Monday Fulham Stuff (01/04/19)...

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham's ticket pricing strategy is dim, short-sighted and shameful
While this season has been a farcical disappointment on the pitch - it is off the field that Fulham have truly let themselves down


For the visit of Manchester City on Saturday, £55 was the cheapest ticket available at Fulham's Craven Cottage (PA)

You had to have a pang of sympathy for each of the young Fulham fans walking down Stevenage Road pre-match with the names of summer 2018's new signings on the back of their shirts. There was an "Anguissa", who started his 10th league game of the season against Manchester City having joined for £30m. Another had "Vietto" – one Premier League goal all season. There were a few "Schurrle", surely the most inconsistent player in the division. That roll call of Fulham's transfer market ambition has now become a list of the damned, the epitaph on this wretched, wasted season.

With Aleksandar Mitrovic injured, Fulham's starting XI against City had seven league goals in 2018-19; they still do. In front of the press box, one season ticket holder asked another whether he thought the home side would score a goal. Talk about damning with faint praise. Twenty minutes later, with Fulham fans ironically cheering their own players completing a pass and Sergio Rico catching the ball, there was no praise at all.

Supporters can accept their team playing badly. They can just about stomach the desperately poor defending and even the failed transfers, although there are valid questions to ask of a catastrophic period of recruitment under Tony Khan, de facto decision maker at Craven Cottage and son of the owner. They cannot have been too shocked at being emphatically outplayed by arguably the form football team in the world.

But if this season has been a farcical disappointment on the pitch, it is off the field that Fulham have truly let themselves down. Interspersed between those young fans on Stevenage Road, at the back of the old Johnny Haynes Stand, volunteers handed out flyers protesting the exorbitant ticket price strategy implemented by the club since promotion. #StopTheGreed is their message.

Simmering unhappiness

You can see their point. Fulham agreed to freeze season ticket prices for existing holders, but raised them by approximately £200 for new buyers. Worse is the match day ticket pricing, in which the cheapest tickets were increased in price by £20 as standard. For the visit of Manchester City on Saturday, £55 was the cheapest ticket available. Protesters held up their flyers in the 55th minute as an act of defiance. The club had banned planned banners in midweek under the proviso that they did not support the club. But isn't this supposed to be a two-way street?

We can presume that the gesture will ultimately prove futile. Fulham's midweek reaction proves that they are aware of simmering unhappiness among loyal supporters, and there were noticeable gaps in the Riverside and Johnny Haynes Stands. Prices could have been reduced as an act of goodwill given Fulham's impending relegation. But clubs are far more prepared to exploit supporter loyalty than their PR marketing campaigns might admit.

It is a dim and short-sighted strategy. Fulham have always traded on being a quaint, family club. You forgive – and love – the wooden seats held together by rusting metal and basic facilities because that is an intrinsic part of Fulham. They are a deliberate anachronism, misty-eyed nostalgia as strategy.

But pricing out your supporters risks destroying that legacy. High ticket prices invites tourists and one-timers, who come for the opposition as much as the experience. It makes attendance much more difficult for parents who want to turn children into Craven Cottage disciples. Even those who can and do pay the premium resent having their loyalty exploited.

Eroding loyalty

By pricing out supporters Fulham risk destroying their legacy (PA)

The irony is that the entire plan makes little to no financial sense anyway. Take out season ticket holders and away fans, and you have around 8,000 matchday tickets. Increase each one of those by £20 for every home game and Fulham will increase their ticketing revenue by a shade over £3m. Or 10 per cent of an André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, the cynic might point out.

But where will those supporters be next season? Will those who have chosen to come to the Cottage for an afternoon to watch Manchester United and Liverpool still be here when it's Millwall and Luton in November? And have those who have been priced out this season seen their accumulated loyalty erode?

Fulham cannot afford to cede goodwill so easily. This summer will see an accelerated turnover of players as the rotten class of summer 2018 instruct their agents to engineer a route out of the Football League. Anguissa, Jean-Michel Seri, Ryan Sessegnon, Andre Schurrle, Luciano Vietto, Alexander Mitrovic – how many will be here in August?

The players, managers, coaches and directors all change. Only the supporters stay the same. Maybe that's worth remembering when you're working out how to make a quick buck in a league that handsomely rewards each teams. Fulham now face a battle to win back those who they have mistreated and alienated during this season of misery.



Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/fulham-ticket-prices-protest-stop-the-greed-manchester-city/

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic injury update vs Watford

Aleksandar Mitrovic injury update vs Watford

Serbian international Aleksandar Mitrovic was out of action for Fulham on Saturday against Man City.

Mitrovic wasn't even on the bench yesterday.

Mitrovic has been away with his national team during the international break.

He played 10 minutes in a friendly against Germany, and 90 minutes in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Portugal.

Next up for relegation-threatened Fulham is a trip to Watford in midweek.

It's looking likely that Mitrovic could miss the Watford game too. Scott Parker has revealed:

Mitro has been struggling with a slight problem for the last couple of weeks. Coming back from international duty and he's not ready to play today.

We're looking to get him some treatment and take it day by day with Mitro at the moment to see where we are come Tuesday, and longer term we'll look at that and see how it goes.

Fulham dead certs for relegation

Huddersfield were relegated from the Premier League on Saturday at Crystal Palace.

Fulham, with only 17 points from 32 games, as all-but certain to go down with the Terriers.

Man City beat the Cottagers 2-0 over the weekend. Goals from Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero in the first half lift City above Liverpool into first place.

As for Watford, they lost 2-1 at Man United on Saturday.

The Hornets put in a positive performance at Old Trafford. But will Watford have one eye on the FA Cup semifinal against Wolves when they take on Fulham in a few days time?



https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/fulhams-aleksandar-mitrovic-injury-update-vs-watford/

[WhiteJC]

 
Games for the Week 02/04
Tuesday see's us travel the relatively sort distance to Watford's Vicarage Road ground.

With Mitro coming back from international duty injured I can't see us winning this game.
Anything other than a win against Watford will see us relegated, 18 points available and a 17 point gap between us and Burnley and Southampton both of who have a far better goal difference than us -22 and -15 respectively against our -43. To avoid relegation we need to win every game and either Burnley and/or Southampton must loose all of their remaining games!

COYWs

Games of Interest...
Tuesday 2nd
Watford v Fulham

Wednesday 3rd
Man City v Cardiff

Friday 5th
Southampton v Liverpool

Saturday 6th
Bournemouth v Burnley
Huddersfield v Leicester
Newcastle v Palace


come on over to the Friends of Fulham forum and join in the conversation...
http://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=1.0



http://www.friendsoffulham.com/wordpress/?p=641

[WhiteJC]

 
This is what West Brom ace has said about his future amid Leeds United transfer talk

Stefan Johansen is on loan at West Brom from Fulham

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing Stefan Johansen, the midfielder on loan at West Bromwich Albion from Fulham.

Leeds were linked with the Norwegian international in January and the Daily Star reports that Marcelo Bielsa is still keen on the 28-year-old.

Johansen's contract is due to expire in the summer although Fulham do have an option to extend it.

He has made six appearances for the Baggies since arriving on deadline day, scoring once.


Stefan Johansen of West Bromwich Albion celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 1-0

Speaking on Norweigan TV recently, Johansen said that he has enjoyed the move to The Hawthorns.

"I've got the smile back and enjoying the football," he said. "It was a heavy period at the end of December."

Albion have won all three of their matches under caretaker boss Jimmy Shan with the 3-2 victory over Birmingham City on Friday night leaving them six points behind the top two.

Johansen wants to help them win promotion but is not sure whether his stay in the Black Country will continue past this summer.

He said: "I want to help West Brom come to the Premier League, so I, the family and the agent will get an evaluation of what's going on next year. Then we find the best solution."

Johansen went on to reveal that the sacking of Darren Moore has led to an uncertain time at the club.

"I didn't know the club so well that I know the reason, so I can't comment on that", he added. "It's been chaotic. I'll be honest and say it. There has been a lot to deal with."



https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/what-west-brom-ace-said-16055992

[WhiteJC]

 
Stefan Johansen wouldn't be the smartest Premier League acquisition for Leeds



Reports this week in the Daily Star claimed Leeds United were looking to sign Fulham's Stefan Johansen this summer on a free transfer.

Although the current West Brom loanee is superb at the Championship level, Johansen would represent an underwhelming signing if Leeds are promoted to the Premier League.

After arriving at Craven Cottage from Celtic in 2016, Johansen blew away the Championship with the Whites. As part of a three man central midfield partnership with Kevin McDonald and Tom Cairney, Johansen was adventurous in attack and strong in the tackle.

A true box-to-box midfielder, the Norwegian international was an invaluable member of the 2017/18 promotion-winning side.

But once Fulham were in the Premier League, Johansen was clearly off the pace. While the Whites were struggling, Johansen could barely gain a place in the side, earning rare starts and quick substitute appearances.

It was glaringly clear that Johansen was not a Premier League quality player. Despite his dogged work ethic and snappy challenges, the midfielder doesn't possess the technical ability to boss matches like he did in the Championship.

Although a free transfer this summer might be intriguing for Leeds, the club should not expect Johansen to play a key role in the top flight — if Leeds gain promotion.



https://tbrfootball.com/stefan-johansen-wouldnt-be-the-smartest-premier-league-acquisition-for-leeds/

[WhiteJC]

 
City dispatch woeful Cottagers without even breaking a sweat
Fulham 0 Manchester City 2

This felt like little more than a box-ticking exercise for a team with Manchester City's ambitions. There was never any jeopardy, no sense that they were ever in any danger against opponents with all the nous and snarl of a sleeping kitten, and City did not have to do much more than tickle Fulham's tummy to return to the Premier League's summit.

It was over as a contest long before the end, goals from Bernardo Silva and Sergio Agüero enough for Pep Guardiola's side, who will be hoping for a slip-up from Liverpool when they host Tottenham Hotspur today.

The pressure is back on Jürgen Klopp's side, who will start a point below the leaders. City will have their feet up when they watch that one and they will have plenty of energy in their legs when they host Cardiff City on Wednesday given that Fulham, 13 points below 17th-placed Burnley with six games left, barely forced them to break into a sweat on a low-key afternoon by the Thames.

The task of puncturing the worst defence in the league proved predictably straightforward for City. They got down to business straight away, setting up camp in Fulham's half from first whistle to last, and were so dominant that it almost felt as though they had wasted time by waiting until the fifth minute to break the deadlock.

Fulham, cautious and timid in their 5-4-1 system, had intended to frustrate Guardiola's illustrious attack by sitting deep and waiting for opportunities to appear on the break. The problem with that ploy, however, is that Scott Parker's players were riddled with anxiety even on the rare occasions when they had possession.

Unable to cope with City's high press, they were punished for trying to play out from the back when Timothy Fosu-Mensah's errant pass went to Kevin de Bruyne instead of André-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Bad idea. The ball was nestling in the back of Fulham's net in a matter of seconds. De Bruyne, starting for the first time since March 2 after shaking off a hamstring problem, quickly found Agüero, who looked right and saw Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder cut inside, ignored a couple of limp challenges and fizzed a crisp drive inside the right post from 20 yards, confirming the suspicion that Fulham were horribly out of their depth against opponents of this calibre.

It barely resembled a contest as City rained attempts on Sergio Rico's goal for the rest of the half. David Silva was at his creative best in midfield, De Bruyne looked free of rust and Raheem Sterling, brimming with confidence on the left flank, relished running at the nervous Cyrus Christie. Fulham, bereft of belief, could not get close to them. They looked like crumbling every time City attacked and were fortunate not to concede a penalty when Fosu-Mensah, who was having a shocking game in central defence, clattered into Sterling in the 30th minute.

Kevin Friend's refusal to point to the spot was only a minor irritation for City given that they had doubled their lead three minutes earlier. Once again Fulham were punished for their sloppiness, Joe Bryan's miscued pass giving Bernardo Silva the chance to free Agüero, who swept past the ineffective Maxime le Marchand before lifting a lovely shot over the advancing Rico.

Resigned to their fate, Fulham had no threat without Alexsandar Mitrovic leading their attack and the absence of any dramatic tension sucked the energy out of the ground. The home fans indulged themselves with a few ironic olés whenever their team managed to string more than two passes together and chortled when Nicolás Otamendi hoofed a shot out of the ground, but otherwise they watched in near silence. Even a protest about expensive ticket prices in the 55th minute lacked any real spark or purpose.

If there was a disappointment for City, it was failing to make their goal difference even more imposing. De Bruyne scuffed straight at Rico after bursting through what passed for Fulham's defence. Ilkay Gündogan whipped a venomous effort over the angle of post and bar. Sterling threatened with a bouncing effort. Guardiola will want sharper finishing against better opponents.

But that was a minor quibble. Ederson did not have to make a serious save and Guardiola was able to withdraw Agüero and De Bruyne long before the end. Tougher tests lie in wait.



https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/city-dispatch-woeful-cottagers-without-even-breaking-a-sweat-37967317.html

[WhiteJC]

 
Parker Has Six Games Left To Prove He Is The Right Man For Our Championship Campaign

There wasn't much effort needed by the Premier League leaders Man City, as they passed their way through the feeble Fulham back line and midfield in the first half at Craven Cottage.

With the home side missing top marksman Mitrovic and centre back Ream through injuries, the team sheet looked even more worrying for the Fulham fans who must have been fearing a thrashing at the hands of high flying City.

It only took two minutes before an awful clearance from goalkeeper Rico almost gave City the lead. It was no shock when three minutes later, Bernardo Silva calmly put the away team ahead following yet another defensive error when Fosu-Mensah gave a sloppy pass to de Bruyne who found Aguero before slipping the ball to the goal scorer.

The second goal came yet again from a Fulham defender's error, when Bryan made a mess of a simple pass to allow Aguero to find the inside corner of Rico's goal from an acute angle.
Fulham were lucky to go in only two goals behind at the break, as they were barely out of their own half for the full 45 minutes.

The second half was as boring as it could get, as City were happy to knock the ball around and rest on their two goal advantage. Fulham never looked like they had a goal in them as they casually played the ball around with no intensity or real urge to score for the long-suffering home fans.

Scott Parker has had a baptism of fire in his first four games as a manager. Although his side have lost all four, three of them were against Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City, conceding twice in all three. Having said this, they were all at Craven Cottage. The poorest showing was away at Leicester City going down 3-1 against a team short of any good form of their own.

Parker has six games left this season to prove to the board at Fulham that he is the right man for the tough job awaiting the team in the Championship next season.

All the big teams have now been played, so we will see if he can help the team pick up some points from these final fixtures;
Watford (away)
Everton (home)
Bournemouth (away)
Cardiff (home)
Wolves (away)
Newcastle (home)

There needs to be some momentum and wins from these games to carry the team and the fans forward with some hope for the new season, whether or not most of this squad have left.

Whatever the ratings for the players have been recently, I believe Anguissa should be made to stay at the Cottage next season, as he could prove to be a vital cog in the chain going forward.



https://fulham.vitalfootball.co.uk/parker-has-six-games-left-to-prove-he-is-the-right-man-for-our-championship-campaign/

[WhiteJC]

 
Why Scott Parker's Fulham job audition starts now

When Scott Parker was appointed Fulham caretaker manager in late February, the job appeared a lost cause.

Parker has lost his opening four matches in charge, but in reality, his true audition for the permanent job starts now with a string of winnable matches.

In the initial days of his tenure, Parker was lauded for changing the atmosphere at Craven Cottage and instilling a sense of optimism and pride at Fulham.

His first match was an encouraging 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, followed by a 3-1 loss to Leicester City, a narrow 2-1 loss to Liverpool, and Saturday's limp 2-0 loss against Manchester City.

Although the first four matches resulted in zero points, no one truly believed Fulham would get points against the best teams in the league.

But now, Fulham face a kind run-in with fixtures against Watford, Everton, Bournemouth, Cardiff City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Newcastle United.

The final six matches offer superb opportunities to pick up victories and to show off Parker's revolution at the club. Decent performances and tight matches against the big clubs are all well and good, but Fulham truly have a chance to turn the corner with results against the division's lesser teams.

With a positive end to the season, Scott Parker could make a solid claim for the permanent Fulham job come the summer.



https://tbrfootball.com/why-scott-parkers-fulham-job-audition-starts-now/

[WhiteJC]

 
Why Ryan Sessegnon's captaincy snub represents a worrying situation at Fulham

When Tom Cairney came off the pitch in Fulham's match with Manchester City on Saturday, the Fulham captain removed his armband.

But what surprised many is what happened next — Cairney handed the precious armband to Ryan Babel.

Many would have been delighted to see another Ryan — Ryan Sessegnon — receive the armband in his 100th senior appearance, but the snub of the Fulham academy product is a worrying sign for the Whites.

Babel only joined the club in January and was signed on a short-term deal until the end of the season. It was a baffling decision, as opposed to giving Sessegnon the captaincy, a player who has been at Fulham for the best part of a decade and truly loves the

The armband may not have been the most influential part of the match on Saturday, but it speaks volumes in a symbolic sense.

In a season filled with so many devastating moments, gifting the armband to a club legend and beloved player would have been a beautiful scene.

But the snub of Sessegnon reveals a worrying deeper story, that may indicate a potential departure of the 18-year-old this summer or a lack of leadership from the youngster.



https://tbrfootball.com/why-ryan-sessegnons-captaincy-snub-represents-a-worrying-situation-at-fulham/

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham must shed their excess to prepare for relegation and the hard landing looming in the Championship

The summer was a time of excitement and optimism for Fulham.

After an impressive 23-game unbeaten streak and fairytale play-off final win at Wembley, the club set about expensively assembling a squad it thought could not just avoid the drop the following season but thrive in the Premier League.

Thanks to the deep pockets of billionaire owner Shahid Khan, over a £100m was shelled out to give manager Slavisa Jokanovic the best possible chance. Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri cost a club-record £25m. Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was made permanent from Newcastle for an initial fee of £22m. Swansea received £20m for defender Alfie Mawson.

Money and momentum

In total 12 new faces came through the door at Fulham's Motspur Park training ground last summer. With money and momentum behind them the season was supposed to mark a new beginning.

Instead, after one player arrest, two managers sackings, 23 league defeats and 72 goals conceded the Cottagers find themselves preparing for life back in the Championship – the league they spent four seasons so desperately trying to escape.

It's certainly been eventful. Striker Aboubakar Kamara's explosive departure may have had less of an effect than Jokanovic and Claudio Ranieri's departures, but they all speak of chaos behind the scenes at the club.

With Fulham 16 points adrift of safety with six games remaining, on a staggering eight-match losing run in which they've fielded a completely different side in each game, thoughts surely now must turn to salvaging the best of this mess.

Bleak outlook

Caretaker manager Scott Parker is trying his best to rectify the on-pitch shambles. "We know the predicament we are in but we need to finish the season strongly," he said manfully after Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Manchester City. But it's off the pitch where things could be even bleaker.

Analysis by football finance expert Kieran Maguire of the club's accounts for the 2017-18 season show the extent of their gamble to reach the Premier League's Promised Land. Fulham lost a staggering £1.14m per week during their Championship campaign – a period in which they paid out £142 in wages for every £100 of income received.

Having spent £118.1m since June 2018 – compared to a paltry £3.3m for the equivalent period the year before – Fulham now have to shed their excess fat. They will receive parachute payments when their fate is finally sealed, but, as they know all too well, the Championship is an unforgiving environment. A swift return to the top flight is far from a given.

Failed gamble

Their gamble hasn't paid off. Fulham have a bloated squad of players who are being paid unsustainable wages. Despite contributing just one goal and two assists this season, players like Seri and those on loan deals won't be hard to offload, but others won't go so easily.

Long-term contracts which were handed out in the sunshine of the summer might not be so easy to rescind in the cold light of spring.

With their hapless showings having left them hanging over the trap door for some time there should be no excuses not to brace for the looming hard landing.



http://www.cityam.com/275527/fulham-must-shed-their-excess-prepare-relegation-and-hard

[WhiteJC]

Cottage Talk Post Match Show: Fulham vs. Manchester City
Take a listen to a podcast that focuses on Fulham Football Club.

This is our post match show of the 2-0 loss for Fulham against Manchester City. During the show, co-hosts Max Cohen and Yannis Tjanetis shared their views on the match. We ended the show by looking forward to the Watford match.


You can also listen to the show by following this link...
https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2019/3/31/18289677/cottage-talk-post-match-show-fulham-vs-manchester-city

[WhiteJC]

 
Fulham left to rue buildup errors as Manchester City take advantage

With Fulham edging closer to the drop, interim head coach Scott Parker is keen to impress in the hopes of earning a more permanent position ahead of next season. Saturday's fixture against Manchester City represented arguably his toughest challenge yet, with Pep Guardiola looking to lead his side back to top spot in the Premier League.

Despite some brave attempts to build attacks, Fulham were beaten by two goals to nil. This analysis will attempt to dissect City's performance, as well as highlighting the flaws in the home team's efforts.

Lineups
Eager to prevent central progressions during their defensive phases, Parker set his side up in a 5-4-1 formation. However, centre-forward Ryan Babel often dropped off the front in an attempt to stifle Gundogan's game. In these instances, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguisse played between the lines in a shape more closely resembling a 5-1-4.

Guardiola went with his typical shape of 4-3-3, although he did alter City's formation at different stages during the match. In order to better protect Ilkay Gundogan, Oleksandr Zinchenko eventually moved infield to form a double pivot in front of Kyle Walker, Nicolas Otamendi, and Aymeric Laporte. However, as we will see, the away side's positional play was dynamic throughout.

Fulham punished during build-up phase
With a return to the championship all but sealed, it seems Fulham are preparing for next season already. Despite the stellar nature of their opponents on Saturday, the Lillywhites elected for a patient approach to build-up, preferring to play short from goal kicks whenever possible.

Although it occasionally paid off, Fulham's short passing game proved to be their undoing. Just five minutes in, right-sided centre-back Timothy Fosu-Mensah conceded possession in the first third, with his sloppy pass intercepted by the proactive defending of Kevin De Bruyne.

Illustrated in the sequence below, the Manchester United loanee attempts a pass into Tom Cairney. The midfielder fails to close the distance in response to De Bruyne's positioning, and the pass is cut out with ease.

De Bruyne plays it first-time towards Aguero, who feeds the arriving Bernardo Silva in space. Fulham's response is to get numbers back behind the ball, as opposed to counterpressing, given the large spacing during their build-up.

Despite Fulham managing to retreat and form a compact unit, Silva still finds a way through the crowd with a low strike from outside the penalty area.

Just over 20 minutes later, City again capitalised on Fulham's sloppy passing inside their own half. Despite having space to carry the ball forward, Cairney plays backwards to Joe Bryan, hoping to draw pressure with which to play through.

Silva responds to the cue by pressing Bryan from behind, before the former Bristol City left-back panics in possession.

Failing in his efforts to play a simple ball to Chambers, Bryan misplaces and poorly weights the pass, allowing Silva to recover possession. The Portuguese international plays Aguero in, with the striker finishing calmly, giving Fulham a mountain to climb.

Throughout the 90 minutes, the home team persisted with a short build-up game. While it's understandable to accept mistakes during the development of a possession-based approach, Fulham's decision making was often notably poor in the first phase.

In the image below, Cairney again chooses to pass backwards. City had just lost the ball high up the pitch, with large numbers committed to the attack. Holding midfielder Gundogan finds himself deep into Fulham's half, with Ryan Sessegnon making a run beyond him. Cairney turns right to play a pass towards Anguisse, ignoring the more advanced option to his left.

Choosing to play a quicker, more direct game during City's moments of disorganisation might have provided more rewards. On this occasion, Cairney's pass misses Anguisse and Fulham are forced into panic mode once more, eventually clearing the ball upfield.

Often with sides who choose to build out from the back, the presence of a 'spare man' is essential. City sometimes chose to go man for man during Fulham's build-up, attempting to force them long.

While keeper Sergio Rico did elect to play direct towards Babel on occasion, it rarely proved fruitful. With the knowledge that going in search of the second ball might not be of great benefit to them, Rico often decided to persist in playing short, even in situations where a spare man didn't exist.

In the image below, City create a numerical advantage over their hosts. Anguisse, under pressure from behind by David Silva, tries to return a pass to Fosu-Mensah, but instead finds the touchline and gives away a corner.

Overall, Fulham deserve some credit for their bravery during build-up play. With time, mistakes in positional play, receiving angles and passing selection are sure to be ironed out. However, many basic principles were lacking in their attempts, and so lots of work is clearly needed.

Dynamic City manipulate with ease
With Fulham defending deep and in large numbers, Man City needed to use intelligent movement and positioning to create openings. With that said, they didn't have to try too hard, and managed to manipulate the home side's shape on countless occasions.

As mentioned earlier, City moved from a 2-3 and a 3-2 as the first lines of the attack at different stages of the game. Ahead of the defensive five, Aguero, De Bruyne, Sterling, and the two Silvas varied their positional play to occupy spaces within Fulham's defensive unit.

One of City's main objectives throughout was to create passing lanes through to the attackers in the space between the hosts' defence and midfield lines. Gundogan was key to achieving this, often taking advantage of Babel's marking to drag him away from different passing lanes.

The image below shows Cairney, Sessegnon and Babel preventing passes into the midfield. Additionally, centre-back Callum Chambers has followed De Bruyne, something he did regularly throughout.

After instructing his defenders to play across the back-line, Gundogan positions himself so as to exploit Babel's cover shadow by opening up the line of pass between Laporte and De Bruyne. Chambers has also retreated back into the defensive line with the ball on the other side of the pitch, meaning De Bruyne can receive between the lines unmarked.

David Silva's movement was also key in creating space between the lines for De Bruyne. Often, the Spaniard would engage a member of Fulham's back three before dragging him out and creating a pocket of space for Laporte or Otamendi to play a direct pass. On other occasions, he would engage Anguisse before drawing him out of the 10 space and allowing De Bruyne to receive. The image below highlights this.

He fakes interest in receiving the ball by dropping deeper, but his real intention is to open up a pocket behind Anguisse for De Bruyne to take on possession directly from Laporte. The Belgian playmaker again receives unmarked, before linking up with Aguero and Sterling.

Another way in which City looked to progress through the centre involved overloading the left side of the pitch, before playing through the congested space with one and two-touch passing.

In the instance below, De Bruyne has dropped into the deep left half-space, with Silva playing in the number 10 role and Aguero swapping positions with Sterling. De Bruyne feeds Aguero, who plays a first-time pass towards Silva. The former Valencia man slips the ball in behind for Sterling to run onto, before Fosu-Mensah gets back and times his challenge well to prevent a third goal.

Again looking to play quickly through tight spaces, the example below shows Silva receiving in the advanced left half-space, thanks to an excellent penetrative pass from Laporte.

Silva turns at pace before playing a through ball between Cyrus Christie and Fosu-Mensah. Sterling is the one again to receive in behind, but fails to capitalise on this occasion. Notice also the positioning of Aguero in this image. The Argentinian frequently dropped off the front in an attempt to disjoint Fulham's defensive line.

While the above examples show how Man City succeeded in playing quick, vertical passes to progress in central areas, they also used horizontal passing to break down their opponents.

Shifting the ball from side to side, they looked to create gaps through the middle to play through. Failing that, however, they would try to progress down the sides. Often, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling found themselves in one-on-one scenarios with Fulham's wing-backs, while the home side's midfield focused on closing out the space centrally.

On the occasions where Christie and Bryan were able to get out to the wingers, Silva and Sterling would regularly look to play passes down the channel for the late runs of the attacking midfielders. The example below shows an instance where De Bruyne receives in the right channel behind Bryan.

Overall, City managed to manipulate their opponents' shape with relative ease, creating a large number of openings, and registering 24 shots on goal. They also managed to enjoy 65% of possession, with Fulham struggling to build sustainable attacks of their own.

Fulham highlight City's weaknesses
Despite recording a comfortable win, City's defensive issues did rear their heads from time to time. On the few occasions when Fulham managed to progress into their visitors half, the target area was clear.

As shown by the example below, Fulham more often than not chose to attack down City's right. Perhaps identifying Kyle Walker as something of a weak link, they attempted a number of passes through the gap between the England right-back and Otamendi.

In the instance shown, Sessegnon makes a run between the pair, receiving in the box from Chambers. The youngster fires the ball across the face of goal, but Ederson is able to parry it clear.

With Gundogan deputising for Fernandinho, Fulham also managed to exploit the German on the counter-attack. In the sequence below, Gundogan presses Cairney after Sterling has lost possession. His tackle fails, however, and the ball slips through for Floyd Ayite to break forward into space.

Leaving Gundogan in his tracks, Ayite is chased back by De Bruyne. The winger looks for the run of Sessegnon, again in behind Walker. Despite getting to the ball ahead of the right-back, Sessegnon fails to exploit the situation any further, with Walker recovering well on this occasion.

Fulham were unable to capitalise on Man City's slight weaknesses, and only managed to take five shots on goal all game.

Conclusion
Thanks to a couple of sloppy mistakes during their build-up phase, Fulham handed Manchester City all three points. Despite continued intelligent attacking play, Guardiola's men failed to add to their lead beyond the 27th minute.

The Sky Blues stay in second place, following Liverpool's late win against Tottenham on Sunday. Fulham remain doomed to relegation, but Scott Parker's bravery could be rewarded in time.




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