Knock

[ALG01]

Was sitting near us.
At the end on his way out he was excited and happy as if he had won the world cup. :

[Whitesideup]

That's good to hear. I know they all get paid what we would consider small fortunes but I like to hear and see commitment to the cause. And whether he is playing at his best, or having a bit of an off day, one thing you get from Knockaert is 100% energy and application.

[Steven Ageroad]

Was that Kongola sitting next to him?

[SP]

Hope he's fit for Saturday.

[General]

Knockaert like everyone at the moment has been criticised by members of the board (don't think I have), but one thing you can always say is he is definitely a passionate person and player. Which I love to see.

[Hatch007]

Was sitting near us.
At the end on his way out he was excited and happy as if he had won the world cup. :

Guess you didn't think to ask when he'd be back playing? 🤔

[filham]

If we can get Knock. fit for next week with Reed then we will just about be at full strength I think.
I agree that Knock. always puts in maximum effort.

I would like to see Cav. and Knock switch wings a little more as I think defenders get quite comfortable after a while with their inside out roles.

[Tabby]

Knockaert is a player who I never question if he is comitted. Just think he sometimes tries to do it all by himself when things aren't going his way. Fairly similar to Mitro in that way.

[ALG01]

Was sitting near us.
At the end on his way out he was excited and happy as if he had won the world cup. :

Guess you didn't think to ask when he'd be back playing? 🤔

#

to tell the truth it all happened so quick as we were leaving that no i didn't i was just so pleased to see him so delighted.... next time!

[Statto]

Knockaert like everyone at the moment has been criticised by members of the board (don't think I have), but one thing you can always say is he is definitely a passionate person and player. Which I love to see.

I have been one of those to criticise him but agree with this.
And whilst his goal and assist tallies are disappointing IMO, I read on MJG's Twitter that we average more points when he starts (he was third in that table after Hector and Rodak).   

[USNA90]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm from the U.S., and have never played or watched soccer/football while growing up.  In fact, I went through the first 50 years on this planet without ever having watched a complete game.  I moved to London last year, and since I live near Craven Cottage, I decided to cheer for Fulham, and haven't missed a game since.  I say all this by way of acknowledging that I have no appreciation or understanding of the nuances of the game.
That being said, I don't understand all the criticism of Knockaert.  I get it if he has attitude problems and it comes out with his teammates - but I don't notice much of that from where I'm watching.  However, even the Fulham announcers seem to nit-pick Knockaert.  To me, though, he seems like a necessary part to make the offense run.  To my untrained eye, he is the only one on the team who is capable of consistently beating his man one-on-one and creating his own shot (to borrow a basketball phrase).  With an offense centered on Mitro, who makes a living on rebounds and deflections, it seems like Fulham needs Knockaert to at least get the ball in front of the net.  The offense seems very stagnant to me when he is not on the field.  Also, as others have noted, he hustles all the time.  IMHO, he's the proverbial straw that stirs the drink.
Now, if I were looking to criticize someone, I would have to say that I don't understand all the fuss over Decordova-Reid.  I know he scored on Saturday, but to me he is more memorable for his missed opportunities as opposed to what he actually has accomplished this year.  Running a close second would be Cavaleiro - the two guys Fulham just permanently signed.
Can someone explain to me what I'm missing here?  Thanks.

[millsy]

Difficult to pinpoint really but I think what most of Knock's critics find fault with is his lack of end product. That is to say, he appears to have all the attributes to be a good premier league standard player, in that he is compact, quick, tenacious, skilful, can shoot, yet most of his dribbles - where he beats men with ease - are cross field. He rarely takes his man on going forward, which, of course, is most often where the damage is done.

I think you'll also notice that when he gets himself in good positions along the oppo's flanks, his crosses are quite poor.

The other thing I think he is criticised for is his decision-making, where he often shoots from impossible angles, particularly noticeable when teammates may be better placed.

Having said all this, I believe most of us recognise his value to the team, especially, as you have rightly identified, as he "makes things happen" and often brings a dynamism to our forward play that is otherwise too often missing.

To be fair, if he didn't have any of these apparent weaknesses, I'm quite sure he'd be playing at a higher level, either here or at a top tier European side. In my opinion, we are lucky to have him.

[MikeW]

so .... that's why he's playing for Fulham?

[millsy]

Realistically, yes, that's how and why we are able to secure his services and also, why Brighton deemed him releasable, despite struggling to survive in the Premier league themselves.

This isn't necessarily a negative though. For me, Jota would have been a great addition to our squad, while he doesn't command a regular starting slot at another relegation battler Aston Villa.

I guess it's all about opinions and preferences. Josh Onomahbeing a case in point currently but don't get me started on that!

[AnOldBrownie]

Difficult to pinpoint really but I think what most of Knock's critics find fault with is his lack of end product. That is to say, he appears to have all the attributes to be a good premier league standard player, in that he is compact, quick, tenacious, skilful, can shoot, yet most of his dribbles - where he beats men with ease - are cross field. He rarely takes his man on going forward, which, of course, is most often where the damage is done.

I think you'll also notice that when he gets himself in good positions along the oppo's flanks, his crosses are quite poor.

The other thing I think he is criticised for is his decision-making, where he often shoots from impossible angles, particularly noticeable when teammates may be better placed.

Having said all this, I believe most of us recognise his value to the team, especially, as you have rightly identified, as he "makes things happen" and often brings a dynamism to our forward play that is otherwise too often missing.

To be fair, if he didn't have any of these apparent weaknesses, I'm quite sure he'd be playing at a higher level, either here or at a top tier European side. In my opinion, we are lucky to have him.

This.   And for some reason he appears to play better in this offense when Mitro isn't playing.

Love his heart though, and I think that if he can get the team ball aspect down (he really does get upset when he and another player aren't on the same page) he'll be big part of the Whites staying up next season.

Really like the guy...i just wish he looked a little better with our #1 player.

[Carborundum]

Can someone explain to me what I'm missing here?  Thanks.

I'll try, but it's a highly personal viewpoint.  He's an obvious footballer, you sort of know what he's going to do, he often does it quite well, but there's no mystery.  A bit like Mitro and AK47 except that they make a habit of winning their personal battles through strength, speed and know-how.  They literally dump people on their backsides.  We all love seeing that.  Knocky's all heart and guts but he doesn't usually win his personal battle, hence the reference to great runs going sideways - that's the defender winning.

Variety is the spice of life and Bobby Decordova Reid is completely different. He sees football as a game of space.  Space to exploit, space to fill and space to make for others.  Watch him without the ball and you will see the magic at work.  Schubert to Mitro's Beethoven.

Cavaleiro sometimes strikes me as having a calculator in his brain that computes the probabilities of what to do next.  He's highly competent, but I got more thrills in AK47's 30 minutes off the bench on Saturday than Cavaleiro provided in his 60.....which included the 35 minutes we were playing champagne football.

It's all highly subjective though.

[Sgt Fulham]

Knockaert was criticized earlier in the season because he was woeful for a good few games. Trying to beat 3 men in our own box and constantly losing the ball, shooting from impossible angles rather than passing, falling over his own feet, and posing zero attacking threat. We all knew he was much better than that  hence the frustration. He has picked up since then. I think the goal against Villa did him the world of good and long may it continue.

One thing that worried me was in JB and BDR interview it came across as if they didn't really like him. Calling him annoying and mocking him a little. Was not sure if that was just banter or a bit more than that.

[Jim©]

Variety is the spice of life and Bobby Decordova Reid is completely different. He sees football as a game of space.  Space to exploit, space to fill and space to make for others.  Watch him without the ball and you will see the magic at work.  Schubert to Mitro's Beethoven.

I think this is my favourite quote ever on any football forum.

[Statto]

Variety is the spice of life and Bobby Decordova Reid is completely different. He sees football as a game of space.  Space to exploit, space to fill and space to make for others.  Watch him without the ball and you will see the magic at work.  Schubert to Mitro's Beethoven.

I think this is my favourite quote ever on any football forum.

IIRC Carborundum authored my favourite quote a few years ago, that Kebano is like a coiled spring that never uncoils

In fairness he has 'uncoiled' once or twice since then

[HV71]

This forum never ceases to amaze me - only at Fulham FC . The paragraph by Carborundum is indeed a thing of beauty - a true wordsmith .

Whenever  I see BDR - I will just think ' space the final frontier '