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Games for the weekend 27/12…

We travel acroos town to the London Stadium to take on West Ham for a 3 o’clock kick off

West Ham v Fulham

After a hard fought win against Forest on Monday hopefully the lads won’t have “over indulged” and will be raring to go.
Raúl scoring from a pen’, I didn’t realise that he’s never missed a Premier League penalty, 11 from 11 matching Yaya Toure’s record, this was the first penalty for Fulham this season and only the second this calendar year!
Anderson’s finger looked nasty and Harry looked to have twisted his knee shortly before Adama replaced him.
Young Kusi-Asare came on in the 85th minute and, I think, looked lively and caused Forest a few problems. Surely he must get more game time over the coming weeks?
Kevin had a really good game, it can’t be long before he gets his first goal? and hopefully more will follow.

Historically we’ve not had too good a record against West Ham starting in 1898 when we were in the Southern League Second division when we lost 2-1 and 0-1. To date we’ve had 34 wins, 52 losses and 25 draws.
We lost our only FA Cup final 0-2 in 1975 to them even though we had Bobby Moore and Alan Mullery, Fulham were in the Second Division (now the Championship), whilst West Ham were in the First Division (now the Premier League).
Interestingly the West Ham team were the last “all English” team to win the FA Cup, Fulham hold the record for the most games played to reach the final.
Our record, for the previous 6 games, is reasonable with 2 wins, 3 losses and a draw.

I’d start the same 11 that started against Forest, so my team would be…

squad to face West Ham

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 27/12
Brentford v Bournemouth
Forest v Man City
West Ham v Fulham

Sunday 28/12
Sunderland v Leeds
Palace v Spurs

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 Quarter-Final – 17/12

We get to travel to Newcastle’s ground for an 8:15 o’clock kick off

Newcastle v Fulham League Cup

With Bassey, Chukwueze and Iwobi off to Afcon, should Nigeria get to the final they would miss eight games, until January 18th, starting with this League Cup game against Newcastle.

Newcastle, the current cup holders, have played both of their League Cup games at St James’ Park this season, Bradford City 4-1 and Spurs 2-0.

Marco aims to go even further in this years competition, should we get past Newcastle we will be in our second League Cup semi-final in three years, a trip to Wembley is the aim!

Our record against Newcastle, for the previous 8 games, is so so with 5 losses and 2 wins, however we managed to do the “double” over them last season but lost 2-1 this October.
Of our 26 games, at St James’ Park, going back to the 1950’s, we’ve won 7 times, 02/25, 03/17, 05/08, 09/06, 11/04, 09/51 & 11/50 and we’ve had 8 draws.

This game will be decided on penalties if the score is level after 90 minutes.

My squad would be…

squad to face Newcastle

COYW’s

Other Cup games…
Arsenal v Palace
Man City v Brentford
Cardiff v Chelsea

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 13/12…

We get to play the last of the promoted teams, Burnley at Turf Moor with a 5:30 o’clock kick off

Burnley v Fulham

What is it with playing Palace at the Cottage? they’re becoming quite a “bogey team”.
Harry Wilson scored what could well be the goal of the season, at least until his next one!
ESR was unlucky to have his goal chalked off for Chukwueze? having a big toe off-side, I wish the off-side rule could be changed back to clear daylight, when technology needs to be used to find such small margins it really sucks the fun out of the game.

Well we get to face another “bogey team” in the form of Burnley, managed by Scott Parker

Over on the forum our very own “stats man” Ludlow Richard posted the following…

I know I’m jumping ahead but I was prompted to post by Burnley’s result yesterday. 
On the one hand we have not won at Turf Moor in league or any cup since 21 April 1951.

That amounts to comfortably over 27000 days (if anyone is counting) since our last win there. In that time we have lost 25 times at Turf Moor, drawn 7 times and won none. Trying to be positive we are currently on an unbeaten run of two at Turf Moor (two draws).

On the other hand, yesterday saw their sixth league defeat in a row, three at home and three away, scoring just 4 goals and conceding 13 in that run.

So looking at Burnley’s current form, surely we must break this horrendous run. Or will we contrive to find some  way of not winning there once more……. 

Ludlow Richard

Turf Moor has not been a “happy hunting ground” for us over the years, our record, for the previous 8 games, home and away, going back to 2016, is not good with only 1 win, 5 losses and 1 draw.
Although we’ve not won at Turf Moor since 1951, there has never been a better time for that statistic to change!

Assuming Sess’ is available my team would be…

squad to face Burnley

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 13/12
Brentford v Leeds
Burnley v Fulham

Sunday 14/12
Palace v Man City
Sunderland v Newcastle
Brentford v Leeds

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 06/12…

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

Fulham v Palace

What a game against City, “a glorious defeat” if only we’d have got the 5th it would have been one of the all time comebacks!
Smith Rowe started the game and had his best game in a Fulham shirt, he scored a great header and his all round play was first class.
Alex Iwobi’s goal stated the fight back, at 5-1 down 99.9% of us surely thought it all over, Alex changed that.
Then Chukwueze coming on changed the game 2 goals in 6 minutes really had us all believing.
Josh had a shot cleared off the line and Kusi-Asare could/should have had a penalty?, but it wasn’t to be, however the spirit the team showed should not be underestimated.

Palace are having a really good season, currently sitting 5th, with 6 wins, 4 losses and 4 draws. Away games they’ve won 3, lost 3 and drawn 3.
Last season we played Palace 3 times, 2 in the league and the FA Cup. Palace were better away than at home, we beat them at Selhurst and lost both at home.

Our record against Palace, for the previous 8 games, is quite even with 2 wins, 2 losses and 4 draws.

My team would be…

squad to face Crystal Palace

COYW’s

Games of Interest

Saturday 06/12
Bournemouth v Chelsea
Everton v Forest
Newcastle v Burnley
Leeds v Liverpool

Sunday 02/11
Fulham v Palace

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 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