Is the tide turning with Tony Khan?

[HV71]

My answer lies in history in every sense -  Khanute

[S.F.Sorrow]

The number one rule in football, is first and foremost make yourself hard to beat, that breeds confidence throughout the team. Therefore, the defence comes first, second and last. Get the defence sorted organised and prepared, that is the priority, it's about good habits, and our current defence and certain members of it lack height, lack physicality, lack organisation, lack dominance in the air, lack a commanding player that will marshal and lead the Back Division. Furthermore the last time I had the misfortune to observe them, my deduction is that they will get bullied into submission.
Surgery is needed and needed ASAP.

Didn't we get promoted with a strong attack and a relatively weak defense?

Yes but it required a record breaking unbeaten run where we statistically overachieved and had practically 0 injuries. That's very unlikely to happen again. I agree with Woolly. Our defence is currently not good enough for promotion. Add a proper RCB and things will look a lot better. But we're running out of time. We can't sign a CB two days before the start of the season and expect him to be ready.  :022:

What's your definition of "statistically overachieved"?

FWIW I agree we were lucky with injuries although I think that point is already mitigated to some extent by the fact that players like Odoi, Ream, Mcdonald and Ayite are likely to be on the bench this year rather than in the best XI.

I also agree we need a RCB.

Goals vs expected goals (xG). Or more importantly points vs expected points (xPoints). We got 88 points vs only 72.7 xPoints that season. Admittedly our xPoints would still have been enough for 6th and playoffs but only by a VERY small margin.

My point is that everything seemed to go our way during the unbeaten run and we can't expect that to happen again.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

The number one rule in football, is first and foremost make yourself hard to beat, that breeds confidence throughout the team. Therefore, the defence comes first, second and last. Get the defence sorted organised and prepared, that is the priority, it's about good habits, and our current defence and certain members of it lack height, lack physicality, lack organisation, lack dominance in the air, lack a commanding player that will marshal and lead the Back Division. Furthermore the last time I had the misfortune to observe them, my deduction is that they will get bullied into submission.
Surgery is needed and needed ASAP.

Didn't we get promoted with a strong attack and a relatively weak defense?

Yes but it required a record breaking unbeaten run where we statistically overachieved and had practically 0 injuries. That's very unlikely to happen again. I agree with Woolly. Our defence is currently not good enough for promotion. Add a proper RCB and things will look a lot better. But we're running out of time. We can't sign a CB two days before the start of the season and expect him to be ready.  :022:

What's your definition of "statistically overachieved"?

FWIW I agree we were lucky with injuries although I think that point is already mitigated to some extent by the fact that players like Odoi, Ream, Mcdonald and Ayite are likely to be on the bench this year rather than in the best XI.

I also agree we need a RCB.

Goals vs expected goals (xG). Or more importantly points vs expected points (xPoints). We got 88 points vs only 72.7 xPoints that season. Admittedly our xPoints would still have been enough for 6th and playoffs but only by a VERY small margin.

My point is that everything seemed to go our way during the unbeaten run and we can't expect that to happen again.

We needed to over achieve in the second half of the season to reach the position we did because we underachieved in the first half. Consistent high performances from the start of the season is what is needed.

[The Rational Fan]

Goals vs expected goals (xG). Or more importantly points vs expected points (xPoints). We got 88 points vs only 72.7 xPoints that season. Admittedly our xPoints would still have been enough for 6th and playoffs but only by a VERY small margin.

My point is that everything seemed to go our way during the unbeaten run and we can't expect that to happen again.

I would love to see the championship expected goals. We were at 34 expected points this season in 18/19 , which is not that surprising with 73 expected points in 17/18.

[Statto]

The number one rule in football, is first and foremost make yourself hard to beat, that breeds confidence throughout the team. Therefore, the defence comes first, second and last. Get the defence sorted organised and prepared, that is the priority, it's about good habits, and our current defence and certain members of it lack height, lack physicality, lack organisation, lack dominance in the air, lack a commanding player that will marshal and lead the Back Division. Furthermore the last time I had the misfortune to observe them, my deduction is that they will get bullied into submission.
Surgery is needed and needed ASAP.

Didn't we get promoted with a strong attack and a relatively weak defense?

Yes but it required a record breaking unbeaten run where we statistically overachieved and had practically 0 injuries. That's very unlikely to happen again. I agree with Woolly. Our defence is currently not good enough for promotion. Add a proper RCB and things will look a lot better. But we're running out of time. We can't sign a CB two days before the start of the season and expect him to be ready.  :022:

What's your definition of "statistically overachieved"?

FWIW I agree we were lucky with injuries although I think that point is already mitigated to some extent by the fact that players like Odoi, Ream, Mcdonald and Ayite are likely to be on the bench this year rather than in the best XI.

I also agree we need a RCB.

Goals vs expected goals (xG). Or more importantly points vs expected points (xPoints). We got 88 points vs only 72.7 xPoints that season. Admittedly our xPoints would still have been enough for 6th and playoffs but only by a VERY small margin.

My point is that everything seemed to go our way during the unbeaten run and we can't expect that to happen again.

I'd be interested to see that whole table. Expected goals essentially measures what - the number of shots you have from close range? Most of our goals seemed to be rebounds, or tap ins from low crosses, so I'd be surprised if we didn't rank highly using that metric.

Of course it's only one metric and no more accurate than others such as possession or shots on target. I'd be interested to compare our ranking on those metrics as well. Do they say the same thing - that we "overachieved"?

Ultimately anyone on here will tell you, the same thing TK needs to learn, that football is played on grass, not MS Excel, and by far the most reliable measure of performance is whether you won or lost the game. 

In any case it seems to be a moot point if, even ranked on expected goals, we'd still have made the play-offs anyway.   

[Dr Quinzel]

xG measures who is and isn't a virgin...  :hook:

[The Rational Fan]

The xpoints indicate a lot mostly that we were not really such a great team in 17/18 (we were a playoff team as oppose to team unlucky not to be auto promoted) and that we were not so bad in 18/19 with 34 points although thats still relegation. It also indicates our goalkeeper from championship to premier league fell dramatically intetesting but that just shows the leagues are different.

In the end, regardless of how good or bad people think we are the task is the same as every club in the top half of the championship, spend the money best to give us the best chance possible. I would like to look at the detailed statistics but think we need to creating more chances upfront.

[Woolly Mammoth]

The number one rule in football, is first and foremost make yourself hard to beat, that breeds confidence throughout the team. Therefore, the defence comes first, second and last. Get the defence sorted organised and prepared, that is the priority, it's about good habits, and our current defence and certain members of it lack height, lack physicality, lack organisation, lack dominance in the air, lack a commanding player that will marshal and lead the Back Division. Furthermore the last time I had the misfortune to observe them, my deduction is that they will get bullied into submission.
Surgery is needed and needed ASAP.

Didn't we get promoted with a strong attack and a relatively weak defense?

All the more reason why we cannot allow it to happen again.

[Facts Not Fiction]

The number one rule in football, is first and foremost make yourself hard to beat, that breeds confidence throughout the team. Therefore, the defence comes first, second and last. Get the defence sorted organised and prepared, that is the priority, it's about good habits, and our current defence and certain members of it lack height, lack physicality, lack organisation, lack dominance in the air, lack a commanding player that will marshal and lead the Back Division. Furthermore the last time I had the misfortune to observe them, my deduction is that they will get bullied into submission.
Surgery is needed and needed ASAP.

Didn't we get promoted with a strong attack and a relatively weak defense?

All the more reason why we cannot allow it to happen again.

Bar Sheff Utd, every team in the top 6 conceded more than a goal a game.

Seems to be that the tide is turning from having a solid defence to having a lethal attack being more of a priority in a promotion push.

[Chutney]

The number one rule in football, is first and foremost make yourself hard to beat, that breeds confidence throughout the team. Therefore, the defence comes first, second and last. Get the defence sorted organised and prepared, that is the priority, it's about good habits, and our current defence and certain members of it lack height, lack physicality, lack organisation, lack dominance in the air, lack a commanding player that will marshal and lead the Back Division. Furthermore the last time I had the misfortune to observe them, my deduction is that they will get bullied into submission.
Surgery is needed and needed ASAP.

Didn't we get promoted with a strong attack and a relatively weak defense?

All the more reason why we cannot allow it to happen again.

Bar Sheff Utd, every team in the top 6 conceded more than a goal a game.

Seems to be that the tide is turning from having a solid defence to having a lethal attack being more of a priority in a promotion push.

Why not attempt to have both?

Seems very silly to rely on our attack.

[The Rational Fan]

The number one rule in football, is first and foremost make yourself hard to beat, that breeds confidence throughout the team. Therefore, the defence comes first, second and last. Get the defence sorted organised and prepared, that is the priority, it's about good habits, and our current defence and certain members of it lack height, lack physicality, lack organisation, lack dominance in the air, lack a commanding player that will marshal and lead the Back Division. Furthermore the last time I had the misfortune to observe them, my deduction is that they will get bullied into submission.
Surgery is needed and needed ASAP.

Didn't we get promoted with a strong attack and a relatively weak defense?

All the more reason why we cannot allow it to happen again.

Bar Sheff Utd, every team in the top 6 conceded more than a goal a game.

Seems to be that the tide is turning from having a solid defence to having a lethal attack being more of a priority in a promotion push.

Why not attempt to have both?

Seems very silly to rely on our attack.

Well, i few reasons why we should focus on attack.

1) R.Sess, Babel, Schürrle, Vietto and Markovoic are leaving and need replacements.
2) We have a limited burget with only so many new players possible. It's easiest to ensure new players are good, than upgrade the entire team.
3) Success in championship correlates to beating bottom of the table teams, 27 wins gets you promoted. Norwich 1st conceeded more goals than Stoke and WBA conceeded the same number as Millwall.
4) Lower Championship teams are easy to defend against compared to premier league but they hard to score against especially on counter attack. Many a team has failed to score enough goals

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

The number one rule in football, is first and foremost make yourself hard to beat, that breeds confidence throughout the team. Therefore, the defence comes first, second and last. Get the defence sorted organised and prepared, that is the priority, it's about good habits, and our current defence and certain members of it lack height, lack physicality, lack organisation, lack dominance in the air, lack a commanding player that will marshal and lead the Back Division. Furthermore the last time I had the misfortune to observe them, my deduction is that they will get bullied into submission.
Surgery is needed and needed ASAP.

Didn't we get promoted with a strong attack and a relatively weak defense?

All the more reason why we cannot allow it to happen again.

Bar Sheff Utd, every team in the top 6 conceded more than a goal a game.

Seems to be that the tide is turning from having a solid defence to having a lethal attack being more of a priority in a promotion push.

Why not attempt to have both?

Seems very silly to rely on our attack.

Well, i few reasons why we should focus on attack.

1) R.Sess, Babel, Schürrle, Vietto and Markovoic are leaving and need replacements.
2) We have a limited burget with only so many new players possible. It's easiest to ensure new players are good, than upgrade the entire team.
3) Success in championship correlates to beating bottom of the table teams, 27 wins gets you promoted. Norwich 1st conceeded more goals than Stoke and WBA conceeded the same number as Millwall.
4) Lower Championship teams are easy to defend against compared to premier league but they hard to score against especially on counter attack. Many a team has failed to score enough goals

I think that this indicates that, in general, Championship forwards at both the bottom and the top of the division are nowhere as dangerous and clinical as PL forwards.

We need a balance between attack and defence. In both areas we need a good formation, cool heads and decisive actions.

[ALG01]

It seems as if recently i have been reading a lot more positive sentiment on this board towards the guy through the use of 'well done'. Personally can't stand him. Makes me sick when i see a 'Tony Khan added' after a transfer.

Well, considering he is the man who actually brokers the deals, he has the right to make a comment.

:plus one:
The anti TK brigade should post their own topic so those of us who remain more positive can ignore it. Time will tell so give the man a break.

How long shall we give him a break for? I do not think there is an anti TK brigade as such I prefer to think of it as a 'what is best for Fulham' group. The alternative is to support the management no matter what and there are plenty on here that I note will always do that. Me? I say what I see. The signiong of the man from wolves was very encouraging, we now just need a defence.

[Milo]

Tide not turning at all yet. He's still 3-1 down at half time.

[The Rock]

This happened last summer because people got blinded by names like schurrle and seri despite the fact we actually downgraded our defence.

It is happening again. The TK love in will last until a few weeks in to the season and we are still starting the likes of christie, le marchand and bryan and their mistakes are costing us points.

We could have a front 3 including ronaldo and messi but not go up with our current defence.

That said, our attack is looking tasty. But its not enough to only have a strong attack.

I am reserving judgment as we await to hear word of the defenders coming in. I don't know how elated anyone really is with the job he has done. Keeping Mitro and bringing in Cavaleiro do deserve credit, thats it is all.

[ALG01]

well from the game i saw us play against porto TK is failing again in spectacular fashion. that was virtually the first team and we are short all over the paitch. the defence is poor, midfield slow and forwards woefully lacking, but apart from that TK has done well.

we need full backs desparastely, a proper tough central midfielder a center half worthy of the name, a proper center forward and kebano and ayite, why are the still on the books? kebs looked in the first half, but in the end did absolutely nothing.

bottom 6 to 8 nailed on with this squad.

PS I know it was a friendly against a good team but I have seen it all before and know how to read the signs.

[Sting of the North]

well from the game i saw us play against porto TK is failing again in spectacular fashion. that was virtually the first team and we are short all over the paitch. the defence is poor, midfield slow and forwards woefully lacking, but apart from that TK has done well.

we need full backs desparastely, a proper tough central midfielder a center half worthy of the name, a proper center forward and kebano and ayite, why are the still on the books? kebs looked in the first half, but in the end did absolutely nothing.

bottom 6 to 8 nailed on with this squad.

PS I know it was a friendly against a good team but I have seen it all before and know how to read the signs.

I think that you see the signs that you expect to see, and I am not at all convinced that you really know how to read them. But that is my opinion, and I may of course be wrong. I find it however quite surprising that anyone can make such definitive conclusions from a game played against a CL caliber team in the middle of July.

[Woolly Mammoth]

I feel we have to take into consideration the level of opponent we played tonight, they are a quality team. So I shall only offer constructive criticism. I thought we kept our shape better in the second half.
But we need to show more creativity, nevertheless, it was never going to be easy.
I am sure SP learnt a little more tonight about his players and how he wants to play. Still work to be done though, a lot could depend on who comes in, and the sooner the better. Also of course a lot will be depend on who goes out.
Plenty of room for improvement, but this run out tonight will stand us in good stead. Rather play Porto than Barnet in these matches, and that's due respect to Barnet.

[AnOldBrownie]

well from the game i saw us play against porto TK is failing again in spectacular fashion. that was virtually the first team and we are short all over the paitch. the defence is poor, midfield slow and forwards woefully lacking, but apart from that TK has done well.

we need full backs desparastely, a proper tough central midfielder a center half worthy of the name, a proper center forward and kebano and ayite, why are the still on the books? kebs looked in the first half, but in the end did absolutely nothing.

bottom 6 to 8 nailed on with this squad.

PS I know it was a friendly against a good team but I have seen it all before and know how to read the signs.

Again...name 7 better championship sides based on their form last season and who they've brought in this transfer window.

The international players aren't on the squad and Ryan Sess is probably hurt.

Add Anguissa, Ream, Seri and Ryan to the squad and you've got a really good championship side.

[The Rational Fan]

well from the game i saw us play against porto TK is failing again in spectacular fashion. that was virtually the first team and we are short all over the paitch. the defence is poor, midfield slow and forwards woefully lacking, but apart from that TK has done well.

we need full backs desparastely, a proper tough central midfielder a center half worthy of the name, a proper center forward and kebano and ayite, why are the still on the books? kebs looked in the first half, but in the end did absolutely nothing.

bottom 6 to 8 nailed on with this squad.

PS I know it was a friendly against a good team but I have seen it all before and know how to read the signs.

Again...name 7 better championship sides based on their form last season and who they've brought in this transfer window.

The international players aren't on the squad and Ryan Sess is probably hurt.

Add Anguissa, Ream, Seri and Ryan to the squad and you've got a really good championship side.

According to transfermarkt, we have six of the seven most valuable players in the league Mawson CB, Anguissa CM, Seri CM, Cairney AM, Mitro CF and R.Sess LW.

We also have two players best in their position, as Bryan is the most valuable LB and Cavaleiro is the equal 2nd most valuable RW. In two other positions we aren't far behind with Betts/Fabri being the equal 5th most valuable GKs and Christie is the 4th most valuable RB. 

Leaving one weakness in first XI of CB pairings, where is seems four teams (Bristol, Huddersfield, Middlesbough and Stoke) have a better 2nd Centre back than us. Three of those teams with good CBs (Huddersfield, Middlesbough and Stoke) scored less than 1.07 goals a game last season and leaving only Bristol City who still only scored 1.28 goals per game.

My biggest concern is the bench, with Kamara and Atiye being good subs but not great subs plus both injury prone. Another attack sub would be great for the team, we need to be able to compete without Mitro on the field.