Fulham FC – Page 6 – Friends of Fulham

March 28, 2023April 4, 2023

Games for the Week-end 08/04

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

Well the Bournemouth game started really well, and then the 2nd half happened! It seems that we’ve been on 39 points for ages?
We still don’t know, at the time of writing, how long we’ll be without Mitro and we obviously miss him not only for his goals but his hold up play.
It was good to see Tom getting a run out and it would be interesting to see if he and Palhinha could work together?

West Ham will be very confident of getting a result, especially after the game earlier in the season, and will be buoyed by their win against fellow strugglers Southampton at the weekend, I think their game against Newcastle on Wednesday may prove more of a challenge.

Current Form:
Fulham – WDLLL
West Ham – LWLDW

our recent record against West Ham isn’t very good with 3 wins, 9 losses and 3 draws.

my team would be…

COYW’s

Games of Interest…

Saturday 8th
Villa v Forest
Brentford v Newcastle
Fulham v West Ham
Leicester v Bournemouth
Spurs v Brighton
Wolves v Chelsea

Sunday 9th
Leeds v Palace
Liverpool v Arsenal

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

March 26, 2023March 30, 2023

Games for the Week-end 01/04

We get to travel to the south coast to take on Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium for a Saturday 15:00 kick-off

So we’ll be without Willian and Mitro for this game, Marco will be “in the stands”? At the time of writing we don’t know the length of bans. Marco has also been charged with misconduct for comments he made after the game! The Football Association alleges Silva’s post-match comments “constitute improper conduct in that they imply bias and/or question the integrity of the match official, and/or bring the game into disrepute”. So you can’t complain about multiple and historic poor decisions without it being “improper”, who holds the officials to account?

With Bournemouth currently sitting in 19th they’ll be looking for every point and hoping for better than the 2-2 earlier in the season.

Current Form:
Bournemouth – WLLWL
Fulham – WWDLL

Our recient record against Bournemouth is 1 win, 3 losses and 3 draws.

Assuming players returning from international duty in good time, no additional injuries, or suspensions my team would be..

COYW’s

Games of interest…

Saturday 1st
Arsenal v Leeds
Bournemouth v Fulham
Brighton v Brentford
Palace v Leicester
Forest v Wolves
Chelsea v Villa

Sunday 2nd
West Ham v Southampton

Monday 3rd
Everton v Spurs

Tuesday 4th
Bournemouth v Brighton
Leeds v Forest
Chelsea v Liverpool

Wednesday 5th
Man Utd v Brentford
West Ham v Newcastle

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

March 6, 2023March 12, 2023

Games for the Week-end 12/03

We welcome Arsenal to the Cottage for a 14:00 Sunday kickoff

Well the Brentford game didn’t go as well as I’d hoped but really we only lost because of a very soft penalty?
I wonder what position we would be if Solomon had been available all season?
Mitro’s fellow countryman Lukic had a steady game, hopefully he’ll enjoy playing with Mitro and help to get Mitro back to his very best, we really need him to be for the Arsenal game.
Leno will looking to show his previous team that they made a mistake letting him go, I’d love for him to keep a clean sheet!

Taking on the League leaders, even at home, is going to be a tough game however we didn’t really deserve to loose the corresponding away fixture and we were “in the game” right until the end, this would be a great game to get something from!

Current Record:
Fulham – DWWDL
Arsenal – LWWWW

Our record against Arsenal is dire with just 3 wins, 22 losses and 6 draws.

Hopefully Tete will be fit enough, my team would be…

COYW’s

Games of Interest…

Saturday 12th
Bournemouth – Liverpool
Everton v Brentford
Leeds v Brighton
Leicester v Chelsea
Spurs v Forest
Palace v Man City

Sunday 13th
Fulham v Arsenal
West Ham v Villa

Wednesday 15th
Southampton v Brentford
Brighton v Palace

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

March 2, 2023March 5, 2023

Games for the Weekend 04/03

We get to make the short trip to the Gtech Community Stadium to take on Brentford at their place

Manor Solomon to the rescue, what an impact he’s made in his last 3 subs!, it’ll be difficult for Marco to leave him on the bench for this game?
Missing Palhinha for both this and the Arsenal games will definitely be a loss, time for Lukić to shine, he’ll relish linking up with Mitro as they do for their national team.

Another chance to get to “do a double” over another of our local rivals presents itself.
Our 3-2 home win back in August, a game that wasn’t as close as the scoreline would make it appear?, sets this up nicely, Brentford will be looking to gain revenge.

I wonder what the odds are on how long a ban Ivan Toney will get now that he’s admitted the 262 gambling related charges?, whatever it is it’ll not be in time for this game. I don’t think he’ll mimic Mitro’s hand wave again, he’s going to score against us isn’t he, after last time, if he does lets hope Mitro puts him in his place again.

Surprisingly, our record again Brentford isn’t that good with 4 wins, 7 losses and 3 draws.

Current Form:
Brentford – WDWDD
Fulham – LDWWD

my team would be…

Over on the forum Ludlow Richard came up with an interesting stat about this game:

“It will be our 1100th top flight league game and it will be our 4,398th league game. This means that for the first time in our existence as a league club we will have played more than 25% of all our league games in the top flight of English football. “

COYW’s

Games of Interest…

Saturday 4th
Arsenal v Bournemouth
Villa v Palace
Brighton v West Ham
Chelsea v Leeds
Wolves v Spurs

Sunday 5th
Forest v Everton

Monday 6th
Brentford v Fulham

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

February 10, 2023March 2, 2023

FA CUP 28/02

We welcome Leeds to the Cottage for our FA Cup 6th round tie for a 19:45 kick-off

Our league form seems to have dropped off a bit in the last couple of games, Solomon to the rescue, so I’d give the lad a start for this game.
I’d also give our two latest additions some game time as I’m sure they’ll be needed in the coming weeks.
Whilst a “cup run” would be something to savour, after all Marco has said how much he admires the FA Cup, some of the “first team” look a bit leggy so I wouldn’t necessarily start our strongest line-up, if we get past Leeds I’ll probably change my mind with Wembley being “in sight”?

Leeds have a new manager and I’m sure that Javi Gracia will stress the importance of getting a “winning habit” however it will be interesting to see if he wants to concentrate on the relegation battle or be distracted by the FA Cup?
Their win against Southampton on Saturday lifted them out of the bottom three but only by a point, if Fulham were in Leeds place what would be your priority?

With our injuries and suspensions my team would be…

COYW’s

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

February 2, 2023March 3, 2023

FA CUP replay 08/02

We get to travel to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light for the fourth round replay

So after the “proper” FA Cup game at the Cottage ended in a draw we get a Wednesday evening 17:45 kick off to see who will face Leeds in the next round.
Sunderland really gave it go and will be full of confidence that they can get a result at their place?
It was an uncharacteristic mistake by Issa Diop that allowed Sunderland to take a sixth minute lead, however Tom Cairney came to the rescue with a wonderful bit of skill weaving his way past a couple of defenders before scoring past the very impressive Patterson who had an outstanding game.
15 year old Christopher Rigg thought, as did the travelling Sunderland fans, that he had scored the winner, and made FA Cup history, I think he would have been the youngest ever FA Cup scorer?, but unfortunately for the lad and Sunderland the goal was ruled out as he was offside.
More bad luck for Sunderland, Ross Stewart was carried off with an ankle problem, his 10 goals in 13 games will be missed?

Assuming the our two new players can’t feature as they weren’t available for the first game and as Marco Silva has said that he wants to take the FA Cup seriously my team would be…

team to play Sunderland in the FA Cup replay

COYW’s

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

January 25, 2023February 26, 2023

Games for the Week-end 24/02

Another game under lights at the Cottage where we welcome Wolves for a Friday evening 20:00 kick-off

“Smash and Grab” is the consensus of our result at Brighton, they were clearly “on top” for most of the game yet we managed to get a “last minute” winner, in the past how often has that happened to us?
With Mitro unavailable it was strange that Vinicius didn’t start?, however his contribution to Solomon’s goal was outstanding and if Mitro is out for the rest of the month I think he’ll start every game.
Solomon has 2 goals in 2 games, he also must be close to getting a start, but who would he replace? I can’t see either Bobby, Pereira or Harrison being dropped?
Yet another outstanding display from our back four and we’ve also good replacements “on the bench” in Duffy, Cédric and Kurzawa if needed.
Following on from the Forest “double” we added a “double” against Brighton, we can’t have made many doubles in the top flight and surly none two games in a row?

Wolves had been in really good really good form prior to their last game, they’d won 3 of the previous 4, and will have been frustrated by loosing at home to Bournemouth keeping them just 3 points above the relegation zone.

After August’s 0-0 draw at their place, I’m hoping for a better result from this game.

Current Form:
Fulham – LLDWW
Wolves – WLWWL

our record against Wolves isn’t that good with 4 wins, 11 losses and 6 draws.

I’m assuming that Mitro will be unavailable along with Tom and Kebano, so my team would be…

COYW’s

Games of Interest…

Friday 24th
Fulham v Wolves

Saturday 25th
Leicester v Arsenal
West Ham v Forest
Bournemouth v Man City
Palace v Liverpool

Sunday 26th
Man Utd v Brentford
Spurs v Chelsea

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

January 25, 2023February 26, 2023

Games for the Week-end 18/02

We get to go to the seaside to take on Brighton at their place this weekend

Our performance against Forest was one of the best I’ve seen this season, we could have scored two or three more than we did and apart from a 10 minute spell in the second half, I believe we completely controlled the game.
Forest were very unlucky loosing both centre backs early in the game, in truth I don’t think it made a great difference.
Willian’s goal must be up there with some of the greatest goals scored at the Cottage?, Manor Solomon getting his first, in front of the Hammersmith End, was also a very special moment.
Mitro wasn’t at his best however if not for an inspired Keylor Navas, would have scored yet another outstanding effort, I hope that he was subbed for tactical reasons rather than injury.
Tim Ream, once again, proved that age is just a number with some perfectly timed interceptions, he just “reads the game” so well.
It was good for the two new boys to get a run out, I’m guessing that we’ll see far more of them in future games, I can’t wait to see Mitro and Lukic link up on a regular basis.

For the longest time that I can remember, beating Forest on Saturday gave us “the double” over a Premier League team, we have another opportunity for a “double” against this weekends opponents.

Brighton are also having a fantastic season, ahead of us only on goal difference, and will feel a little hard done by only getting a draw against Palace?

How many of us would have thought that this game would have been between 6th and 7th?

Current Form:
Brighton – WWDWD
Fulham – WLLDW

Our recent record against Brighton is quite close with 3 wins, 5 losses and 3 draws, we won the home tie 2-1 last August.

Assuming no further injuries my team would be…

COYW’s

Games of Interest…

Saturday 18th
Villa v Arsenal
Brentford v Palace
Brighton v Fulham
Chelsea v Southampton
Forest v Man City
Wolves v Bournemouth

Sunday 19th
Spurs v West Ham

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

January 25, 2023February 26, 2023

Games for the Week-end 11/02

We welcome fellow promotees Nottingham Forest to the Cottage for a “traditional” 15:00 Saturday afternoon kick-off

Isn’t it strange that as a Fulham fan I can be disappointed with only taking 4 points from Chelsea this season!? Much has been said of Chelsea’s spending over both transfer windows, how have they got away with spending so much, FFP and all that?, anyhow the way that Marco has made Fulham such a cohesive unit, every player playing for the “team”, really fluent in possession, well drilled off the ball, very difficult to break down and full of confidence, shows that you don’t have to spend a large fortune to gain success.

Forest have also spent a fortune in both transfer windows, they’ve bought around 30 players and currently sit in 13th, 6 points off of 18, i think that their still in the mist of the relegation battle and will be desperate for any points.
The 2-3 scoreline from September’s reverse fixture didn’t really tell the story of the game. Fulham found themselves a goal down early in the game only to score 3 times in five minutes in the second half, Forest, against the run of play, scored a consolation late on in a largely comfortable game for Fulham.

Current Form:
Fulham – WWLLD
Forest – LDWWW

Our recent record against Forest is reasonably even with 7 wins, 5 losses and a draw

Following the injuries to Tom and Harrison in the Sunderland game, Tom looked more serious than Harrison, however I think that Lukic will get a start in Harrison’s place, so my team would be…

COYW’s

Games of Interest…

Saturday 11th
West Ham v Chelsea
Arsenal v Brentford
Palace v Brighton
Fulham v Forest
Leicester v Spurs
Bournemouth v Newcastle

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

January 23, 2023February 4, 2023

Games for the Week-end 03/02

We make the short trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea for the second time in 3 weeks

What a night at the Cottage the last game was!, Carlos Vinicius wrote his name in Fulham’s Hall of Fame scoring the winner against our closest rivals.
I’m sure this game will be different from the last, Chelsea will be looking for revenge, a win will see them leapfrog us, they’ll have a number of their injured players return. However we’ll have Mitro’ available, it’s about time he got back on the score-sheet! and this game would be the perfect time for yet another Mitro’ winner?
At this point, Fulham haven’t announced any new signings, two or three are imminent?, so I don’t think we’ll see any of the new players for this game, perhaps the Sunderland FA Cup replay?

Interestingly Chelsea, to date, are the biggest global spenders on transfers having spent £489million on 15 players, with more to follow in the last days of this window? Chelsea have, so far, managed to circumnavigate Financial Fair Play rules by signing players on extended contracts enabling them to spread the transfer fee over the life of the deal, for example the £89 million for Mykhailo Mudryk will be valued at £11 million a year. UEFA has said that it will change the rules, starting in the summer window, to limit the length a fee can be spread to 5 years.

Current Form:
Chelsea – DLLWD
Fulham – WWWLL

Our recent record against Chelsea, got a little better after the last game, is still woful with 2 wins, 12 losses and 4 draws, wouldn’t it wonderful to do the double over them?

Assuming no further injuries would be…

COYW’s

An important reminder for any Fulham fans attending Stamford Bridge, please remember to wipe your feet on the way out of the stadium.

Games of Interest…

Friday 3rd
Chelsea v Fulham

Saturday 4th
Everton v Arsenal
Brentford v Southampton
Brighton v Bournemouth
Man Utd v Palace
Newcastle v West Ham

Sunday 5th
Forest v Leeds
Spurs v Man City

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