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Games for mid-week 03/12…

We welcome Man City for a game under the lights for an 8 o’clock kick off

Fulham v Man City

Getting an away win against Spurs has got to give the players a huge boost of confidence! For the first half an hour we were unplayable and if we’d have been 3 or 4 up it wouldn’t have been unfair.
Chukwueze was tremendous, if his shot that hit the post had gone in it would have topped off an excellent performance.
Wilson’s skill for his goal was a joy to watch, King’s perfect lay off and the precision to kick the ball in the centre of the goal was perfection.
We had to hang on in the second half but we managed to even though I’m sure every Fulham fan were on the edge of their seat

In their last six games City have won 4 and lost 2 against Newcastle and Villa, both away games.

Our record, for the previous 8 games against City, is dreadful even though we’ve played well we’ve come away with 0 wins and 8 losses, it’s time we changed that.

My team would be…

squad to face Man City

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Tuesday 03/12
Fulham v Man City

Wednesday 04/12
Arsenal v Brentford
Burnley v Palace
Wolves v Forest
Leeds v Chelsea

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

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Games for the weekend 29/11…

We travel across town to take on Spurs at their “state of the art” stadium

Spurs v Fulham

The game against Sunderland was a lot better, Raúl scored his goal at a time that he would “normally” have been substituted, even so I’m still not convinced he’ll be able to play for the full 90 minutes of each game until Muniz becomes available?
Chukwueze and Smith-Rowe coming on enable us to press even further, Chukwueze’s cross for Raúl was excellent, I’d start him against Spurs.
Iwobi and Berge in midfield worked really well, Iwobi enabled a far more attacking option than the suspended Lukić, I’d have them both starting on Saturday.

Spurs had a dreadful result against Arsenal last time out, 4-1 against your local rivals would always be a difficult result for their fans to except, so they will probably expect a big reaction against Fulham.
They also lost their Champions League game against PSG 5-3 despite taking the lead twice.
Their “home form” should give us some optimism as, so far, they’ve only won against Burnley, losses against Bournemouth, Villa and Chelsea and draws against Wolves and Man Utd.
Another point that may well be in our favour is that Marco appears to have “worked out” Thomas Frank, think back to the Brentford games last season “Harry the bee-keeper” and all that!

Our record, for the previous 8 games, against Spurs is so so, eve though we’ve played well against them, with only 1 win, 5 losses and 2 draws.

My squad would be…

squad to face Spurs away

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 29/11
Brentford v Burnley
Chelsea v Arsenal
Spurs v Fulham

Sunday 02/11
Forest v Brighton
West Ham v Liverpool

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

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Games for the weekend 22/11…

We welcome the second of the promoted teams, Sunderland, to the Cottage for a 3 o’clock kick off

Fulham v Sunderland

The game against Everton was very disappointing both the result and Muniz getting injured again, it looks as if he’ll be out until the New Year following an operation.

Then we’ve had the Marco situation, has he been offered a new contract?, will he sign?, will he be sacked if he doesn’t sign?, what effect will his situation have on the squad?

During the international break Harry Wilson captained Wales for the first time, during the game he played as the No.9, he scored a hat-trick and also an assist, he’s got to start on Saturday hasn’t he?
Raúl scored, a penalty, in Mexico’s 2-1 friendly defeat, if he can carry on his goal scoring form for country when playing for Fulham, he’s only scored once so far, “own goal” is still our leading goal scorer, Harry & Ryan both have 2.
Josh King also scored for England Under 21s against Slovakia, England are now top of their Euro qualification group.
Kusi-Asare managed an assist for Sweden Under 21s against Armenia, I’ll be very surprised if he gets any game time against Sunderland however Muniz being out may get him a place on the bench.

Sunderland have surprised pretty much everyone, apart from their supporters?, with their season so far, currently their in 4th on 19 points with 5 wins, 2 losses and 4 draws, they’ve scored 14 and conceded 10, Fulham have scored 12 and conceded 16.

Our record against Sunderland, for the previous 8 games, is even with 3 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws.

With Muniz out and Lukić suspended my squad would be…

squad to face Sunderland

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 22/11
Bournemouth v West Ham
Arsenal v Spurs
Fulham v Sunderland
Wolves v Palace

Sunday 23/11
Leeds v Villa

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

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Games for the weekend 08/11…

An away trip to Everton’s new stadium for a 3 o’clock kick off

Everton v Fulham

The game against Wolves was a big one, we really needed that win!
When Ryan scored early in the game I think we all gave a sigh of relief, unfortunately we had to wait until the second half for Harry to double the lead, then after a sustained amount of pressure we managed to force Agbadou into an own goal, 3 points that were really needed. The result didn’t flatter us, we could have, perhaps should have, scored more, Chukwueze hitting the woodwork springs to mind, we now need to push on from this.
We’ve yet to register an away win, in the league, this season, Saturday is a good time to change that.

After breaking the years old “Goodison Park hoodoo” we now get to take on Everton at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium, so far they’ve only lost to Spurs at their new home, lets see if we can add to that list.

Our record against Everton, for the previous 6 games, is reasonable with 2 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss.

With, more or less, everyone available my team would be…

squad to face Everton

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 08/11
Villa v Bournemouth
Brentford v Newcastle
Palace v Brighton
Everton v Fulham

Sunday 09/11
Brentford v Newcastle
Palace v Brighton

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

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Games for the weekend 01/11…

We welcome Wolves to the Cottage for a 3 o’clock kick off

Fulham v Wolves

On the back of 4 defeats in the league, and scraping a win against Wycombe thanks to Lecomte saving 3 penalties, we face Wolves who are currently bottom of the league, is this the first 6 pointer of the season?
Last November we faced Wolves who were on a terrible run and they comprehensively beat us 1-4, hopefully this weekend will be different.

Our record, for the previous 8 games against Wolves, is so so with 2 wins, 4 losses and 2 draws.

It’ll soon be easier to list who’s not injured, currently Raul, ESR, Muniz, Chukwueze, Andersen, Wilson & Robinson all unavailable?

My team would be, if all of the above are not available then I don’t think we’ve registered enough players to make a full bench, there would need to be several “youngsters” in the squad…

squad to face Wolves

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 01/11
Burnley v Arsenal
Palace v Brentford
Fulham v Wolves
Spurs v Chelsea

Sunday 02/11
West Ham v Newcastle

Monday 03/11
Sunderland v Everton

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

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League Cup – 28/10

We travel to Adams Park to take on Wycombe Wanderers in the fourth round of the League Cup

Wycombe Wanderers v Fulham

After 4 losses hopefully we can stop that sequence against Wycombe, but this is a cup game so nothing is guaranteed.
Wycombe are unbeaten in their last 4 League One games however they have lost six games so far this season and currently are in 17th, as are Fulham!

Over on the forum sunburywhite detailed our previous games against Wycombe

1   1993-94   Tue 8 Feb 1994   League Trophy   Home   Drew   2-2*   
Wycombe won 4-2 on penalties
2   1995-96   Tue 10 Oct 1995   League Trophy   Away   Drew   1-1   
3   1997-98   Tue 12 Aug 1997   League Cup   Away   Won   2-1   
4   1997-98   Tue 26 Aug 1997   League Cup   Home   Drew   4-4   
Fulham win 6-5 on aggregate
5   1997-98   Sat 30 Aug 1997   Second Division   Away   Lost   0-2   
6   1997-98   Tue 13 Jan 1998   League Trophy   Home   Won   3-1   
7   1997-98   Sat 17 Jan 1998   Second Division   Home   Drew   0-0   
8   1998-99   Tue 29 Sept 1998   Second Division   Home   Won   2-0   
9   1998-99   Sat 6 Feb 1999   Second Division   Away   Drew   1-1   
10   2001-02   Tue 8 Jan 2002   FA Cup   Away   Drew   2-2   
11   2001-02   Tue 15 Jan 2002   FA Cup   Home   Won   1-0   
12   2006-07   Wed 20 Sept 2006   League Cup   Home   Lost   1-2   
13   2015-16   Tue 11 Aug 2015   League Cup   Away   Won   1-0   
14   2017-18   Tue 8 Aug 2017   League Cup   Away   Won   2-0   

Team selection is going to be interesting as Emile Smith Rowe has been added to the injury list alongside Antonee Robinson, Joachim Andersen, Rodrigo Muniz, Harry Wilson and Samuel Chukwueze.

I’d go for a strong starting 11, with a mixture of youth and experience on the bench, after all the quarter finals await the victor…

So my squad would be…

Squad to face Wycombe Wanderere

COYW’s

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36

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Games for the weekend 25/10…

This weekend we get to make the long journey up to Tyneside to take on Newcastle for a 3 o’clock Saturday kick off

Newcastle v Fulham

3 losses in a row isn’t the best run of form, especially having taken the lead in 2 of the games, however, our record(s) against Villa, Bournemouth (at Bournemouth) and Arsenal has never been very good.
I think we, once again, gave Arsenal a good game, zero shots on target doesn’t reflect the actual game, I don’t think we did enough to win the game but if it had ended in a draw I don’t think Arsenal would have had too much to complain about?

The injury list is getting longer, Muniz, Robinson, Lukic, Chukwueze, Anderson all out and Cairney is a doubt. Anderson will be a big miss, hopefully he won’t be out too long.

Our record against Newcastle, for the previous 8 games, isn’t so good with only 2 wins and 6 losses.

My team would be…

squad to face Newcastle away

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Friday 24/10
Leeds v West Ham

Saturday 25/10
Bournemouth v Forest
Arsenal v Palace
Brentford v Liverpool
Newcastle v Fulham

Sunday 26/10
Arsenal v Palace
Wolves v Burnley

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

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Games for the weekend 18/10…

We welcome Arsenal to the Cottage for a 5:30 kick off

Fulham v Arsenal

Games against Arsenal are always ones I look forward to as my Dad was a ‘gooner’ and the first game he took me to was Fulham v Arsenal, at the Cottage, January 1966 which Fulham won 1-0, much to Dads annoyance Fulham hooked me!

So after two 3-1 defeats, having taken the lead in both games, we get to face the team sitting on top of the table, so no pressure.
The injury list is growing Muniz, Tete and now Lukic, hopefully Raul will be available otherwise it could be an even more difficult game.
Chukwuez only played the first half of the Nigeria v Benin game, where he assisted two goals however he received a knock and was substituted at halftime.

Our record, for the previous 8 games, against Arsenal is reasonable, considering respective table positions and squad depth, as we always give a reasonable account of ourselves, however only 1 win, 4 losses and 3 draws doesn’t reflect how well we play.

I’m going to assume that Raul will be available and that Marco will go for a back 5, so my team would be…

team to face Arsenal at the Cottage

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 18/10
Burnley v Leeds
Palace v Bournemouth
Forest v Chelsea
West Ham v Brentford
Fulham v Arsenal

Monday 20/10
West Ham v Brentford

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

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Games for the weekend 03/10…

Another trip to the south coast, this time to take on Bournemouth with a 8 o’clock Friday evening kick off

Bournemouth v Fulham

After a disappointing, still a wins a win, cup game against Cambridge Utd, the Villa game was a different kettle of fish.
Once again we were denied a couple of penalties, and to add insult to injury Josh got booked for diving! I’m not sure that these things even themselves over the season, if they do then we’re in for a hat full of luck at some point?
Raúl going off injured, and with Muniz not being in the squad, meant we had to play without a striker, not ideal!
Muniz sounds as if he’ll be unavailable for some time, hopefully Raúl will only be out for a few days, if neither are fit for Friday’s game I’m not sure who’ll play up front as the young lad, on loan from Bayern, Kusi-Asare wasn’t even in the squad against Villa.

Bournemouth have had a good start to the season with wins against Wolves, Spurs, Brighton, losses to Liverpool and Brentford, with a draws against Newcastle and Leeds.

Our record, for the previous 8 games, is not that good with only 1 win, 3 losses and 4 draws.

My team to face the cherries would be, I’m going to be optimistic and have Raúl available…

squad to face Bournemouth away

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 04/10
Bournemouth v Fulham
Villa v Burnley
Man Utd v Sunderland
Newcastle v Forest

Sunday 05/10
Villa v Burnley
Everton v Palace
Brentford v Man City

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0

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Games for the weekend 28/09…

We get to travel to the “second city” to take on Aston Villa at their place for a Sunday 14:00 kick off

Aston Villa v Fulham

That was a very good performance against Brentford, I think its now become law that Harry has to score against them?
I felt for Josh, everyone makes mistakes, I hope that it wont effect him too much. I was surprised that Kevin didn’t start the game but Iwobi’s contribution, his goal and assist and all-round game shows that Marco know far more about his players than “we” do, well certainly more than I do.
Iwobi had probably his best game in a Fulham shirt both scoring and an wonderful pass to assist Harry’s goal.

The FoF stats man, LudlowRichard, came up with some interesting points from Saturday’s game…

     Harry Wilson's sublime goal last night was our 800th goal in the PL and the less sublime (but equally enjoyable) Brentford OG took us to 801 PL goals in our 689th PL fixture.
     By coincidence, the three points last night took our total PL points to 801.
     OGs for us in the PL now stand at 32, level with Steed.

Villa haven’t had the best start to the season and I’m sure before the season started they’ll have marked this game as an “easy” 3 points, lets hope they’ve got that wrong.

Our record, for the previous 8 games against Villa, is really not very good with 1 win and 7 losses.

My squad to face Villa would be…

squad to face Villa away

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 27/09
Brentford v Man Utd
Villa v Fulham
Man City v Burnley
Forest v Sunderland

Sunday 28/09
Newcastle v Arsenal

Monday 29/09
Everton v West Ham

come on over to the forum and join in the conversation…
https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?board=36.0