post match thread - Sheff Utd (H)

[filham]

The important task of collecting 3 points was achieved but no doubt that scoring goals is going to be a problem for the whole season.
We are no nearer finding our best attacking line up. There is nothing to choose from Jiminez/Vinni/Muniz or Willian/Wilson/BDR or Periera/Iwobi/Cairney. The one outstanding attacking player with the goalscoring ability has gone.

[alfie]

Good performance against a very poor side and a very important 3 points.

I thought it was harsh that Cairney's goal was marked up as an own goal. It was in, regardless of the keeper's touch, so should have been given to him.

It wasn't in, it hit the bar and then went in off keeper.

[S.F.Sorrow]

Lots of positives today. Willian was brilliant and had his first really good game this season. Wilson actually turned up for once, although as a sub. Cairney was superb as always. BDR may not be Messi but he always puts in a shift and today it paid off.

Definitely our best performance so far this season but against a team with a single point at the bottom of the table. Nothing other than a convincing win would have been acceptable today.

We still have some obvious weaknesses. Iwobi didn't impress in the more defensive role. We definitely need a better partner for Palhinha in midfield (but in January we may need to replace Palhinha as well...).

Vinicius' hold up play isn't good enough and he doesn't create chances on his own. We still have a striker problem. Maybe it's time to give Muniz a start. Lots of positive energy from him today and there is definitely some raw talent there. His movement off the ball, which has been his main weakness IMO, was also much better today.

The situation a CB is a concern. Ream was ok today but he is clearly near the end of his career. Diop is a liability. It amazes me that a player of his physical size can be so poor in the air! Still, he's probably our best option at RCB. Lets hope his injury isn't serious.

We also still look extremely vulnerable against counter attacks. Unless Silva adjusts his tactics we will lose many points because of this.

Still, if we keep winning against the teams below us we will survive. Which is what this second season in the Premier League is all about.

Finally, my thoughts go to Chris Basham. At his age that injury is almost certainly career-ending. A sad ending for a loyal servant at Sheffield United.

[McBrideOfFrankenstein]

Diop isn't a liability. I think he's been a good signing. He's slipped once and failed to reach an excellent lofted ball last week, but has done much good.

[btffc]

Our best performance this season so far, in my opinion, although Sheffield were quite poor as well. We looked defensively very solid, with Diop being particularly good imo, so a shame to see him go off injured. Ream had some excellent defensive moves, but I was even more impressed witrh his passing, that was seemingly back to his best level. Castagne and Robinson were good both ways, Castagne in particular, but they both need to work on their crossing. Midfield was pretty good, although against stronger teams I'd prefer to see Iwobi as a 10 or as a winger, I don't think we could have played as offensively against better teams. Vini offered a bit more than Raul imo, but him putting his hands on opponent's throat was a bit daft. BDR, as I said in the match thread, is our best finisher. Excellent movement and a very cool finish. Good work from Vini and Andreas in the buildup as well. Subs looked good, and I have to say there's something really likeable about Muniz. He might not be the best footballer, but he's the hardest worker of the three of our strikers and is more direct than Vini and Raul as well. He just makes me smile every time I see him play, for whatever reason. Lots of positives to take, but I feel like the international break comes at the right time. Hopefully, Tete, Adama and at least one of Diop/Tosin will be back.

P.S. What a horrible injury from Basham. Wish him the speediest possible recovery.

How's Diop? Any news?

Doesn't sound too good I'm afraid.

Issa Diop injury: "It’s a crack in his foot, they are assessing him. It doesn’t look good." #FFC

— Peter Rutzler (@peterrutzler) October 7, 2023

Crack in the foot is really, really bad. He's going to be out for months. Could even last past January. We now have 2 CBs until Tosin gets back in November. De Fougerolles will be in the squad going forward and we will have two left footed CBs starting which is rare.

[OZ-WHITE]

Chris Basham - horrific injury , we all wish him the best .
Diop - if its a broken foot bone thats at least 6 weeks to heal , add on rehab and a return to match fitness .
Despite the win we still look patchy / cobbled together , its very obvious that Silva is trying to change the system to compensate for our former No 9 , its not working properly yet but Iwobi looks like being an important of that change . One player we don't have to worry about is Palhinha the Destroyer , his focus is back and he being deliberately cleaner with his tackles - brutal efficiency
As it stands we are mid table and can work our way up , and we have Chelsea and Man U for company
Also a shoutout to Samuel Barrott - best performance by a referee I,ve seen for a long time

[Eton White]

Good performance against a very poor side and a very important 3 points.

I thought it was harsh that Cairney's goal was marked up as an own goal. It was in, regardless of the keeper's touch, so should have been given to him.

It wasn't in, it hit the bar and then went in off keeper.

It looked in to me. One of those ones that hit off the bar, onto the line and in, but the keeper got in the way first. Anyway, a goal's a goal but I still think it should have been credited to Cairney.

[Mr White]

Diop isn't a liability. I think he's been a good signing. He's slipped once and failed to reach an excellent lofted ball last week, but has done much good.

Totally agree.

[Karlos]

Great result against a very poor Sheff Utd.

Was nice to see a more attacking lineup against a limited opponent with Iwobi starting central however he looked in no man's land half the game.

Although was a great ball for Bobbys goal I think time to swap out Pereira for Iwobi and be good to see Lukic alongside Palhinha.

Thought Bassey looked an absolute beast when he came on, so quick and strong.

Bobby is fast becoming one of my favourites, never let's us down and has to be a must now to start at RW

Honorable mention to Castagne to, we now look very strong in RB position with him and Tete

[FFC1987]

Wasn't able to watch again this week......How did the midfield of Iwobi, Pereira and Palhinha look?

[Fulham 442]

Our best performance this season so far, in my opinion, although Sheffield were quite poor as well. We looked defensively very solid, with Diop being particularly good imo, so a shame to see him go off injured. Ream had some excellent defensive moves, but I was even more impressed witrh his passing, that was seemingly back to his best level. Castagne and Robinson were good both ways, Castagne in particular, but they both need to work on their crossing. Midfield was pretty good, although against stronger teams I'd prefer to see Iwobi as a 10 or as a winger, I don't think we could have played as offensively against better teams. Vini offered a bit more than Raul imo, but him putting his hands on opponent's throat was a bit daft. BDR, as I said in the match thread, is our best finisher. Excellent movement and a very cool finish. Good work from Vini and Andreas in the buildup as well. Subs looked good, and I have to say there's something really likeable about Muniz. He might not be the best footballer, but he's the hardest worker of the three of our strikers and is more direct than Vini and Raul as well. He just makes me smile every time I see him play, for whatever reason. Lots of positives to take, but I feel like the international break comes at the right time. Hopefully, Tete, Adama and at least one of Diop/Tosin will be back.

P.S. What a horrible injury from Basham. Wish him the speediest possible recovery.

How's Diop? Any news?

Doesn't sound too good I'm afraid.

Issa Diop injury: "It’s a crack in his foot, they are assessing him. It doesn’t look good." #FFC

— Peter Rutzler (@peterrutzler) October 7, 2023

Crack in the foot is really, really bad. He's going to be out for months. Could even last past January. We now have 2 CBs until Tosin gets back in November. De Fougerolles will be in the squad going forward and we will have two left footed CBs starting which is rare.

Really bad news regarding Diop...and of course wishing all the best to Basham, that looked terrible.

[General]

What's everyone's take on this?

Craven Cottage is now just another stop on the tourist itinerary.

Visitors from overseas happy to pay the exorbitant prices for a one off visit.

Don't have to look too far ahead to envisage a time when spotting a Fulham fan at Fulham games will be a novelty.#ffc #PricedOut https://t.co/PBvq8zHsK5

— White Noise (@WhiteNoise1879) October 7, 2023

?s=20

Comments are particularly interesting, apparently lots of American fans with NFL jerseys and even a man in a Chelsea shirt buying a match day programme before the game!

[alfie]

What's everyone's take on this?

Craven Cottage is now just another stop on the tourist itinerary.

Visitors from overseas happy to pay the exorbitant prices for a one off visit.

Don't have to look too far ahead to envisage a time when spotting a Fulham fan at Fulham games will be a novelty.#ffc #PricedOut https://t.co/PBvq8zHsK5

— White Noise (@WhiteNoise1879) October 7, 2023

?s=20

Comments are particularly interesting, apparently lots of American fans with NFL jerseys and even a man in a Chelsea shirt buying a match day programme before the game!

Interesting, I can understand the Jags supporters wanting to come, I know a lot of Fulham supporters went to the Jags game at Wembley. All London Premiership clubs will get a lot of "tourists". Let's remember when Inamoto played, we suddenly had an influx of Japanese supporters, when he went so did they, my son was working in ticket office at that time and he said there were loads of them.

[Somerset Fulham]

Wasn't able to watch again this week......How did the midfield of Iwobi, Pereira and Palhinha look?

I thought Iwobi looked a bit lost for most of the game. He came on a little stronger as the game went on but not enough to be much of an influence. 

That is not to say that it wouldn't be worth trying again, but my immiedate thought is that he would be more influential further up the pitch, in the TC/Andreas role.

[Chris57]

Bad news on Diop. Breaks in the foot can be tricky to heal properly.

[WindyCity]

I thought a good game v a fairly weak side.  Got the three points, job done!  Willian was good as was Cairney, Robinson and Castagne.  Great cool calm collected finish by BDR.  Still not a big Vinicius fan, but credit to him for nice pass in build up to BDR tally.  He also fed Willian for what should have been the first goal of the game.  That pass/assist from Pereira was sublime.  Palhinha his normal excellent performance, though a poor yellow on his part picked up.  All in all, satisfying victory.

[Carborundum]

Wasn't able to watch again this week......How did the midfield of Iwobi, Pereira and Palhinha look?

Strong engine room delivering plenty of chances.  Not sure we learned a lot though.  Having seen that happen to their captain, Sheffield were justifiably subdued.

Iwobi has a habit of making his relentless and sometimes unconventional movement the opposition's problem and not ours. Combine that with our two most crafty wingers on the pitch and the net result was that we found gaps continually.

[FishaPrice]

Wasn't able to watch again this week......How did the midfield of Iwobi, Pereira and Palhinha look?

Very good. In my opinion, Andreas had a much better game than normal. I think Iwobi helped unlock him. Reed was bright & effective when he came on. Same with Tom. Our midfield is in very good shape.

[FishaPrice]

Shout out to Bobby. He had an excellent game!

[alfie]

Shout out to Bobby. He had an excellent game!

And yet people keep saying not good enough.