Cairney tonight

[joef]

Slow to get into the game in the first half but brilliant in the second. I thought he controlled the tempo in the second half majestically  :yay:

[Big T]

Yes Sir I do believe he's finding his form at exactly the right time

Cairney always takes about 6 games to re find his magical form after an injury, it's all falling into place,

[ex-Pat]

Disagree I would prefer we play without Cairney  and Mitro,,,much more fluid without them. Cairney with one obvious left foot cannot change direction, with Mitro game plan dull and limited.

[alfie]

Disagree I would prefer we play without Cairney  and Mitro,,,much more fluid without them. Cairney with one obvious left foot cannot change direction, with Mitro game plan dull and limited.

Last night he showed he can still do it.

[Motspur Park]

I have often said that when Cairney clicks, Fulham play well. When Cairney has no influence or if he doesn't play we can still grind out wins but Fulham's best performances are when Cairney orchestrates the game.

[Statto]

I have often said that when Cairney clicks, Fulham play well. When Cairney has no influence or if he doesn't play we can still grind out wins but Fulham's best performances are when Cairney orchestrates the game.

Yes spot on, annoying isn't it!

[rebel]

I have often said that when Cairney clicks, Fulham play well. When Cairney has no influence or if he doesn't play we can still grind out wins but Fulham's best performances are when Cairney orchestrates the game.

He controls the 'tempo of the match', did that in the second half.

[Twig]

I don't know what it is about TC.  When he is on form the whole team performance goes up a notch. I think that, with the exception of ex pat, we all recognise that.
What I can't figure is just what it takes to get him going. Yesterday SP made some fairly subtle changes to our shape at half time and it probably pushed TC 10yds up the pitch whilst also affording him more options for forward passes. But seriously, given how talented he is he shouldn't need things set up exactly to suit him. I rate him highly and live watching him when he's on song but he remains a bit of an enigma to me.

[Sting of the North]

I don't think it is one-sided though (not really aimed at any poster in particular, just my reflections). It is not only a case of Cairney being good and the team follows, but also the other way around. The first half was a real battle, and the whole team found it a bit tougher, which reflected on Cairney as well (maybe even more, because that's not his best game). Thought he was ok in the first half, just a bit uncharacteristically sloppy in possession a few times, but helped defending well, and almost took his chance when it came. In the second half he was top notch.

I do believe he is a bit of a confidence player, and he does need to have players making runs and creating space in order for him to influence our offense a bit more. I also agree that those games where we look good going forward, Cairney almost always plays a key role. I just believe that his performances are often hugely underrated on those days when it doesn't really come off. Not that I believe he is a great grinder or anything like that, but he mostly does ok even on the defensive side, whereas many posters like to describe him as useless. I believe he often gets an unfair share of the blame when things don't go our way, maybe because of the huge potential we all know that he has.

[rebel]

I don't know what it is about TC.  When he is on form the whole team performance goes up a notch. I think that, with the exception of ex pat, we all recognise that.
What I can't figure is just what it takes to get him going. Yesterday SP made some fairly subtle changes to our shape at half time and it probably pushed TC 10yds up the pitch whilst also affording him more options for forward passes. But seriously, given how talented he is he shouldn't need things set up exactly to suit him. I rate him highly and live watching him when he's on song but he remains a bit of an enigma to me.

He is a confidence player, heart on sleeve, when he's up for it, he can't stop smiling. Maybe Parker's half-time talk was uncomplicated, simply 'go express yourselves, a freedom'. That's what I saw.

[FulhamStu]

Compare Cairney and Onomah's performance, TC waiting for the ball, strolling, having little influence, then we score, get on top and he has space and starts to play well.  Onomah on the other hand was chasing things down, being physical, getting involved really influencing the game, and that was before he scored.   Last night Onomah looked twice the player Cairney is...Amazing how things change.  Hopefully getting 90 minutes and gaining in confidence will see Tom continue to improve, still miles of his best.

[filham]

If we are debating whether or not Cairney and Mitro should be in our line up then we must have a pretty good team.

[Dr Quinzel]

Playing fifteen yards further forwards made a big difference for him. When Cardiff tired and we were able to play that bit higher up Cairney and a few others were really able to do a lot more.

[Motspur Park]

I don't think it is one-sided though (not really aimed at any poster in particular, just my reflections). It is not only a case of Cairney being good and the team follows, but also the other way around. The first half was a real battle, and the whole team found it a bit tougher, which reflected on Cairney as well (maybe even more, because that's not his best game). Thought he was ok in the first half, just a bit uncharacteristically sloppy in possession a few times, but helped defending well, and almost took his chance when it came. In the second half he was top notch.

I do believe he is a bit of a confidence player, and he does need to have players making runs and creating space in order for him to influence our offense a bit more. I also agree that those games where we look good going forward, Cairney almost always plays a key role. I just believe that his performances are often hugely underrated on those days when it doesn't really come off. Not that I believe he is a great grinder or anything like that, but he mostly does ok even on the defensive side, whereas many posters like to describe him as useless. I believe he often gets an unfair share of the blame when things don't go our way, maybe because of the huge potential we all know that he has.

Exactly this. I phrased it the way I did because that is how it plays out but it is not necessarily that Cairney plays badly and we, as a team, fail. There are a numbers of factors which could influence his game but ultimately, if we see Tom have a good game, Fulham rise to a different level. The commentator on Sky last night told what it means to have a mobile and quality defensive midfielder and this is definitely the case. Set the midfield and tactics to give Tom more time and space and he will prove he is not a luxury player but to do this, the tactics will need to change depending on who we are playing against.

[wiresandmore]

Hi

I was chatting to my son about this - I thought part of the reason we played further up the pitch was the fact that Cairney constantly looked for the forward pass - I get so frustrated with him where he gets the ball, does the 180 turn and passes back to Ream or Hector, killing the momentum we have and allowing the opposition to regroup. Also when he tries to go forward, he often draws fouls as the other team try to get at him.

Either way, I thought he was excellent last night in the 2nd half. Hopefully more to come on Thurs and then next week too!

[TC's Sporran]

he can pass the ball very well, but if no one is making runs or in space he invariably goes sideways or backwards just to keep possession.
back in jocas day we had far more runs off the ball. if we can get the players to make runs more often  im sure cairney will find them.
Also as has been pointed out earlier, he can draw fouls with his close control and we saw last night how valuable this is in games.

[Dr Quinzel]

he can pass the ball very well, but if no one is making runs or in space he invariably goes sideways or backwards just to keep possession.
back in jocas day we had far more runs off the ball. if we can get the players to make runs more often  im sure cairney will find them.
Also as has been pointed out earlier, he can draw fouls with his close control and we saw last night how valuable this is in games.

I don't have anything to add to your comments, but your username cracked me up.

[Matt10]

he can pass the ball very well, but if no one is making runs or in space he invariably goes sideways or backwards just to keep possession.
back in jocas day we had far more runs off the ball. if we can get the players to make runs more often  im sure cairney will find them.
Also as has been pointed out earlier, he can draw fouls with his close control and we saw last night how valuable this is in games.

This is exactly it. I've been hoping someone would say it, but it's easier to just say that Cairney likes to pass the ball backwards or sideways. If we had the runs, which we eventually did in the second half, he'll find them. The part that doesn't get identified, which I think is highly significant to our post-lockdown style, is that Cairney makes deeper runs off the ball more often than he did before.

I mentioned it elsewhere, but once Cairney and Onomah started to gradually switch positions off the ball in the second half, we started to see the true potential of that dynamic. The first goal was Cairney moving over to the right central midfield, then switches a cross ball to Kebano. Onomah, now on the left central midfield, is found at the top of the box from Reed - and the rest is history with the goal. Towards the end of the match, Cairney again is on the right side, cuts inside and tries a give-and-go with BDR, but gets barged by Morrison at the top of the box.

Like a lot of our players, we either haven't seen the immediate results of Parker cementing them in certain positions - or they are underperforming - or both. To me, it's a bit of both. Knockaert and Cav are prime examples. Cairney is more so being placed in this position that is one he hasn't been in too often. In addition, the style of play is possession - and the movement off the ball is limited for the wingers, forward, which leaves the central midfielders and fullbacks to be the ones to make the runs. This is why we play the ball from side to side so often, because if you watch, it's the central midfielders that are making the runs - and is why we're able to keep possession against teams at a higher percentage.