Anyone else think we were… OK rather than great?

[Brawn]

My first game post-Covid and had honestly forgotten how busy the Hammy End concourse and the Fulham Palace Road can be...

(incidental moan - it's impossible to get a programme when inside the ground, which is surely a massive oversight?)

I thought we really struggled to hold onto the ball until the second goal, the goal we conceded was a defensive horror show (time to dig up Christie from under the patio?) and I felt the 8 that played the full 90 ran out of legs...

... but Mitro, Kebano, and Reed in particular were brilliant. Odoi not so good, Seri was good but not as good as he has been, same goes for Wilson and BDR.

[Skatzoffc]

"no pleasing some people"

"That's just what Jesus said sir..."

[flyingfish]

Respectfully disagree on Odoi, Sir. I thought he was very impressive last night

[Fulham Tup North]

"no pleasing some people"

"That's just what Jesus said sir..."

Nice one Centurion 👍

[Twig]

Didn't go last night but;
1. I can always buy a match day programme no problem at all, junction of Stevenage Rd and Harbord St.,
2. Odoi was excellent last night, some terrific defensive work and created one of the goals,
3. You'll hardly ever see all eleven have a blinder on the same day,
4. If that was your first game back then you should have just enjoyed it all, not looked for things to complain about.

[Woolly Mammoth]

I can understand where the OP is coming from. However, teams like Swansea will always have good spells in a match against us.
Their manager was very pleased with their performance so he thought they had a good game.
People have to realise that at this level generally the other team are always going to be in it.
We are not going to dominate for 90 minutes and I would rather grind out parts of the game and win, than go toe to toe and drop points. Nevertheless I don't think we helped ourselves in the second half sitting back too deep inviting pressure and the midfield at times got overrun and for example Seri got dispossessed a few times in the last third, and that would not have happened I don't think if we had played further up the pitch.
Opponents know they are up against a comparatively expensive group of players and they will treat our games like a Cup Final and we are not going to get it all our own way, but we have big guns like Mitro to win games for us.
Kebano showed why he has to be considered as a starter and given a decent run, he was great support for Mitro. Reed showed how important he is to the team a very busy player who makes sure he is always in the thick of it. I noticed how Mawson marshals the defence when he comes on, a proper leader.
Also when you think we had to play with ten men for the last 20 minutes when Wilson was subbed I thought we coped well enough, but we can do better.
Three more points in the bag so we should be pleased with room for improvement.

[Oakeshott]

The defence looked a bit questionable at times, but in the centre not with the full backs.

Obviously Mitro was the man of the match, but otherwise I'd have found it difficult to choose between Kebano and Odoi, both of whom seem to have become much more positive under our new manager.

If we go up it may be that with better marking Mitro won't shine, but performances this season, especially last night's, make it diffcult to understand why SP left him on the bench at times last season. All the time he has been with us he has looked our best hope for scoring.

I'm sorry Coventry were so badly beaten as such sides sometimes bounce back next game. Of course circumstances were different but I still remember the return fixture after we beat Ipswich 10-1.

[bencher]

I have to disagree with the compliments for Reed's performance. He was busy and hard-working as usual, but I felt his passing and touch was below par. I like him but I can't work out his best position in the midfield. He's not quite a sitter because he likes to chase and harry too much but he's not creative enough for a forward role.

[General]

Thought odoi did well yesterday. One or two lapses, but an assist and did well to do both jobs.

I think you're right in that yesterday we didn't play our best and Swansea did better in having possession and holding onto the ball but were left to, for the most part, passing the ball sideways or speculative shots. There were a couple of intense periods where they pinned is back and we looked a bit shaky, but whilst I think they could've scored at least one more, they didn't.

For us to have had a poor game in terms of dominating the game but come away with a 3-1 win may prove that we were a very good counter attacking side, have some ruthless attackers, can change it up, or have the quality throughout the squad to win by a margin even when playing poorly. All of which probably have an element of truth to them.

We were very free flowing in the first half with our counterattacks and incisive too - the accuracy of the passing between players was very on point and so was the decision making. That in itself is a mark of quality.

We went to pot though once mitro and Wilson went off, Cav sadly has lost any goal threat for us it seems at the moment and you can predict the ball will slow down and be misused when he gets it.

Fine margins and we're lucky to have the players we have. Just time to get Carvalho and Tete back and maybe put rodak in goal.

[toshes mate]

It wasn't perfect but Mitro, Ream and Odoi had very good games, IMO.  Reed seems to be struggling to get his mojo back although he wasn't playing in a position that suits his game.  Mitro's hat trick was a treat especially the third goal.  Still a lot of work for Silva and company to do especially with the younger players.

[Finnans Right Peg]

Thought odoi played well ,reed looks like he hasn't  had a full preseason and is not match sharp .Also thought Mawson looked a real leader when he came on .

I think it was a good move to rest mitro and wilson for Saturday and guve Muniz some game time

[WestSussexWhite]

I thought after the Bryan injury yesterday we lost some momentum, however, I also don't think we got out of 2nd gear 2nd half. As we didn't need to

[Tabby]

I have to disagree with the compliments for Reed's performance. He was busy and hard-working as usual, but I felt his passing and touch was below par. I like him but I can't work out his best position in the midfield. He's not quite a sitter because he likes to chase and harry too much but he's not creative enough for a forward role.

Agree, we lacked a bit of composure there, Seri and the CBs would play him into some open space (credit on getting there in fairness) and then he seemed to get a bit stressed. Was missing someone like Onomah or Chalobah there in the second half especially when BDR wasn't supporting anymore IMO.

[colinwhite]

3-1 win whats the problem. The goal conceded came from Tosin and odoi failing to comunicate and Tosin taking a chance that he could nick the ball. Hopefully he learns from  a mistake that ultimately didnt cost us anything.
I like Harrison Reed but he looks way of the pace and his timing is out . But he will improve if he can stay fit.

[mancwhite]

I think this was a good performance though we will play better teams than Swansea. I'm sure Reed will improve which will give us more solidity in central midfield. Defensively very poor goal to give away - Tosin exposed horribly like he was in a number of games in the Premier League, thought Mawson did  very well. Will be interesting to see how we do against Bournemouth and WBA who I think are the main competition for automatic promotion. Will need to make sure we stop dropping points against the likes of Blackpool but that's what makes the championship so great

[filham]

We deserved the win although Swansea played well at times, Mitro obviously the star but I was pleased to see Kebano playing well and hope his name is already on the team sheet for Saturday.
Disappointed at our tactics in the 2nd half , we obviously decided to sit on the 2 goal lead and to let them come at us. The two goal lead was always under threat and could easily have fallen to one and then nil. Also for Fulham fans the second hale was a real bore.
The positional changes during the second half were interesting, BDR at left back did well, Mawson as the holding midfielder could well challenge to make that position his own, Seri in an attacking midfield role did not look to good although had always thought that was his natural position.

3 points gained is important and surely we would all be happy with the same again on Saturday at Coventry.

[The Rational Fan]

I have to disagree with the compliments for Reed's performance. He was busy and hard-working as usual, but I felt his passing and touch was below par. I like him but I can't work out his best position in the midfield. He's not quite a sitter because he likes to chase and harry too much but he's not creative enough for a forward role.

In the later part of the season, we could have both Seri and Cairney in Midfield making finding the third midfielder to work with two similar players very difficult. The ideal third midfielder needs to chase a lot, have a strong positional sense, good defensive skills, and some aerial ability, but doesn't need any creative ability or significant passing range. Apart from aerial ability, Harrison Reed has a lot of the skills required to balance out Seri and Cairney.

[Whitesideup]

It's often commented that we sit back when we go ahead. Sometimes we have to give some credit to the oppo. At 3-1 down clearly Swansea felt they had to come at us more, they had to play with greater urgency and intensity when they lost the ball, and to their credit, they did. I thought they played good football but without a cutting edge in the final third.

The reverse side of that coin is that it then became harder for us to control the game when in possession. However, to our credit I thought we worked very hard and kept our shape well. Defensively we were solid especially the back 4 but also the whole team who kept them under pressure when they had the ball. Swansea scooped one over the bar when they should have done better, but otherwise I can't really remember Gazza being troubled at all, (apart from the wild flap at a corner in the closing minutes!)

[HamsterWheel]

I thought the manager planned it perfectly. All three goals were where we invited Swansea to press us, then got the ball and quickly zapped it forward when our attack wasn't outnumbered.

[General]

I thought the manager planned it perfectly. All three goals were where we invited Swansea to press us, then got the ball and quickly zapped it forward when our attack wasn't outnumbered.

Not sure the third which included a deflected pass by ream into feet of seri was planned.