Stop defending this team/our manager/transfers and style of play...

[Hoppus]

Parker In.

Why would put up with a manager who simply can't get wins at this level? Defeats the whole point of professional/competitive sports, let alone football. Shocking apathy from you. 2 WINS, TWO.. in 21/22 games.. that's the worst i've ever seen as a fulham fan.. even did better under Magath and Lawrie Sanchez.

Amen.

[General]

I disagree with General's diatribe; I am not going to make any effort to "convince him otherwise", because he is entitled to his views and to write whatever he wants, but also I feel no obligation to "get annoyed properly about what's going on".  Overall, I thought we played well today, and created more chances than West Ham Utd did in a tight game. The problem was the same as ever, which has been mentioned ad nauseam  - we don't have a natural goalscorer (apart from Mitrovic, who has been completely out of form).  Maja may help to address this, but it is a very long shot, and asking a huge amount of him. But to criticise Harrison Reed for "playing particularly badly" and calling the performance "insipid", "uninspired, "dire" etc. is probably frustration in the immediate aftermath of another draw, rather than an objective assessment of the match. 0-3 v Villa was "dire"; this was not.  Do I think we will stay up?  Odds clearly against it, but today I am disappointed that we did not get three points rather than angry at the players, coaches and manager.

Fair - I did actually watch Harrison Reed quite closely today and did feel his movement off the ball was poor and he didn't make runs/space away from west ham players to the point that he added to our game, I think if others watch it back they may see where i'm coming from, and then make a decision either in agreement or saying it's slightly tilted one way or the other for Reed and his performance.. but Anguissa clearly adds more for me, I think Anguissa is our best CM. I did say it's a question of Lemina or Reed and I'm not sure who deserves the space next to anguissa but I'd like to see Lemina play alongside Frank as I think they both are more dynamic. I do see that Reed has value as a CM/DM and does do a job for us in clearing the balls and getting in the way and tidying up the ball and intercepting.. he's done that well for us in the past. Today simply wasn't, for me, one of those games.

[Arthur]

I don't feel good in singling him out but in particular I've noticed Harrison Reed play particularly badly today...

It certainly is a game of opinions. I thought Reed was excellent. He worked tirelessly, distributed the ball well, retained possession in tight spaces, and covered lots of ground. He gets my vote for our MotM. Apart from a poor performance at Brighton, he is someone whose general level of play has gone up a couple of notches since Christmas.

[JimOG]

I disagree with General's diatribe; I am not going to make any effort to "convince him otherwise", because he is entitled to his views and to write whatever he wants, but also I feel no obligation to "get annoyed properly about what's going on".  Overall, I thought we played well today, and created more chances than West Ham Utd did in a tight game. The problem was the same as ever, which has been mentioned ad nauseam  - we don't have a natural goalscorer (apart from Mitrovic, who has been completely out of form).  Maja may help to address this, but it is a very long shot, and asking a huge amount of him. But to criticise Harrison Reed for "playing particularly badly" and calling the performance "insipid", "uninspired, "dire" etc. is probably frustration in the immediate aftermath of another draw, rather than an objective assessment of the match. 0-3 v Villa was "dire"; this was not.  Do I think we will stay up?  Odds clearly against it, but today I am disappointed that we did not get three points rather than angry at the players, coaches and manager.

I agree with the general view of playing backwards but did you notice when we didn't. Lemina in particular played to RLC's feet and suddenly we were in their final third...unfortunately to no strikers.
We will go down and the frustration is this time we're not far off a side that could finish around mid table. And the greater frustration is then we will see another dismantling. There is real potential here ...pity

[SuffolkWhite]

Wet Spam are right up there and we got a point. Not what we needed but we are hanging in there. Glad to see 4 at the back and creating g chances still. It is what it is . I would start the two forwards but what do I know a fickle football fan.

[Matt10]

I disagree with General's diatribe; I am not going to make any effort to "convince him otherwise", because he is entitled to his views and to write whatever he wants, but also I feel no obligation to "get annoyed properly about what's going on".  Overall, I thought we played well today, and created more chances than West Ham Utd did in a tight game. The problem was the same as ever, which has been mentioned ad nauseam  - we don't have a natural goalscorer (apart from Mitrovic, who has been completely out of form).  Maja may help to address this, but it is a very long shot, and asking a huge amount of him. But to criticise Harrison Reed for "playing particularly badly" and calling the performance "insipid", "uninspired, "dire" etc. is probably frustration in the immediate aftermath of another draw, rather than an objective assessment of the match. 0-3 v Villa was "dire"; this was not.  Do I think we will stay up?  Odds clearly against it, but today I am disappointed that we did not get three points rather than angry at the players, coaches and manager.

Fair - I did actually watch Harrison Reed quite closely today and did feel his movement off the ball was poor and he didn't make runs/space away from west ham players to the point that he added to our game, I think if others watch it back they may see where i'm coming from, and then make a decision either in agreement or saying it's slightly tilted one way or the other for Reed and his performance.. but Anguissa clearly adds more for me, I think Anguissa is our best CM. I did say it's a question of Lemina or Reed and I'm not sure who deserves the space next to anguissa but I'd like to see Lemina play alongside Frank as I think they both are more dynamic. I do see that Reed has value as a CM/DM and does do a job for us in clearing the balls and getting in the way and tidying up the ball and intercepting.. he's done that well for us in the past. Today simply wasn't, for me, one of those games.

He found himself at the top of the box several times, and distributed wide. I would prefer he shoot on frame more often, but that's not his game. I think, again, there's a misunderstanding of when we switch to a 4-2-3-1. It's completely different than when we're in a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. Our CDMs drop back deeper, and make subtle movements into passing lanes. If they move so aggressively away from West Ham players, they will get covered up by a body - thus preventing a passing lane from opening. Harrison actually does it quite well - and many times.

With that said, I think he is a bit too conservative, especially when he can turn with no pressure. I too would like Anguissa and Lemina to be the choice going forward. I have some reservations with Anguissa's body language at times though - but I've accepted he's just a calm player. Not necessarily a bad thing, and I would prefer his size/strength to compliment Lemina's nimbleness.

[Plodder]

I disagree with General's diatribe; I am not going to make any effort to "convince him otherwise", because he is entitled to his views and to write whatever he wants, but also I feel no obligation to "get annoyed properly about what's going on".  Overall, I thought we played well today, and created more chances than West Ham Utd did in a tight game. The problem was the same as ever, which has been mentioned ad nauseam  - we don't have a natural goalscorer (apart from Mitrovic, who has been completely out of form).  Maja may help to address this, but it is a very long shot, and asking a huge amount of him. But to criticise Harrison Reed for "playing particularly badly" and calling the performance "insipid", "uninspired, "dire" etc. is probably frustration in the immediate aftermath of another draw, rather than an objective assessment of the match. 0-3 v Villa was "dire"; this was not.  Do I think we will stay up?  Odds clearly against it, but today I am disappointed that we did not get three points rather than angry at the players, coaches and manager.

Fair - I did actually watch Harrison Reed quite closely today and did feel his movement off the ball was poor and he didn't make runs/space away from west ham players to the point that he added to our game, I think if others watch it back they may see where i'm coming from, and then make a decision either in agreement or saying it's slightly tilted one way or the other for Reed and his performance.. but Anguissa clearly adds more for me, I think Anguissa is our best CM. I did say it's a question of Lemina or Reed and I'm not sure who deserves the space next to anguissa but I'd like to see Lemina play alongside Frank as I think they both are more dynamic. I do see that Reed has value as a CM/DM and does do a job for us in clearing the balls and getting in the way and tidying up the ball and intercepting.. he's done that well for us in the past. Today simply wasn't, for me, one of those games.

Sorry to keep the long quote, but it is necessary context.  Almost all teams have someone playing in the Reed position just in front of the back four to collect the ball from them. If he is tightly marked, that gives space for other passes beyond him.  Not being intentionally provocative or contrary, but I thought he was one of our best players today. He broke forward quicker than most, and was the pivot in some of our best moves.  Just goes to show that it is all about opinions in the end, and we all have to form our own judgements.  I agree that Anguissa is (probably) our best central midfield player, but he has been off the boil in the last few games, and I think Reed's performance meant that we did not miss him that much today.

Let's just hope that Maja can be the crucial difference (although it is probably asking too much of him). In the first place, I would have started him and given him 60 minutes, and secondly, when he was named as a sub,  I would have brought him on earlier than Scott Parker did - but that's a matter of judgement, and I don't see it as a manager being tactically inept.

Maybe I am just contrarian by nature  and I am responding too optimistically to what seems mainly negative comment on FoF, but I honestly think we still have a decent (20% -30%?) chance of staying up.  A few weeks ago, Brighton were the team struggling the most in terms of form; it can turn around in the space of 4-5 games.

[Woolly Mammoth]

General, I understand your frustration and anger, but I think you are being a little harsh and you may feel differently in the morning.
I thought overall we were the better team against West Ham and Moyes settled for a draw with half hour to go. 
I understand we needed three points desperately and until Mitro and Maja came on we just did not put enough bodies in the box when the ball was crossed.
As I have said in another thread we are not dead and buried yet.

[filham]

If only we had got a couple of those half chances on target this thread would be blank and we would be singing Parker's praises.
Our problem is getting shots on target and I really feel we have to give Mitro more game time.

[SuffolkWhite]

If only we had got a couple of those half chances on target this thread would be blank and we would be singing Parker's praises.
Our problem is getting shots on target and I really feel we have to give Mitro more game time.

Agree, the thing with Mitro is he will make chances, time to play two Strikets from the start either 442 or 4411.

[davew]

General, I understand your frustration and anger, but I think you are being a little harsh and you may feel differently in the morning.
I thought overall we were the better team against West Ham and Moyes settled for a draw with half hour to go. 
I understand we needed three points desperately and until Mitro and Maja came on we just did not put enough bodies in the box when the ball was crossed.
As I have said in another thread we are not dead and buried yet.

No we are dead but not yet buried!!

[davew]

If only we had got a couple of those half chances on target this thread would be blank and we would be singing Parker's praises.
Our problem is getting shots on target and I really feel we have to give Mitro more game time.

Only sensible comment on this thread, so many negative comments which sounds great coming from me, we played well!!!!!!

[Fulham Tup North]

If only we had got a couple of those half chances on target this thread would be blank and we would be singing Parker's praises.
Our problem is getting shots on target and I really feel we have to give Mitro more game time.

Agree, the thing with Mitro is he will make chances, time to play two Strikets from the start either 442 or 4411.

Got to do this next time out.... now is the time to be brave.....👍👍⚽️

[cottage expat]

I disagree with General's diatribe; I am not going to make any effort to "convince him otherwise", because he is entitled to his views and to write whatever he wants, but also I feel no obligation to "get annoyed properly about what's going on".  Overall, I thought we played well today, and created more chances than West Ham Utd did in a tight game. The problem was the same as ever, which has been mentioned ad nauseam  - we don't have a natural goalscorer (apart from Mitrovic, who has been completely out of form).  Maja may help to address this, but it is a very long shot, and asking a huge amount of him. But to criticise Harrison Reed for "playing particularly badly" and calling the performance "insipid", "uninspired, "dire" etc. is probably frustration in the immediate aftermath of another draw, rather than an objective assessment of the match. 0-3 v Villa was "dire"; this was not.  Do I think we will stay up?  Odds clearly against it, but today I am disappointed that we did not get three points rather than angry at the players, coaches and manager.

My take exactly, Plodder. We didn't play badly today and Wst Ham was there for the taking. But, once again, the lack of a decent quality finisher let us down.

[Nero]

I'll defend whomever I want to.  Rafa's not going to be able to help Fulham... he wouldn't even play Mitrovic. So forget about it.

Parker doesn't even play a Striker

[Zoppa77]

Firstly, I thought we played well against Spam. As has been mentioned, the inability to finish has cost us valuable points. We were the better team with fluid attacking that unfortunately finished in the final third or in row 'Z' in the stands.
Great players do not necessarily make great managers. Parker's achievements as a player are well deserved and well documented. I ask the Parker IN members to take a breath and look at results. This is a results driven environment. We have won 2 from 22. Whether it be Premier, Div 1 or school boy league it simply is it good enough. Take the emotion out of it, simply not good enough. No other manager would still be employed. Those wishing to persist with SP until it's too late = WTF.  There are available managers out there who will get more from our squad, which I believe could be mid table. Waiting to go down and then 'just come straight back up' is insane. We will lose players, have  injuries & spend the foreseeable future in Championship if we are lucky. There are 48 points to fight for. Either act now or be resigned to many years in the lower divisions.
SP thank you for your efforts, the door is over there, please don't let it hit your arse on the way out.

[ScalleysDad]

Firstly, I thought we played well against Spam. As has been mentioned, the inability to finish has cost us valuable points. We were the better team with fluid attacking that unfortunately finished in the final third or in row 'Z' in the stands.
Great players do not necessarily make great managers. Parker's achievements as a player are well deserved and well documented. I ask the Parker IN members to take a breath and look at results. This is a results driven environment. We have won 2 from 22. Whether it be Premier, Div 1 or school boy league it simply is it good enough. Take the emotion out of it, simply not good enough. No other manager would still be employed. Those wishing to persist with SP until it's too late = WTF.  There are available managers out there who will get more from our squad, which I believe could be mid table. Waiting to go down and then 'just come straight back up' is insane. We will lose players, have  injuries & spend the foreseeable future in Championship if we are lucky. There are 48 points to fight for. Either act now or be resigned to many years in the lower divisions.
SP thank you for your efforts, the door is over there, please don't let it hit your arse on the way out.

"There are available managers out there who will get more from our squad". Go on then I'll bite. Who? Not a fantasy manager/coach or a long shot but who? Who is ready to go now with their coaching team in place and a plan? Who is available that will sign up to a three year stint with the distinct possibility that their first headline will be relegation confirmed?
No transfer window, no magic wand for Kongolo or Cairney, Mitrovic barely earning a slot and after a long term, obvious need for a forward we get an untried, untested player in at the very last minute.
The squad looks united, did you spot the subs warming down with no fuss, so anybody coming in will have to win over the squad, doubly tough with the loanees. On that if anybody could convince Anderson to stay I believe it's SP.

[Tempest]

We're far too soft, I've felt like screaming at the screen for a sense of urgency in our play and bite in the tackle and speed to our passing.. we're soo pathetic, especially in our attacking play, there's no fluidity, people are passing sideways and backwards. I don't feel good in singling him out but in particular I've noticed Harrison Reed play particularly badly today... he makes no runs or movement when our defence have the ball, he just stands there with a West Ham player within 5 yards of him. It's not worth playing him over Anguissa, who I can only hope has a stomach bug or something.

Our play has got worse.. we're playing backwards so much more now, sideways too... lacking invention and leaving out players like Mitro and Anguissa who have the ability to make things happen and sticking with Cavaleiro who makes everything he does look so slow and basic. People could argue with Mitro not being as energetic but Cavaleiro doesn't do anything better, and offers nothing of a physical presence.

The issue is it's never one thing that gets you sent down, and the reality we've been too overconfident because we've had some good draws, but our last 11 games have got us 7 points, which is now 19/20th best in the league, along with the amount of goals we've scored and our conversion rate. At this level as manager Parker simply doesn't adapt or get the result needed and our play is clearly trained into our squad - we're like Parker when he was a player, hard to get past, but uninspiring aside from every now and then when a goal gets got. WEVE GOT TO GET IN A MANAGER LIKE BENITEZ.

I'm completely fed up of watching us put in the same insipid and uninspired performances in week in week out - it wasn't enjoyable in the championship when we were getting results, and it's horrendous to watch such dry performances like these knowing full well they're just not going to change with Parker in charge.

On top of all of this - Tony Khan... Bringing in F****king MAJA - a striker who's not scored more than six goals in a season as our saving grace is a piss poor attempt at making an effort to sign a player we desperately need.

I'd think this even if we did win, which i'd still be very suprised if we did as we simply don't ever look like challenging up front and scoring.. we've only scored 17 goals all season, which is our worst record in the history of us playing in the premiership.

There's also no leaders in the team, no players who're going to pick up a game by the scruff of the kneck and create the necessary magic...

Someone convince me otherwise that we'll be ok, i'd love it if you could and it was backed up by anything but dire performances. Please can we as a fan base get annoyed properly about what's going on. It's time we actually start getting annoyed as a fan base - the whole thing is hugely inept. Surely you can't constantly back things the way they are, when they offer soo little.

Why should you tell me to stop defending Scott and the team? Only your view is relevant? What you say goes? Feel free to express your opinion but feel telling people what to do as your opinion is the only one that counts is a little harsh.

For what it's worth, I think Scott should stay as the manager whether we stay up or go down, either way there will be, in my opinion, significant changes to the squad next season whatever happens and we need some continuity, so for me that needs to be Scott.

I would however, try and get Ray Lewington involved if possible but if not, I'd let Scott continue without doubt.

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk

[Fulham Tup North]

Firstly, I thought we played well against Spam. As has been mentioned, the inability to finish has cost us valuable points. We were the better team with fluid attacking that unfortunately finished in the final third or in row 'Z' in the stands.
Great players do not necessarily make great managers. Parker's achievements as a player are well deserved and well documented. I ask the Parker IN members to take a breath and look at results. This is a results driven environment. We have won 2 from 22. Whether it be Premier, Div 1 or school boy league it simply is it good enough. Take the emotion out of it, simply not good enough. No other manager would still be employed. Those wishing to persist with SP until it's too late = WTF.  There are available managers out there who will get more from our squad, which I believe could be mid table. Waiting to go down and then 'just come straight back up' is insane. We will lose players, have  injuries & spend the foreseeable future in Championship if we are lucky. There are 48 points to fight for. Either act now or be resigned to many years in the lower divisions.
SP thank you for your efforts, the door is over there, please don't let it hit your arse on the way out.

"There are available managers out there who will get more from our squad". Go on then I'll bite. Who? Not a fantasy manager/coach or a long shot but who? Who is ready to go now with their coaching team in place and a plan? Who is available that will sign up to a three year stint with the distinct possibility that their first headline will be relegation confirmed?
No transfer window, no magic wand for Kongolo or Cairney, Mitrovic barely earning a slot and after a long term, obvious need for a forward we get an untried, untested player in at the very last minute.
The squad looks united, did you spot the subs warming down with no fuss, so anybody coming in will have to win over the squad, doubly tough with the loanees. On that if anybody could convince Anderson to stay I believe it's SP.

I have to agree... I cannot think of a single Manager who would come in AND make the current team any better.  No manager can make the Strikers hit the target.... that is down to the players themselves.... Obviously actually playing the strikers in the first instance would help with that..... I thought we looked very good yesterday, apart from the final 3rd.... Big, Big month ahead....
COYW ⚽️⚽️👍

[I Ronic]

General, I understand your frustration and anger, but I think you are being a little harsh and you may feel differently in the morning.
I thought overall we were the better team against West Ham and Moyes settled for a draw with half hour to go. 
I understand we needed three points desperately and until Mitro and Maja came on we just did not put enough bodies in the box when the ball was crossed.
As I have said in another thread we are not dead and buried yet.

There are a few positive posts on this thread  This one summing up my thoughts best.
I thought we took the game to them and looked the most likely to win.
Instead of continually buying our way out of trouble and even then we're not going to have access to the really best players. Wouldn't it be better to have a style of play where by we develop or buy players to slot in. It worked for Roy, albeit he was buying older players. Some of the football we've played in the last couple of months has been brilliant. Unfortunately it hasn't lead to the results that some of that play has deserved.
Our owner is continuing to improve the infrastructure of the Club. I believe Scott Parker has real ability. All he's missing is a bit of good luck at the moment.
Roy's team was one of those team's that did manage to stay up against the odds and we all know what came after that.
I'm not saying the same will happen again and that we might not get relegated but as far as owners and team management go, long term we have the best available.
Parker in for me.