Monday Fulham Stuff - 19/08/19...

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Results

Sunday
Reading	3-0	Cardiff

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Five conclusions on Huddersfield Town 1-2 Fulham

Siewert's position, frustrating Bacuna, encouraging Hadergjonaj, and more

1. Jan Siewert was a dead man walking

For Jan Siewert to be dismissed less than an hour after the final whistle suggests that minds were already made up ahead of the game: if Town lose, he goes.

If reports from the Daily Telegraph are to be believed, Siewert was actually dismissed on Wednesday only to be given a reprieve before being sacked again after the game. We are slightly sceptical about that version of events, but there is no denying that the performance in Tuesday night's defeat to Lincoln was horrific enough that nobody was especially surprised when the club did confirm Siewert's termination.

It does make you wonder what would have happened had Town scraped a lucky win: would he have been sacked anyway? It's immaterial now, we guess; Town never looked like claiming the three points in this game, with an even and goalless first half giving way to a second half that Fulham dominated and deservedly won.

We won't dwell too much on Siewert here; we've done that plenty this weekend, hence the delay in getting these conclusions out. But if you're interested in my thoughts, you can find them here.

2. Juninho Bacuna desperately needs to keep things simple

A player we lauded in the summer after some eye-catching performances towards the end of last season and during the pre-season friendlies, Bacuna has been utterly rotten so far this season: sloppy against Derby, lucky not to be sent off against QPR, uninspiring against Lincoln, and by far the worst player on the pitch here against Fulham.

The most frustrating thing is that there is clearly a really good player in there. Bacuna has an arrogance and verve that, if properly harnessed, could be hugely important in a Town side that continues to look short on confidence. He deserves some credit for trying to provide a bit of spark in a much-too-tentative side, but he needs to learn that simple but effective is much more valuable than flashy but inaccurate.

In this game, Bacuna showed all of his worst habits: taking three touches where one will do and losing it as a result;, hitting off-target through balls with the outside of his foot when a simple sidefoot would have provided greater accuracy; and his worst tendency, wellying passes at the shins of his teammates when a tidy pass to feet would have been sufficient.

Cap that with the inadvertent cross from which Fulham opened the scoring despite having the option of just poking the ball behind for a corner, and this was a performance to forget for the newly-declared Curacao man.

We have previously argued that it is worth putting up with those frustrating moments to get the quality Bacuna can provide, but so far this season they have spilled over from occasional irritation to making himself nigh-on unpickable.

Get back to basics, Bacca. It will serve you so much better.

3. Florent Hadergjonaj is growing more important in attack (but needs to get back more urgently)

From a much-lauded player disappointing to a much-derided player stepping up.

Florent Hadergjonaj was Town's most dangerous outlet on Friday, and after we criticised his poor crossing against Derby, it's only fair that we point out what a good delivery that was for Grant to equalise.

Question marks remain over some of his defensive positioning - he was caught jogging back in the build-up to Fulham's second - but we would say that more often than not the issue was his teammates failing to cover his frequent forward forays, for which Hadergjonaj can only take marginal blame at best given how fruitful those jaunts proved, particularly in the first hour or so.

4. Town players need to take responsibility

Not in a 'it's their fault Siewert got sacked' way, but in a 'stop waiting for someone else to make something happen' way.

They were a bit better with this on Friday, in fairness. It was encouraging to see a greater commitment to getting players into the box right from the opening minutes. There were three in there as Grant met the ball for his headed goal and a fourth on the way in, which made both Hadergjonaj and Grant's jobs much easier.

But especially after they went behind for the second time, Town's players just looked like they were all waiting for Lionel Messi's entrance music to hit and the wee Argentine to come running out of the stands and onto the pitch, peeling off his coat to reveal a Town shirt underneath before knocking in a goal at the end of a trademark slalom dribble so good it counted as two goals and won the game for the Terriers.

I keep telling you, lads, it's not going to happen. They need to do it themselves. That is why we always talk about confidence as being so important, I guess.

5. The new manager - whoever it may be - does have things to build on

Three goals in three games for Grant, albeit two of them penalties. Christopher Schindler and Kamil Grabara at the back. The experience of Jonathan Hogg, the ability of Trevoh Chalobah and the tenacity of Lewis O'Brien in midfield. Pritchard's creativity. As many wingers as you can eat.

A reminder, too, if it were needed, that Derby and Fulham are both potential promotion candidates this season, and if the results so far had been sprinkled throughout the season rather than occurring consecutively, they might have been seen as more or less acceptable.

My point there is not to undersell the fact that Town needed to change something or to paint their poor form as actually being fine: Town's position in the embryonic league table makes clear that it is not. Rather, my point is that there are some good things there for whoever Town appoint as their next gaffer to work with.

As we have said ad nauseam on these pages Town are much more 'not quite' than 'outright disaster' in the league this season, and although the two can amount to the same thing if that is not addressed (hence Siewert's sacking), whoever comes in now is not in anything like the same position Siewert was when he arrived in January. Here, Town were good for the first hour or so, and the pundit chatter at the break was all about how encouraging Town's performance was.

It'll be hard work, and Town need to get the next appointment right, but while there is no room for complacency, I'm not sure it's complete panic stations just yet. The next month is crucial.



https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/football/news/five-conclusions-huddersfield-town-fulham-16774412

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Cottage Talk Post Match Show: Fulham Win 2-1 Against Huddersfield Town

Take a listen to a podcast that focuses on Fulham Football Club.

This is our post match show of Fulham's 2-1 victory against Huddersfield Town. During the show, Yannis Tjanetis and Max Cohen, analyzed the key moments of the match, and gave their view on how Fulham turned it around in the second half. They also said who they felt was "Man Of The Match".


Lastly, you can also listen to the show by following this link...
https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2019/8/18/20810964/cottage-talk-post-match-show-fulham-win-2-1-against-huddersfield-town

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5 Thoughts: Huddersfield Town 1-2 Fulham

Fulham win away from Craven Cottage. That's correct, three points on the road on a miserable night in Huddersfield. Break out the Champagne, we've basically gained promotion and we're only three games in. I've been reading BTEC Leeds United posts in EFL Facebook groups far too much and it really shows.

In all seriousness, Scott Parker's men resembled a team that's geared for a scrappy, arduous battle this term and that is all we've ever asked for. We don't need Andre Schurrle and his tunnel visioned claptrap or Jean Michael Seri's forged reputation. We want warriors that respect the badge, just like our devoted gaffer did at every waking minute in his pomp.

At the John Smith's Stadium, the Whites could have wilted at 1-1 after Karlan Grant's routine header crept over the line by a whisker, but they dug deep to grant the travelling faithful a triumph they categorically deserved. We've been dragged through desperate times of late, so maybe now it's our queue to have the last laugh. Sorry, Jan Siewert, but we're loving life in the Championship.

Yes For Sess'

Parker's had us marked down as chumps since the start. There was no need for us to delve into the transfer market for another right-back, not when we've already got a ready-made swashbuckler in the shape of Steven Sessegnon on our books. That family's genes are elite, aren't they?

I, for one, have been shrieking, blue faced, for the forgotten Sess' to emerge on the senior platform and the U17 World Cup winner did not disappoint. The early stages highlighted his naivety, having incurred a caution, but as the game progressed, Sess' grew with the challenges he confronted, banishing those niggling nerves and apprehensions in a nanosecond. For a senior debut, on a dismally drizzly evening up t'north, he conducted himself magnificently. Anything you can do, Ryan.

Sess' marshalled his flank admirably, and the assured composure he projected whilst safeguarding possession eased pressure to springboard offensive offensive phases of our own. Dashing tirelessly along the touchline in support of Anthony Knockaert, the 19-year-old also featured heavily in Fulham's sumptuous second goal, after dispatching a deft searching cross into a congested 18-yard box. Flying into 50/50s, springing into aerial duels, he is everything an aspiring fullback should be. Cyrus Christie's quivering in his shadow.

Pop Cava, Cav'

I know there's a few of us out there that thought Ivan Cavaleiro was slightly careless in the first-half, and I also know that we few were forced to eat our words after the interval. Hacking at elementary passes, slamming cross-field switches into advertisement hoardings, it wasn't a particularly glowing performance but then, with transient moments of mastery, Cav' flexed his sublime superiority to keep his lesser competitors in check and at bay.

Firing on all cylinders or not, though, the 26-year-old is capable of boring opposing fullbacks into the earth's core with electrifying shifts and shimmies, and whilst he wasn't singing from the same hymn sheet at times before the break, he endeavoured to peril Huddersfield with audacious, sinister expeditions in possession. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but besides being markedly average in comparison to his potential, Cav's majesty trickled through in equal measure.

Throughout the encounter, Joe Bryan and Cav' interlinked efficiently and it's evident that their connection and understanding as a partnership is undoubtedly strengthening. A prime example of that point being the Portuguese national's 8oth-minute winner. Jockeyed by Florent Hadergjonaj, Cav' stalled his sorcery until Bryan distracted the Switzerland international then, as our eager left-back charged into the danger zone, Cav' unleashed an arcing whopper, top bins, past a hapless Kamil Grabara. The curse, and beauty, of being the game's "hit and miss" hero.

StefJo the Saboteur

Reckless, short sighted, as flat as his rain-sodden locks, Stefan Johansen was another inclusion that was, well, vastly uninspired for various spells. But once the limb-wielding Norwegian reacquainted himself with the taste of sweet, sweet destruction, nothing, not even the typically summery weather, was going to dampen his outing.

StefJo was surplus last season but he is our undisputed shithouser in chief, and when we needed our resident midfield honcho to push buttons and ruffle feathers under the floodlights, he hurdled into action like a gazelle that's midway through escaping the jaws of a famished lion. He was mediocre at best in possession, but you've got to love and appreciate a trier.

The 28-year-old saboteur locked horns with Jonathan Hogg and Juninho Bacuna and gave as good as he got. Hounding possession in an almost demented manner, StefJo squeezed space, clipped heels and dismantled the hosts' flagging fortitude. In the second-half, bounding from one corner of the turf to the next, he did not cease his quest to wreak havoc. In the Championship, amidst the droves of no nonsense enforcers, Johansen's defiance will be invaluable to our cause.

Friday's Fantastic Fluidity

Slick sequences were a delight to behold on Friday evening, a fluidity that's been on vacation for a full season, virtually. In months gone by, we've been culprit to static, pedestrian phases on the break, but in the splendour of North Yorkshire, the Whites yanked the Terriers apart with incisive, synchronised combinations.

Constructed by Tom Cairney, Harry Arter and Cavaleiro, the visitors carved Huddersfield wide open with neatly formed triangles, flicks and pirouettes. On a greasy surface, Fulham manoeuvred possession proficiently, and whilst the ball didn't stick to its intended destination religiously, Parker's men maintained a frequency that distressed Siewert's outwitted camp. These are very encouraging blueprints indeed.

As a flattering result, away from home, Fulham held 66% possession and completed 667 passes, nearly twice of what Huddersfield mustered. Parker wants his squad to play liquid football, a brand that emulates our esteemed 2017-18 collective. With the intelligence and creativity within our ranks, we're equipped to brandish the division's most attractive football, and if we can incorporate a systematic cutting edge to our poetic style, we could go one step further than Slavisa Jokanovic's Play-Off victors and, dare I say it, walk this league.

Mitro's Acting Up

He's a heavyweight of his profession and a lethal weapon, we know this, but pressed by Tommy Elphick and Christopher Schindler, Aleksandar Mitrovic (almost) met his match. Balls zipped into the Serb's midriff but Huddersfield's centre-half pairing constricted, Mitro's couldn't shunt himself into an imposing area often enough. Initially, this wasn't exceedingly alarming, although to reap the rewards of having an attacker like Mitro' in the final third, he has to lay down the law from the very first touch.

To unsettle Mitro', a defender must butt heads with a self-proclaimed gym enthusiast, and that's not a proposal for the faint-hearted. Elphick and Schindler snared the 24-year-old adequately, but it was only a matter of time before a blaze of Mitro'-sized proportions ignited. Rule No.256 of containing a striker of Mitro's stature: Do not, under any circumstance, lace an erratic clearance, skywards across your own box, into his general vicinity. Bacuna didn't sample that critical guideline. Ball in orbit, defenders in a state of frenzied panic, 1-0 Fulham.

Now, without dwelling on retrospective punishments, Mitro' could have plunged himself into very hot water indeed, thanks to his feigned eye injury fiasco. Sprawled on the deck, Rajiv van La Parra's boot seemingly brushed Mitro's eye, although after examining the footage, the Dutchman's studs were nowhere near the area of supposed distress. A wag of the index in your direction, Aleksandar. We actually need you on the pitch, not on the sofa serving a needless ban. Channel your inner Rivaldo elsewhere, please and thank you.



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2019-08-18-5-thoughts-huddersfield-town-1-2-fulham/

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How Jan Siewert's last game sums up his time at Town

Jan Siewert was sacked shortly after Town fell to a 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Friday night. It was a game that had several of the hallmarks of Siewert's time at Huddersfield Town. Individual errors, tactical confusion, a lack of attacking intent and substitutions that were either wrongly timed or simply just wrong.

Here are a few of my thoughts on how this game acted as a 90-minute summary of the Jan Siewert-era:

Individual errors: Bacuna set to self-destruct mode

Before I put the boot into Juninho Bacuna, I'd like to say that I'm generally a fan of his and can see that he has a lot of potential. Now I've said that, he was dreadful against Fulham. It's was the kind of performance where he seemed to have a reverse midas touch: every time he got involved he ballsed it up.

Perhaps with Mooy now gone he fancied himself as the creative force in midfield, as he seemed to want to play 50-yard wonder passes at every opportunity. Unlike Mooy, the majority of Bacuna's long-range passes went nowhere near their intended recipient.

There was a general sloppiness about Bacuna's approach to the game that made him a complete liability, so it was no surprise in the second half when he bungled his clearance so badly it gifted Mitrovic an easy header to score. It was the kind of silly mistake that Town make so often and so rarely force their opponents into.

Jan Siewert's Town teams have regularly conceded goals that were more down to individual's fouling up than the brilliance of the opposition. It's hard to blame a coach for his team repeatedly making mistakes that lead to goals but it makes you wonder if the players are playing with so much fear that it forces errors or are perhaps encouraged to take chances in dangerous areas.

Tactical confusion: stranded striker

After a preseason that effectively began in January because of Town's inevitable relegation, it's been disappointing that Jan Siewert was never able to get his teams play with any kind of tactical coherence. The 4-3-3 shape was there but the positioning of many of the players looked uncertain and there was a tendency to sit deep at times which invited pressure upon Town's back line.

Karlan Grant spent the majority of the game a virtual stranger to the rest of his team, as he was so far apart from the nearest player. Even when we had possession in Fulham's final third, it was hard to see many blue and white shirts in the box. Playing a system that nominally has three forwards in the lineup sounds great but when the wide players are so deep it makes it much closer to 4-5-1 and makes it very hard for the striker to receive quality service.

A lack of attacking intent: failing to create chances

David Wagner's time at Town saw the team achieve incredible things and these achievements were all the more incredible because of how few goals the teams managed to score. This was something that Jan Siewert had stated as an area he was going to improve under his stewardship and we were promised attacking football. Sadly we got more of the same.

Against Fulham there were spells in the game were Town enjoyed possession in dangerous areas but seemed to lack the creative spark to turn good build up play into clear cut chances. Hadergjonaj finally produced a decent cross for Grant's goal but otherwise there was a distinct lack of quality in the final third.

With confidence low among the squad, it's no surprise that our attacking players aren't banging them in. However, the tactics Siewert has used and his team selections have often limited the amount of attacking freedom in the team and have resulted in a lack of goals.

Poor substitutions: leaving Bacuna on the pitch too long and not unleashing VLP sooner

I've always preferred managers that are bold with their substitutions and make changes when they need to be made. Bacuna was having a stinker in the first half and it would have made perfect sense to hook him at half time. Instead he was sent back out and made further mistakes until he cost Town a goal, then Siewert subbed him.

In the second half Fulham dominated the game and hurt Town with their slick attacking play and fluent movement. We looked short of ideas when we were going forward. Adding some attacking flair seemed like a natural choice but van La Parra wasn't introduced until the 83rd minute of the game when it was too late to make an impact. Before that we brought on Steve Mounié to play up front and our most potent threat, Karlan Grant, was shunted to the wing where he was less of a danger.

Many managers are able to use substitutions to swing the momentum in a game, exploit a weakness or to counter a specific threat from the opposition. Jan Siewert seemed to just chuck players on to give them a run out without much thought to how they might change the course of the game.

TerrierSpirit.com opinion: Siewert wasn't learning from his mistakes and had to go

From the outside, it's easy to say that three league games is too short a timespan to judge a manager and Siewert deserved more time. The problem is that he kept on doing the same thing every game regardless of the results on the pitch. He talked a lot about wanting to bring back the winning feeling but it became increasingly clear that he didn't know how to make that happen.

I'm not going to repeat the well-documented problems Jan had to face when he took charge of Town but he did have an uphill struggle. However, even accounting for the handicaps he had to overcome he performed poorly. Leaving him in his post any longer wouldn't have been fair to him, the players or the fans.

It's a shame it didn't work out but now it's time to move on and look to the future.



http://www.terrierspirit.com/jan-siewerts-last-game-sums-time-town/