? Weve all seen better teams struggle against 10 men before.
Fulham came out in the second half and made up for the first. Instead of protecting the point once we'd scored they went looking for the other 2 points and lifted us into the top six.
I know we can look at this and other issues "New Stand" "reinforcements" etc from a point of, glass half full or half empty but currently I'm firmly in the half full camp.

[Holders]

My only hope is that our fantastic January doesn't mean the Khans think the squad is deep enough not to invest.

That would be complacent, now is the time to make sure.

[Woolly Mammoth]

You can't win every game in style and even the best teams struggle against lower opposition from time to time.
Last season's outstanding champions, Newcastle, dropped 5 points to us.

Er 5 points have you been discussing football with Diane Abbott ?

[grandad]

I think some forget how many times Brighton won by playing ugly or poorly. Certainly the two games against us spring to mind as two.
We have a squad that now never gives up till the last whistle. Yesterday we could have shut up shop after we drew level but no, we went for the win. This shows the fitness & determination of a top side.

[Holders]

You can't win every game in style and even the best teams struggle against lower opposition from time to time.
Last season's outstanding champions, Newcastle, dropped 5 points to us.

Er 5 points have you been discussing football with Diane Abbott ?

"Sorry, 500 points"

[Holders]

I think some forget how many times Brighton won by playing ugly or poorly. Certainly the two games against us spring to mind as two.
We have a squad that now never gives up till the last whistle. Yesterday we could have shut up shop after we drew level but no, we went for the win. This shows the fitness & determination of a top side.

Absolutely right. I've never known a Fulham side that plays to the end like this one does. Contrast that to a few years ago when we had a habit of throwing points away in the closing minutes.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Another way of looking at it is. We've had the best January of any team in the Championship. As already mentioned Barnsley had a huge and honourable reason to give 120% on their home ground. Was Betts fouled while they scored? Did Cavares indiscipline ultimatley cost them the game? Weve all seen better teams struggle against 10 men before.
Fulham came out in the second half and made up for the first. Instead of protecting the point once we'd scored they went looking for the other 2 points and lifted us into the top six.
I know we can look at this and other issues "New Stand" "reinforcements" etc from a point of, glass half full or half empty but currently I'm firmly in the half full camp.

But the club still needs to strengthen before the end of the month, assuming they have any ambition at all. If we stand still we will get overtaken. Otherwise it will all end in tears if the club do not support the manager.

[Lighthouse]

We still need better players in the positions we did before the good run started. I do understand that many look on the amount of goals we scored and claim that we don't need any forwards. But I still feel a better forward and a central defender are really the least we need. Needless to say we have tried before and not improved these positions. However if we want to continue to reach for promotion I would like to see those positions added to or strengthened.

[Fulham Tup North]

Another way of looking at it is. We've had the best January of any team in the Championship.

We have a squad that now never gives up till the last whistle. Yesterday we could have shut up shop after we drew level but no, we went for the win.

You are right about us keeping going right to the final whistle, but of course saying we could have 'shut up shop' after equalising seems a bit odd. We scored after 4 mins of the 2nd half. I don't know of any side who settles for a draw with over 40 minutes to play remaining? Especially a side who is gunning for promotion. Different if we were fighting relegation, playing against a much better side, then every point helps, but no one would sit back against ten men with almost all of the second half to play!
I would have been more upset about that!

[Fulham Tup North]

We've signed a left back, IMO we still need at least

1. cover at CB (if not a top quality CB who can come into the first team)
2. a good outcome to the Cairney situation (either he stays and is fit, or we replace him)

a striker wouldn't go amiss

+1

[hovewhite]

We've signed a left back, IMO we still need at least

1. cover at CB (if not a top quality CB who can come into the first team)
2. a good outcome to the Cairney situation (either he stays and is fit, or we replace him)

a striker wouldn't go amiss

+1

+2
Well reasoned statto