Today was entirely about league survival

[roberto w6]

It was a nothing game and I am glad we are out. We have more important matters to focus on. Let's hope Burnley and all the other bottom-half teams still left in the Cup have great cup runs with extra time, penalties and (if they exist this year) replays in every round.

I agree with OP apart from one point: I don't think we should have played the first team players. He makes the point about creating sharpness for Wednesday but I can't see that yesterday had any effect other than a negative psychological one for those players. None of them looked a class above the largely second string opposition and the result and performance can only have dented their confidence.

6 points from the next 2 league games is all that matters.

[toshes mate]

The OP is a perfectly reasonable take on yesterday although I can also see why a rather different perspective may also be perfectly reasonable.

I made an effort to watch the game yesterday but I don't expect any applause for having done so and I received no reward.  Effort is something that is required to achieve something even if that something is a miserable performance and so I agree that all the players made an effort but it simply was not to the level we were justified to expect. 

Parker stated post-match that he wanted a cup run since the team knew another home fixture awaited them.  Clearly he expects us to believe this was his tactical solution to dealing with a Burnley team that would be selected to much the same formula and purpose.    There were mitigating circumstances for Parker which arguably included matches coming thick and fast where some are much more significant to his responsibilities than yesterday's game but our opponents could argue the same.     

I think we already knew that our pre- Areola, Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Robinson defence let us down in the Championship many times and the usual suspects were on full view against a modest Burnley side.   I thought there were signs that this team had not been carefully crafted and schooled (e.g. BDR and Hector taking throws on the right but to no cohesive pattern or effect) suggesting they were under prepared.    It was a really poor show, IMO and echoed previous times under Parker where he has been found wanting.   My hope is that the result has no adverse bearing on Wednesday's game.    I was not impressed.

[Andy S]

Sorry but 1 The first goal was off side. A player is interfering with play when he is as close to the goal as that. 2 That was a soft penalty Hector was watching the ball and a slight nudge is not a pen for me  3 The pitch was atrocious and favoured Burnley. So you can keep your cup for this year but there is no need to have a go at the players for it.

[blingo]

Watch the game again Andy, it is one of the most lacklustre efforts i've ever seen in nearly 60 years of supporting Fulham, and yes I have watched through the four divisions.

[Whitestone]

Sorry but 1 The first goal was off side. A player is interfering with play when he is as close to the goal as that. 2 That was a soft penalty Hector was watching the ball and a slight nudge is not a pen for me  3 The pitch was atrocious and favoured Burnley. So you can keep your cup for this year but there is no need to have a go at the players for it.

No need to have a go at the players ? I'm fairly sure that's exactly what Scott Parker did at half-time and the end of the game.  Any decent manage isn't going be happy with a performance like that so why shouldn't the fans offer up some criticism too ?

[shepperton white]

Whether it was a clear statement by Scott or not, the message is quite clear - if we don't get a half decent striker and possibly another CB we will be relegated; and that lovely new stand of ours will be just a white elephant, because I think many of our supporters will drift away. We would be lucky to 1500 through the gates, much 30000
It is obvious the while our midfield is reasonably sound, we have no depth in our defence as yesterday proved, though a fit Congolo might help a bit.

[Bill2]

Sorry but 1 The first goal was off side. A player is interfering with play when he is as close to the goal as that. 2 That was a soft penalty Hector was watching the ball and a slight nudge is not a pen for me  3 The pitch was atrocious and favoured Burnley. So you can keep your cup for this year but there is no need to have a go at the players for it.

Seeing the goals on BBC, not MOTD, but not in depth or with any analysis and from the one camera angle have to agree with the above. Did not see any of the incidents such as our disallowed goal and the BDR penalty shout so only have GJ view from listening to the game.

[Fulham 442]

Sorry, but we were crap.

Sums it up for me.  Worst Fulham performance I can remember for a long, long time.  Thank goodness we have shored up our defence.  Can you imagine what a better team than Burnley would have done to us....

[RoyTund]

Long list of excuses. It's why we have consistently allowed these kinds of performances in the cup for years.

[WindyCity]

<<Today was entirely about league survival>>

Not so sure you can write it off as simply as that.  There were quite a few players in that game that will likely comprise our starting XI on Wednesday for probably the most important tilt of the year, to date.  The whole lot looked poor.

[Plodder]

It is exceedingly rare for a professional footballer not to to try at all, so with the caveat that I only listened to the match, I would not level that criticism at the players - it's the sort of judgement one makes in the emotional immediate aftermath of a defeat. However, I think it is fair to wonder sometimes whether players have really tried as hard as they can and given absolutely everything to the cause; I guess professional players ask themselves that question in the wake of a bad defeat.

I can't remember ever booing my own team off the pitch, even after 0-5 and 0-6 defeats to Chester and Port Vale in the space of a few weeks in the same season, but I don't think I could have gone to the opposite extreme and applauded them off after the match on Sunday, as the OP says he would have.  I have sometimes given some token applause of commiseration after defeats, but Sunday's seems to have fallen into the category of too bad even to merit that.